March 18, 2016

KiwiSDR: 30 MHz Bandwidth VLF to HF SDR now on KickStarter

Back on February 8 we posted about the up and coming KiwiSDR, a software defined radio with 30 MHz of bandwidth and a tuning range that covers 0 – 30 MHz (VLF to HF). It is intended to be a low cost web based SDR that can be accessed from all over the world via a browser interface.

The KiwiSDR is designed as a cape for the BeagleBone Black mini embedded computer, and uses a LTC 14-bit 65 MHz ADC and Xilinx Artix-7 A35 FPGA. It also has an integrated SDR based GPS receiver which is used to automatically compensate for any frequency drift from the main 66.6 MHz oscillator. It runs on the OpenwebRX web based software, which many RTL-SDR users have already been using to stream live radio to the web.

Today the KiwiSDR started its crowd funding campaign on Kickstarter. A full KiwiSDR can be purchased for $199 USD, or for $299 including an enclosure, BeagleBone computer and GPS antenna. The fundraising goal is for $50,000 USD and if successful they estimate delivery in October 2016. The creators of the KiwiSDR write:

Sure, the world doesn’t really need another SDR. But we haven’t found one with this set of features. In cost and performance, KiwiSDR fits between RTL-SDR USB dongle-style, or fixed DDC chip devices ($20 – $400, 8-12 bit ADC, limited bandwidth), and full 16-bit SDRs ($700 – $3500) while offering better wide-band, web-enabled capabilities than the more expensive SDRs.

Our main motivation is to enable new applications which utilize a significant number of programmable, web-accessible SDRs world-wide. Direction finding remains one of the great under-solved problems of shortwave listening, particularly for utility stations. Given the GPS timing available on the KiwiSDR, could time-of-arrival techniques between cooperating SDRs be used? We’d sure like to find out.

Also, we’d like to see data decoders built directly into the web interface of KiwiSDR. There are many standalone programs that demodulate and decode data signals from SDRs. But these are computer- and OS-specific and often require a complicated interface to the data stream from the SDR. For example, we have a prototype of a WSPR decoder that is integrated into the KiwiSDR interface.

There are currently three KiwiSDR servers running publicly at the moment, and they can be accessed at:

http://kiwisdr.sk3w.se:8073
http://kiwisdr.ece.uvic.ca:8073
http://kiwisdr.com:8073

KiwiSDR Running on OpenWebRX. Full 0 - 30 MHz spectrum. — KiwiSDR Running on OpenWebRX. Full 0 – 30 MHz spectrum.

February 8, 2016

KiwiSDR: 30 MHz Bandwidth SDR for VLF/LF/MF/HF

The KiwiSDR is an up and coming VLF/LF/MF/HF capable SDR that has a large 30 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth and coverage from 10 kHz to 30 MHz. It is designed to be low cost and used as an online internet based SDR in a similar way to how WebSDR is used, however KiwiSDR is designed to be used with the OpenWebRX software from András Retzler, HA7ILM. It uses a LTC 14-bit 65 MHz ADC and Xilinx Artix-7 A35 FPGA, and also has an integrated SDR based GPS receiver which is used to automatically compensate for any frequency drift from the main 66.6 MHz oscillator. The features of the KiwiSDR include:

100% Open Source / Open Hardware.
Includes VLF-HF active antenna and associated power injector PCBs.
Browser-based interface allowing multiple simultaneous user web connections (currently 4).
Each connection tunes an independent receiver channel over the entire spectrum.
Waterfall tunes independently of audio and includes zooming and panning.
Multi-channel, parallel DDC design using bit-width optimized CIC filters.
Good performance at VLF/LF since I personally spend time monitoring those frequencies.
Automatic frequency calibration via received GPS timing.
Easy hardware and software setup. Browser-based configuration interface.

The KiwiSDR is currently in beta testing and has released two OpenWebRX beta test sites which can be used at:

http://kiwisdr.sk3w.se:8073/
http://kiwisdr.ece.uvic.ca:8073/