Lime Microsystems has today announced the support of Frequency Control Products (FCP) company Rakon for its LimeSDR Mini platform.
The Rakon oscillator − along with the Lime LMS7002 and Altera’s FPGA − is one of the three key components in the LimeSDR platform. Having the backing of Rakon enables the LimeSDR Mini to deliver its leading performance at a price point that makes SDR accessible.
“The LimeSDR Mini makes software-defined radio development radically more accessible,” says Darren Robinson, Rakon Sales & Marketing Director.
“Rakon invests in technology to develop the next generation of FCPs required for the fast moving communications industry. We are pleased to be partnering with Lime Microsystems to provide one of the core components for their open source software-defined radio solution.”
Ebrahim Bushehri, CEO of Lime, says: “Rakon’s technology is key to enabling the full capabilities of the LimeSDR, so we’re delighted to have this backing. Crucially, it allows us to provide an unbeatable performance and price, therefore bringing in even more developers into RF system development.”
The LimeSDR Mini was created to bring some of the most advanced SDR equipment available to the market at an affordable price point. Prices for the SDR boards start at just $139, fixed throughout the LimeSDR Mini Crowd Supply campaign, which ends 30 October.
LimeSDR has also adopted an App-Store approach, partnering with Ubuntu. This allows developers to sell and share their apps to organisations and individuals, and allows them to download and get RF systems running within minutes.
The LimeSDR and LimeNET campaigns were backed by BT/EE and Vodafone respectively.
LimeSDR Technical specifications:
The LimeSDR and LimeSDR Mini are highly-configurable software defined radio platforms that can work with virtually any standard from IoT (LoRa / SigFox) to mobile comms (2G, 3G, 4G). They use the Lime LS7002 RF chip to operate from 100 kHz to 3.8 GHz (LimeSDR) or 10MHz to 3.5 GHz (Mini) and enable software configuration at the Radio Access Network.
This frequency range can be extended to over 10 GHz via a companion board also available via Crowd Supply.