LimeSDR Aluminium Kit
Beschreibung
LimeSDR Aluminium Kit is a low cost, open source, apps-enabled (more on that later) software defined radio (SDR) platform.
Lime SDR Aluminium Kit
A Software Defined Radio for Everyone
LimeSDR is a low cost, open source, apps-enabled (more on that later) software defined radio (SDR) platform that can be used to support just about any type of wireless communication standard. LimeSDR can send and receive UMTS, LTE, GSM, LoRa, Bluetooth, Zigbee, RFID, and Digital Broadcasting, to name but a few.
While most SDRs have remained in the domain of RF and protocol experts, LimeSDR is usable by anyone familiar with the idea of an app store - it’s the first SDR to integrate with Snappy Ubuntu Core. This means you can easily download new LimeSDR apps from developers around the world. If you’re a developer yourself, you can share and/or sell your LimeSDR apps through Snappy Ubuntu Core as well.
The LimeSDR platform gives students, inventors, and developers an intelligent and flexible device for manipulating wireless signals, so they can learn, experiment, and develop with freedom from limited functionality and expensive proprietary devices.
Top (left) and bottom (right) of the LimeSDR PCBA
From Radio Astronomy to Personal Telcos
Here are just some of the applications that are possible with the LimeSDR:
- Radio astronomy
- RADAR
- 2G to 4G cellular basestation
- Media streaming
- IoT gateway
- HAM radio
- Wireless keyboard and mice emulation and detection
- Tire pressure monitoring systems
- Aviation transponders
- Utility meters
- Drone command and control
- Test and measurement
- Many more…
With state-of-the-art technical specs, fully open hardware and toolchain, and integration with Snappy Ubuntu Core’s app distribution platform, LimeSDR is limited only by our collective imagination.
LimeSDR with four antennas attached
Features & Specifications
- RF Transceiver: Lime Microsystems LMS7002M MIMO FPRF (Datasheet)
- FPGA: Altera Cyclone IV EP4CE40F23 - also compatible with EP4CE30F23
- Memory: 256 MBytes DDR2 SDRAM
- USB 3.0 controller: Cypress USB 3.0 CYUSB3014-BZXC
- Oscillator: Rakon RPT7050A @30.72MHz (Datasheet)
- Continuous frequency range: 100 kHz – 3.8 GHz
- Bandwidth: 61.44 MHz
- RF connection: 10 U.FL connectors (6 RX, 4 TX)
- Power Output (CW): up to 10 dBm
- Multiplexing: 2x2 MIMO
- Power: micro USB connector or optional external power supply
- Status indicators: programmable LEDs
- Dimensions: 100 mm x 60 mm
Antenna accessory pack
- Four antennas with SMA connectors included
- Four U.FL to SMA cables included - 8” (~203mm) cable, not measuring connectors
- Antennas are omni-directional, and bend to -90, -45, 0, 45, and 90 degrees
- Antennas tuned to the major bands: 800-960MHz / 1710-2170MHz / 2400-2700MHz
Free and Open Source
LimeSDR is one of the open source projects, all made available through Myriad-RF. This is no different, open source is central to LimeSDR:
- Board schematics: Altium project files available under CC BY 3.0 licence.
- Board layout: Altium project files available under CC BY 3.0 licence.
- Manufacturing: Gerbers, drill, and pick & place files are also available under CC BY 3.0 licence.
- FPGA: Altera Quartus project available under CC BY 3.0 licence.
- Host connectivity: Cypress FX3 USB 3.0 controller firmware sources available under Apache 2.0 licence.
- Host software: driver and GUI sources available under Apache 2.0 licence.
- Programming toolchain packages: GNU Radio, Pothos, SoapySDR, UHD.
- Documentation: transceiver datasheets are NDA-free.
- Downloadable apps: Snappy Ubuntu Core, licensing up to app developers.
Like the move to open source software with general purpose computers, the programmable, fully open source LimeSDR represents a fundamental shift away from the traditionally single-function and heavily proprietary wireless domain.
Huge Application Ecosystem with Snappy Ubuntu Core
We’ve been working directly with the IoT team at Canonical, the makers of Ubuntu, to enable the use of Snappy Ubuntu Core on LimeSDR.
LimeSDR’s integration with Snappy Ubuntu Core means that you benefit from the collective work of developers around the world. With LimeSDR, we are laying the foundation for a world in which “there’s an app for that” applies not only to mobile phones, but also to the cell towers they connect to and, indeed, every wireless device or piece of infrastructure.
LimeSDR brings with it many opportunities for educational and maker communities, empowering them to learn, and create new applications and even new markets. LimeSDR puts serious power in the hands of anyone who wants to innovate in the world of wireless.