[HN Gopher] RF Breadboarding System
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       RF Breadboarding System
        
       Author : ChuckMcM
       Score  : 22 points
       Date   : 2023-04-21 00:37 UTC (22 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.saelig.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.saelig.com)
        
       | geocrasher wrote:
       | I thought I'd see something more like this Amateur Radio homebrew
       | proto board I designed a while back:
       | 
       | https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/W7RLF_Proto_Boar...
        
       | ChuckMcM wrote:
       | This looks interesting, but not particularly well marketed.
       | Probably close to $4K configured to do basic RF work but I found
       | it interesting. I am a bit surprised it doesn't have a basic FPGA
       | + ADC/DAC module that could provide transceiver functions. (it
       | may, it could just be the sparse descriptions)
       | 
       | I have been noodling on the idea of a "modular" amateur radio and
       | this popped up on my research on whether or not there was
       | something out there already doing that.
        
         | bschup wrote:
         | Maybe not entirely what you're looking for but certainly
         | modular. https://quanticxmw.com/
        
           | ChuckMcM wrote:
           | That is pretty cool.
        
         | jpm_sd wrote:
         | Kind of clever, but you could probably accomplish most of this
         | with modules from Mini-Circuits:
         | 
         | https://www.minicircuits.com/
        
           | marktangotango wrote:
           | Very cool, asking as a layman, what parts would one use to
           | implement hobby level microwave, two way, point to point
           | communication?
        
             | CamperBob2 wrote:
             | Surplus ones from eBay. Buying this stuff new would send
             | most of us to the poorhouse.
        
         | edrxty wrote:
         | I've also been working up an idea. You can do a lot with a
         | frontend and ADC that can be on a single board and push
         | everything into the digital domain where board to board
         | connectors work better. I want to do a vhf/uhf+ dual slot
         | modular SDR handheld that has first class data support, so no
         | stupid AF modems to get APRS or M17.
        
       | mNovak wrote:
       | Pretty cool--it seems very focused on FPGA type RF backends, so
       | stretches a bit what I'd personally call RF breadboarding
       | (compared to actual RF circuits, power dividers, etc).
       | 
       | I feel there's definitely a need for generally making RF
       | equipment more hobby friendly. I've long had the thought to make
       | a modular RF test station, similar to the NI-PXI [1], but you
       | know, not $50k. Similarly at one point I actually starting making
       | prototypes of a simplified, low-frequency clone of the
       | X-Microwave [2] system, which feels more like what I mean by RF
       | breadboard.
       | 
       | [1] https://www.ni.com/en-us/shop/hardware/products/pxi-rf-
       | multi...
       | 
       | [2] https://quanticxmw.com/reference-design-kits/
        
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       (page generated 2023-04-21 23:01 UTC)