Epiq Solutions Sidekiq Stretch Hardware User Manual
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Epiq Solutions Sidekiq Stretch Hardware User Manual

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Sidekiq™ Stretch
RF Transceiver • Low SWaP
HARDWARE USER MANUAL
V1.2 - FEBRUARY 11, 2022

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Summary of Contents for Epiq Solutions Sidekiq Stretch

  • Page 1 Sidekiq™ Stretch RF Transceiver • Low SWaP HARDWARE USER MANUAL V1.2 - FEBRUARY 11, 2022...
  • Page 2 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual CHANGELOG Revision Date Description Author 2019-10-09 Pre-release draft, initial version Barry L 2019-10-16 Update JTAG sections Barry L 2019-11-13 Updated figures 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and added section 9.6, 10.7, 10.8 Barry L 2020-03-05 Added section 13, updated section 10.8, 12, Appendix B Barry L...
  • Page 3 Epiq Solutions is disclosing this document (“Documentation”) as a general guideline for development. Epiq Solutions expressly disclaims any liability arising out of your use of the Documentation. Epiq Solutions reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change the Documentation without notice at any time. Epiq Solutions assumes no obligation to correct any errors contained in the Documentation, or to advise you of any corrections or updates.

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    ..................28 Proper Detection of Sidekiq Stretch in a Windows Host System .
  • Page 5 Thunderkiq Thunderbolt3 (TB3) Setup Sidekiq Stretch NUC Platform Development Kit (PDK) ..................47 Sidekiq Stretch NUC PDK Overview .

  • Page 6: Introduction

    RF transceiver, FPGA, RF pre-selection filtering, GPSDO and PCIe interface to a host. This card is similar to the Sidekiq M.2 card developed by Epiq Solutions, using the same RFIC and FPGA while adding RF filtering and GPS. The following topics will be discussed:...

  • Page 7: Legal Considerations

    Legal Considerations LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS The Sidekiq Stretch is distributed all over the world. Each country has its own laws governing reception and transmission of radio frequencies. Each user of Sidekiq Stretch and associated software is solely responsible for ensuring that it is used in a manner consistent with the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is used.

  • Page 8: Proper Care And Handling

    ONLY AT THAT TIME. Improper use of the Sidekiq Stretch unit can cause it to become non-functional. In particular, a list of actions that may cause damage to the hardware include the following:...

  • Page 9: Overview

    Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Overview OVERVIEW This guide provides an overview of the Sidekiq Stretch software defined radio hardware platform, associated capabilities, and basic usage. This includes the following: System level block diagram of the platform Overview of the externally accessible hardware ports...

  • Page 10: References

    Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual References REFERENCES 1. Sidekiq Stretch Product Page https://epiqsolutions.com/rf-transceiver/sidekiq-stretch/ 2. Epiq Solutions Support Page https://support.epiqsolutions.com 3. Berquist Thermal Gap Pad Material http://www.bergquistcompany.com/thermal_materials/gap-pad.htm 4. PCI-SIG PCIe M.2 Specifications https://pcisig.com/specifications/pciexpress/ Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 10...

  • Page 11: Terms And Definitions

    Intermediate Frequency In-Phase / Quadrature Phase JTAG Joint Test Action Group kilohertz Light Emitting Diode megahertz MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output millisecond Next Unit of Computing NVMe Non-Volatile Memory Platform Development Kit Proportional–Integral–Derivative Pulse Per Second Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 11...
  • Page 12 Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter U.FL Miniature RF coax connector, manufactured for use as the antenna interface on M.2 cards Universal Serial Bus W.FL Micro-Miniature RF coaxial connector manufactured by Hirose Table 1: Terms and Definitions Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 12...

  • Page 13: System Overview

    System Overview SYSTEM OVERVIEW Sidekiq Stretch is a miniature software defined radio card in a M.2 2280 card form factor, providing a flexible wideband RF transceiver that can be used by a host system. The 2280 M.2 form factor is widely used for PCIe-based NVMe®...
  • Page 14 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual System Overview Figure 1: Sidekiq Stretch front side Figure 2: Sidekiq Stretch block diagram Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 14...

  • Page 15: Hardware Specification

    40 MHz, +/- 0.1PPM accuracy (shared with Tx) Clock Pre-Selection Sub-octave pre-select filtering for interference protection from 50 MHz to 6 GHz; automatically Filtering selected when tuning the RF receiver. Table 2: RF Receiver Spec Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 15...

