VANTEON vProtean Ultra Flexible Software Defined Radio Evaluation Kit User Manual

User Manual for VANTEON models including: vProtean, Ultra Flexible Software Defined Radio Evaluation Kit, Software Defined Radio Evaluation Kit, Ultra Flexible Radio Evaluation Kit, Radio Evaluation Kit, Evaluation Kit

vProtean Evaluation Kit User Manual

Nick Oddo

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vProtean / vProtean - Vanteon Wireless Solutions

vProtean Evaluation Kit User Manual

File Info : application/pdf, 15 Pages, 1.41MB

vProtean-Evaluation-Kit-User-Manual-rev3.2

Revision 3.2
TM

About Vanteon
Vanteon is a design services company offering complete electronic systems design and engineering solutions with a focus in Wireless and RF design. We offer Analog, Digital, and RF Hardware design, as well as Software and FPGA design services. To learn how Vanteon's expertise can be enlisted to help solve your most pressing challenges, visit the Vanteon website at https://vanteon.com.
Vanteon has been voted one of the "Best Companies to Work for in NY" for more than a decade.

Eval Kit Features
The vProteanTM Evaluation Kit offers the following key features:
· Convenient Carrier card that mounts directly to the vProtean SDR
· Easy to use menu-based interface running on your host PC
· Ability to independently control both TX and RX channels
· Set the center frequency of each channel · Toggle both TX and RX channels on/off · Monitor the RSSI of both RX channels · Select from a number of pre-defined waveforms
to transmit
· Transmit a custom waveform that you load on the SD card
· Trigger and capture a specified number of RX samples to the SD card
· Monitor the FPGA and transceiver temperature

Vanteon Proprietary Information subject to change without notice

Contents

Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1

Proper Care and Handling .................................................................................................. 1

Evaluation Kit Contents ..................................................................................................... 2

Technical Overview ........................................................................................................... 2

4.1

Block Diagram ............................................................................................................ 2

4.2

vProtean Evaluation Kit Specifications ......................................................................... 2

5 5.1 5.1.1 5.2 5.3 5.4

vProtean Interfaces ........................................................................................................... 3 vProtean Connectors................................................................................................... 4 J14 Connector ...................................................................................................... 4 Switches ..................................................................................................................... 4 LEDs ........................................................................................................................... 4 Mounts ...................................................................................................................... 4

vCarrier Interfaces ............................................................................................................. 5

6.1

vCarrier Connectors (Revision D) ................................................................................. 5

6.2

Test Points.................................................................................................................. 6

6.3

Switches ..................................................................................................................... 6

6.4

LEDs ........................................................................................................................... 6

6.5

Mounts ...................................................................................................................... 6

Evaluation Kit Assembly..................................................................................................... 7

8 8.1 8.1.1 8.1.2 8.1.3

User Console ..................................................................................................................... 7 Main Menu................................................................................................................. 9 TX1/RX1 and TX2/RX2 Settings Menu.................................................................. 10 TX1 and TX2 File Select Menu ............................................................................. 11 RX Waveform Capture Settings Menu ................................................................. 11

Customer Support ........................................................................................................... 12

Terms and Conditions of Sale ........................................................................................... 13

10.1

General Product Terms ............................................................................................. 13

10.2

One Year Warranty ................................................................................................... 13

Copyright Notice ............................................................................................................. 13

Trademark Acknowledgement ......................................................................................... 13

Vanteon Proprietary Information subject to change without notice

1 Introduction
The Vanteon vProteanTM is a 2x2 software defined radio (SDR) that targets communications, signal intelligence, and other multi-band processing applications. It is based on the Analog Devices ADRV9004 highly integrated wideband RF transceiver and the Xilinx Zynq-7020 all programmable System-on-Chip (SoC). The vProtean SDR has a custom RF front end that is highly flexible, allowing its frequency range to be configured from 30 to 6000 MHz.
Each vProtean SDR is pre-loaded with the vProtean SDR Evaluation Kit (VPROKIT-21) firmware. The VPROKIT-21 firmware includes Vanteon proprietary, programmable logic cores and executable code to perform transmit and receive functions via a menu-based UI over USB enabled com port from a host computer (host not included). An encrypted Vivado Project of the VPROKIT-21's FPGA firmware, along with source code of the User Interface (UI) firmware is available under a free license agreement. The vProtean schematic and layout design files, and Vanteon-proprietary DSP cores are available with a paid license. Contact Vanteon Sales for more information.

