Problem with setting gain on BladeRF xA9 -- (tryin to run GNSS-SDR)

Having issues with the site, hardware, source code, or any other issues?
Post Reply
patiklipenguen
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2020 2:30 am

Problem with setting gain on BladeRF xA9 -- (tryin to run GNSS-SDR)

Post by patiklipenguen »

Hi,
I am trying to run GNSS-SDR with bladeRF xA9. However I'm facing some errors.

Here is the copy of terminal included errors:

[ERROR @ host/libraries/libbladeRF/src/board/bladerf2/rfic_fpga.c:553] _rfic_fpga_get_gain_stage: unknown gain stage 'LNA'
[bladeRF source] get_gain: Could not get gain for stage 'LNA': Invalid operation or parameter
Actual LNA Gain: 0.000000 dB...
[ERROR @ host/libraries/libbladeRF/src/board/bladerf2/rfic_fpga.c:553] _rfic_fpga_get_gain_stage: unknown gain stage 'VGA1'
[bladeRF source] get_gain: Could not get gain for stage 'VGA1': Invalid operation or parameter
Actual VGA1 Gain: 0.000000 dB...
[ERROR @ host/libraries/libbladeRF/src/board/bladerf2/rfic_fpga.c:553] _rfic_fpga_get_gain_stage: unknown gain stage 'VGA2'
[bladeRF source] get_gain: Could not get gain for stage 'VGA2': Invalid operation or parameter
Actual VGA2 Gain: 0.000000 dB...

It is quite obvious that the problem is about the gains. Because GNSS-SDR looking for LNA, VGA1, and VGA2 gains and I know that bladeRF xA9 only has a "full" gain setting. ( "On the bladeRF x40/x115, RX gain is implemented using three gain stages: LNA, rxvga1, and rxvga2. On the bladeRF xA4/xA9, there is one gain stage, full." )

So how can I change the gain settings in order to be able to work with bladeRF xA9 version? There is a config file in GNSS-SDR that controls LNA, VGA1, and VGA2 gains. When I comment on them, problems disappear. Even though problems disappear, still bladeRF xA9 not working correctly with GNSS-SDR. Because I can't control any gain. Also I tried to change gains with bladerf-cli and then run with GNSS-SDR.
I am not sure this problem is occurring because of the bladerf libraries or because of GNSS-SDR gain configurations and connection with bladeRF libs.
So how and where should I start to solve this problem?

Thank you.
dkelly
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Sep 19, 2020 5:39 am

Re: Problem with setting gain on BladeRF xA9 -- (tryin to run GNSS-SDR)

Post by dkelly »

I see the same thing. No matter what I do, the BladeRF Micro gain seems to stay high (60).

I've tried setting it using bladeRF-cli, and I get a message "Note: This change will not be visible until the channel is enabled." Then I tried "rx config channel=1' to see if that does anything, and nope, gain still stays at high.

In GNSS-SDR, the gains seem to not work at all, so I leave them at 0. At least I'm getting GNSS-SDR to process bladeRF data, but gains are too high at 60 for my setup.

Any suggestions on how to set bladeRF micro gains appreciated!
alicebobby
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2024 1:20 am

Re: Problem with setting gain on BladeRF xA9 -- (tryin to run GNSS-SDR)

Post by alicebobby »

I notice the same thing. The BladeRF Micro gain appears to remain high (60) regardless of my actions.

When I attempt to set it using bladeRF-cli, I receive the following notification: "Note: This change will not be visible until the channel is enabled." I then attempted to test whether "rx config channel=1" would have any effect, but to no avail—gain remained high.  buildnow gg 

The improvements in GNSS-SDR appear to be completely ineffective, so I set them to 0. The GNSS-SDR is processing bladeRF data at least, however the gains are too high (60) for my configuration.

I would welcome any advice in configuring bladeRF micro gains!
timothyferriss
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2024 7:44 pm

Re: Problem with setting gain on BladeRF xA9 -- (tryin to run GNSS-SDR)

Post by timothyferriss »

dkelly wrote: Mon Oct 05, 2020 10:47 am I see the same thing. No matter what I do, the BladeRF Micro gain seems to stay high (60).

I've tried setting it using bladeRF-cli, and I get a message "Note: This change will not be visible until the channel is enabled." Then I tried "rx config channel=1' to see if that does anything, and nope, gain still stays at high.

In GNSS-SDR, the gains seem to not work at all, so I leave them at 0. At least I'm getting GNSS-SDR to process bladeRF data, but gains are too high at 60 for my setup.

Any suggestions on how to set bladeRF micro gains appreciated!
Although bladeRF xA9 is a variant of bladeRF, there might be specific differences in how it's recognized or configured compared to other bladeRF models. retro bowl
Post Reply