  • Page 16: Rf Transmitter Specification

    Reference Clock Output Frequency 40 MHz Reference Clock Output Power ~1.3 Vpp into high-Z load or ~635 mVpp into 50 ohm load PPS Input Level 3.3V max. GPSDO Refer to GPSDO Performance section Table 4: Clock Spec Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 16...

  • Page 17: Hardware Specification

    -30 deg C* to + 85 deg C Component Temperature *Operation down to -40 deg C is supported, though the TCVCXO will operate outside of Rating the +/- 1PPM accuracy specification. Table 5: HW Spec Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 17...

  • Page 18: Hardware Interfaces

    Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Hardware Interfaces HARDWARE INTERFACES Sidekiq Stretch provides a variety of different hardware interfaces. Each of these hardware interfaces is shown in the annotated diagram and defined below. Figure 3: Annotated diagram of Sidekiq Stretch hardware I/O interfaces...

  • Page 19: Antenna Ports (Rx And Trx)

    The RX interface is a U.FL jack connector that provides an RF input path for the RX antenna port in Sidekiq Stretch and supports RF input frequencies between 45 MHz and 6 GHz tuning range. The libsidekiq software library RxA1 handle skiq_rx_hdl_A1 is mapped to the Sidekiq RX interface. The selection of either transmit or receive mode for this antenna port can be controlled via the libsidekiq software library.

  • Page 20: Status Leds

    This PPS input is optional. Note: Since this signal is ultimately routed directly to the on-board FPGA, it is possible to also use this signal as a general purpose input/output. Contact Epiq Solutions for details of alternate usage of this port.

  • Page 21: Reference Clock Output

    Underneath the shield, thermal gap pad material is used to transfer heat from components to the shield itself, yielding a minimal thermal resistance. If no air flow is available in the host system where Sidekiq Stretch is being integrated, it Epiq Solutions Proprietary...

  • Page 22: Temperature & Inertial Measurement Unit (Imu) Sensors

    The M.2 Edge Connector is used to route various signals between the M.2 host system and the Sidekiq card. The Sidekiq Stretch card supports both Key B as well as Key M. A complete table enumerating the pins and their usage is shown in the table below.
  • Page 23 JTAG TMS line for FPGA RESET PERP1 Unused (floating) UIM-CLK JTAG TDO line for FPGA Ground UIM-DATA JTAG TDI line for FPGA PETN1 Unused (floating) UIM-PWR JTAG TCK line for FPGA PETP1 Unused (floating) DEVSLP Unused (floating) Ground Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 23...
  • Page 24 PETP0 PCIe lane 0 host transmitter diff pair (data host->module) PERST# PCIe reset Ground CLKREQ# Clock Request, pulled low whenever Sidekiq Stretch is powered up REFCLKN PCIe reference clock negative leg of diff pair, from host PEWAKE# Unused (floating) REFCLKP...
  • Page 25 CONFIG_2 Pulled low through resistor to ground Table 10: Sidekiq Stretch edge connector signal descriptions * This indicates a GPIO pin that is preferred for use when interfacing to a custom host platform. These pins will receive priority in terms of GPIO backward compatibility if future variants of Sidekiq require changes to the GPIO allocation.

  • Page 26: Basic Usage In A Host System

    SSDs. USB/PCIE SIGNAL AVAILABILITY IN HOST PLATFORM The Sidekiq Stretch is designed solely with a PCIe interface. USB is not present in standard M.2 2280 SSD slots and not included in the standard edge connector profile. A technique called partial reconfiguration is used for FPGA programming while maintaining PCIe bus connectivity;...

  • Page 27: Rf Interfaces

    (2.4 GHz and 5.9 GHz), but it is up to the user to validate the performance of the antenna solution. SYSTEM INTERFACE The Sidekiq Stretch is designed to interface to a host system through insertion into a PCIe-based M.2 2280 key B or M socket, commonly used for NVMe® solid state drives (SSD).

  • Page 28: Proper Detection Of Sidekiq Stretch In A Windows Host System

    A properly configured Linux host system (with the necessary dmadriver.ko device driver loaded) will allow Sidekiq Stretch to enumerate on the PCIe bus. The enumeration on the PCIe bus can be verified by executing the command “lspci” to confirm the presence of Sidekiq. The execution of the “lspci”...

