ITC/USA 2005 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-First Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2005 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The GPS receiver based on software radio technology is a kind of general purpose GPS signal processing platform which makes use of advanced design ideas and advanced design tools nowadays. We used FPGA device and lots of necessary peripherals such as DSP and PCI controller in our design to promote flexibility and practicability effectively. Various fast acquisition means and accurate tracking algorithms could be realized, improved and validated on this platform, besides basic GPS receiver function.

Thesis (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Keywords: software-defined radio, SDR, quadrature mixing, quadrature modulation, quadrature demodulation, digital compensation, software radio, direct-digital synthesis, DDS. An often-stated goal of software-defined transceiver systems is to perform digital signal conversion as close to the antenna as possible by using high-rate converters. In this dissertation, alternative design principles are proposed, and it is shown that the signal processing techniques based on these principles improve on the prior system's accuracy, while maintaining system flexibility. Firstly, it is proposed that digital compensation can be used to reverse the effects of hardware inaccuracies in the RF front-end of a software-defined radio. Novel compensation techniques are introduced that suppress the signal artefacts introduced by typical frontend hardware. The extent to which such artefacts may be suppressed, is only limited by the accuracy by which they may be measured and digitally represented. A general compensation principle is laid down, which formalises the conditions under which optimal compensation may be achieved. Secondly, it is proposed that, in the design of such RF front-ends, a clear distinction should be drawn between signal processing complexity and frequency translation. It is demonstrated that conventional SDR systems often neglect this principle. As an alternative, quadrature mixing is shown to provide a clear separation between the frequency translation and signal processing problems. However, effective use of quadrature mixing as design approach necessitates the use of accurate compensation techniques to circumvent the hardware inaccuracies typically found in such mixers. Quadrature mixers are proposed as general-purpose front-ends for software-defined radios, and quadrature modulation and demodulation techniques are presented as alternatives to existing schemes. The inherent hardware inaccuracies are analysed and simulated, and appropriate compensation techniques are derived and tested. Finally, the theory is verified with a prototype system. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sleutelwoorde: sagteware-gedefinieerde radio, SDR, haaksfasige menging, haaksfasige modulasie, haaksfasige demodulasie, digitale kompensasie, sagteware-radio, direk-digitale sintese, DDS. 'n Gewilde stelling is dat digitale seinomsetting in sagteware-gedefinieerde kommunikasiestelsels so na as moontlik aan die antenna moet geskied deur gebruik te maak van hoëspoed omsetters. Hierdie verhandeling stel alternatiewe ontwerpsbeginsels voor, en toon aan dat hierdie beginsels die eersgenoemde stelsel se akkuraatheid verbeter, terwyl stelselbuigsaamheid gehandhaaf word. Dit word eerstens voorgestel dat digitale kompensasie gebruik word om die effekte van hardeware-onakkuraathede in die RF-koppelvlak van sagteware-gedefinieerde radio's om te keer. Nuwe kompensasietegnieke, wat seinartefakte weens koppelvlak-onakkuraathede kan onderdruk, word aangebied. Die mate waartoe hierdie artefakte onderdruk kan word, word slegs beperk deur die akkuraatheid waarmee dit gemeet en digitaal voorgestel kan word. 'n Algemene kompensasiebeginsel word neergelê waarin die voorwaardes vir optimale kompensasie vasgelê word. Tweedens word voorgestel dat 'n duidelike onderskeid getref word tussen seinverwerkingskompleksiteit en seinverskuiwing in RF-koppelvlakke. Daar word getoon dat konvensionele SDR-stelsels dikwels nie hierdie beginsel handhaaf nie. 'n Alternatief, naamlik haaksfasige menging, word voorgehou as 'n tegniek wat duidelik onderskei tussen seinverskuiwing en seinverwerking. Akkurate kompensasietegnieke is egter nodig om effektief van sulke mengers gebruik te maak. Haaksfasige mengers word voorgestel as veeldoelige koppelvlakke vir sagteware-gedefinieerde radio's, en haaksfasige modulasie- en demodulasietegnieke word voorgestel as plaasvervangers vir bestaande tegnieke. Die inherente hardeware-onakkuraathede word geanaliseer en gesimuleer, en geskikte kompensasietegnieke word afgelei en getoets. Laastens word die teoretiese resultate met 'n praktiese prototipe bevestig.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The use of older and slower protocols has become increasingly difficult to justify due to the rapid pace at which telecommunications are advancing. To keep up to date with the latest technologies, the communications system must be designed to accommodate the transparent insertion of new communications standards in all the stages of a system. The system should, however, also remain compatible with the older standards so as not to demand an upgrade of the older systems. The concept of a software defined radio was introduced to overcome these problems. In a software defined radio system, the functionality of the communications system is defined in software, which removes the the need for alterations to the hardware during technology upgrade. To maintain interoperatibilty, the system must be based on a standardised architecture. This would further allow for enhanced scalability and provide a plug-andplay feature for the components of the system. In this thesis, generic signal processing software components are developed to illustrate the creation of a basic software modem that can be parameterised to comply fully, or partially, to various standards.

