CEC Semester Twelve 2017
Introduction to Software Defined Radio (SDR) - Hands On
Charles J. Lord -
September 25,
2017
Intro to SDR
In this lead-off class, we will look at a brief history of software defined radio (SDR) and the basic building blocks and typical applications that have made this the fastest growing advance in radio receiving technology since the phase-locked loop.
Course Resources
Special Educational Materials
Envelope Tracking and Digital Pre-Distortion Test Solution for RF Amplifiers Application Note - Rohde & Schwarz
Nordic Semi SMCDigi-KeyNordic Semi Info CenterDigi-KeyNordic Developer ZoneDigi-KeyNordic Semiconductor nRF52840 Development Kit - Another Geek MomentDigi-KeyOctavo OSD335x - Blog
September 26,
2017
RF and Radio Basics
To better prepare for the remainder of the week's classes, we will take a Day to learn (or review) the basics of RF and radio receiver design. We will look at front-end amplifiers, mixers, and demodulation methods in the traditional superheterodyne receiver and how it contrasts to SDR methods.
Course Resources
Special Educational Materials
Envelope Tracking and Digital Pre-Distortion Test Solution for RF Amplifiers Application Note - Rohde & Schwarz
Nordic Semi SMCDigi-KeyNordic Semi Info CenterDigi-KeyNordic Developer ZoneDigi-KeyNordic Semiconductor nRF52840 Development Kit - Another Geek MomentDigi-KeyOctavo OSD335x - Blog
September 27,
2017
Exploring SDR with the RTL-SDR, Part 1
In our third class, we will begin our ‘hands-on' lab using the Adafruit Industries LLC 1497 RTL2832 with R820T Stick Kit. We will look at the origins of the RTL2832 and R820T chips and how the common radio dongle works and some of the forms that it is available in. We will then look at some of the repositories for common open-source code for using the receiver with a Windows PC and carry out some experiments in receiving common broadcast signals.
Course Resources
Special Educational Materials
Envelope Tracking and Digital Pre-Distortion Test Solution for RF Amplifiers Application Note - Rohde & Schwarz
Nordic Semi SMCDigi-KeyNordic Semi Info CenterDigi-KeyNordic Developer ZoneDigi-KeyNordic Semiconductor nRF52840 Development Kit - Another Geek MomentDigi-KeyOctavo OSD335x - Blog
September 28,
2017
Exploring SDR with the RTL-SDR, Part 2
For our penultimate class, we will build on our experience from the previous class and will see how we can write our own code and make our own basic ‘frequency-agile' communications devices. We will also look at the different ways of accomplishing frequency discrimination and demodulation in preparation for the design criteria we will look at in our final class.
Course Resources
Special Educational Materials
Envelope Tracking and Digital Pre-Distortion Test Solution for RF Amplifiers Application Note - Rohde & Schwarz
Nordic Semi SMCDigi-KeyNordic Semi Info CenterDigi-KeyNordic Developer ZoneDigi-KeyNordic Semiconductor nRF52840 Development Kit - Another Geek MomentDigi-KeyOctavo OSD335x - Blog
September 29,
2017
Commercial SDR Designs
In our final class, we will begin to look at how a commercial design can spring from the basic building blocks that we have investigated and experimented with this week. We will look at some common commercial SDR designs and applications as well as some of the test challenges we meet in the design and testing of SDR systems. We will also look at some future projects that we can accomplish with our simple lab dongle for further learning.
Course Resources
Special Educational Materials
Envelope Tracking and Digital Pre-Distortion Test Solution for RF Amplifiers Application Note - Rohde & Schwarz
Nordic Semi SMCDigi-KeyNordic Semi Info CenterDigi-KeyNordic Developer ZoneDigi-KeyNordic Semiconductor nRF52840 Development Kit - Another Geek MomentDigi-KeyOctavo OSD335x - Blog
Instructor
Charles J. Lord