I'm working on a SDR design using the AD9874 to digitize the IF producing 280 Ksamples/sec and am trying to size the DSP. I'm leaning towards the ADSP-BF532 which is a fixed point DSP rated at 400 MIPS / 800 MMACS and is available in a LQFP package. I'd like to be able to handle everything from decoding standard shortwave SSB signals to broadcast FM stereo signals (including RDS). 1) Any pointers to information which can be used to size the DSP in terms of MIPS, program RAM, and data RAM? Something like a minimum of X MIPS are needed to do a reasonable job handling broadcast FM stereo signals (which I'm assuming require more MIPS than SSB) would be useful to know. 2) Anyone have a specific DSP they favored for this type of application? Keep in mind I need the DSP to be in a package I can handle using home equipment. It would be nice if the DSP was flexible enough so that it can be used for general purpose things such as controlling the keyboard and LCD instead of adding a microcontroller. I'm not looking to use a FPGA at this time. -- John ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Feith Systems | Voice: 1-215-646-8000 | Email: john@feith.com | | John Wehle | Fax: 1-215-540-5495 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Software Defined Radio DSP choice / sizing
Started by ●June 21, 2007
Reply by ●June 22, 20072007-06-22
On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:44:13 -0700, john wrote:> I'm working on a SDR design using the AD9874 to > digitize the IF producing 280 Ksamples/sec and > am trying to size the DSP. I'm leaning towards > the ADSP-BF532 which is a fixed point DSP rated > at 400 MIPS / 800 MMACS and is available in a LQFP > package. I'd like to be able to handle everything > from decoding standard shortwave SSB signals to > broadcast FM stereo signals (including RDS). > > 1) Any pointers to information which can be used > to size the DSP in terms of MIPS, program RAM, > and data RAM? Something like a minimum of X MIPS > are needed to do a reasonable job handling > broadcast FM stereo signals (which I'm assuming > require more MIPS than SSB) would be useful > to know. > > 2) Anyone have a specific DSP they favored for > this type of application? Keep in mind I > need the DSP to be in a package I can handle > using home equipment. It would be nice if the > DSP was flexible enough so that it can be used > for general purpose things such as controlling > the keyboard and LCD instead of adding a > microcontroller. > > I'm not looking to use a FPGA at this time. >1. I generally do this by prototyping the algorithms using Scilab, or designing them on paper, then figuring out the number of operations (for MIPS) and data storage requirements. You'll probably find that the FM demodulation takes the most processor time, unless you're decoding multiple SSB channels for some odd reason. 2. I make a conscious effort to not fall in love with any particular processor. Look at a few different choices in your target word size and data type, and try to get a feel for how much time it'll take to run your algorithms. 1 & 2. _Don't_ forget the 'regular processor' stuff when you're sizing memory and processor bandwidth! Wouldn't you feel silly if you had 20 times the RAM you needed for your DSP, but didn't have the buffer space necessary for your TCP/IP stack, or if your algorithm took up 500 words of memory but you ran out of space for menu lines in ROM? Generally with these mixed-target DSP projects you can expect 1% of the code to take 95% of the consumed processing power; you need to make sure you have the code space for the other stuff. -- Tim Wescott Control systems and communications consulting http://www.wescottdesign.com Need to learn how to apply control theory in your embedded system? "Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" by Tim Wescott Elsevier/Newnes, http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html
Reply by ●June 22, 20072007-06-22
On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:44:13 -0700, john@feith.com wrote:>I'm working on a SDR design using the AD9874 to >digitize the IF producing 280 Ksamples/sec andI am way behind you guys on the DSP-SDR subject but I appreciate every scrap of information you share. I am currently trying to puzzle out the strategy used in acquiring data from a sound card. I have successfully built the Softrock Lite 40 meter receiver and am ever so slowly working on a Softrock RXTX Ver 6.2 40 M transceiver. John Ferrell W8CCW "Life is easier if you learn to plow around the stumps"
Reply by ●June 22, 20072007-06-22
john@feith.com wrote:> I'm working on a SDR design using the AD9874 toFair performance is guaranteed. digitize the IF producing 280 Ksamples/sec and> am trying to size the DSP.Get the biggest one. Like Intel P4.> I'm leaning towards > the ADSP-BF532 which is a fixed point DSP rated > at 400 MIPS / 800 MMACS800 MMACS is a pure marketing. The 400 MIPS is closer to the reality. and is available in a LQFP> package. I'd like to be able to handle everything > from decoding standard shortwave SSB signals to > broadcast FM stereo signals (including RDS).I like your optimism.> 1) Any pointers to information which can be used > to size the DSP in terms of MIPS, program RAM, > and data RAM? Something like a minimum of X MIPS > are needed to do a reasonable job handling > broadcast FM stereo signals (which I'm assuming > require more MIPS than SSB) would be useful > to know.* It depends * The barebone DSP functionality will take about 20...30 kbytes of the program memory and several kbytes of the data memory. * For the single channel processing, the workload should not exceed about 100 MIPS.> 2) Anyone have a specific DSP they favored for > this type of application?It doesn't matter. Whatever DSP you wil take, you will be screwed many times.> Keep in mind I > need the DSP to be in a package I can handle > using home equipment.:))))))> It would be nice if the > DSP was flexible enough so that it can be used > for general purpose things such as controlling > the keyboard and LCD instead of adding a > microcontroller.The general purpose stuff can easily boost the program size over the DSP internal memories.> I'm not looking to use a FPGA at this time.Why don't you start learning DSP with something simple like FIR or IIR filter? Vladimir Vassilevsky DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant http://www.abvolt.com
Reply by ●June 22, 20072007-06-22
Vladimir Vassilevsky wrote:> > > Why don't you start learning DSP with something simple like FIR or IIR > filter? > > > Vladimir Vassilevsky > > DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant > > http://www.abvolt.comProbably because he finds a "Software Defined Radio" to be fascinating. I know that's my motivation for applying fft's to speech and GPS errors. I'd lay odds that the majority of scientific/technical progress is due to amateurs. { please check your etymology before opening fire ;> Think about bio's of ancient Greek philosophers<etymology;>, membership of Royal Society(astronomers particularly came to mind), Einstein, Goddard, Avins, Lyons, Allnor ... thru eons of grad students and even some professors with Phd's.