Thesis (MScEng (Electical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Software defined radios (SDRs) implement in software those parts of a radio which have traditionally been implemented in analogue hardware. We explain the importance of this definition and introduce reconfigurability and portability as two further goals. Reconfigurabilty is a property of the SDR platform, which may be a microprocessor, configurable hardware device, or combination of the two. We demonstrate that the field-programmable gate array is suficient for the implementation of practical SDR systems. Portability, on the other hand, is a property of the modulation and demodulation software, also known as waveform specification software. We evaluate techniques for achieving portability and show that waveforms can be specified in a generic form suitable for the autogeneration of implementations targetting both microprocessor- and FPGA-based architectures. The generated code is in C++ and VHDL respectively, and the tools used include formal models of computation and the XSLT language.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / SumbandilaSat is the second South African satellite, and is scheduled to be launched in April/May 2007. A software defined radio (SDR) automatic identification system (AIS) receiver is proposed as a possible experimental payload for this satellite. The AIS receiver can be used to track and store movement of ships at sea, and then forward this information to the ground station upon request. This thesis demonstrates the design of a SDR AIS receiver for Sumbandila satellite. The design of a GMSK/FMmodem as used in AIS is presented. Models are developed and simulated in Matlab. Digital signal processing algorithms developed for the AIS receiver are highlighted. Algorithms are developed to decode and translate the AIS encapsulated binary messages. The models are transferred to C++ and the AIS receiver is implemented on the SDR architecture. Finally the real time performance of the AIS receiver is presented along with some test results and performance analysis.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / In an ideal software defined radio (SDR), all parameters are defined in software, which means the radio can be reconfigured to handle any communications standard. A major technical challenge that needs to be overcome before this SDR can be realised, is the design of an RF front end that can convert any digital signal to an analogue signal at any carrier frequency and vice versa. Quadrature mixing (QM) can be used to implement and analogue front end, that performs up and down conversion between the complex baseband centred around 0 Hz and the carrier frequency. By separating the tasks of frequency conversion and digital-to-analogue conversion, the latter can be performed at a much lower sample rate, greatly reducing the demands on the hardware. Furthermore, as QM can handle variable carrier frequency and signal bandwidth, this can be done without sacrificing reconfigurability. Using QM as an analogue front end may therefore be the solution to implementing SDR handsets.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (ODFM) has gained considerable attention the past couple of years. In our modern world the need for faster data transmission is never-ending. OFDM modulation provides us with a way of more densely packing modulated carriers in the frequency domain than other existing Frequency Multiplexing schemes, thus achieving higher data rates through communications channels. Software Defined Radio (SDR) creates a very good entry point for designing any communications system. SDR is an architecture that aims to minimise hardware components in electronic communications circuits by doing all possible processing in the software domain. Such systems have many advantages over existing hardware implementations and can be executed on various platforms and embedded systems, given that the appropriate analogue front ends are attached to the system.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The continued advancement and improvement of software-defined radio technology has been a key factor in furthering research into the implementation of most signal processing algorithms at baseband. Traditionally, these algorithms have been carried out at RF, but with the coming of SDR, there has been a need to shift the processing down to baseband frequencies which are more compatible with the fast developing software radio technology. The study looks at selected demodulation algorithms and investigates the possibility and benefits of carrying them out at QBB. The study ventures into the area of beamforming, multipath compensation, Doppler shift compensation and matched filter detection. The analysis is carried out using Matlab simulations at RF and QBB. The results obtained are compared, not only to evaluate the possibility but also the benefits in terms of the processing load. The results of the study showed that indeed, carrying out the selected demodulation algorithms at QBB was not only possible, but also resulted in an improvement in the processing speed brought about by the reduction in the processing load.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / The aim of this thesis is to implement a Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) system in a Software Defined Radio (SDR). The physical modulation part of the DAB transmitter for one of the transmission modes as well as its receiver is to be implemented and tested in the SDR. DAB transmission mode II is implemented.

Le concept de Radio Logicielle propose d’intégrer en un seul circuit un émetteur / récepteur RF capable d’émettre et de recevoir n’importe quel signal RF. Cependant, ce concept doit a?ronter des contraintes technologiques dans le cas des terminaux mobiles. La contrainte principale est la consommation de puissance du terminal. En e?et, la conversion analogique numérique qui est la clé de ce système en est aussi le principal verrou technique. Cette thèse présente une architecture de récepteur en rupture avec les architectures classiques a?n de surmonter le problème de la conversion analogique numérique. Il s’agit d’un processeur analogique de traitement du signal dédié à la Radio Logicielle intégrale dans la gamme de fréquence 0 à 5GHz. Sa conception et les mesures d’un prototype sont présentées. / Many technological bottlenecks prevent from realizing a Software Radio (SR) mobile terminal. The old way of building radio architectures is over due to the numerous communication standards a single handeld terminal have to address nowadays. This thesis exposes a disruptive SR receiver: a Sampled Analog Signal Processor (SASP) is designed and brought into play to perform downconversion and channel presort. It processes analog voltage samples in order to recover in baseband any RF signal emitted from 0 to 5GHz. An analog Fast Fourier Transform achieves both frequency shifting and ?ltering. A prototype using 65nm CMOS technology from STMicroelectronics is here presented and measured.