iPAQ-Based Software Radio

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS7890250038.html' target='_blank'>http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS7890250038.html</a><br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.ettus.com/sdr/sdr_seminar_2002.pdf">Software radios</a> are one of the new, promising trends in wireless communications. Put simply, it's a reprogrammable radio communication device so that you don't need to buy a new device every time a new standard comes out. Could you imagine a device that could support CDMA, TDMA, GSM, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and Bluetooth? Well, it might happen in the future -- and a company called Vanu is developing an early prototype using an iPAQ running embedded Linux.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/parekh/news/20030513-Vanu-SoftwareRadio.gif" /><br /><br />"The current configuration of the device is said to support commercial analog FM radio services, including Family Band Radio as well as the public safety APCO 25 digital standard, with future prototypes under development that will include operational capabilities of up to 900 MHz and support for cellular and PCS standards such as TDMA and GSM." Very cool -- and it illustrates the utility of the iPAQ expansion sleeve for custom solutions.

[anthonymoody]

That kind of ubiquitous connectivity capability, as well as the ability to add new protocols as they emerge, is something that I've always thought we'd see more of, particularly as we get past the time when we'll be able to take mobile numbers with us from carrier to carrier. We're keeping our numbers, let us keep our devices!

Personally, I can't wait for this type of solution, particularly if we could (fairly) seamlessly roam from 1 type of network to another.

TM

[FredMurphy]

They might have to work on the form factor a bit though! :wink: First we had CF, then SD... now we have "A4".

[bdegroodt]

That kind of ubiquitous connectivity capability, as well as the ability to add new protocols as they emerge, is something that I've always thought we'd see more of, particularly as we get past the time when we'll be able to take mobile numbers with us from carrier to carrier. We're keeping our numbers, let us keep our devices!

Personally, I can't wait for this type of solution, particularly if we could (fairly) seamlessly roam from 1 type of network to another.

TM

Especially if you could go from landline to mobile to whatever is next (Ship to shore :D ). Not that I'd personally hold onto my device any longer, but it sure would be a good reason to upgrade and that's always a good thing to me.

[donkthemagicllama]

This story on Slashdot = Linux Powers First Handheld Software Radio!
This story on PPCT = iPAQ-Based Software Radio!

Well, I thought it was funny anyway...

[Janak Parekh]

This story on Slashdot = Software radio shows how versatile Linux is!
This story on PPCT = Software radio shows how versatile iPAQ is!
I noticed that too, albeit belatedly. Nothing wrong with versatility, right? :lol:

--janak

[bdegroodt]

This story on Slashdot = Software radio shows how versatile Linux is!
This story on PPCT = Software radio shows how versatile iPAQ is!
I noticed that too, albeit belatedly. Nothing wrong with versatility, right? :lol:

--janak

Nothing at all. Personally, I've stopped reading /. because I can't stand sifting through all the idiot posts to get to the higher intelligence. There are some very bright people on their board, but it's so mixed with kiddies and morons that I find myself wasting my time more than learning over there.

Now here...Well, that's an entirely different story. The brightest group of (Insert member count here) technologists ever known to man. Hence the "versatility of the iPAQ" slant. :D

[donkthemagicllama]

hehe... I edited my post to have the actual article headlines, but by the time i finished i'd been quoted twice... :) sorry for any confusion that my editing might lead to.

I still enjoy reading slashdot, sometimes I learn things, and quite often reading the moronic posts makes me feel smarter ;)

I'm way off-topic so I'll stop.

The board does look big, as does every other software radio I've seen (they were working with some last time I was in TRLabs here in Calgary). The board layout in the pic looks like an unoptomized prototype, so perhaps there's still hope.

