Introduction To Software Defined Radio (SDR) : Lior Elazary (KK6BWA) CVARC 4/18/13

Introduction to
Software Defined Radio (SDR)

Lior Elazary (KK6BWA)
CVARC 4/18/13
Thanks for all the help!
Steve Sedgwick, WB8GRS
What is Software Defined Radio

(SDR)
The goal of SDR is to remove all the analog parts

of the radio and do it all in software.
What can SDR do for me?
Perform the modulation/demodulation for ALL the modes
NFM, WFM, AM, SSB, USB, LSB, CW, etc.

Work satellites with ease (auto adjustment for the Doppler effect)
Receive Images from weather satellites
Visually see a large portion of an RF

spectrum.
See who's talking
Scan the bands
Help with contesting?
Perform various RF measurements.
Measure signal strength, interference patterns,

evaluate antennas, and many more.
Small footprint (would fit on the palm of you hand) and

low cost for all of these features.

Plot Airplane flight paths along with weather and
other sensor data using ADSB
Support any future mod/demod with just a software

update.
Can help with various experiments/advances without
having to physically build circuits.
Radio Astronomy
(http://rfspace.com/RFSPACE/Astronomy.html)
How does SDR work?
How does SDR work?

(in theory)
ADC
Convert the analog

signals on the antenna
to digital signals
(0's and 1's)
DSP
Use signal processing

techniques to perform
filtering and demodulations.
How does SDR work?

(in theory)
ADC
Convert the analog

signals on the antenna
to digital signals
(0's and 1's)
How does SDR work?

(in practice)
ADC
BPF
LPF
Digital controlled
oscillator (DCO)
90
DSP
Q
ADC
Analog filter to
avoid
overloading
IF stage so
that the ADC
could sample
high
frequencies
LPF
IQ output so we can
sample +/frequencies from the
DCO (measure
freq,phase,amplitude)
SDR Hardware
SDR Hardware
What you need to get started
Antenna
Small piece of hardware

to convert the signals
from the antenna to the
computer (~$18)
Computer
SDR Hardware
Low Cost
Use the soundcard to for ADC
Medium Cost
High End
TX/RX
SoftRock
Uses the Sound card
for ADC
UHFSDR
USRP ~$600
FlexRadio
Systems
FLEX-5000A
RX
SDR-RTL
Blade RF ~$400
Rhode+Schwarz
$45,000
SDR Hardware
Which to choose
Or
RTL-SDR
$18
Rhode+Schwarz
$45,000
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Newsky-TV28T-v2USB-DVB-T-RTL-SDR-Receiver-RTL2832UR820T-Tuner-MCX-Input-/160896092118?
pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25762787d
6
SDR Hardware
You can always build

your own...
SDR Software
SDR Software
The heart of SDR.
Performs the computations for the radio part.
PowerSDR
http://www.flex-radio.com
HDSDR
http://www.hdsdr.de/screenshots.html
SDR Shell
http://ewpereira.info/sdr-shell
GNU Radio
http://gnuradio.org
Linrad
http://www.nitehawk.com/sm5bsz/linuxdsp/linrad.htm
SDR Sharp
http://sdrsharp.com/
SDR Software
All SDR software have similar GUI modules
SDR Software
Control panel
Control Panel (the tuning knob)
Adjust the frequency
Change the mode (NFM, AM, CW,etc.)
Change filters
Adjust audio levels
Channel Memory
Many others depending on software
SDR Software
Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)
Shows the frequencies present in a signal and their strength
Converts from the time domain into the frequency domain
Uses the Fourier theory that any signal can be broken down into
individual Sine waves
SDR Software
Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)
SDR Software
Waterfall (Spectrogram)
Displays the frequencies strengths (FFT) over time

Allows you to see signals among noise as well as identify the
signals
Color coded. Black no signal, shades from blue to red indicate
stronger signals
SDR Software
DSP RX simple example
The input
from the
ADC
IQ
Input
Selects only the

information you want
Low Pass Filter
Converts from
raw data to audio
output
Demodulator
Audio Output
Audio
Output
How to use the SDR Software

Filters and Tuning
Filters allow us to get only the
information we want
GnuRadio The Swiss army knife of

SDR
Listening to HF
Need an HF upconverter
Basically a mixer to bring the low frequencies of HF to

higher frequencies that the SDR can sample.
Build you own:

http://www.george-smart.co.uk/wiki/FunCube_Upconverter
Buy from ebay: ~$40 (have never bought one)
http://compare.ebay.com/like/181122912430?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPrice
How to use the SDR Software

