PZSDR: New AMD Zync Ultrascale Based SDR Crowd Funding on Crowd Supply
Recently, the team from Puzhi Electronic wrote in and wanted to share the release of their new PZSDR software-defined radio. This is a high-end SDR, based on the AMD Zynq™ UltraScale+ XC ZU47DR RFSoC. For US$8,749 you get a direct sampling SDR with 1 MHz to 6 GHz tuning range, 8RX/8TX 14-bit coherent channels with 5GSPS/9.95GSPS sampling rate.
The PZSDR is similar to the AntSDR T510, which we posted about earlier. The AntSDR T510 is also based on the ZU47DR RFSoC, however, the AntSDR model will come with a built-in NVIDIA Jetson for Edge AI/GPU based compute. The AntSDR T510 is also due to launch on Crowd Supply soon.
We note that, when purchased from Western parts distributors like Digikey, the same AMD XCZU47DR-2FFVE1156I chip used in the PZSDR costs US$30,000+ for the chip alone, so AMD is obviously giving significantly better pricing to Asian manufacturers. Regardless, $8000 for this sort of RF capability is insane, and shows that high-end RF performance is getting cheaper and more capable over time.
Puzhi Electronic has introduced the PZSDR P047 and P047Pro, two high-performance software-defined radio platforms built around the AMD Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC XCZU47DR-2FFVE1156I. As direct-sampling SDRs with no front-end tuners, both platforms integrate 8 14-bit RF-ADC channels sampling at up to 5 GSPS and 8 14-bit RF-DAC channels running at up to 9.85 GSPS, delivering continuous frequency coverage from 1 MHz to 6 GHz. The on-chip FPGA fabric provides 930k logic cells and 4272 DSP slices for flexible channelization and real-time signal processing, paired with an on-chip processing system of 4 Arm Cortex-A53 cores at 1.333 GHz and 2 Cortex-R5 real-time cores at 533 MHz.
A defining feature of the P047 series is its native multi-board phase-coherent synchronization capability. Puzhi has validated stable synchronized operation across both 2-board and 7-board configurations, making the platforms suitable for large-scale array applications including phased array radar, massive MIMO prototyping, and precision RF direction finding systems. To support high-throughput inter-board data transfer and streaming, each board is equipped with dual 100G QSFP28 optical ports.
The P047 series is designed for developer accessibility with full PYNQ framework support and an extensive library of pre-built demos covering FPGA logic, ARM Vitis, PetaLinux, RF transceiver operation, and PYNQ notebook examples. Design resources including user manuals, schematics, DXF mechanical files and firmware are provided under a permissive license. Both models include Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, Mini DP, on-board GPS, and expandable IO interfaces.
The standard P047 ships with 4GB PS DDR4, 2GB PL DDR4, 512Mb QSPI Flash and 8GB eMMC. The P047Pro upgrades the memory subsystem to 8GB PS DDR4, 4GB PL DDR4, 1GB QSPI Flash and 32GB eMMC for higher workloads. All units carry an industrial temperature rating of -40°C to +85°C, suitable for field deployment.
Positioned as a cost-competitive alternative to premium high-end SDR platforms that typically retail for over US$30,000, the base P047 model is now available via Crowd Supply crowdfunding at US$8,749. Each unit ships as a complete kit including the board, metal enclosure, 12V power supply, GPS antenna, RF cables, USB and Ethernet cables, and accessories for immediate out-of-the-box use. The higher-spec P047Pro is also available directly from Puzhi Electronic.
Reference links:- Crowd Supply campaign (P047): https://www.crowdsupply.com/puzhi/pzsdr-p047-rf-adc-and- rf-dac - P047 official page: https://www.en.puzhi.com/Product/Software-Defined- Radio/Zynq-UltraScale-plus- RFSoC/P047 - P047Pro official page: https://www.en.puzhi.com/Product/Software-Defined- Radio/Zynq-UltraScale-plus- RFSoC/P047Pro - Official GitHub: https://github.com/pzsdr
