Hello!
I am a newcomper to SDR. I have scoured the mailing list but I cant find
a definitive answer on the following questions (I suppose its been asked
but I cant seem to find answers in the archives at any rate):
-
Can anybody recommend an RF Front end to be used with the USRP from
Ettus research? I just got the Basic RX / Basic Tx daughterboard,
motherboard + power supply and am looking for recommendations on what to
buy so I can experiment with these things. My budget is a few hundred
bucks. Can somebody recommend specific products one can buy off the
shelf to hook into the Basic RX ? I want to be able to recieve RF
signals from a walkie talkie radio and play them on my computer.
-
What is the simplest meaningful thing one can do to get started with
SDR? (I am looking to bootstrap myself into this before trying to do
anything serious so a fun learning project is what I am looking for.)
I am looking forward to a learning adventure!
Thanks and regards,
Ranga
Hi Ranga
On 12/8/06, M. Ranganathan [email protected] wrote:
buy so I can experiment with these things. My budget is a few hundred
bucks. Can somebody recommend specific products one can buy off the
shelf to hook into the Basic RX ? I want to be able to recieve RF
signals from a walkie talkie radio and play them on my computer.
This really depends on what you want to do. If you want to play with
WiFi, Bluetooth etc, then you would need the RFX2400 for the 2.4GHz
spectrum. If your walkie talkie uses the 400MHz ISM band (most
likely), then you need the RFX400.
- What is the simplest meaningful thing one can do to get started with
SDR? (I am looking to bootstrap myself into this before trying to do
anything serious so a fun learning project is what I am looking for.)
The simplest thing is to hook up a metallic wire and try to receive
AM/FM radio. Look at the examples in gnuradio-example. They will help
you further.
Thomas
On Fri, Dec 08, 2006 at 09:04:34AM -0800, Thomas S. wrote:
- Can anybody recommend an RF Front end to be used with the USRP from
likely), then you need the RFX400.
- What is the simplest meaningful thing one can do to get started with
SDR? (I am looking to bootstrap myself into this before trying to do
anything serious so a fun learning project is what I am looking for.)
The simplest thing is to hook up a metallic wire and try to receive
AM/FM radio. Look at the examples in gnuradio-example. They will help
you further.
Thomas
All true. Also, generally speaking, you don’t want to start with the
Basic Tx or Basic Rx. Those are really designed to work with an
external tuner, transverter, etc.
Pick one of the RFX-* boards.
Eric
On Fri, Dec 08, 2006 at 02:27:35PM -0500, M. Ranganathan wrote:
Thomas, Eric and Dan, thanks for your replies!
Looking at Ettus R. web page and given that I have already ordered
a BasicRx board + USRP, can a TVRX (50 MHz to 870 MHz Receiver) do the
trick in conjunction with the BasicRx if I want to receive VHF/UHF from
a walkie talkie?
If you’re OK with receive only, a TVRX is a great way to get started.
Seems like a cheaper option than the RFX400 (which I
will get if there’s no choice). Is it simpler to just use an RFX400
rather than BasicRx + TVRX even if this is an option? ( I want to reduce
the learning curve and make life simple given that I am a beginner. )
As for hooking up a long piece of wire to recieve AM/FM radio, I assume
I don’t need any hardware other than BasicRx and USRP Mother board
(please correct this if I am wrong).
With a piece of wire you’ve got zero selectivity. You can receive
strong FM stations, but because of where the images fall (based on the
64 MS/sec A/D), you can’t for example distinguish 96M - 1M from 96M +
1M.
Eric
Thomas, Eric and Dan, thanks for your replies!
Looking at Ettus R. web page and given that I have already ordered
a BasicRx board + USRP, can a TVRX (50 MHz to 870 MHz Receiver) do the
trick in conjunction with the BasicRx if I want to receive VHF/UHF from
a walkie talkie ? Seems like a cheaper option than the RFX400 (which I
will get if there’s no choice). Is it simpler to just use an RFX400
rather than BasicRx + TVRX even if this is an option? ( I want to reduce
the learning curve and make life simple given that I am a beginner. )
As for hooking up a long piece of wire to recieve AM/FM radio, I assume
I don’t need any hardware other than BasicRx and USRP Mother board
(please correct this if I am wrong).
Ranga
Eric B. wrote:
I am a newcomper to SDR. I have scoured the mailing list but I cant find
anything serious so a fun learning project is what I am looking for.)
All true. Also, generally speaking, you don’t want to start with the
Basic Tx or Basic Rx. Those are really designed to work with an
external tuner, transverter, etc.
Pick one of the RFX-* boards.
Eric
–
M. Ranganathan
Advanced Networking Technologies Division,
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8920, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
tel:301 975 3664 , fax:301 590 0932 http://w3.antd.nist.gov/
Advanced Networking Technologies For the People!
Also, generally speaking, you don’t want to start with the
Basic Tx or Basic Rx. Those are really designed to work with
an external tuner, transverter, etc.
Can someone who is using their BasicRX in this way describe their setup?
Thanks,
/jordan
On Friday 08 December 2006 14:27, M. Ranganathan wrote:
Looking at Ettus R. web page and given that I have already ordered
a BasicRx board + USRP, can a TVRX (50 MHz to 870 MHz Receiver) do the
trick in conjunction with the BasicRx if I want to receive VHF/UHF from
a walkie talkie ?
As a clarification, you do not need the BasicRX to use the TVRX unless
you
want the second channel.
Lamar Owen
Director of Information Technology
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
1 PARI Drive
Rosman, NC 28772
(828)862-5554
www.pari.edu