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RADIOCARBON-13 4.4-5.0 GHz, 2W Linear
Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International)
Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
Internal Richardson Document #
RADIOCARBON-13 QSG
SDR Design Accelerator
Quick Start Guide
Origination Date:1/2023
Rev A
Date: 1/2023
Page 1
© 2023 Richardson RFPD
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Table of Contents
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Summary of Contents for Richardson RFPD RADIOCARBON-13
- Page 1 RADIOCARBON-13 4.4-5.0 GHz, 2W Linear SDR Design Accelerator Quick Start Guide Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. Internal Richardson Document #...
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
Turn ON Receiver ............................25 Turn Receiver OFF............................25 Reference Information ..........................25 Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. Internal Richardson Document #... - Page 3 List of Tables Table 1: GUI Initial Settings ............................. 8 Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. Internal Richardson Document #...
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Page 4: Introduction - About This Document
RF SoM (0.03-6 GHz Transceiver IC + FPGA). For the full User Guide, please refer to the USB drive included in the RADIOCARBON-13 kit. This serves as a “Design Accelerator” platform targeting RF Transceiver applications in the 4.4 – 5.0 GHz frequency band. The document mostly covers the RFPD-RC-4450- 50 portion of the system as it is currently controlled separately and the documentation for the BytePipe™... -
Page 5: Additional Heatsink
Figure 1: High-level RFPD-RC-4450-50 system block diagram Additional Heatsink When using the RADIOCARBON-13 for applications where the PA is likely to exceed its maximum temperature (for example CW signals with an average input power higher than 3dBm), an additional heatsink (with thermal... -
Page 6: Figure 2: Additional Heatsink With Thermal Tape And Screws For Additional Heat Dissipation
PCB assembly standoffs as shown in Figure Figure 3: Heatsink Alignment Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. Internal Richardson Document # Rev A... -
Page 7: Figure 4: Tighten Screws
The final assembly should look like Figure Figure 5: Final Assembly Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. Internal Richardson Document #... -
Page 8: Radiocarbon-13™ Overview
The Bandwidth for the tunable filter is currently change by presenting a voltage on connector J11 so initial setting is 0V unless it is supplied a voltage. Table 1: GUI Initial Settings Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. -
Page 9: Rf Bench Setup -Transmit
RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – User Guide Figure 7: RADIOCARBON-13 with Input/Output interfaces RF Bench Setup –Transmit The recommended Hardware Bench setup required to properly test RADIOCARBON-13 in transmit mode is shown in Figure 8. Figure 8: Suggested configuration for RADIOCARBON-13 transmit evaluation. -
Page 10: Hardware Setup - Transmit
For optimum RF performance it is recommended that high quality, low loss 50 Ohm cables, adaptors and connections are used. All RF interfaces on the RADIOCARBON-13 are 50 Ohms. The RF output attenuator needs to have at least 30dB attenuation and be able to handle 50W CW power. -
Page 11: 4.3.2 Digital/Control - Usb/Ttl Cable Connection
Figure 10: ISB to TTL/UART cable Figure 11: Serial cable connection to J15 Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. Internal Richardson Document #... -
Page 12: Rf Port Connections
RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – User Guide RF Port Connections 4.3.3 Make all 50 Ohm RF Output connections between the RADIOCARBON-13 at ANT Port (J13) and the test equipment shown in Figure 8. Note: Make sure to insert a 30 dB (or higher) Attenuator Pad capable of handling 50W CW, from the ANT port to the test equipment. -
Page 13: Figure 13: Main Screen
15) on the GUI. This provides for real-time updates to the GUI every second. Figure 15: Auto refresh box checked. Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. Internal Richardson Document #... -
Page 14: 4.4.2 Sequencing Rfpd-Rc-4450-50 Pa
Figure 16: PA = OFF → Control box is Green Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. Internal Richardson Document #... -
Page 15: 4.4.3 Turn Rf Signal On
Note: The typical Gain of the RFPD-RC-4450-50 TX chain is 42 dB, so for an AVG Pout of 2W, an RF input signal level of only -9dBm from the BytePipe is needed. Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. -
Page 16: Rf Detector Calibration And Measurements
The “Uncalibrated” Detector window pictured in Figure 19 opens. Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. Internal Richardson Document #... -
Page 17: Figure 19: Default Calibration
Green. o Repeat the Calibration steps above for both 4.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz. Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. -
Page 18: Figure 20: Power Detector Calibration
Saved and are Green. Figure 21: Calibration of all 3 frequency points saved and stored Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. -
Page 19: Figure 22: Forward Rf Detector Frequency Selection And Power Level Readout
RF output port (J13). Figure 22: Forward RF detector frequency selection and power level readout Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. -
Page 20: Observation Rx
Exit the GUI by clicking the “close wondow” X o Turn OFF the 45V DC Power supply input. Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. -
Page 21: Hardware Setup - Receiver Operation
Figure 24: Receiver test bench setup Testing the RADIOCARBON-13 is like testing the BytePipe but the combination should have better performance due to the LNA’s and tunable filter. As illustrated, the specific RX test performed will determine what test equipment and port configurations are required. -
Page 22: Software Setup - Receiver Operation
Software Setup – Receiver Operation The setup to test the RADIOCARBON-13 is as follows: o Make sure all 50 Ohm cable connections between the RADIOCARBON-13 and the test equipment as shown in the RX Test Bench setup picture in Figure 24 are secure. -
Page 23: Figure 26: Main Window - Click Frontend Tab
27, where the Frontend RX configuration can now be set. Figure 27: GUI configuration for receiver front end Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. -
Page 24: Rx Tunable Bandpass Filter
This opens the Filter Tuning screen shown in Figure Figure 29: Filter tuning screen Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document. Internal Richardson Document #... -
Page 25: Turn On Receiver
Turn OFF the 45V power supply. Reference Information For more information on RADIOCARBON-13 Please refer to the User Guide on the USB drive in the kit. Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-208-2700 (International) Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
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