Tim: Brian and Greg's comments are correct, and right on the spot.
As far as the data converters, all three put out 24 bits of "something." The real question is how many of them are useful and contain information. On the 3000 and 5000, the data converters provide around 20 effective bits of information. On the 1500, we are currently truncating at 16 bits, due to the USB drivers we are using. When the custom driver is available, I expect that we will see a small improvement in dynamic range of the radio, if we can pickup an additional effective bit or two of information out of the data converter. --- Graham == On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 7:08 PM, Brian Lloyd <[email protected]> wrote: > On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 1:41 PM, Tim N9PUZ <[email protected]> wrote: > > > What DSP is used in the Flex 1500? I see on the web site that a 24-bit > DSP > > is used in the 3000 but I'd be curious to know what actual part is used > in > > the 1500. > > > > As Graham pointed out, there is no signal processing done in the Flex 1500 > hardware. All the processing is done in the PC. The advantage of this is > that, as people dream up new functionality, it is relatively easy to > upgrade > the processing unit (the PC) to accommodate more and more complex software. > Radios that have dedicated digital signal processors are limited to the > capability of that processor. If you ever run out of horsepower there you > need a forklift-upgrade of the radio. (A forklift-upgrade is geek-speak > for, > "throw it away and get a new one.") > > Moore's law states that computer processing power doubles about every > 1.5-2.0 years. That means that any processing engine reaches obsolescence > in > about that time frame. Now that is not to say that it is useless, only > limiting. The only way to continue upward is a fork-lift upgrade of the > processing engine. In the case of other radios, that means that you replace > an expensive radio. In the case of the Flex radios that means you replace a > relatively-cheap PC. > > So I think that the Flex approach, i.e. build the best analog RF front-end > possible and then quickly convert to the digital domain with a first-class > A:D converter, is one of the better ways to ensure hardware longevity in > this rapidly-changing world. Whereas the top-of-the-line offerings from the > major manufacturers cycle every two years or so, the Flex 5000 has been > around for several years now and continues to increase in performance along > with the software. Yes, that requires changes to the PC over time but the > PC > is *cheap* by comparison to a top-of-the-line radio. > > I expect that the 3000 and 1500 will continue the trend. > > -- > Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL > 3191 Western Dr. > Cameron Park, CA 95682 > [email protected] > +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) > +1.931.492.6776 (USA) > (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) > _______________________________________________ > Flexedge mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexedge_flex-radio.biz > This is the FlexRadio Systems e-mail Reflector called FlexEdge. It is used > for posting topics related to SDR software development and experimentalist > who are using beta versions of the software. > _______________________________________________ Flexedge mailing list [email protected] http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexedge_flex-radio.biz This is the FlexRadio Systems e-mail Reflector called FlexEdge. It is used for posting topics related to SDR software development and experimentalist who are using beta versions of the software.