The vProtean SDR evaluation kit is sold for evaluation purposes. If you choose to use your vProtean SDR evaluation kit to transmit using an antenna, it is the user's responsibility to make sure that they are in compliance with all local laws and regulations.
2 Proper Care and Handling
All Vanteon products are thoroughly tested before shipment. The vProtean SDR is guaranteed to be functional at the time it is received by the customer. Improper use or handling of the vProtean SDR can easily cause the device to become nonfunctional. Listed below are some examples of actions which can prevent damage to the unit:
· Never allow metal objects to touch the circuit board while powered. · Always properly terminate the transmit port with an antenna or 50 load. · Always handle the board with proper anti-static methods. · Never allow the board to directly or indirectly come into contact with any voltage spikes. · Never allow any water, or condensing moisture, to come into contact with the boards. · Never apply more than 0 dBm of power into any RF input. · Always use at least 30dB attenuation if operating in a loopback configuration.

The vProtean SDR evaluation kit is supplied with heatsinks of the FPGA and transceiver IC. Under heavy processing and/or high output power levels additional airflow may be required to ensure the components remain in the specified operating temperature range to prevent damage.

Vanteon Proprietary Information subject to change without notice

3 Evaluation Kit Contents
The vProtean SDR Evaluation Kit (VPROKIT-21-C) contains the following items: · vProtean Software-Defined Radio · vProtean Carrier (vCarrier) with mounting hardware · 120VAC power supply · USB cable (Type A to Type C) · 16GB microSD card with SD card adapter
4 Technical Overview
4.1 Block Diagram

4.2 vProtean Evaluation Kit Specifications

Frequency Band 1 30 to 6000 MHz

Instantaneous Bandwidth Number of transmitters Number of receivers Maximum Transmit Power Maximum Input Receive Power Antenna connections Power control

12 kHz to 40 MHz 2 2 +19 dBm 0 dBm 50 MMCX RF connectors Wide range of output power from 20 dBm to +19 dBm

Flash

512 Mb

DDR SDRAM

4 Gb

vCarrier Input Voltage

6-30 VDC

Vanteon Proprietary Information subject to change without notice

5 vProtean Interfaces

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5.1 vProtean Connectors

The vProtean SDR has a number of connectors that allow it to be interfaced to the vCarrier board, as well as connectors for external antennas. The table below lists all of the connectors and their associated functions. Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 for connector locations.

Connector Type

Function

2x50 100 pin header

JTAG, UART, Boot Mode, Power, Reset, USB, Ethernet, SD

Card, I2C, GPIO

Contact Vanteon for additional information

MMCX

Transmit 1

MMCX

Receive 1

MMCX

Transmit 2

MMCX

Receive 2

J10

MICTOR

Debug

J11

MMCX

External Clock

J14

2-pin PicoBlade header Fan Connector

5.1.1 J14 Connector
The J14 connector is a fan connector that can be used to provide cooling for the evaluation kit. It can deliver 5V up to 200mA. Connect a suitable fan using a Molex PicoBlade connector (for example, Molex part number 15134-0200).

Pin Description

FAN -

FAN +

5.2 Switches

The vProtean SDR has two switches, whose function is described in the table below.

SW1 Switch SW2 Pushbutton

Boot Mode. Move to position J (towards Vanteon logo) for JTAG boot mode, position Q for QSPI or SD card booting. Can be overridden by carrier jumpers. Reset. Can also be driven from carrier board.

5.3 LEDs

The vProtean SDR has two LEDs, whose function is described in the table below.

