Module wins the SDR development battle
ProductFebruary 04, 2011
Alice Moss
Military Embedded Systems
Chris A. Ciufo
General Micro Systems, Inc.
SDR development isn't a task for the faint of heart. The good news, though, is that Pentek's Model 71690 L-Band RF tuner/digital digitizer module is streamlining the L-band SDR development platform proposition.
SDR development isn’t a task for the faint of heart. The good news, though, is that Pentek’s Model 71690 L-Band RF tuner/digital digitizer module is streamlining the L-band SDR development platform proposition. The only things Model 71690 needs are a host system (this can be something as simple as a personal computer) and an antenna. Thereafter, the XMC module can churn away, facilitating decoding, demodulation, decryption, and receipt of any digital L-band comms. This task, which sounds a lot easier now, is accomplished as the XMC processes signals straight from a low-noise block connection provided by the antenna.
Cutting-edge Virtex-6 FPGAs power the module, thus any of five variants can be used: LX365T, LX240T, LX130T, SX475T, or SX315T. Meanwhile, fast random access apps benefit from the up to 32 MB QDRII+ SRAM, and apps requiring deep memory can use the up to 2 GB DDR3 SDRAM provided. Not only that, the tuning reference for the RF subsystem can simply consist of either an optional onboard crystal oscillator or an external reference signal. Additionally, Virtex-6 FPGA software IP renders both custom and turnkey functions.
