0 The Wave SDR By Jonathan Naylor ONG

0. The µWave SDR By Jonathan Naylor, ON/G 4 KLX

1. What Is The µWave SDR? • • • Cheap access to microwaves Use the best of modern technology DSP to give great performance Small form factor for remote mounting Keep it simple - most microwave ops aren’t computer specialists

2. The Team • • • Neil Whiting, G 4 BRK Chris Bartram, GW 4 DGU Jonathan Naylor, ON/G 4 KLX Grant Hodgson, G 8 UBN Tobias Weber, DG 3 YEV

3. The Concept TX TX RX µWSDR 2 Switch RX µWSDR 1 PC

4. Unified Hardware • Use the latest commercial IC’s/module’s • Same devices across bands • Two part hardware, a common back-end a band specific front-end • Together Eurocard sized to fit into standard extrusions/cases

5. Front-Ends • Basic specifications: 100 - 200 m. W RF output 2 - 3 d. B Noise figure • Simplifies design, reduces cost and engineering complexity • Fits in well with modular designs • Can be used barefoot and still be effective

6. Front-End Block Diagram RF In BPF LPF I/Q Out 10 MHz Osc. Control RF Out Control Out BPF I/Q In Control In

7. Front-End Specifics 1/2 • Single Fraction-N synthesizer chip chosen, the LMX 2486 • Divided for lower bands, thereby reducing phase noise • External high quality 10 MHz source is possible • Commercial of home made VCOs

8. Front-End Specifics 2/2 • Highly integrated RX and TX mixers: RX – LT 5575, LT 5517 TX – ADL 5372, ADL 5385 • Three layer PCB, oscillator on one side, RX and TX chains on the other • Commercial or home made bandpass filters

9. Design Challenges • Microwave band activity areas are narrow, but they may not be the same worldwide 23 cms – 1269/1296 MHz 13 cms – 2304/2308/2320/2400/2424 MHz 9 cms – 3400/3456 MHz • This complicates the design of VCOs and bandpass filters

10. Back-End • Interface between the PC and the Front-End • One per front-end, tightly integrated • Converts base band to ethernet packets and vice versa • Takes commands to control the oscillator and external devices • General purpose CPU for flexibility

11. Back-End Block Diagram I/Q In ADC AKM 5394 a I/Q Out DAC/ Clock PCM 1740 E CPU AT 91 SAM 7 X 256 Osc. Control Out Ethernet

12. Back-End Hardware • CPU is a 60 MHz ARM 7 core with integrated Ethernet, programmed in C • ADC is AKM 5394 a operating at either 48 or 96 Ksps • DAC + Clock is PCM 1740 E, feeds clock to the ADC, speed under software control

13. Back-End Software • Implements a complete UDP/IP stack • Simple command interpreter • Possibility of hardware AGC

14. The Ethernet Protocol • All messages use UDP/IP • All messages have a two character identifier • Data messages have a sequence number to discard out-of-order packets, no retries • Command messages have explicit ACK/NAK • Command messages are transported with a simple stop-and-wait protocol

15. Why Ethernet? • Longer distances than USB, important for /P and remote mounting of hardware • Less HF interference than USB • Simple to extend with fibre optic • A more portable API on computers

16. µWave SDR Software • A suite of four programs: The GUI SDRSetup GUISetup SDRHelp • Very simple to install and use • Completely cross platform, Windows, Linux and Mac OS X

17. SDRSetup • Sets up the UWSDR hardware

18. GUISetup • Creates or changes an instance of the GUI • Sets up external connection information, dependent on the type of SDR chosen

19. SDRHelp • Help available for the other programs • Available from within the GUI

20. The GUI

21. GUI Features • • Uncluttered design and easy to use Looks similar to existing radios Runs on small-ish computers Supports multiple hardware types: UWSDR Soft. Rock (RX and RXTX) Demo mode

22. GUI Internals • DSP core based on Dtt. SP but converted to C++ • Removed esoteric features • Added Weaver method • I/O via interfaces making the addition of new hardware simple • More tightly integrated than Dtt. SP, more like Power. SDR

23. GUI Usage • Less used features are hidden away, similar to the IC-706 • Spectrum display is adjustable • S/Power Meter is adjustable • CW/Voice keyer • Has the concept of default bandwidth, AGC speed and tuning speed per mode • Target audience are not computer geeks

24. 3 cms Soft. Rock RXTX? • Fixed LO based on Wi. MAX VCO and fractional-N synthesizer • Passive bi-directional mixer • Integrated patch antenna for dish mounting -6 d. Bm RF output (250 µW) 10 d. B noise figure • Great for /P use on hills/mountains

25. µWave SDR Progress • Software is mature and in use on-air with Soft. Rocks • Back-end is progressing well, currently evaluating new Ethernet hardware • Front-Ends are not so advanced

26. Contact • Software is under the GPL • Hardware will probably use the TAPR OHL • If you would like to help the µWave SDR project, either hardware or software Web page: http: //www. uwsdr. net E-mail: naylorjs@yahoo. com