Reply by ●June 22, 20072007-06-22
On Jun 22, 10:58 am, Vladimir Vassilevsky <antispam_bo...@hotmail.com> wrote:> j...@feith.com wrote: > > I'm working on a SDR design using the AD9874 to > > Fair performance is guaranteed.Do you mean "fair" as in good performance or as in marginal performance? If you mean good performance, then I quite happy to hear it's guaranteed. :-)
Reply by ●June 22, 20072007-06-22
john@feith.com wrote:> On Jun 22, 10:58 am, Vladimir Vassilevsky <antispam_bo...@hotmail.com> > wrote: > >>j...@feith.com wrote: >> >>>I'm working on a SDR design using the AD9874 to >> >>Fair performance is guaranteed. >> Do you mean "fair" as in good performance or as in marginal > performance?I mean this toy will work however the performance of the classic analog receiver of the communication class is much better. Vladimir Vassilevsky DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant http://www.abvolt.com
Reply by ●June 22, 20072007-06-22
On Jun 22, 8:23 pm, Vladimir Vassilevsky <antispam_bo...@hotmail.com> wrote:> I mean this toy will workI'm willing to accept some tradeoffs for the sake of simplifying the design (i.e. the AD9874 integrates an ADC and digital filter which is convenient though less flexible then a ADC coupled with a FPGA).> however the performance of the classic analog > receiver of the communication class is much better.That seems to imply some type of fundamental limitation exists with using the AD9874. Care to be more specific? For example the AD9874 spec claim 95 dB dynamic range, there are certainly radios which claim a higher dynamic range. However I'm imagining that a 95 dB dynamic range should work for a lot of signals.
Reply by ●June 23, 20072007-06-23
On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:44:13 -0700, john@feith.com wrote:>I'm working on a SDR design using the AD9874 to >digitize the IF producing 280 Ksamples/sec and >am trying to size the DSP. I'm leaning towards >the ADSP-BF532 which is a fixed point DSP rated >at 400 MIPS / 800 MMACS and is available in a LQFP >package. I'd like to be able to handle everything >from decoding standard shortwave SSB signals to >broadcast FM stereo signals (including RDS).I am not familiar with that specific component, but does it really contain a decent S&H circuit for decimation ? Even with a proper S&H (ten nanosecond sampling and several microsecond hold times) for decimation, the 280 Ksamples/s sounds a bit low for FM broadcast detection. The higher order (Bessel function) sidebands are still quite strong with the modulation indexes used, so truncating the bandwidth to the 100-140 kHz range might not be a good idea. If you after all want to include broadcast FM reception, I would suggest that you do the reception in analog way and only go to digital after the ratio detector, when 150 kHz sampling rate might be sufficient for stereo and RDS separation. For the other modulation modes, I would suggest using a high 1st IF (40-80 MHz) with a proper roofing filter combined with a few IF stages and AGC. This signal might then be decimated directly (or after converting to 455 kHz for steeper filters) and processed at sampling rates well below 100 Ksamples/s. With the roofing filter and the AGC in the first IF, the ADC should be able to handle large signal variations, as long as the offending signal is not within the roofing filter bandwidth. Paul OH3LWR
Reply by ●June 23, 20072007-06-23
Paul Keinanen wrote: ...> Even with a proper S&H (ten nanosecond sampling and several > microsecond hold times) for decimation, the 280 Ksamples/s sounds a > bit low for FM broadcast detection. The higher order (Bessel function) > sidebands are still quite strong with the modulation indexes used, so > truncating the bandwidth to the 100-140 kHz range might not be a good > idea.... The IF passband of an FM receiver needs to be at least 200 KHz for good quality and -- counterintuitive to me -- I'm told that the capture ratio improves as the bandwidth increases. Back in the 50s, one premium receiver -- the first I knew of to use semiconductor diodes in the detector -- had a half-MHz IF. Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