LED1 Blue

On when Zynq 7020 programmable logic has been programmed

LED2 Green

Software control

5.4 Mounts

The vProtean SDR has one mounting point. In the standard configuration, it is designed for a standoff height from a carrier PCB of 9.5mm (3/8").

MNT Standoff

Use threaded spacer, screws and locking washer (supplied in kit). The smaller head screw is intended for the top side, to avoid collision with RF connectors

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6 vCarrier Interfaces

6.1 vCarrier Connectors (Revision D)

Connector Type

Function

JM2

100 pin header

Header

JTAG, UART, Boot Mode, Power, Reset, USB, Ethernet, SD Card, I2C, GPIO Contact Vanteon for additional information User Defined Differential IO (optional, if fitted)

RJ45

Ethernet 1 interface (Not supported)

RJ45

USB-C

Ethernet 0 interface USB UART serial interface

Header

I2C 3.3V interface

J6-13 Header

J14 J15-16

DC Jack Header

J17

Header

2.5V GPIO. Jumpers may be used to set input levels, or removed to use center pins as outputs. Contact Vanteon for additional information 2.5mm DC barrel jack for system power input. 6-30VDC, 20W Boot mode jumper select. May be used to override vProtean boot mode switch, otherwise leave off. Contact Vanteon for additional information USB power enable. Unused with DC supply.

J18

USB-Micro

USB-OTG host/device interface (Not supported)

SKT1 microSD

microSD card connector for storage of system firmware and TX/RX data.

Vanteon Proprietary Information subject to change without notice

6.2 Test Points
The vCarrier has 9 test points for measuring system voltages, whose function is described in the table below. GND0-3 Test Hook System ground TP_1V0 Test Hook Carrier 1.0V TP_1V8 Test Hook Carrier 1.8V TP_2V5 Test Hook Carrier 2.5V TP_5V Test Hook Carrier 5.0V TP_BUS Test Hook System input supply voltage

6.3 Switches

The vCarrier has two switches, whose function is described in the table below.

SW1 Slider SW2 Pushbutton

System power switch. Slide right to enable power from DC jack. System Reset

6.4 LEDs

The vCarrier has eight LEDs, whose function is described in the table below.

D2-9 Green

Displays the status of GPIO0-7

6.5 Mounts

The vProtean SDR has mounting points for the system and for the vProtean SDR. In the standard configuration, it is designed for a standoff height from a carrier PCB of 9.5mm (3/8").

MNT1-4 Foot

vCarrier mounting points. Fitted with rubber feet as default

MNT5 Standoff

Use threaded spacer, screws and locking washer (supplied in kit). The smaller head screw is intended for the top side, to avoid collision with RF connectors

Vanteon Proprietary Information subject to change without notice

7 Evaluation Kit Assembly
Follow the step by step instructions below to assemble your vProtean SDR evaluation kit.

Please refer to Section 2 for proper care and handling

For more information view our setup video here, or visit our website at https://vanteon.com/vprotean/
1. Install the provided microSD card into the microSD socket (SKT1) on the vCarrier.

2. Connect the vCarrier USB-C port (J4) to a customer provided PC using the provided cable. 3. Connect the supplied AC power supply to the DC Jack (J14) on the vCarrier. 4. Connect the AC power supply to an AC outlet. 5. Turn on the vProtean SDR evaluation kit by sliding the switch (SW1) on the vCarrier towards the DC Jack (J14).
8 User Console
The vProtean SDR evaluation kit is preloaded with a menu-based application that allows a user to perform transmit and receive functions through the USB interface. This section explains how to use the vProtean SDR evaluation application. The examples in this section refer to software version 3.4. Older versions may not support some of the features listed. To access the preloaded evaluation application connect the vProtean SDR evaluation kit USB port to a PC using the appropriate USB cable. Use a terminal emulator program (for example, PuTTY or HyperTerminal) on the PC to open a terminal session using the virtual COM port associated with the vProtean SDR evaluation kit.
Vanteon Corp. | 888.506.5677 | 585.419.9555 | 99 Garnsey Road, Suite 200 | Pittsford, NY 14534 | www.vanteon.com

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To determine the appropriate virtual COM port, open Device Manager and find the associated USB Serial Port. In the example below COM4 should be used.

