Transmitting RF on GPS frequencies would almost certainly run afoul of local laws on transmission interference, and in the US FCC enforcement penalties are both severe and expensive (as they should be for interference). A direct coax connection would probably be fine though.
What are the transmitters you're talking about? Multiple analog front ends each transmitting on a different L1 channel frequency? SDRs transmitting on multiple L1 channels? L1 is 1575.42 MHz (10.23 MHz × 154) so you'd need multiple channels to simulate multiple satellites. How can I do that for $50?
Are there local laws on transmission interference? As far as the FCC goes, enforcement is hit or miss and generally lax. At least for HAMS, there is a process that begins with someone noticing the interference and complaining to the FCC, sometimes followed by an investigation, which is then sometimes followed by a Notice Of Violation. It takes a while to get to the part where the FCC assesses a penalty (Forfeiture Order). There is also a distinction between intentional interference and unintentional (as there should be), though I think that jamming the [TLA/police]'s GPS tracking device probably counts as intentional, if you knew it was the government's. I'd also like to know where the $50 surplus GPS transmitters are, but GP may be referring to a general purpose DSP eval board or SDR, which are certainly attainable for less than $100.00, and can be made to produce most any arbitrary signal given enough time/effort.
If you're transmitting your own GPS signal in an Urban area someone is going to notice pretty quickly and angry pretty fast. You will interfere with both law enforcement and emergency services, and likely cause a bunch of trouble.
Thinking about how much trouble you could cause, I'm actually surprised that GPS transmissions aren't signed. I guess if you were implementing it today, that would be a logical feature to add....
After a little googling, it looks like the DoD did think of it, it's just not for the like of us:
"The Precision (P) code, sometimes called the Precise Positioning Service (PPS), is modulated onto the L1 and L2 carriers allowing for the removal of the first order effects of the ionosphere. The P code is referred to as the Y code if encrypted. Y code is actually the combination of the P code and a W encryption code and requires a DoD authorized receiver to use it. Originally the encryption was intended as a means to safe-guard the signal from being corrupted by interference, jamming, or falsified signals with the GPS signature. Because of the intent to protect against "spoofing," the encryption is referred to as "Anti-spoofing" (A-S). A-S is either "on" or it's "off;" there is no variable effect of A-S as there is with SA."
GPS degradation was turned off in the late 90s by Clinton. I'm afraid that page is woefully out of date. Everybody has access to the full precision data now.
Yes, of course, so do all SDRs which is why they don't come with high power frontends. GPS Signal generators are sold as test equipment, and design for wired connection over coax as you say. Using them with a high powered frontend would be illegal.
The transmitters I'm talking about are designed for the mobile phone industry. This is an example:
What are the transmitters you're talking about? Multiple analog front ends each transmitting on a different L1 channel frequency? SDRs transmitting on multiple L1 channels? L1 is 1575.42 MHz (10.23 MHz × 154) so you'd need multiple channels to simulate multiple satellites. How can I do that for $50?