Twin Tunable RF Transceiver

User’s Guide

December 2009
Revision history

Revision Date Comments

1.0 September 2008 First version.

1.1 October 2008 Updated for release 3.0.0 of the ADP software tools.
1.2 December 2008 Updated for release 3.1.0 of the ADP software tools.
1.3 December 2009 Added grounding instructions.

© Lyrtech Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this document may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means — graphical, electronic, or
mechanical (which includes photocopying, recording, taping, and information storage/retrieval systems) —
without the express written permission of Lyrtech Inc.

To ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, particular attention was given to usage in preparing
this document. It corresponds to the product version manufactured prior to the date appearing on the title page.
There may be differences between the document and the product, if the product was modified after the
production of the document.

Lyrtech Inc. reserves itself the right to make changes and improvements to the product described in this
document at any time and without notice.

Version 1.3
First edition, September, 2008
Trademarks
Acrobat, Adobe, and Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the
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The TM and ® marks have been omitted from the text.

WARNING
Do not use Lyrtech products in conjunction with life-monitoring or life-critical equipment. Failure to observe this
warning relieves Lyrtech of any and all responsibility.

FCC WARNING
This equipment is intended for use in a controlled environment only. It generates, uses, and can radiate radio
frequency energy and has not been tested for compliance with the limits of personal computers and peripherals
pursuant to subpart J of part 15 of the FCC rules. These rules are designed to provide reasonable protection against
radio frequency interference. Operating this equipment in other environments may cause interference with radio
communications, in which case the user must, at his/her expense, take whatever measures are required to correct this
interference.

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 Introduction

Introduction

Congratulations on the purchase of your Twin Tunable RF Transceiver.

Organization
The present document is organized as follows:

Product description and installation introduces the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver and presents the major
hardware elements of the transceiver, including connectors and various other components. It also explains how to
install the unit.

Specifications outlines the major specifications of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver.

Conventions
In a procedure containing several steps, the operations that the user has to execute are numbered (1, 2, 3…). The
diamond (♦) is used to indicate a procedure containing only one step, or secondary steps. Lowercase letters (a, b,
c…) can also be used to indicate secondary steps in a complex procedure.

The abbreviation NC is used to indicate no connection.

Capitals are used to identify any term marked as is on an instrument, such as the names of connectors, buttons,
indicator lights, etc. Capitals are also used to identify key names of the computer keyboard.

All terms used in software, such as the names of menus, commands, dialog boxes, text boxes, and options, are
presented in bold font style.

The abbreviation N/A is used to indicate something that is not applicable or not available at the time of press.

Note
The screen captures in this document are taken from the software version available at the time of press. For this
reason, they may differ slightly from what appears on your screen, depending on the software version that you
are using. Furthermore, the screen captures may differ from what appears on your screen if you use different
appearance settings.

Glossary of terms
Throughout this document, you will find references to the following terms. Refer to the following table as to
their definitions.

Table 1 Glossary of terms

Term Definition

Application programming interface (API) An application programming interface is the interface that a computer system,
library, or application provides to allow requests for services to be made of it
by other computer programs or to allow data to be exchanged between them.
Base design Empty design or template that is incapable of data processing and is not

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Twin Tunable RF Transceiver—User's guide—v1.3

