Elektor SDR Project 5/2007

In May 2007 elektor magazine published a Software Defined Radio Project. The article is available for a free download on their website to those who register. The board is also available fully populated and tested for £74.50. I am considering taking up the challenge of building an SDR. This may be a contender.

Learning Verilog

Kirk Weedman has been running some on-line webinars on the subject of Verilog/RTL. These have been well received according to comments on the HPDSR reflector. Kirk has posted video recordings of these lectures. I have been unable to watch them all but have installed the simulators and will catch up as time allows.

About PMSDR2.1 (Martin Pernter IW3AUT)

Ok for the record here is some info and prices for PMSDR2.1 provided by Martin (IW3AUT)
I have taken the liberty of copying the following directly out of an email Martin sent me:
- Full Kit (PCB, components, solder wire 0,4mm , bootloader preprogrammed PIC, aluminium enclosure, cables:USB and audio) 160€.
- Basic Kit (PCB, components, solder wire 0,4mm , not preprogrammed PIC) 142€.
- PCB only 17€
- LCD 16x2 with blue backlight and flat cable with connectors for PMSDR 10€

The LCD is a (very nice, not included in the kit) option to show in real-time the "tuned" frequency from the tune-cursor under WinRad.
Add 6€ for postal service shipping.

Now, the kit is soldout and i collect agian orders for them: the delivery time for the kit's is about 4-6 weeks, and for pcb's is about 1 week.

Please remember if you want to assemble the basic kit, that you need a programming interface for the "first-time" programming the PIC18F4550 (to "burn" the bootloader into the PIC). The kit can be assembled with a small standard soldering station, but it required also a many experience with SMT soldering and a quietly hand.... :)

Sailing and Software Defined Radio

One goal I have set myself for this year is to get myself sufficiently qualified as a yachtsman to take the family on a cruising holiday. So I am investigating possible courses. I am also starting to think about what areas of Amateur Radio I would like to get into and whether there may be ways of combining these interests. Winlink, for example, facinates me. The fact that I can track and receive brief messages from a yacht in the Southern Ocean from my laptop at home in England is amazing.

The other vague area of interest I have is Software Defined Radio. It is already clear to me that this is an exciting area of development. I have come across Softrock, HDSDR, a kit by Elektor and a kit by Martin IW3AUT so far in my research but have not yet found any comparison of these projects. As far as I can tell HDSDR is the only SDR Tranceiver project which clearly adds to complexity. I must find out more.

But the first step on the Amateur Radio trail for me has to be to renew my UK Amateur Radio Licence. The online application is now free but since my licence expired so long ago, I will have to apply on paper for the last time.