  • Page 29: Power Consumption

    The power consumption of Sidekiq Stretch varies depending on the configuration and application of the card. Nominal tolerance of the 3.3V rail is +/-9%. The table below lists the power consumption with the stock Sidekiq Stretch FPGA reference design under different operating conditions. The measured card temperature was 57 deg C during testing.

  • Page 30: Gps Power Consumption

    Note that the antenna bias power requirement is not included in the overall Stretch test results. Power will depend on the particular active antenna used. The 13mA shown above is typical for most modern antennas, but some older antennas may require several times more power. Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 30...

  • Page 31: Thermal Dissipation

    Sidekiq Stretch uses components that are rated for operation to +85 deg C, and thus the end user must ensure that the temperature reported by the on-board temperature sensor does not exceed +85 deg C.
  • Page 32 EEPROM configuration settings. The Sidekiq Stretch also provides it's 40 MHz reference clock output to a W.FL connector at a level suitable for driving other Sidekiq cards (MiniPCIe, M.2, Stretch, or NV100). Please consult with Epiq for optimum clock tree layouts for a given multi-radio architecture.
  • Page 33 GPS fix is available on startup, the warp voltage is kept at its factory calibrated default value. As the FPGA is now in control of the warp voltage, this prevents its manual adjustment through the API. Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 33...
  • Page 34 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Basic Usage in a Host System GPSDO PERFORMANCE The following measurements were collected with a Stationary Stretch / GPS receiver. Figure 5: Frequency convergence with GPS turning on Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 34...
  • Page 35 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Basic Usage in a Host System Figure 6: Frequency Error vs Time Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 35...
  • Page 36 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Basic Usage in a Host System Figure 7: Allan Deviation Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 36...
  • Page 37 GPS / UART FUNCTIONALITY IN LINUX HOST SYSTEM SIDEKIQ STRETCH GPS SYSFS Control and status monitoring of Sidekiq Stretch’s on-board GPS is provided through several sysfs entries on the host system. When both the sidekiq_gps.ko kernel module and the dmadriver.ko (v5.3.0 or later) kernel module are loaded, several sysfs entries are available in...
  • Page 38 ==> reset <== SIDEKIQ STRETCH GPS UART The Sidekiq Stretch’s on-board GPS can provide NMEA-0183 messages through a UART device on the host system. When both the sidekiq_uart.ko kernel module and the dmadriver.ko (v5.3.0 or later) kernel module are loaded, a UART character device file is available as /dev/ttySKIQ_UART<card>...
  • Page 39 For example, if a Sidekiq Stretch card is installed in a laptop with power savings mode enabled each time the laptop lid closes, proper Sidekiq operation is not guaranteed after the laptop lid is reopened.
  • Page 40 DEBUGGING THE SIDEKIQ STRETCH JTAG ACCESS ON SIDEKIQ STRETCH The Xilinx Artix 7 XC7A50T FPGA utilized on Sidekiq Stretch provides a JTAG interface that can be accessed and utilized during the development of custom logic/processing modules targeting the FPGA. However, due to physical size constraints, there is no space available on Sidekiq Stretch for a standard JTAG interface.
  • Page 41 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Basic Usage in a Host System Figure 9: Sidekiq Stretch JTAG Fixture Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 41...
  • Page 42 GPIO_1 GPIO_2 GPIO_3 GPIO_4 FPGA_PPS GPIO_6 GPIO_8 Table 15: Sidekiq Stretch JTAG Fixture GPIO Header (J8) Description Description VREF (V1.8) PGND HALT (NC) Table 16: Sidekiq Stretch JTAG Fixture Xilinx Header (J1) USB-C / TB3: Thunderbolt 3 over locking USB-C connector, provides both power and data transport...
  • Page 43 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Thunderkiq THUNDERKIQ The Sidekiq Stretch is available in a Thunderbolt 3 (TB3) enclosure, this platform is called Thunderkiq. Thunderkiq connects to a Thunderbolt 3 enabled laptop or PC via a TB3 cable. Dimensions 63.5 mm x 136.2 mm x 12.7 mm...
