Hi everyone!
I’ve set up my USRP1 with 2 WBX, a dipole antenna - originally for FM
radio - connected to one WBX, and a 450 MHz omni antenna to the other
WBX. The connected PC is running Ubuntu 9.10 x86_64, build dependencies
for GNU Radio are installed, GNU Radio builds and runs fine.
Now what I’d like to do is implement sensing for white space devices[1],
entirely in free software, with hardware available from Ettus R…
To my knowledge, this is what has happened so far:
-
Microsoft presented a prototype to the FCC that was implemented using
802.11 cards in combination with 2.4 GHz → UHF downconversion, and yes,
they’re using the USRP and GNU Radio. [2] -
Philips Research prestented a prototype to the FCC as well. Monisha
Ghosh is going to present their most recent results regarding DVB-T
sensing at DySpan 2010.
Is anybody else already working in this area?
The challenges are:
- different TV/DTV standards in different regions (NTSC/ATSC in North
America, PAL/SECAM/DVB-T in Europe, …) - wirless microphones also need to be detected (but that can be
implemented later…) - sensing has to be reliable even below the noise floor (FCC requires
-114 dBm, ETSI WG SE 43 is currently discussing the hidden node margin
for Europe…) - we might have to circumvent or challenge patents or patent
applications in this area
What I can offer:
- time for coding bits and pieces needed for detection of incumbent
users - samples taken with my hardware
- Eventually: remote access to my hardware, but that requires that we’ve
physically met before. I need to trust you not to do something illegal
with the WBX…
Some constraints I think are necessary for fairness:
- all the results are shared, of course with proper credits given
- all the results will be published under GPLv3 and copyright assigned
to the FSF (or whatever is necessary to include it in GNU Radio trunk)
I’d like to collaborate with others instead of re-inventing the wheel
;).
So far, we are already some folks over here in Europe who are working on
this … anybody else? Please speak up!
73
Alex
HB9/OE9LAJ
[1] White spaces (radio) - Wikipedia
[2] http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=80952 (ACM
SIGCOMM Best Paper Award)