Configure the virtual serial port in the terminal emulator as 115200 baud-8-N-1. See example below.

Vanteon Proprietary Information subject to change without notice

The evaluation kit application does not provide access to the full capabilities of the vProtean SDR platform.
To explore additional options and functionality call us at 888.506.5677 or email us at sales@vanteon.com.

8.1 Main Menu

The vProtean SDR evaluation application has a hierarchical menu structure that allows you to configure the radio and to transmit and receive test waveforms. The main menu consists of the following status and commands:

Item

Name

Function

TX RX Sample Rate

FPGA Temperature

Display of the pre-configured sample rate (not user configurable) Display of the FPGA temperature

ADRV Temperature

Display of the ADRV IC temperature

RX1 RSSI

RX2 RSSI

TX1

Display of RX1 receive signal strength indicator (RSSI) in dB relative to full scale Display of RX2 receive signal strength indicator (RSSI) in dB relative to full scale State of the transmit (Primed/Enabled)

TX2

State of the transmit (Primed/Enabled)

TX1 RX1 Settings

Configure TX1 and RX1

TX2 RX2 Settings

Configure TX2 and RX2

Capture RX

Initiate RX capture according to RX capture

settings

RX Waveform Capture Settings

Configure the RX capture parameters

Recalibrate System

Force a transceiver recalibration

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Item C

Name Switch to CLI

Function Switch to the command line interface

Please contact Vanteon for more information on the command line interface. Type menu in the CLI to return to the menu-based application.

8.1.1 TX1/RX1 and TX2/RX2 Settings Menu
There are two submenus for configuring the TX1/RX1 and TX2/RX2 pairs. This section covers both submenus and refers to TX1 and TX2 as a generic TX_, and RX1 and RX2 as a generic RX_.

Item Name

Function

1 TX_/RX_ Frequency

Set the TX_/RX_ frequency (30 MHz to 6000 MHz)

2 Toggle TX_ 3 TX_ Waveform Select

Toggles transmit for TX_ on/off PRIMED Transmit disabled ENABLED Transmit enabled
Go to TX_ waveform select menu

4 Digital Attenuation (dB) 5 TX_ Front End Atten (dB) 6 TX_ BOOST

Attenuation that is applied digitally to the transmit waveform (0 to 100 dB) Sets the attenuation in the ADRV9004 (0 to 41.5 dB), value can only be changed when TX is disabled Adds an additional 3 dB to the transmit

7 Toggle RX_

Toggles receive for RX_ on/off PRIMED Receive disabled ENABLED Receive enabled

The vProtean SDR evaluation kit is supplied with heatsinks on the FPGA and transceiver IC. Under heavy processing and/or high output power levels additional airflow may be required to ensure the components remain in the specified operating temperature range to prevent damage.
The FPGA and ADRV temperatures displayed on the main menu should be monitored by the user, and external cooling (for example, directed fan) should be applied as needed to prevent damage.

The TX Waveform Select Menu configures the waveform that is transmitted when the TX is toggled on. When the transmit is enabled, the selected waveform is transmitted repeatedly.

Item Name

Function

- Current Waveform

Display the current selected waveform

1 Zeros

Fills transmit buffer with zero waveform

2 CW

Single tone at carrier frequency

3 USB Tone, Offset=FS/32

Upper side band waveform, FS=sample rate

4 Dual Tone, Offset=FS/32+FS/8

Dual tone waveform, FS=sample rate

5 File

Go to file select menu to load waveform file from SD card

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Item Name 6 Ramp 7 Chirp

Function
Transmits a waveform whose amplitude increases overtime Transmits a linear FM signal

8.1.2 TX1 and TX2 File Select Menu
The File Menu allows the user to select a user defined file from the SD card that specifies the transmit waveform. Use the UP and DOWN arrows on your keyboard to highlight the file you want to select and press Enter.
The format of the filename must have a ".iq" extension to show up in the file list.
The format of a transmit waveform is a .CSV file with one sample (IQ pair) per line with I and Q values separated by a comma. Channel 1 and Channel 2 data is alternated in the file, where the first line is TX1. Values must be within the range of -32768 to 32767, inclusive. See below for an example file format.

