LFRX for Radar

[giube]

Hi all,

I'm trying to arrange a Radar system, using 2 USRP2 boards in TX and RX respectively (synchronized with MIMO cable), with XCVR2450 daughterboard in TX @5GHz and LFRX-LF daughterboard in RX @Baseband, receving the signal from the output of an external mixer.

I can only use 1 SMA port in TX and 1 SMA port in RX.

I want to use a chirp signal with some MHz of RF Bandwidth, generated via LabView self-made SW, and also making the processing with LabView.

My questions are:

1- if I generate a complex signal using IQ components, can I receive the complex signal with the only SMA port I can use at the LFRX-LF front-end?

2- Is it possible to get a radar compliant signal with this configuration?

3- If yes, what is the correct parameter to use in the LFRX-LF sub-devices settings to receive a radar compliant signal? RX-A? RXA? A? AB?

Many thanks to who will help me 🙂

[Lamber_86]

Hi,

1) you can receive the complex signal with LFRX-LF but obviously you have to bring the signal in baseband with a mixer

2-3)Yes, you can! you have to read the radar compliant specification and set the properly acquisition property.

[giube]

Thanks a lot,

1) yes, I have an external mixer and its IF output is connected to the SMA input port of the USRP2/LFRX-LF. My doubt was if at the RX-A or RX-B port of LFRX-LF it was possible to acquire complex signal or if this daughetrboard "cuts" the complex signal and what you can acquire is only the real part of the signal.

2-3) thank you, I'm trying to find the official settings but I've found only docs for GNU Radio and not for LV. Then I'm not sure if the parameters I've set (RX-A, RX-B, ...) are correct and if, to get the complex signal, I ahve to use some specific parameter (AB? RX-AB?).

[ErikL]

does this help?

https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-40272

[giube]

Could help, thanks. But why in the ettus official pages they write "Real signal", if in the link you mention it seems you can get a complex signal?

[ErikL]

I and Q are still the output of the LabVIEW VI. But instead of real and imaginary it's just channel 1 and channel 2. (Two real signals)

[ErikL]

Smetimes the basic boards or LF boards are used with a custom down converter. In that case they are operated in quadrature AB mode.