HF/VHF converter from nuand

[on4bhm]

Hi,

I have a converter in order. but what i ask myself is: will i be able to duplex at 144Mhz and 432Mhz at the same time with it?
I'm planning on using the bladeRF as a lineair transponder between 2m and 70cm and take it into the sky with a balloon.

Will bladeRF be able to do this?

kind regards

[bpadalino]

The design we are currently working with will indeed allow you to do that. We hope to be able to crossband within the converter range by itself as well.

The software has really taken our focus away from the hardware side of things, but we hope to get back to the hardware side soon enough. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

[on4bhm]

When will the converter be ready for shipping.
I order one together with my bladeRF, but have not yet received any news from the converter yet.
It was promised mid september...

kind regards

[bpadalino]

Unfortunately our schedule slipped with the transverter due to the excessive software support. We've since ramped up the transverter design and are hopeful that the design will be finalized and units ready to be shipped by the end of November.

If that is unacceptable, we understand and will issue a full refund to anyone who wants one - please PM us on here with your order number.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

[piranha32]

The converter's page says that it should ship lave November. Is there a chance that you will be able to start shipping soon, or it still need work?

[bpadalino]

The schematics are almost done for the revision we'll probably be going to production with. We just need to build up the prototypes, make sure there are no huge issues, and then we can ship them out. Hopefully it will be a good Christmas gift.

[piranha32]

Great!
Thanks for the update.

j.

[SDR-Radio.com]

The schematics are almost done for the revision we'll probably be going to production with. We just need to build up the prototypes, make sure there are no huge issues, and then we can ship them out. Hopefully it will be a good Christmas gift.

Christmas is all about receiving.

Remember your friends.

[scancapecod]

Hello,

I'm a potential buyer and I've narrowed down my SDR choices to either the BladeRF with HF/VHF converter or the Ettus Research USRP B200. As I would be using such a device exclusively in Windows at least at the outset, and given comments here and elsewhere I know it works with Simon's SDR-Radio software, BladeRF remains a strong candidate for me despite the fact that it offers much less frequency coverage out of the box than the B200 does.

My concern is obviously the availability of the HF/VHF converter. I was told via a support email, and it also states on the purchase page for it (although it still also reads November 2013), that it will be available in late February. However, I've also noticed that there appears to have been at least a few delays in availability. Given that a lot of my use of BladeRF would be below 300 MHz it would be important to me to receive this part asap after ordering. I don't want to be sitting around in June (hypothetically) waiting for it to still arrive, with all due respects.

I also have concerns about USB 3.0, which seems to be a crapshoot for both BladeRF and USRP B200, but that's another topic for another thread.

Thanks.

Scott
Webmaster - Scan New England
http://www.scan-ne.net

[bpadalino]

There have been some pretty substantial setbacks on the design and redesign and re-re-design of the converter board, so that is definitely an understandable concern. People have pre-ordered them, and we fully intend on delivering - and soon. We are finalizing the design and only doing some minor tweaks. We have solidified the filter banks and the basic design: block converter using an AD4351 to bring to an IF of 38.4MHz*32.5 = 1248MHz. We should have prototypes in the next upcoming weeks. There is still code that has to be written to control the conjugation of the samples in the FPGA, band selection using GPIO pins, the AD4351 programming, etc. We will be developing that in the open on our github account.

With that being said, the best piece of advice someone ever gave me when buying things was to buy it on what it does now and not what it could do in the future. That's a difficult thing to say when talking about an SDR which is so flexible. In the end, sometimes things pan out (we sure hope so!) and the functionality is delivered - but to be the most satisfied customer, you should weigh your options of what the boards do right now and if you would be happy if they only ever did that.

I hope you still consider our product - if not now, then in the future. The last thing I want for you is to regret the decision and feel misled.

As always, please feel free to let us know if you have any other questions, comments or concerns.

[dk5ras]

To be honest, I found it a brave project to implement a SDR for 300-3800 MHz without gaps, and found it even more brave to develop a seamless transverter board to go down to zero.

Being a RF guy I know that this sounds much easier than the reality tends to be - so from my point of view it is daring to publish a narrow timeline. Of course there must be some timeline, whether it can be met or not

Thumbs up, you will make it!

Ralph.

[scancapecod]

I appreciate the honest answer, and when I ask the question you suggest I have to answer that no, I would not be happy if it never went below 300 MHz. So with that in mind I will see how things develop. Thanks for the quick and straightforward response.

[SDR-Radio.com]

FWIW I'm having issues with the Ettus B2X0 boards and don't plan on buying one, so myself I would wait for the HF/VHF converter.

The chip used by Ettus is nice, maybe someone else (NUAND ?) will make a board with this chip at a later date and provide a nice simple interface. It must be just me - I struggle with the UHD.dll while others have no problems.

[scancapecod]

That's what I'm afraid of too Simon, and when you posted that you had this board working with SDR-Radio I was absolutely thrilled. I understand the caveat concerning the USB 3.0 issues and that some grief could ensue there. I'm very concerned about USRP performance in Windows.

BladeRF's coverage at the top end is more than I will ever need for hobbyist purposes. And re-reading response to my earlier post here, I am very impressed by the honesty. I think it takes a good deal of faith in the product to be able to say that, and what I best like about the remarks are that they're about as far away from a sales pitch as can be. Refreshing!

And....there's a case for it too...which begs another question. IF I were to go this route would the case that I've linked to below allow the converter to fit inside? I'd say yes, but a confirmation would be nifty too.

http://skpang.co.uk/catalog/acrylic-cov ... -1240.html

Decisions decisions.... I'm ready to pull the trigger on one of these "finalists"; I've been looking over most of these devices pretty much daily for the last two months. There's something about each one that scares me. I've been an "early adopter" before and had some victories and some defeats. Guess that's the way it goes.

Thanks again.

Scott

[SDR-Radio.com]

That's what I'm afraid of too Simon, and when you posted that you had this board working with SDR-Radio I was absolutely thrilled. I understand the caveat concerning the USB 3.0 issues and that some grief could ensue there. I'm very concerned about USRP performance in Windows.

BladeRF's coverage at the top end is more than I will ever need for hobbyist purposes. And re-reading response to my earlier post here, I am very impressed by the honesty. I think it takes a good deal of faith in the product to be able to say that, and what I best like about the remarks are that they're about as far away from a sales pitch as can be. Refreshing!

And....there's a case for it too...which begs another question. IF I were to go this route would the case that I've linked to below allow the converter to fit inside? I'd say yes, but a confirmation would be nifty too.

http://skpang.co.uk/catalog/acrylic-cov ... -1240.html

Decisions decisions.... I'm ready to pull the trigger on one of these "finalists"; I've been looking over most of these devices pretty much daily for the last two months. There's something about each one that scares me. I've been an "early adopter" before and had some victories and some defeats. Guess that's the way it goes.

Thanks again.

Scott

Scott,

If you want to buy sooner rather than later and use my software then go bladeRF.