USRP-E1x0 Series

Table of Contents

• Comparative features list
• Specify a Non-standard Image
• Changing the Master Clock Rate
  • Set 61.44MHz - uses external VCXO
  • Set other rates - uses internal VCO
• Clock Synchronization
  • Ref Clock - 10MHz
  • PPS - Pulse Per Second
  • Internal GPSDO
• Hardware Setup Notes
  • Front panel LEDs
• Miscellaneous
  • Available Sensors

Comparative features list

• Hardware Capabilities:
  • 1 transceiver card slot
  • Internal PPS reference input
  • Internal 10 MHz reference input
  • Configurable clock rate (defaults to 64 MHz)
  • Internal GPSDO option
• FPGA Capabilities:
  • 2 RX DDC chains in FPGA
  • 1 TX DUC chain in FPGA
  • Timed commands in FPGA
  • Timed sampling in FPGA
  • sc8 and sc16 sample modes
    • Up to 8 MHz of RF BW with 16-bit samples
    • Up to 16 MHz of RF BW with 8-bit samples

Specify a Non-standard Image

UHD software will automatically select the USRP-Embedded FPGA image from the installed images package. The FPGA image selection can be overridden with the fpga device address parameter.

Example device address string representations to specify non-standard FPGA image:

fpga=usrp_e100_custom.bin

Changing the Master Clock Rate

The master clock rate of the USRP-Embedded feeds both the FPGA DSP and the codec chip. Hundreds of rates between 32 MHz and 64 MHz are available. A few notable rates are:

• 64 MHz: maximum rate of the codec chip
• 61.44 MHz: good for UMTS/WCDMA applications
• 52 MHz: good for GSM applications

Set 61.44MHz - uses external VCXO

To use the 61.44 MHz clock rate with the USRP-Embedded, two jumpers must be moved on the device.

• J16 is a two pin header; remove the jumper (or leave it on pin1 only).

• J15 is a three pin header; move the jumper to (pin1, pin2).

  Note:** See instructions below to communicate the desired clock rate to UHD software.

Set other rates - uses internal VCO

To use other clock rates, the jumpers will need to be in the default position.

• J16 is a two pin header; move the jumper to (pin1, pin2).
• J15 is a three pin header; move the jumper to (pin2, pin3).

To communicate the desired clock rate into UHD software, specify the a special device address argument, where the key is master_clock_rate and the value is a rate in Hz. Example:

uhd_usrp_probe --args="master_clock_rate=52e6"

Clock Synchronization

Ref Clock - 10MHz

The E1xx has a 10MHz TCXO which can be used to discipline the flexible clocking by selecting REF_INT for the uhd::clock_config_t.

Alternately, an external 10MHz reference clock can be supplied by soldering a connector.

• Connector J10 (REF_IN) needs MCX connector WM5541-ND or similar.
• Square wave will offer the best phase noise performance, but sinusoid is acceptable.
• Power level: 0 to 15dBm
• Select REF_SMA in uhd::clock_config_t.

PPS - Pulse Per Second

An external PPS signal for timestamp synchronization can be supplied by soldering a connector.

• Connector J13 (PPS) needs MCX connector WM5541-ND or similar.
• Requires a square wave signal.
• Amplitude: 3.3 to 5 Vpp

Test the PPS input with the following app (<args> are device address arguments, optional if only one USRP device is on your machine):

cd <install-path>/lib/uhd/examples
./test_pps_input --args=<args>

Internal GPSDO

Please see the Internal GPSDO (USRP-N2x0/E1X0 Models) for information on configuring and using the internal GPSDO.

UHD software will always try to detect an installed GPSDO at runtime. It is not necessary to burn a special EEPROM value for GPSDO detection.

Hardware Setup Notes

Front panel LEDs

The LEDs on the front panel can be useful in debugging hardware and software issues. The LEDs reveal the following about the state of the device:

• LED A: transmitting
• LED B: PPS signal
• LED C: receiving
• LED D: FPGA loaded
• LED E: reference lock
• LED F: board power

Miscellaneous

Available Sensors

The following sensors are available; they can be queried through the API.

• ref_locked: clock reference locked (internal/external)
• other sensors are added when the GPSDO is enabled