USRP devices

NITlab has equipped the SDR testbed with 6 USRP1 and 4 USRP N210 devices, placed in such way to cover as much area as possible of the wireless testbed. Details for each device are stated below.

USRP1

The USRP1 is the original USRP product and consists of:

• Four high-speed analog-to-digital converters, each capable of 64 MS/s at a resolution of 12-bit, 85 dB SFDR (AD9862).
• Four high-speed digital-to-analog converters, each capable of 128 MS/s at a resolution of 14-bit, 83 dB SFDR (AD9862).
• An Altera Cyclone EP1C12Q240C8 FPGA.
• A Cypress EZ-USB FX2 High-speed USB 2.0 controller.
• Four extension sockets (2 TX, 2 RX) in order to connect 2–4 daughterboards.
• 64 GPIO pins available through four BasicTX/BasicRX daughterboard modules (16 pins each).
• Up to 8 MHz of RF bandwidth in the receive

USRP N210

USRP N210 is part of the networked series and one of the highest performing class of hardware of Ettus Research. The USRP N210 consists of:

• A Xilinx Spartan-3A DSP 3400 FPGA
• Gigabit Ethernet interface
• Dual 100 MS/s, 14-bit, analog-to-digital converter
• Dual 400 MS/s, 16-bit, digital-to-analog converter
• Up to 50 MHz of RF bandwidth in the receive
• External Inputs for 10 MHz and 1 PPS signals (SMA)
• Optional GPS Disciplined Oscillator
• Ettus Research MIMO Cable that can be used to synchronize two USRP devices (sold separately)
• Support for timed commands and LO alignment with the SBX daughterboard

RF Daughterboards

NITlab has equipped the USRPs with 2 different daughterboards, the XCVR2450 and the SBX which are the most appropriate for the multiple areas of the research taken place in NITOS testbed (802.11a/b/g/n, LTE, WiMAX, ZigBee). Beneath there are descriptions for both daughterboards.

XCVR2450 2.4 GHz-2.5 GHz, 4.9 GHz-5.9 GHz Tx/Rx

The XCVR2450 is a high-performance transceiver intended for operation 2.4 GHz and 5.9 GHz range.  Filtering on the XCVR2450 provides exceptional selectivity and dynamic range in the intended bands of operation.  The typical power output of the XCVR2450 is 100 mW.

Example applications include public safety, UNII, ISM, Japanese wireless and UWB development platforms. The XCVR2450 is a half-duplex transceiver.

SBX 400-4400 MHz Rx/Tx

The SBX is a wide bandwidth transceiver that provides up to 100 mW of output power, and a typical noise figure of 5 dB. The local oscillators for the receive and transmit chains operate independently, which allows dual-band operation. The SBX is MIMO capable, and provides 40 MHz of bandwidth. The SBX is ideal for applications requiring access to a variety of bands in the 400 MHz-4400 MHz range. Example application areas include Wi-Fi, WiMax, S-band transceivers and 2.4 GHz ISM band transceivers.