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Introduction

The concept of "software radio" has been around for some time, having initially been discussed in the field of military research. Now, however, with the increasing capabilities of DSP on one hand, and the requirements for fast time to market on the other, it is emerging as an important commercial technology. Like many technologies these days, it has trickled down to where the amateur can have high-quality voice communication without exceeding SSB bandwidth or needing expensive broadcast studio equipment.

"The DSP-10: An All-Mode 2-Meter Transceiver Using a DSP IF and PC-Controlled Front Panel", describes a good project incorporating SDR Techniques.

Articles

Note: Some of the following articles are in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. To view and print these files, you'll need a copy of Adobe's Acrobat Reader program. (Version 3.0 or later required). More information here.

• The DSP-10: An All-Mode 2-Meter Transceiver Using a DSP IF and PC-Controlled Front Panel -- Part 1 (626,393 bytes, PDF file)
  QST September 1999, pp. 33-41
  What's neat about this 2-meter transceiver is that most of it is in software! Your PC is its front panel.
• The DSP-10: An All-Mode 2-Meter Transceiver Using a DSP IF and PC-Controlled Front Panel -- Part 2
  QST October 1999, pp. 34-40
  With most of the radio in software, the mechanical construction of the radio is much easier to handle.
• The DSP-10: An All-Mode 2-Meter Transceiver Using a DSP IF and PC-Controlled Front Panel -- Part 3 (2,108,685 bytes, PDF file)
  QST November 1999, pp. 42-45
  This is it! It's about time to put your new transceiver on the air.
  Note: additional Web link
• A Panoramic Transceiving System for PSK31 (364,991 bytes, PDF file)
  QST June 2000, pp. 31-37
  Combine an inexpensive transceiver, some free software and you're on PSK31 at a rock-bottom price! Add to that the fun and pride of building the transceiver and you've got an irresistible package!
• A High-Performance, Single-Signal, Direct-Conversion Receiver with DSP Filtering (283,604 bytes, PDF file)
  QST April 1998, pp. 40-43
  Note: additional Web link
  Articles referenced in the above article
  • A High-Performance, Single-Signal, Direct-Conversion Receiver (5,424,060 bytes, PDF file)
    QST January 1993, pp. 32-40
    
  • High-Performance Direct-Conversion Receivers (8,168,925 bytes, PDF file)
    QST August 1992, pp.19-28
    

   

• Signals, Samples and Stuff: A DSP Tutorial - Part 1 (1,013,741 bytes, PDF file)
  QEX, March 1998, pp. 3-16
  DSP is a buzzword for the '90s. Have you wonder what it's all about?
• Signals, Samples and Stuff: A DSP Tutorial - Part 2 (1,370,214 bytes, PDF file)
  QEX, May 1998, pp. 22-37
  Let's look inside an IF-DSP transceiver.
• Signals, Samples and Stuff: A DSP Tutorial - Part 3 (1,139,411 bytes, PDF file)
  QEX, July 1998, pp. 13-27
  Advances DSP techniques.
• Signals, Samples and Stuff: A DSP Tutorial - Part 4 (994,755 bytes, PDF file)
  QEX, September 1998, pp. 19-29
  Conclusion.

   

• A DSP-Based Audio Signal Processor
  QEX September 1996, pp. 8-13
  
• Linux, Software Radio and the Radio Amateur (56,518 bytes, PDF file)
  QST October 2002, pp. 33-35
  How software radio technology might revitalize experimentation in Amateur Radio

   

• A Software-Defined Radio for the Masses, Part 1 (795,927 bytes, PDF file)
  QEX Jul/Aug 2002, pp. 13-21
  This series describes a complete PC-bases, software-defined radio that uses a sound card and an innovative detector circuit.
• A Software-Defined Radio for the Masses, Part 2 (623,355 bytes, PDF file)
  QEX Sep/Oct 2002, pp. 10-18
• A Software-Defined Radio for the Masses, Part 3 (967,358 bytes, PDF file)
  QEX, Nov/Dec 2002, pp. 27-36
• A Software-Defined Radio for the Masses, Part 4 (1,911,492 bytes, PDF file)
  QEX, Mar/Apr 2003, pp. 20-31

