Wavelet Lab Is Back with Two New Open Source Software-Defined Radio Modules, the xSDR and sSDR
The successors to Wavelet Lab's uSDR, the xSDR and sSDR offer some impressive features with the latter boasting a 30MHz–11GHz tuning range.
Wavelet Lab, best known for its compact uSDR software-defined radio module, is preparing to launch two new open source SDRs built around Lime Microsystems' LMS7002M field-programmable radio-frequency chip: the xSDR and sSDR.
"xSDR is a compact, single-sided M.2 software-defined radio designed for seamless integration into modern computing platforms," says Wavelet Lab's Andrew Avtushenko of the company's latest hardware design. "The 'x' stands for 'extended' — xSDR delivers extended bandwidth in the same minimal footprint as our previous model, uSDR. With 2×2 MIMO [Multiple-Input Multiple-Output] RX/TX [Receive/Transmit] channels, a wide 30MHz–3.8GHz tuning range, and up to 122.88 MSPS [Mega-Samples Per Second] sampling, xSDR is a flexible platform for embedded RF, wireless research, signal intelligence, and rapid prototyping."
The receive-and-transmit module, designed to connect to a host machine over an M.2 A=E key slot, is built around Lime Micro's LMS7002M connected to an AMD Artix-7 XC7A35T field-programmable gate array. It includes the same 12+2-pin general-purpose input/output (GPIO) connectivity as its predecessor, includes four MHF4 RF connectors, and shares the same MIT-licensed open-source codebase as the uSDR — meaning, Avtushenko says, "a smooth transition from uSDR to xSDR with minimal software changes."
For those who need more, and who can fit a larger-footprint M.2 module in their devices, Wavelet Lab is also launching the sSDR — "a cutting-edge high-performance M.2 software-defined radio card," Avtushenko says, "[which] features 2 RX/TX channels and an RF range spanning from 30MHz to 11GHz."
The sSDR is built around the same Lime Micro LMS7002M chip and the same AMD Artix-7 FPGA, but the longer board plays host to an LMS8001 — an up/down converter that extends the frequency range of the radio far enough to reach the popular X-band at around 10.5GHz. As with the xSDR, it's built atop the same MIT-licensed codebase as the uSDR while the FPGA gateware for both is published under the permissive variant of the CERN Open Hardware License 2.
Interested parties can sign up to be notified when crowdfunding opens on the xSDR and sSDR Crowd Supply pages.