[Usrp-announce] USRP and Daughterboard Update, May 2008

[Matt Ettus]

================================================================

USRP and Daughterboard Update
May 2008

================================================================

Contents
1   5 GHz Daughterboard now available!
2   Upcoming Daughterboard Status
3   USRP2 Status
4   USRP2 Demo at Dayton Hamvention

================================================================

1   5 GHz Daughterboard now available!

We are pleased to announce the XCVR2450 daughterboard.  The XCVR2450 
covers both
the 2.4 GHz ISM band (2.4 to 2.5 GHz) and the 4.9 to 5.85 GHz ISM/UNII 
bands.  On
2.4 GHz the power output is well over 100mW and on the 5 GHz band it is 
50+mW. 
The board has 2 antenna ports, which you can switch between in a few 
microseconds. 
You cannot use both bands simultaneously, but you can switch between 
them in roughly 1ms.

This board will work with all USRP systems with a serial number of 500 
or higher (anything
purchased in the last 2+ years), and will, of course, also work with the 
upcoming USRP2.

For an antenna, we suggest the Vert2450, which covers both bands.

The XCVR2450 is $400 and the Vert2450 costs $35.  Full schematics and 
layouts will be
up on the subversion server soon. 

================================================================

2   Upcoming Daughterboard Status

The WBX0510, a transceiver which will cover 50 MHz to 1 GHz, has been 
delayed a bit,
but we hope to have it ready for purchase some time in July.

The WBX0822, a transceiver which will cover 800 MHz to 2.2 GHz, should 
be available
by the end of 2008.

================================================================

3   USRP2 Status

We would like to thank everyone for their patience on the USRP2.  We 
have been making
good progress with it, and are very pleased with the performance of the 
second round of
prototypes.  We are effectively able to saturate the Gigabit ethernet in 
both directions,
giving you access to 25 MHz of RF bandwidth at 16 bits per sample.  Work 
is now
centered around finishing up the firmware, host code, and FPGA 
internals.  We hope
to be able to ship final production boards around the end of the summer.

The main differences between the USRP2 and original USRP are:
- Gigabit Ethernet interface instead of USB 2.0
- Dual 100 MHz, 14-bit ADCs instead of dual 64 MHz, 12-bit ADCs
- Dual 400 MHz, 16-bit DACs instead of dual 128 MHz, 14-bit DACs
- Only 1 transceiver slot (or 1 TX + 1 RX) instead of 2
- Expansion connection to link multiple boards for fully coherent MIMO 
systems
- Much bigger and faster FPGA, in the Xilinx Spartan 3 family
- Master clock capable of locking to an external reference
- 1 Megabyte on onboard SRAM
- Capable of some standalone operation without a host computer
- Nonvolatile configuration

Things which will not be changing:
- Uses the same daughterboard interface, and thus the same
daughterboards will work on both the USRP1 and USRP2
- The entire design will be open source just like the USRP1
- GNU Radio will still be the primary development platform

Other things to note:
- The USRP2 is not intended to replace the USRP1 -- The USRP1 will 
continue to be
produced and supported for the forseeable future
- The USRP2 will NOT have a USB interface

For more information on the USRP2, its capabilities, and how to prepare 
for it,
please see the following message:

http://www.nabble.com/How-to-get-ready-for-the-USRP2-td14857846.html

================================================================

4   USRP2 Demo at Dayton Hamvention

The first ever public demonstration of the USRP2 will be on Friday May 
16th at the
Dayton Hamvention.  Matt will be giving a brief talk and demo during the 
TAPR Digital
Forum, at about 10:00 AM.  No hardware will be for sale at the show, but 
please come by
and say hello if you are there.

================================================================

If you would like to be removed from this list, please follow the 
directions below.

Thanks,
Matt Ettus
President, Ettus Research LLC
sales at ettus.com
650-967-2870