TX1 TX2 TX1 TX2 TX1 TX2 TX1 TX2 TX1 TX2
The TX waveform file must contain between a minimum of 512 samples and a maximum of 4,194,304 samples, inclusive. The number of samples should be a multiple of 512. If the number of samples is not a multiple of 512, the TX waveform will be zero padded to the next multiple of 512.

The evaluation kit should be powered down whenever mounting or removing the microSD card.

8.1.3 RX Waveform Capture Settings Menu
The RX Waveform Capture Settings Menu allows the user to set the number of samples captured and the file to which the samples are saved. It also allows the user to configure which RX channel will be captured.
The format of a captured waveform is a .CSV file with one sample (IQ pair) per line with I and Q values separated by a comma. Channel 1 and Channel 2 data is alternated in the file. See below for an example.
Due to a known bug in version 3.4 the first RX2 sample should be discarded prior to post processing

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RX2 RX1 RX2 RX1 RX2 RX1 RX2 RX1 RX2 RX1

If the captured waveform filename has an ".iq" extension it will show up in the TX waveform list if the capture was successful.

Item

Name

Function

Filename

The name of the file to save the RX

samples to. The filename can be up to 9

characters. The filename extension can be

up to 2 characters. It is recommended that the filename extension be ".iq"

Samples

The number of samples to capture.

Must be a multiple of 512 IQ samples.

RX Channel [1,2,3]

Configure which RX channel the capture

should be performed on.

1 Capture RX1 2 Capture RX2 3 Capture RX1 & RX2

9 Customer Support
If you experience difficulty after reading the manual and/or using the product, please feel free to contact support@vanteon.com for additional assistance.

Need support?
Vanteon offers contract engineering services and can assist you in implementing the vProtean SDR into your system.
Need short term support?
Purchase a 2, 4, 8, or 40-hour block of engineering support to get access to a team of engineers to support your needs. Engineering support blocks can be purchased directly from our website with any major credit card. For more information visit our website at https://vanteon.com/engineering-support-blocks/.

Vanteon Proprietary Information subject to change without notice

10 Terms and Conditions of Sale
10.1 General Product Terms
All sales of product are subject to the terms and conditions described in "Vanteon Corporation Terms and Conditions of Product Sales". Unless explicitly agreed to in writing, Vanteon rejects all modifications to these standard terms and conditions.
10.2 One Year Warranty
Vanteon Corporation provides a One-Year Limited Warranty for all products sold. Should this product, in Vanteon Corporation's opinion, fail to be in good working order during the warranty period, Vanteon Corporation will, at its option, repair or replace this product at no charge, provided that the product has not been subject to abuse, misuse, accident or unauthorized modification or repair.
Products returned to Vanteon must be pre-authorized by Vanteon and sent prepaid, insured, and packaged for safe shipment. Vanteon will return this product by prepaid ground shipment service.
Should the product prove to be irreparable, Vanteon reserves the right to substitute an equivalent product if available. Full warranty details are included in "Vanteon Corporation Terms and Conditions of Product Sales" available at www.vanteon.com.
The above warranty is the only warranty authorized by Vanteon for this product. Under no circumstances will Vanteon be liable in any way for any damages, including any lost profits, business revenue, special, indirect, incidental, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages arising out of the use of, or inability to use such product.
11 Copyright Notice
The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Vanteon Corporation shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material. This document contains proprietary information that is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another language without the prior written consent of Vanteon Corporation.
Copyright © 2022 by Vanteon Corporation.
12 Trademark Acknowledgement
Vanteon Corporation acknowledges all trademarks, registered trademarks and/or copyrights referred to in this document as the property of their respective owners. Not listing all possible trademarks or copyright acknowledgements does not constitute a lack of acknowledgement to the rightful owners of the trademarks and copyrights mentioned in this document.

References

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