Term Definition
instantiated in the custom logic of the board’s FPGA.
Board software development kit Abbreviated BSDK, this kit gives users the possibility to quickly become fully
functional developing C/C++ or assembly code for the DSP, and HDL code for
the FPGA through an understanding of all Lyrtech boards’ major interfaces.
Chassis Refers to the rigid framework onto which the CPU board, Lyrtech
development platforms, and other equipment are mounted. It also supports the
shell-like case — the housing that protects all the vital internal equipment from
dust, moisture, and tampering.
Computer communication development Refers to developing custom communications applications to communicate
with Lyrtech boards.
cPCI Short for CompactPCI, refers to a 3U or 6U Eurocard-based industrial
computer where the all boards are connected through a passive PCI backplane.
cPCI chassis system Refers to the chassis-CPU board-case system.
cPCI CPU Host CPU of the cPCI chassis system, responsible for processing and
communications between the hardware in the cPCI chassis and the remote
computer connected to the cPCI chassis system.
Default design Design loaded by default on Lyrtech boards used for FPGA design.
Digital signal processing Digital signal processing is the study of signals in a digital representation and
the processing methods of these signals. The algorithms required for DSP are
sometimes performed using specialized devices that use specialized
microprocessors called digital signal processors (DSP).
Digital signal processor (DSP) A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor designed specifically
for digital signal processing, generally in real time.
Example Refers to examples used to demonstrate functions or applications supplied with
the board software development kit. For this reason, examples come in two
flavors: application examples and functional examples.
Eurocard Refers to a European standard format for printed-circuit boards that can be
connected together in a standardized subrack.
HDL Stands for hardware description language.
Host A host is defined as the device that configures and controls a Lyrtech board.
The host may be a standard computer or the CPU board of the cPCI chassis
system where the Lyrtech board is installed. You can develop applications on
the host for Lyrtech boards through the use of an application programming
interface (API) that comprises protocols and functions necessary to build
software applications. These API are supplied with the Lyrtech board.
Model-based design Refers to all the Lyrtech board-specific tools and software used for
development with the boards in MATLAB and Simulink and the Lyrtech
model-based design kit(s).
Reception Any data received by the referent is a reception. Abbreviated RX.
Reference design Blueprint of an FPGA system implanted on Lyrtech boards. It is intended for
others to copy and contains the essential elements of a working system (in
other words, it is capable of data processing), but third parties may enhance or
modify the design as necessary.
Software development Refers to development performed with and for the board with a software
development kit. Software development for a board comes in three flavors:
host software development, DSP software development, and FPGA software
development.
Transmission Any data transmitted by the referent is a transmission. Abbreviated TX.
VHDL Stands for VHSIC hardware description language.
VHSIC Stands for very-high-speed integrated circuit.

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 Introduction

Technical support
Lyrtech Inc. is firmly committed to providing the highest level of customer service and product support. If you
experience any difficulties when using our products or if it fails to operate as described, we suggest that you first
consult the user’s guide, and then, if you are still in need of assistance, complete the support request form on our
Web site at www.lyrtech.com.

Before reading this user’s guide and sending your registration card, note the serial number of your
Twin Tunable RF Transceiver, its software version number (found on the supplied CD-ROM), and its date of
purchase. This information is necessary when you call for service.

Serial number

Software version

Date of purchase

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viii
 Table of contents

Table of contents

Organization.......................................................................................................................................................... v
Conventions........................................................................................................................................................... v
Glossary of terms .................................................................................................................................................. v
Technical support ................................................................................................................................................vii

Product description and installation ............................................................................................1

Development capabilities ...................................................................................................................................... 1
DSP software development........................................................................................................................... 1
Model-based design ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Hardware description ............................................................................................................................................ 1
Parts and functions ................................................................................................................................................ 2
Front panel .................................................................................................................................................... 2
Rear panel ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
RF transceivers...................................................................................................................................................... 6
Physical descriptions..................................................................................................................................... 6
Functional descriptions ................................................................................................................................. 7
Installing the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver....................................................................................................... 11

Specifications ................................................................................................................................13
General specifications ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Electrical specifications....................................................................................................................................... 13
RF transceiver specifications............................................................................................................................... 13
Low-band RF transceiver (revision E) with cover shield ........................................................................... 13

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x
 List of figures and tables

List of figures and tables

Figure 1 Twin Tunable RF Transceiver block diagram ................................................................................................ 1

Figure 2 Twin Tunable RF Transceiver front panel...................................................................................................... 2
Figure 3 Close-up of the Transceiver 1 section ............................................................................................................ 2
Figure 4 Close-up of the Transceiver Status 1 section.................................................................................................. 3
Figure 5 Close-up of the transceiver control section .................................................................................................... 3
Figure 6 Rear panel of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver............................................................................................ 5
Figure 7 RF transceiver layout...................................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 8 Detailed block diagram of the low-band RF transceiver ................................................................................ 7
Figure 9 Detailed block diagram of the high-band RF transceiver ............................................................................... 8
Figure 10 Grounding the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver............................................................................................ 11

Table 1 Glossary of terms............................................................................................................................................. v

