Re: TVRX2+USRP (serial > 500) 'invalid EEPROM contents' problem

GNU Radio
1

Hi,

We’re using two older USRP boards:

  1. Rev. 4.5, Ser. #3542,
  2. Rev. 3, Ser. #290 with a clocking scheme modified according to the
    http://gnuradio.org/redmine/projects/gnuradio/wiki/USRPSerialBelow500 .

We’re also using a BasicRX daughterboard with both of these motherboards
and
have no problems receiving 150 MHz signals using our code.

We were planning to use the newer TVRX2 receivers for the 400 MHz signals
so we purchased a couple of TVRX2 Rev. 1.1 daughterboards. No changes were
made to them. After plugging any of the two TVRX2 daughterboards - either
in
addition to BasicRX or separately in any of the receiver slots of any of
the
two USRPs - and trying to execute our code (or any other basic code like
usrp_benchmark_usb.py) we get a standard error message:

*> Warning: Treating daughterboard with invalid EEPROM contents as if it
were a “Basic Rx.”

Warning: This is almost certainly wrong… Use appropriate burn--eeprom
utility.

It looks like UHD is recognizing you daughterboard just fine, hence the
string “Name: TVRX2 (0x0046)” in the probe output.

I think you are trying to use the old libusrp1-gnuradio driver, when you
should be using the gr-uhd source and sink blocks:
http://code.ettus.com/redmine/ettus/projects/uhd/wiki#Gnuradio-UHD

Thanks for your reply Josh,

So the instructions are:
(1) Use the script
OR
(2) - run “git clone gnuradio.git - GNU Radio”,
- Follow the Gnuradio build guide:
http://gnuradio.org/redmine/projects/gnuradio/wiki/BuildGuide,
- check the dependencies and make sure that gr-uhd is enabled in the
Gnuradio source tree.

I’m positive I did (1) on one of our systems and (2) on another one. To
the
letter. Neither of them work.

I believe the libusrp1-gnuradio driver was installed along with the
gr-uhd
one.
Is there a way to figure out which library is being used by UHD?
Is there a way to specifically tell UHD which source and sink blocks
should
be used?

Thank you,
Dmitry Shatskiy.

2

On 12/09/11 11:28 PM, Dmitry Shatskiy wrote:

OR
gr-uhd one.
Is there a way to figure out which library is being used by UHD?
Is there a way to specifically tell UHD which source and sink blocks
should be used?

Thank you,
Dmitry Shatskiy.

You’re not understanding. If you use the “classic” API, rather than
UHD, you won’t be able to
correctly deal with a TVRX2, since that card is supported ONLY with
the UHD API. Many of
the example programs, such as usrp_usb_benchmark.py, use the so-called
“classic” API. They
haven’t been updated. It doesn’t matter how up-to-date your UHD
installation is, the “classic APIed”
programs have no knowledge at all of UHD or any of the post-UHD
hardware that’s out there.

If you want to check gross functionality of your TVRX2 card, you can use
“uhd_fft.py” to grab an
FFT spectrum off the card, and make sure that it’s working.

If you want to produce your own flow-graphs, you’ll have to use the “UHD
source” within GRC.
The “classic” USRP1 source won’t work with the TVRX2 card, because
that card was released
after the classic API was deprecated and no longer being updated.

If you have an up-to-date Ubuntu system, then the ‘build-gnuradio’
script should take care of installing
and building everything you need to make UHD-api “stuff” just work.
Including within
gnuradio-companion, “uhd_fft.py”, etc. But none of the “classic” API
examples will work with
TVRX2, or indeed many of the other post-UHD cards out there. Since
you’re a new user, you have
no massive reams of code that need to maintain compatibility with the
“old ways”, so start learning
and using UHD.

–
Principal Investigator
Shirleys Bay Radio Astronomy Consortium