  • Page 44 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Thunderkiq Figure 11: Thunderkiq Block Diagram Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 44...
  • Page 45 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Thunderkiq Mechanical Outline THUNDERKIQ MECHANICAL OUTLINE Figure 12: Thunderkiq dimensioned drawing Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 45...
  • Page 46 System section to verify that the Sidekiq Stretch is seen over PCIe by the host. 8. If Sidekiq Stretch is not seen over PCIe, power everything down and repeat the steps above, if the PCIe interface is still not detected, please contact Epiq Solutions support for further assistance.
  • Page 47 SIDEKIQ STRETCH NUC PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT KIT (PDK) SIDEKIQ STRETCH NUC PDK OVERVIEW The Sidekiq Stretch NUC PDK includes one Sidekiq NV100 card hosted on an Intel NUC11TNHi5/i7 (or later) Mini PC NUC system. The Sidekiq Stretch NUC PDK is pre-loaded with Epiq Solutions’ libsidekiq API, test applications, ERA (Spectrum Analyzer), and GNU Radio with gr-sidekiq.
  • Page 48 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Sidekiq Stretch NUC Platform Development Kit (PDK) Included Applications Several applications are included with the PDK in order to help you test and verify your setup, such as our standard Sidekiq command-line test applications, GNU Radio, and ERA, our spectrum analyzer.
  • Page 49 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Sidekiq Stretch NUC Platform Development Kit (PDK) Raw I/Q Capture A user can perform an RF capture of I/Q samples using the default configuration by executing the rx_samples application as follows: ./rx_samples -b 25000000 --rate=30720000 -c 0 -d /tmp/out -f 1000000000 --handle=A1 --words=25000000 This command will save I/Q samples to a file named /tmp/out.a1 using values for 30.72 Msps...
  • Page 50 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Sidekiq Stretch NUC Platform Development Kit (PDK) SIDEKIQ STRETCH NUC GPIO CONNECTOR The GPIO connector provides access to monitoring the power supply voltage and current to the mPCIe socket as well as providing access to lines used for digital I/O on the Sidekiq mPCIe. The ability to use a pin as GPIO depends on the loaded FPGA.
  • Page 51 VREF* is a 2.5V output and establishes the required I/O voltage level for the JTAG adapter. ACCESSING SIDEKIQ STRETCH NUC JTAG CONNECTOR For customers adding their own custom FPGA blocks in the “user_app” area of the Sidekiq Stretch reference design, it can often be useful to access JTAG to monitor signals in the FPGA through Xilinx's Chipscope software.
  • Page 52 $ echo 1 | sudo tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:0a:00.0/remove '0000:0a:00.0' will change depending on where on the PCI bus Stretch is located 5. Program the FPGA using Vivado using an older Sidekiq Stretch bitstream such as from Sidekiq SDK v4.11.1 located on the support sidekiq_image_m2_2280_xport_pcie_3.12.1.bin...
  • Page 53 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Sidekiq Stretch NUC Platform Development Kit (PDK) Figure 14: stretch_vivado1 6. Rescan the PCI bus to enumerate Stretch $ echo 1 | sudo tee /sys/bus/pci/rescan $ lspci -d 19aa: 0a:00.0 Signal processing controller: Device 19aa:2280 (rev 04) 7.
  • Page 54 A dimensioned mechanical drawing of Sidekiq Stretch is shown in the dimensioned drawing. In addition, a 3D model (in STP format) is also available. Please contact Epiq Solutions for this model. Figure 15: Sidekiq Stretch dimensioned drawing Epiq Solutions Proprietary...
  • Page 55 Sidekiq™ Stretch | Hardware User Manual Sidekiq Stretch RF Front End SIDEKIQ STRETCH RF FRONT END Figure 16: Sidekiq Stretch RF Front End Block Diagram Epiq Solutions Proprietary Page 55...
  • Page 56 Size Modifiable On-Chip XC7A50T FPGA BRAM 2.7 Mb Application usage Power-off On-Chip XC7A50T FPGA DRAM 600 Kb Application usage Power-off Table 22: Sidekiq Stretch Volatile Memory Memory Memory User Removable Purpose Process to Clear Type Size Modifiable Cleared with Linux...
  • Page 57 Predicted Failure Rate and MTBF PREDICTED FAILURE RATE AND MTBF Listed below is the Failure Rate and MTBF for the ES025-201-B2 Sidekiq Stretch M.2 2280 Assembly. The calculations are derived from Relyence Reliability Software and based off a fixed/ground/controlled operating environment with an ambient temperature of 25°C.

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