Connecting for further processing
Can connect directly to fldigi, sound-modem, or any other

needed processing
Several options available on windows
Choose the mixer input or microphone input
Install virtual audio cable ($25)
http://software.muzychenko.net/eng/vac.htm
Install jack audio (free, but Good luck)
Change settings in SDR# under the audio section.
http://jackaudio.org/
Connect a cable from line out to the line in of the computer.
Use the mic as input
On linux simply use pipes or FIFO
Mac????
Remote ADC
avoid feedline loss
Place the ADC right next to the antenna
Raspberry pi with TCP connection
http://zr6aic.blogspot.com/2013/02/setting-up-myraspberry-pi-as-sdr-server.html
Web SDR
http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/
Getting started
How To
Buy the USB dongle:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Newsky-TV28T-v2-USB-DVB-T-RTL-SDR-Receiver-RTL2832U-R820T-Tuner-MCX-Input-/160896092118?pt=LH
Cut the antenna and place a pl259 UHF connector
Install SDR Sharp:

http://rtlsdr.org/softwarewindows
Install the drivers: use Zadig
Install SDR# sdr-install.zip
Tune ppm so the

freq will display
correctly
In SDR# click
configure
Check ID aginst
http://rtlsdr.org/hardwa
re-usb
Performance Tips
Antenna is everything!
Eliminate feedline losses by mounting the SDR at the antenna
feedpoint, with weatherproofing and a long USB cable to the computer
or Ethernet though the raspberry pi.
Use a bandpass filter to protect the radio from strong out-of-band
signals.
Consider a quality preamplifier for the RTL-SDR to reduce the system
noise figure.
Reduce the SDR's internal gain to prevent noise due to RF clipping and
intermodulation
Enclose the device in a grounded metal case.
Filter the +5V supply to the radio. Use a combination of ferrite beads
and bypass capacitors to target the full spectrum of noise.
Put RF Chokes on the USB cable to filter out computer noise.
Software tricks, such as oversampling and decimation can help - watch
for RTL2832 firmware and driver updates!
References
http://www.ab9il.net/software-defined-radio/rtl2832-sdr.html
http://www.hamsdr.com/StartHere.htm
http://www.hamsdr.com/WA2DFI/Hands_On_SDR_%20Dayton_2008_v0_9.ppt
http://wb5rvz.com/sdr/
http://sdrsharp.com/
http://www.baycom.org/~tom/ham/soundmodem/
http://www.insomnihack.ch/images/insomnihack-mar13-bk-sdr.pdf#page=10&zoom=auto,0,458
http://www.pe0sat.vgnet.nl/tag/sdrsharp/
http://2600.wrepp.com/2600/Links/29/3/superkuh.com/gnuradio.html
http://wb6dhw.com/For_Sale.html#UHFSDR
http://www.davegardner.org/Ham/PDF/EasySDR.pdf
http://zr6aic.blogspot.com/2013/02/setting-up-my-raspberry-pi-as-sdr-server.html
http://www.oz9aec.net/index.php/gnu-radio/gnu-radio-blog/477-noaa-apt-reception-with-gqrx-and-rtlsdr
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/tis/info/pdf/020708qex013.pdf
http://v2.sdr-radio.com/Download.aspx
Live Demo...
And Questions.

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Introduction to

Software Defined Radio (SDR)

Thanks for all the help!

Steve Sedgwick, WB8GRS

What is Software Defined Radio

The goal of SDR is to remove all the analog parts

What can SDR do for me?

Perform the modulation/demodulation for ALL the modes

NFM, WFM, AM, SSB, USB, LSB, CW, etc.

Receive Images from weather satellites

What can SDR do for me?

Visually see a large portion of an RF

See who's talking

Scan the bands

Help with contesting?

What can SDR do for me?

Perform various RF measurements.

Measure signal strength, interference patterns,

What can SDR do for me?

Small footprint (would fit on the palm of you hand) and

What can SDR do for me?

What can SDR do for me?

Support any future mod/demod with just a software

How does SDR work?

How does SDR work?

Convert the analog

Use signal processing

How does SDR work?

Convert the analog

How does SDR work?

Small piece of hardware

You can always build

All SDR software have similar GUI modules

Control Panel (the tuning knob)

Adjust the frequency

Change the mode (NFM, AM, CW,etc.)

Adjust audio levels

Many others depending on software

Shows the frequencies present in a signal and their strength

Converts from the time domain into the frequency domain

Displays the frequencies strengths (FFT) over time

Selects only the

Low Pass Filter

How to use the SDR Software

GnuRadio The Swiss army knife of

Basically a mixer to bring the low frequencies of HF to

Build you own:

Buy from ebay: ~$40 (have never bought one)

How to use the SDR Software

Can connect directly to fldigi, sound-modem, or any other

Choose the mixer input or microphone input

Install virtual audio cable ($25)

Install jack audio (free, but Good luck)

Change settings in SDR# under the audio section.

Connect a cable from line out to the line in of the computer.

Use the mic as input

On linux simply use pipes or FIFO

Place the ADC right next to the antenna