Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Alternative Hardware [was: Re: A Humble Request.... - "Open-Hardware"]

[Rafael Diniz]

Hi there,
Just my 2 cents:
It's possible to use gnuradio with the soundcard as a receiver / transmitter.

Most of the people that listens to DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) in the
shortwaves band just buy small tuners that just downconverts the desired
frequency to 12kHz for soundcard input, like this one:
http://www.pappradio.de

Or you just use your normal AM/FM transmitter and downconverts the FI of
the radio to 12kHz using for example this box:
http://www.electronicspecialtyproducts.com/dm1.html

I'll be able to use gnuradio to inspect and analyze any narrowband signal
you want just with a sound card and inexpensive hardware.

Best regards,
Rafael Diniz

> On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 02:23:47PM +0100, Patrick Strasser wrote:
>> > He didn't ask for a simulator, he asked for real hardware.
>>
>> He did not back his request with some deeper insight why he exactly
>> needs this thing except for he wants it and has not enough money to buy
>> it. We do not know what he wants to accomplish, and how he thinks to get
>> there, what he already did. This would be very valuable information -
>
> If I may add a note here: I agree with Brian and Patrick, and would even
> go further to say that developing fun stuff needs no hardware at all.
> In fact, whenever I do, say, some kind of receiver, the first thing I do
> is record signals to a file, so I don't have to touch any hardware *at
> all* until I've reached a point where I believe my code might work in
> real life.
> As long as I'm in the software domain, my tools of choice are Matlab (my
> dishes out free licences to our students) and scipy. You can get quite
> far that way. Pre-recorded signals are available on the net, and a
> polite query on this list to obtain such files from other users is not
> uncommon. Of course, using Matlab etc. it's also quite possible to write
> transmitters.
>
> As Patrick said, we have no idea what the OP wanted to achieve, but as
> was also said before, writing something along the lines of "I've just
> completed a complete receiver chain for standard XYZ, is there anyone
> with a working USRP to help me out" is likely to get a more favourable
> response.
>
> Finally, if you're a student, a university's probably not far. Here, if
> you're a student and really want to do something with a USRP (and other
> hardware), we usually manage to figure something out. The common case is
> that we make developing something with GNU Radio and the USRP a topic
> for a Bachelor's thesis. Students get lab access, some tutoring, meet
> other GNU Radio developers (unfortunately not too many) and even get a
> degree at the end. How about that.
> In fact, that's how most of the guts of the Spectral Estimation Toolbox
> got created.
>
> So, I hope this didn't sound too snobbish -- but I think that using GNU
> Radio, essentially any budget is enough to get started doing serious SDR
> stuff.
>
> Cheers,
> MB
>
> --
> Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
> Communications Engineering Lab (CEL)
>
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>
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