[TangerineSDR] Rev 9-16 of the DCC discussion topics.

[Nathaniel A. Frissell Ph.D.]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for meeting on Friday night at the DCC to discuss these questions and Bill’s documents. Here are the notes I took at the meeting.

73 de Nathaniel W2NAF


HAMSCI project discussion Topics for DCC 2019
                            Rev 9-16-2019


1.                      Need cost estimates for the Clock, DE, RF, and Magnetometer modules.
During the meeting, we estimated the sales prices for the following items:

  *   Data Engine - $250
  *   RF Board - $150
  *   Magnetometer (including cable) - $125
  *   Clock board (includes synthesizer)- $75-200

The following would be required for station operation, but not actively being developed by TAPR:

  *   Antennas
  *   Feed Line
  *   Power
  *   Single Board Computer

2.    What is the schedule for the modules, testing, prototypes?

While an exact schedule needs to be defined, we have the following goals established:

  *   Data Engine (Prototype – HamCation February 7-9, 2020)
  *   2-chan RF receiver (Hamvention May 15-17, 2020)
  *   GPS Clock – (Proof of concept HamSCI Workshop March 20-21, 2020
  *   Magnetometer – (Integrated Prototype – HamCation February 7-9, 2020)
  *   SBC, Power supply, etc. – Not determined.
  *   Hardware Complete System Prototype – June 2020

Note: I am planning on hiring a postdoc for 2 years to work on ionospheric algorithms for this system. I’d like them to start working May-June 2020, just about the time the first complete hardware prototypes should be available.

3.    Each module will have a unique manufacturer serial number based on some PROMs that have this capability. Any issues with the number or format?

Scotty has picked out a hardware chip to be that has a guaranteed unique 72 bit long ID that cannot be changed. The chip is very inexpensive and can be attached to every board. Additional descriptive information can be programmed and appended to the unique id.

4.    Do we need to create any videos describing what the project is, what the objectives are, status, or other?

For the momement, the videos that are being generated at DCC, Hamvention, and HamSCI workshop are serving this purpose. As we develop hardware and the system, additional tutorial and promotional videos will be welcome.

5.    Only a little discussion so far on power supplies. General agreement on +11 to +15 VDC source. We need to come up with the general supply
distribution scheme before board design and layout commences.
      a.    Have the DE or Interconnect board condition all power.
      b.    Have each module condition any critical power it needs.
                 i.    Voltages feeding critical analog circuitry (Clock Module, RF Module).
      c.    Have an external power conditioning module.

We did not discuss this at DCC, as there was significant power supply discussion already on the listserv.

6.    HAMSCI 2020
      a.    Any more information on the location?
      b.    Should we plan a demo of TangerineSDR or the completed parts?

HamSCI 2020 will be at the University of Scranton March 20-21, 2020. A demonstration of completed parts is most welcome.

7.    Receive Antennas. Mike Pappas has acquired a calibrated filed strength meter, we discussed seeing if DX Engineering would let us measure a
production lot of antennas (10?) to determine the field strength sensitivity and variance.

More discussion on antennas is needed.

8.    Do we need a test plan for the system?

Yes, a plan needs to be developed.

9.    Upload data compression appears feasible (3:1 ?).  Do we need any study or proposals of how much data we are asking folks to upload? Or is this better to determine experimentally?

We will start by defining an operational mode that mirrors what the CWRU Low-Cost PSWS will be doing. This will likely be fairly low bandwidth and well within the capabilities of the system. The exact amount and format of the compression will depend on the specific data mode that is being developed.

10. Discuss and review the Local Host Functional Specification.
11. Discuss and review the Central Control Functional Specification.

Comments on these specifications were collected by Bill AB4EJ. He will be incorporating these comments into the documents over the next week and send the revised documents back to the listserv for additional review.



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