Pi SDR IQ Plus

Pi SDR IQ Plus, is a new interface designed to suit the specific SDR ADC/DAC requirements of Flex SDR1000 and Softrock/Ensemble or compatible homemade rigs. Also it is designed to work with a network connection giving versatile topology. That means the Pi SDR IQ interface will just sit happily with your rig and only an Ethernet cable connection is required to your local network. And of course have hassle-free operation, ready-made configuration with ease of setup.

Currently the supported rigs are

  •  Flexradio SDR1000
  • Softrock/Ensemble and compatibles
  • RS-HFIQ
  • Genesis G59 with GPA10 & G11 (experimental)

 

 Even if you do not have a local ethernet network around with router or network switch, Pi SDR IQ Plus can be fully utilized with just connecting a ethernet cable from your PC's ethernet port, directly to Pi SDR IQ Plus's ethernet port. As simple as that you could have a non-networked PC with Pi SDR IQ Plus fully working setup. Pi SDR IQ Plus and the controlling PC running PowerSDR are required to be within the same ethernet local area network.

The Pi SDR IQ Plus is a high end solution featuring the AK5394A ADC giving 123dB of Rx dynamic range to your homebrew rig. Contains an ADC/DAC board attached on a included SBC with a quad-core ARM A7 CPU. It is a ready-made working combo package. There is no need for a user provided SBC (eg RPi) as it already contains its own aforementioned quad core ARM A7 SBC. All necessary IQ Rx, IQ Tx, Headphones, Mic, CW, USB host, all jack/connections for the Softrock/Ensemble and ethernet port for connection to PC/PowerSDR are included. Its firmware resides in a 8GB SD Card so upgrades are as easy as changing the SD card.

For Windows users, these will be accompanied by a new PowerSDR application (based on v2.5.3) specific to utilize the new I/Q interfaces. Its operation is transparent, just make the cable connections, start the application and you're up and running.

Support for SDR1000 is in place with the use of an add-on, the Pi SDR LPT. Using this add-on, SDR1000 rigs got revitalized and now can be used in a transparent way with all the modern PCs with Windows 7/8/10 and the familiar PowerSDR application.

For SDR1000 rigs, the RFE board is required to be present.

On G59 rigs, the GPA10 is required and on G11 rigs the multiband board is required.

For a standalone operation, without using a dedicated PC, there is a firmware version for Pi SDR IQ Plus that by attaching a HDMI monitor, a keyboard and a mouse, a work desktop is shown utilising Quisk, WSJT-X and Fldigi. In that setup, user can have phone and digimodes based on the included widely used applications. In that configuration two rig types are supported, RS-HFIQ and Ensemble RxTx, for more information on this setup click here.

 

Specifications, Pi SDR IQ Plus  with AK5394A/CS4344

  • IQ ADC jack, 123 dB Dynamic Range/24bits/192KHz
  • IQ DAC jack, 105 dB Dynamic Range/24bits/192KHz
  • Stereo Headphones/Microphone jack
  • CW/Paddles jack
  • SBC ARM A7 QuadCore/1.53GHz/1GBRAM/100MBEth/USB2/HDMI
  • Used natively with PowerSDR-IQ v2.5.3, Win7/8/10
  • Driverless configuration, no PC drivers required.

Firmware for the Pi SDR operation can be downloaded freely in the Support section and users can flash it to their choice of SD card, alternatively there is an option to buy a SD card already flashed with required firmware.

 

Options

  • Pi SDR LPT, for connecting to a Flex SDR1000 control port or controlling other external DIY devices
  • Pi SDR IQ Enclosure, 9cm X 6cm X 3cm
  • Pi SDR IQ 5V Power Supply
  • Pi SDR IQ 8GB SD firmware card

For SDR1000 users, there is more detailed information in the Pi SDR IQ Plus for SDR1000 page

 

Reviews in eham can be seen here http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13675

 

 Pi SDR IQ Plus, Ports & Connectors

Pi SDR IQ Plus Connections

 

Flex SDR1000 Connections

 

Softrock/Ensemble Connections

 

 Pi SDR IQ Plus and SDR1000 video

 

 

PowerSDR IQ v2.5.3

 

 

 

Standalone FT8 operation with Quisk and WSJT-X, Pi SDR Linux desktop firmware