[Freetel-codec2] COTS VHF transceiver IC consideration

[Kevin Baker]

Hi all,

Thanks for all your work on Codec2 and FreeDV! I believe an open standard
for VHF digital voice would be huge! I just recently saw David's excellent
talk at linux.conf.au, and had some questions...

I was wondering if you had considered using an off-the-shelf transceiver IC
for the RF modem, at the least for quick prototyping and development. It
seems like something like the Si4464 (
http://www.silabs.com/products/wireless/EZRadioPRO/Pages/si446x.aspx) would
include a whole lot of the radio frontend, and would work for your current
targets of 4FSK/4GFSK and the 10-100kbps range. There are some other
chipsets in this range as well... ADF7021, CC1101 for using 4FSK. Then it
seems like it would just be a 'software problem' to integrate the Codec and
Protocol/framing pieces.

Just wondering if this is something you have looked at and rejected in the
past, or if it doesn't fit your current design requirements - i.e. this
chip wouldn't do analog FM, which is pretty much a deal-breaker I guess...
and it is not super-sensitive like your current receiver design.

Even if it is not what you are looking for in something like the SM2000,
could you still keep in mind compatibility with some low-cost IC like this
in the final RF protocol definition, to enable a very cost-effective
integrated digital-only radio in the future?

Thanks,
Kevin Baker AG5ER

[glen english]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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bring their own devices (BYOD) to work are irked by the imposition of MDM
restrictions. Mobile Device Manager Plus allows you to control only the
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[David Rowe]

Hi Kevin,

For the SM2000 I chose an architecture that suited my aims of
demonstrating some advanced VHF radios ideas. See the SM2000 Part 1
post for details of how I arrived at that choice.

However please feel free to experiment with other radio architectures.

I don't think it's wise to constrain the experimental ideas we are
working with to any particular chipset - in fact quite the opposite.
Software will dominate radio designs from now on. If the hardware isn't
out there today we can just design our own.

Cheers,

David

Post by Kevin Baker
Hi all,
Thanks for all your work on Codec2 and FreeDV! I believe an open
standard for VHF digital voice would be huge! I just recently saw
David's excellent talk at linux.conf.au <http://linux.conf.au>, and had
some questions...
I was wondering if you had considered using an off-the-shelf transceiver
IC for the RF modem, at the least for quick prototyping and development.
It seems like something like the Si4464
(http://www.silabs.com/products/wireless/EZRadioPRO/Pages/si446x.aspx)
would include a whole lot of the radio frontend, and would work for
your current targets of 4FSK/4GFSK and the 10-100kbps range. There are
some other chipsets in this range as well... ADF7021, CC1101 for using
4FSK. Then it seems like it would just be a 'software problem' to
integrate the Codec and Protocol/framing pieces.
Just wondering if this is something you have looked at and rejected in
the past, or if it doesn't fit your current design requirements - i.e.
this chip wouldn't do analog FM, which is pretty much a deal-breaker I
guess... and it is not super-sensitive like your current receiver design.
Even if it is not what you are looking for in something like the SM2000,
could you still keep in mind compatibility with some low-cost IC like
this in the final RF protocol definition, to enable a very
cost-effective integrated digital-only radio in the future?
Thanks,
Kevin Baker AG5ER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mobile security can be enabling, not merely restricting. Employees who
bring their own devices (BYOD) to work are irked by the imposition of MDM
restrictions. Mobile Device Manager Plus allows you to control only the
apps on BYO-devices by containerizing them, leaving personal data untouched!
https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/clk/304595813;131938128;j
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