LimeSDR CrowdFunding Closing in Four Days: 80% Funded

The LimeSDR is a new transmit capable software defined radio with a 100 kHz – 3.8 GHz frequency range, 12-bit ADC and 61.44 MHz bandwidth which is currently seeking crowdfunding. At the time of this post there is about four days left to reach the $500k goal, and it is only 80% funded. To try and reach their funding goal they have released another batch of discounted units which cost only $249 USD. After the crowd funding campaign the price will rise to $289/$299 USD. If the LimeSDR is not funded in time, they write that the project will unfortunately be put on hold and it’s future may be uncertain. We believe that this product is shaping up to be a very good TX/RX capable SDR, like the HackRF and bladeRF, but much better overall and for the same or even lower price.

Recently they also released some new updates that show off some LimeSDR features. In a post previously featured on our blog beta tester Alexandru showed how he was able to get the LimeSDR to transmit DVB-S2 HDTV. In later updates they showed how the LimeSDR can be used to:

The LimeSDR Board
The LimeSDR Board

16 comments

  1. AD5NL

    I’m mulling this. Slightly annoyed that it is just slightly (like a couple mm) too big to fit in an Altoid tin. Seems like MakerNerd 101 — make sure it fits in a candy case. =)

  2. Awarru Tark

    How do we publicize this project in the last few days to push it over the crowdfunding threshold?
    I really want it to succeed, and maybe there are some other outlets this news can be posted on to get a last surge.
    Does anyone have any ideas?

  3. depanelization

    Some do provide SWR plots, but I’ve found they don’t match up when I test them. I’ve purchased quite a few antennas from China and suggest you buy from more reputable suppliers that take the time to vet products. The Chinese antennas usually do have decent SWR at some frequency, but rarely the advertised/intended frequency band. I’ve had better results with antennas sourced via Digikey and Mouser. The best antennas I have are the ones I’ve made though. Make them, test, and adjust.

    • depanelization

      This was intended to be a reply to the discussion about antennas below… Not sure why the reply posted to the top level instead

  4. David

    I can’t get on this bandwaggon. It seems way too expensive to me. IMO, for a decent out of box experience you need to add the shielded enclosure and the four rubber duck antennas. That pushes the cost up from an already pricey $249 to a whopping $599! There is mention of some sort of software that comes with the $599 version, but if you can’t just download the same software for all versions, then the situation is even worse. The $199 “Early Bird” should be (at most) the baseline for the board alone. One more thing that irks me: There seems to be no way to externally discipline the clock. The Rakon oscillator family chosen for this board is a decent, but I can’t easily find out if they used a TCXO OR VCTCXO version part.

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