   

• The Need for Standard Application-Programming Interfaces (APIs) in Amateur Radio (64,281 bytes, PDF file)
  QEX Jan/Feb 1999, pp. 19-21.
• Software-Defined Hardware for Software-Defined Radios (914,215 bytes, PDF file)
  QEX Sep/Oct 2002, pp. 41-50
  Using programmable logic in Amateur Radio applications
• A High-Performance Digital- Transceiver Design
  Part 1 (1,339,837 bytes, PDF file)
  Part 2 (2,684,600 bytes, PDF file
  Data-converter technology has made tremendous strides in the past several years. Lets take a look at how we can achieve high performance in an almost-all-digital radio design.
  Part 3 (1,042,170 bytes, PDF file) by Scarlett, James, KD7O
• Linrad: New Possibilities for the Communications Experimenter
  Part 1 (237,422 bytes, PDF file)
  Part 2 (923,527 bytes, PDF file)
  Part 3 (396,080 bytes, PDF file)
  Part 4 (752,789 bytes, PDF file)
  Part 5 (518,802 bytes, PDF file)
  Discussion opens with analog versus digital RF-input techniques and attendant performance considerations.

Note:

Contact information for suppliers mentioned in the above articles should first be confirmed using TIS Address Database Search.

Bibliography (Members Only)

ARRL Periodicals Index Search - This database contains the QST index from 1915 to the present and the QEX index from 1981 to the present. For QST issues from 1970 to the present, and some selected articles back to 1922 (when construction articles featuring tubes began in earnest), identifying keywords have been added to the technical articles. By entering keywords (ANTENNA) or combinations of keywords (CONSTRUCTION ANTENNA VERTICAL HF) into the Title words: field, you may create dynamic bibliographies.
Technical article KEYWORD list. Hints for more successful searching

Web Links:

• High Performance Software Defined Radio--An Open Source Design
  A High Performance SDR (HPSDR) -- an open source (GNU type) hardware and software project intended as a "next generation" Software Defined Radio.
• Advanced Technology in Amateur Radio video - Talk given by Doug Smith, KF6DX, QEX Editor at Georgia Tech, March 10, 2003. Windows WMV format, 110 minutes.
• SDR Forum
  A Forum on Open Architecture Reconfigurable Wireless Technology
• Software Defined Radio: A Regulator's Perspective
  Keynote Address by Dale N. Hatfield, Chief, Office on Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission.
• Network Innovation Laboratories
  Supported by the development of digital signal processing technologies, SDR, which handles signals with programmable devices, is becoming a reality.
• A Software Defined Radio for the Masses
  FlexRadio Systems, the company that brought you the SDR-1000, the First Software Defined Radio for Amateur Radio .
• The Role of Amateur Radio in the New Century
  By Dale N. Hatfield (W0IFO) Chief, Office on Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission
• FCC News:
  FCC adopts rule changes to facilitate deployment of Software Defined Radio technology.
• The GNU Software Defined Radio
  GNU Radio is a collection of software that when combined with minimal hardware, allows the construction of radios where the actual waveforms transmitted and received are defined by software.
• Introduction to DSP
  The BORES Signal Processing DSP course - Introduction to DSP - is free of charge on line.
• f4dan.free.fr
  

   Christophe Bourguignat, F4DAN, maintains categorized and annotated links to different software defined radio technologies.

• Tools4SDR
  Tools for software defined radio

Article Reprints:

You can get a photocopy of any ARRL published article for $3 ($5 for nonmembers) for each article requested. Contact the ARRL Technical Department (reprints@arrl.org ),  or 1-860-594-0390, Noon to 5PM, Tuesday through Friday, if you wish to get photocopies.

This information was prepared as a membership service by the American Radio Relay League, Inc., Technical Information Service, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111 (860) 594-0214. Email: tis@arrl.org (Internet). ARRL HQ is glad to provide this information on the Web free of charge as a service to League members and affiliated clubs.

If you have any questions concerning the reproduction or distribution of this material, please contact:

TIS Coordinator
American Radio Relay League
225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111
Tel: 860-594-0214 Fax: 860-594-0259
(email: tis@arrl.org)