On 01/09/2011 06:44 PM, J.D. Bakker wrote:
The SSRP doesn't look too bad. Another option is the OpenHPSDR
(http://openhpsdr.org/); I believe people are working on GNUradio
drivers.
Actually, I'd forgotten about OpenHPSDR. Would make a passable option
indeed.
When I designed the LART (a decade-old software radio experimentation
platform), it took me two revisions of the six-layer PCB prototype (at
>$500 per revision) to get the board working. A few months later it
turned out that the voltage regulator chips I'd used were suddenly
impossible to get, so I had to do two more board re-spins. The proto
boards were assembled at a professional facility for >$1000, until I
got a reasonable yield soldering 0.5mm pitch LQFP packages myself
(destroying several PCBs and $150 processor chips in the process). To
test the boards I needed access to several tens of thousands of $
worth in logic analyzers, signal generators and spectrum analyzers.
And then there was the global tantalum capacitor shortage...
This sounds incredibly familiar. Trying to bring a *simple* low-noise
amplifier to market specifically for 21cm observations in small-scale
radio astronomy. Most expensive part is $14.00. But at the scale
that I'm selling them, I can't justify the cost of an in-house
2-port vector network analyser and noise figure meter, so I have to
rely on willing friends in the industry to get 'em tested.
If I were to do this in the conventional way, with all my own capital
outlay, those $150.00 LNA boards would have to sell for
about 5 times that in order for me to defray the costs of suitable
lab equipment, rented, or owned!
I'm looking forward to reviewing your schematics and/or layout. If you
want to do the work, I'll gladly assist. If you're trying to get other
people to do the heavy lifting, I would respectfully ask you to grow up.
Hey, I look forward to it, as well!
--
Marcus Leech
Principal Investigator
Shirleys Bay Radio Astronomy Consortium
http://www.sbrac.org
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