[hpsdr] HPSDR board form factors

[Lyle Johnson]

Hello Krister!

> Just recently discovered the HPSDR project while researching the net for
> information related to SDR. I'm favorably impressed, so much so that I'm
> ready to contribute something to this effort. I could do PCB design
> using PADS or Eagle, or FPGA  design using Quartus II 6.0. I work as a
> senior lecturer at Helsinki Polytechnic in Finland, teaching those very
> topics, in addition to embedded systems and computer engineering. We
> also have an excellent RF lab with microwave network analyzers and such.

Wonderful!

You might want to consider a direct email to one of the project 
"leaders" for a project you are particularly interested in; alternately 
you might think of a module that we need that isn't listed, or active, 
and take on the "leader" status for it.

Currently, Janus and Ozy are getting ready for production by TAPR 
<http://www.tapr.org> and the Open Hardware License should be ready for 
public review in the very near future.

After the holidays, I suspect Odyssey will start moving quickly.  Some 
of the test results from it should help drive the receiver section of 
Phoenix.

Mercury is being pursued by the two Phils, and once the Open Hardware 
License is in place Rick should have Gibraltar on the fast track.

I'll be moving forward with Sasquatch very soon -- hopefully some 
progress during the holidays.  It will use an Ac tel Flash FPGA, but I 
am looking at designed the PC board so it could possibly use an Altera 
FPGA as a build time option.  Sasquatch is so general purpose that there 
should be plenty of opportunity for FPGA work/help!

> Looking at the already presented HPSDR modules, there's one detail that
> puzzles me. Why are the I/O connectors NOT located at the opposite board
> edge from the bus connector? What kind of enclosure has been planned for
> a complete system? One would assume that something similar to Compact
> PCI would be ideal, where each module can be inserted and withdrawn from
> the front of the enclosure. However, this is not possible with the
> present arrangement of the connectors.

The original discussions centered around the use of a small form factor 
PC style enclosure.  This drove the connector side choice and the 
board-to-board spacing on the ATLAS bus, as well as the use of a 
PC-style power connector on ATLAS.

73,

Lyle kK7P


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