Table 2 Transceiver section connectors ........................................................................................................................ 2
Table 3 Transceiver Status section LEDs ..................................................................................................................... 3
Table 4 Transceiver control section elements............................................................................................................... 3
Table 5 GPIO-32 control port pin assignment .............................................................................................................. 4
Table 6 Pin descriptions................................................................................................................................................ 4
Table 7 RF transceiver power connector pin assignments............................................................................................ 6
Table 8 SPI GPIO control header pin assignments....................................................................................................... 7
Table 9 Local oscillator frequencies—RX section ....................................................................................................... 9
Table 10 Mixer intermediate frequencies—RX section................................................................................................ 9
Table 11 SPI I/O expander control signals ................................................................................................................. 10
Table 12 LED control signals ..................................................................................................................................... 10

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 Product description and installation

Product description and installation

The Twin Tunable RF Transceiver is a 19-inch, rack-mounted, two-channel, RF-tunable, analog front-end
designed to combine with Lyrtech advanced development platforms.

Development capabilities

DSP software development

You can develop applications for the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver on a DSP of the SignalMaster Quad or
SignalMaster Dual through the use of an API comprising the necessary protocols and functions to build software
applications. The API of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver is part of the supplied BSDK.

Model-based design
To be able to develop model-based designs, you must purchase MATLAB and Simulink from The MathWorks,
System Generator for DSP from Xilinx, and the model-based design kit (MBDK) from Lyrtech. Contact Lyrtech
for details.

Hardware description
The Twin Tunable RF Transceiver’s hardware can be represented by the following block diagram:

Figure 1 Twin Tunable RF Transceiver block diagram

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Twin Tunable RF Transceiver—User's guide—v1.3

Parts and functions

This section describes the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver hardware.

Front panel
The front panel of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver is illustrated below.

Figure 2 Twin Tunable RF Transceiver front panel

The panel is divided into five sections. The sections named Transceiver 1 and Transceiver 2 contain the analog
inputs and outputs of each transceiver. The two sections named Transceiver Status 1 and Transceiver Status 2
contain LEDs indicating the status of each transceiver. The remaining section contains the power LED and the
control port of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver.

Transceiver sections

These sections are the heart of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver. Below is a close-up of the Transceiver 1
section. The Transceiver 2 section is similar.

Figure 3 Close-up of the Transceiver 1 section

Table 2 Transceiver section connectors

Connector Description

RX Ant Analog RF input connector. This connector is an SMA-type connector with a 50-Ω input impedance. It is
used to receive RF signals from the RX antenna.
RX Analog RX IF output connector. This connector is an SMA-type connector with a 50-Ω output impedance.
The output can deliver a signal between –20 dBm and 0 dBm. It is used to transfer analog data to your
analog-to-digital converter.
TX Ant Analog RF output connector. This connector is an SMA-type connector with a 50-Ω output impedance. Its
absolute maximum rating is ±2 Vpp.
TX I Analog TX baseband input connectors. These input connectors are SMA-type connectors with 50-Ω input
impedances. They are used to provide the in-phase and quadrature signals corresponding to the modulation of
TX Q
the signal to transmit.
Clk Out Reference output clock connector. This connector is an SMA-type connector with a 50-Ω output impedance.
It is used to output the reference clock employed in the system for further use or synchronization. The output
signal can be AC coupled or DC coupled.
Clk In Reference input clock connector. This connector is an SMA-type connector with a 50-Ω input impedance. It
is used to provide an external signal needed as a reference time base for the onboard PLL. A control signal on
the RF transceiver is used to switch the reference clock from internal to external.

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 Product description and installation
Transceiver Status sections

These sections contain series of LEDs indicating the statuses of each transmitter. Below is a close-up of the
Transceiver Status 1 section. The Transceiver Status 2 section is similar.

Figure 4 Close-up of the Transceiver Status 1 section

Table 3 Transceiver Status section LEDs

LED Description

TX On This LED indicates whether the RF transceiver is transmitting.

RX On This LED indicates whether the RF transceiver reception is running.
P.Good This LED indicates that the front-end is correctly powered and that its Power on pin is active.
User LED This LED is controlled by the user throughthe serial I/O expander.
RX LO1 This LED indicates whether the RX PLL of mixer 1 is locked onto the synthesized frequency.
RX LO2 This LED indicates whether the RX PLL of mixer 2 is locked onto the synthesized frequency.
RX LO3 This LED indicates whether the RX PLL of mixer 3 is locked onto the synthesized frequency.
TX LO1 This LED indicates whether the TX PLL is locked onto the synthesized frequency.
High Band These LEDs are mutually exclusive and indicate the version of the RF transceiver installed. The High Band
LED indicates that the 1.6 GHz to 2.3 GHz (2.5 GHz in TX) version is installed, while the Low Band LED
Low Band indicates that the 0.2 GHz to 1 GHz version is installed.

