The term software defined radio probably brings to mind the image of someone sitting behind the controls of a laptop with an ungainly USB dongle plugged into the side of it. However, a group of technologists in the greater Rolling Meadows, IL area have found a way to pair these units with miniature microcontroller boards. Their new AD9361 SDR device makes it possible to build sophisticated circuits that are only a few times thicker than a silicon wafer.
The AD9361 SDR uses special Sidekiq™ Mini PCIe technology, which is designed to work with the type of circuit wafers that plug into the sides of logic boards. Assuming that any other prebuilt solution can fit into such a small area, this unit can provide a full range of SDR-based utilities to it.
In spite of the fact that these function as transceivers, they’re still relatively conservative when it comes to battery consumption. Each board can function as a pair of receivers and a pair of transmitters while still only consuming a little more than a couple of watts an hour. While these figures might be different in some applications, the AD9361 SDR circuit is designed with power conservation in mind.
This makes it an ideal device for those who are building miniature RF processing hubs and can’t afford to leave them continuously connected to an external source of power. Best of all, they boast an impressive RF tuning range that makes them suitable for many situations.
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