AD-FMCOMMS2-EBZ

2x2 MIMO RF Agile Transceiver™, 70 MHz to 6.0 GHz.

Overview

The EVAL-AD-FMCOMMS2 is an FMC board for the AD9361 (design package), a highly integrated RF Agile Transceiver™. While the complete chip level design package can be found on the ADI web site, information on the card, and how to use it, the design package that surrounds it, and the software which can make it work, can be found here.

The purpose of the AD-FMCOMMS2-EBZ is to provide an RF platform which shows maximum performance of the AD9361. It’s expected that the RF performance of this platform can meet the datasheet specifications without issues at 2.4 GHz, and not much anywhere else. This is due to the external Johanson Technology’s 2450BL15B050E 2.45 GHz Balun that is on the board. This balun is rated for an operating frequency of 2400~2500 MHz.

This platform is primarily for hardware / RF investigation and bring up of various waveforms from a RF team before their custom hardware is complete, where they want to see waveforms at their frequency of interest, and are not afraid of changing out the balun if necessary. (Have a look in the Configuration sections).

The AD-FMCOMMS2-EBZ board is very similar to the AD-FMCOMMS3-EBZ board with only one exception, the RX/TX RF differential to single ended balun/transformer. The AD-FMCOMMS3-EBZ is more targeted for wider tuning range applications, that is why we use the TCM1-63AX+ from Mini Circuits as the RF transformer of choice. We affectionately call the FMCOMMS3-EBZ the “Software Engineers” platform, and the FMCOMMS2-EBZ, the “RF Engineers” platform to denote the difference.

Features:

• 2x2 MIMO transceiver with integrated 12-bit DACs and ADCs

• Tunable frequency range: 70 MHz to 6.0 GHz

• Adjustable channel bandwidth: 200 kHz to 56 MHz

• Johanson Technology 2.45 GHz balun (optimized for 2.4 GHz)

• FMC-LPC system board connector

• On-board power solution

Applications:

• Software-defined radio (SDR)

• Point-to-point communication

• Wireless LAN (2.4 GHz)

• LTE/3G femtocell base stations

• General-purpose radio experimentation

Figure 1 AD-FMCOMMS2-EBZ

Recommendations

People who follow the flow that is outlined, have a much better experience with things. However, like many things, documentation is never as complete as it should be. If you have any questions, check the Help and Support page.

To better understand the AD9361, we recommend to use the EVAL-AD-FMCOMMS2 evaluation board.

Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Hardware: This provides a brief description of the board by itself, and is a good reference for those who want to understand a little more about the board. If you just want to use the board, you can skip this section, and come back to it when you want to incorporate the AD9361 into your product.

   1. Hardware

      1. Characteristics & Performance

      2. Configuration options

      3. FCC or CE certification

      4. Tuning the system

   2. Production Testing Process

3. Use the board to better understand the AD9361

   1. What you need to get started

   2. Quick Start Guides

      1. On ZC702

      2. On ZC706

      3. On ZED

      4. On ZCU102

      5. On KCU105

      6. On KC705, VC707 (Obsolete)

      7. Configure a pre-existing SD-Card

   3. Linux Applications

      1. Using the IIO Oscilloscope

         1. AD9361 Control in the IIO Scope Plugin

         2. Advanced AD9361 Control IIO Scope Plugin

      2. Shell scripts

      3. FRU EEPROM Utility

   4. Push custom data into/out of the AD9361

      1. Basic Data files and formats

      2. Create and analyze data files in MATLAB

      3. Stream data into/out of MATLAB

      4. AD9361 libiio streaming example

      5. Python Interfaces

4. Design with the AD9361

   1. Understanding the AD9361

      • AD9361 Product page

      • Full Datasheet and chip design package

      • MATLAB Filter Design Wizard for AD9361

      • Filter response

      • AD9361 Filter Design license

   2. Simulation

      1. MathWorks RF Blockset (formerly SimRF) Models of the AD9361

      2. Installing RF Blockset Models

      3. How to run the AD9361 Receive Testbench

   3. Hardware in the Loop / How to design your own custom BaseBand

      1. MATLAB/Simulink Examples

         • Stream data into/out of MATLAB

         • Beacon Frame Receiver Example

         • QPSK Transmit and Receive Example

         • LTE Transmitter and Receiver Example

         • ADS-B Airplane Tracking Example

      2. GNU Radio

      3. FM Radio/Tuner (listen to FM signals on the HDMI monitor)

      4. C example

   4. Targeting

      1. Analog Devices Transceiver Toolbox for MATLAB and Simulink

      2. QPSK Modem Design Workflow

   5. Complete Workflow

      1. ADS-B Airplane Tracking Tutorial

   6. Design a custom AD9361 based platform

      1. Linux software

         • AD-FMCOMMS2/3/4-EBZ on Microblaze

         • Linux Device Driver

         • Build the demo on ZC702, ZC706, ZED from source

         • Linux with HDMI video output on Zynq

         • Build the demo on KC705 or VC707 for Microblaze from source

         • Build ZynqMP/MPSoC Linux kernel and devicetrees from source

         • Customizing the devicetree on the target

      2. No-OS Software

         • No-OS AD9361 project

      3. HDL reference design which you must use in your FPGA.

         • Digital Interface Timing Validation

         • Partial Reconfiguration with FMCOMMS2

5. Additional Documentation about SDR Signal Chains

   • The math behind the RF

   • I/Q Correction

   • IQ rotation and phase sync

6. Help and Support

Videos

Introduction to the AD9361

AD9361 RF Agile Transceiver

Introduction to the AD9361 based ecosystem

AD9361 RF Transceiver and Support Ecosystem

Digital Filter Wizard for the AD9361

Digital Filter Design For Integrated RF Transceivers

Software Defined Radio using the Linux IIO Framework

iiosdr.mp4

ADI Articles

• Four Quick Steps to Production: Using Model-Based Design for Software-Defined Radio

  • Part 1 - the Analog Devices/Xilinx SDR Rapid Prototyping Platform: Its Capabilities, Benefits, and Tools

  • Part 2 - Mode S Detection and Decoding Using MATLAB and Simulink

  • Part 3 - Mode S Signals Decoding Algorithm Validation Using Hardware in the Loop

  • Part 4 - Rapid Prototyping Using the Zynq SDR Kit and Simulink Code Generation Workflow

MathWorks Webinars

• Modelling and Simulating Analog Devices’ RF Transceivers with MATLAB and RF Blockset (formerly SimRF)

• Getting Started with Software-Defined Radio using MATLAB and Simulink

Warning

All the products described on this page include ESD (electrostatic discharge) sensitive devices. Electrostatic charges as high as 4000V readily accumulate on the human body or test equipment and can discharge without detection. Although the boards feature ESD protection circuitry, permanent damage may occur on devices subjected to high-energy electrostatic discharges. Therefore, proper ESD precautions are recommended to avoid performance degradation or loss of functionality. This includes removing static charge on external equipment, cables, or antennas before connecting to the device.

Help and support

Please go to Help and Support page.