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Pentek shrinks software-radio module
By Warren Webb, Technical Editor -- EDN, 5/8/2008
At the recent Critical Embedded Systems conference in Scottsdale, AZ, Pentek introduced its latest high-performance, high-resolution software-radio module. The Model 7151 PMC (peripheral-component-interconnect-mezzanine card) features four 200-MHz, 16-bit ADCs that feed a proprietary FPGA-IP (intellectual-property) core to deliver 256 channels of digital downconversion. With independent frequency tuning for each channel, the Model 7151 can downconvert any signal within any of the four digitized 100-MHz input bands, making it ideal for GSM (global-system-for-mobile)-communication cell-phone monitoring and signal-intelligence applications.
The device comes in four banks of 64 digital-downconversion channels; you can configure each bank for a unique output-signal bandwidth to accommodate applications requiring mixed-signal types or multiple modulation schemes. You can independently source each bank from any one of the four ADCs, which you typically assigned to specific antennas. Software drivers are available for the device, which comes ready to use with developed and installed FPGA code. Software and software-support packages are available for Linux, Windows, and VxWorks operating systems. The Model 7151 PMC-module version is available for $14,500, with delivery in 10 to 12 weeks.