[gorkon280]

Years ago, Icom, a Commercial and Amateur Radio manufacturer came out with a radio called the Icom IC-706. This radio is about the size of a 2 m mono band radio was circa 1985, except it also had HF, 6m and 2m and all modes available too (CW, AM, FM and SSB). In the years that followed, the radio has added features, but not changed in size or button configuration. This one radio can work all HF bands, 6 m, 2m, 70 cm and can do so in all modes. Also, there are quite a few plugin features (user installable no less.....most Amateur Radio manufactures don't mind you opening it up just to install an option). I can get a board to plugin to the radio that will let me have the Frequency and modes ready to me (not needed by me, but invaluable to blind hams). I can add a DTMF mike allowing me to use patches on FM repeaters. I can buy filters...... I know this is offtopic, but most of the features that were added to this rig over years (with some exceptions to the RF stages) were added via software. Only reason you'd have to buy a new IC-706MKII rig is because to save on costs, most amateur radios don't have flash roms just yet and you don't want to mess with soldering in rom chips in these babies. If you think a Pocket PC is tight, wait til you look at the innards of one of these! Man I can't wait til they start using flashroms! WHOO HOO! Computer control will be economical because you gotta have it to fix bugs! No more 80 dollar cables to hook it to your computer! Not that computer control isn't possible, but if you do not have the cash, you do not have it even if the radio supports it. If you think that PDA manufacturers and computer manufacturers rape you on acessories, wait to you look at Amateur Radio stuff.

Any way it is very feasible that in a short period of time, you can have a software upgradeable radio that will implement all of these features, just not all at the same time....you'd need a transciever for each mode to accomplish that or if you don't have enough for each mode, make each transciever user selectable. That last thing would not be a bad thing because as new protocols and features become available (say 802.11z in 15 years or so.....), they could be added by flashing the rom. As long as the transciever is capable of operating at the frequency (and the antenna will work at that frequency), you can add as many protocols as you have storage. Also, with two transcievers, you could implement things like if you walk out of 802.11b range, pop up a warning and then switch to GPRS mode. Software radios are good things.

[rave]

The key concept to software radio is the removal of as many analog RF stages as possible and replacing them with software. Ideally the antenna would be hooked directly to a microprocessor and the said processor will handle all modulation/demodulation and coding/decoding tasks. You can imagine what kind of processing power we're talking about here, especially if you consider that most modern wireless standards operate in GigaHertz ranges. The systems I've seen and read about only use software up to the IF stage, then use analog circuitry for the upconversion and transmission.

Anyway, I'm sure we all agree that this really has a lot of potential. In exchange for high system complexity and cost, you get something which can be reconfigured as new standards appear, granted that the processor can still handle them. :)

[Hugh Nano]

They might have to work on the form factor a bit though! :wink: First we had CF, then SD... now we have "A4".

Hmm... Looks like the picture that Janak picked was of an early prototype. Sounds like the current version is considerably smaller:

Photo: Early prototype of Vanu's iPAQ Software Radio. The current version has the added radio transceiver built into a standard iPAQ expansion pack and implements the signal processing natively on the XScale processor.

There's another picture in the article, which looks like a standard-sized expansion sleeve. Perhaps it's a picture of the current version?

[JimDantin]

If you haven't heard about Vanu before, check out their website --http://www.vanu.com/. The founder is Vanu Bose, son of Dr. Amar Bose, who started Bose Corporation. If anyone can pull this off, these guys can. :idea:

[danmanmayer]

Honestly though this is the kind of inovation that is so simple of an idea that it should have been thought of years ago. The day there was 2 different wi-fi's someone should have seen the market potential for this kind of device... I don't know why but this is the kind of technology that i expect should already be around and it isn't... Which leads me back to my question of what leads to such long development cycles... but that is off topic so ignore it. Either way i am excited about getting this someday.

[Jonathan1]

Holy crap! 8O And I thought the dual PCMCIA sleeve was big!!!! ;)

[ctmagnus]

The Vanu prototype kinda takes the "pocket" out of "Pocket Pc" ;)

[bdegroodt]

For reference sake, here's the current prototype. Not sure if everyone is saying this one is so big or the first prototype (As displayed in the first post) us.

http://www.linuxdevices.com/files/misc/vanu-ipaqlinuxradio-side-thm.gif

It's not exactly svelte, but it's also not done.