Transceiver control section

Figure 5 Close-up of the transceiver control section

Table 4 Transceiver control section elements

Element Description

Control GPIO-32 control port. This interface is similar to the one found on the ADACMaster III and
VHS-ADC/DACs. It is used to control the behavior of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver. See the table below
for pin assignments.
Power LED indicating whether the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver is on.

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Twin Tunable RF Transceiver—User's guide—v1.3

GPIO-32 control port

The GPIO-32 control port of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver is a 32-bit, parallel link capable of data transfers
and control. The external header is a 14-pin, FTSH-117-01-L-D-RA-K model by Samtec with the following pin
assignments (pin 1 is adjacent to the cable’s red index mark):

Table 5 GPIO-32 control port pin assignment

Pin Signal Pin Signal Pin Signal

1 SPIIOXCS 2 SPITXLOCS 3 GROUND

4 N/A 5 SPICLK 6 N/A
7 SPIDIN 8 N/A 9 SPIDOUT
10 SPIRXLO3CS 11 N/A 12 SPIRXLO2CS
13 N/A 14 N/A 15 N/A
16 N/A 17 ADD 18 N/A
19 N/A 20 MAINPOWER2 21 N/A
22 N/A 23 N/A 24 N/A
25 N/A 26 MAINPOWER1 27 N/A
28 N/A 29 N/A 30 SPIRXLO1CS
31 N/A 32 GROUND 33 N/A
34 N/A

The logic-level voltage is 3.3 V CMOS. All the pins are buffered by a CPLD mapping each pin to the correct SPI
GPIO port of each RF transceiver depending on the ADD pin (pin 17, above). Refer to SPI GPIO signals for
details about the RF transceiver’s SPI GPIO pin assignments.

Table 6 Pin descriptions

Pin Description

ADD Selects the active transceiver. Low selects transceiver 1 and high selects transceiver 2.
MAINPOWER1 Turns transceiver 1’s main power on and off.
MAINPOWER2 Turns transceiver 2’s main power on and off.
SPICLK Serial port clock. Data is shifted in and out on the rising edge of this signal.
SPIDIN Serial port data input.
SPIDOUT Serial port data output.
SPIIOXCS Serial port chip select of the I/O expander that controls the behavior of each RF transceiver.
SPIRXLO1CS Serial port chip select of the PLL’s first mixer in the RX chain.
SPIRXLO2CS Serial port chip select of the PLL’s second mixer in the RX chain.
SPIRXLO3CS Serial port chip select of the PLL’s third mixer in the RX chain.
SPITXLOCS Serial port chip select of the PLL’s mixer.

Connecting a GPIO-32 ribbon cable to the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver

You can connect a GPIO-32 ribbon cable to the GPIO-32 control port of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver. Take
care to correctly align the cable’s pin 1 with the port’s pin 1. The Twin Tunable RF Transceiver is equipped with

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 Product description and installation
a key on the connector to guide the GPIO-32 ribbon cable so as not to invert it. Lyrtech recommends that you use
a Samtec FFSD-17-D-12-01-N flat ribbon cable.

Rear panel
The rear panel of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver is illustrated below.

1 2 3

Figure 6 Rear panel of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver

1. Power connector
Standard 2.1-mm power connector (center positive). The Twin Tunable RF Transceiver uses a 12-V DC
adapter.
2. Fuse holder
The fuse holder is designed to hold standard 2.5-A fuses (6.35 mm × 31.75 mm [0.25 in. × 1.25 in.]).
Note
Only replace with similar 2.5-A fuses.

3. Power switch
Use to turn the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver on and off.

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 Twin Tunable RF Transceiver—User's guide—v1.3

RF transceivers

Physical descriptions
Each Twin Tunable RF Transceiver contains two RF transceivers that are physically laid out as follows.

1 2

11
4
10

9 5

8
6

7
Figure 7 RF transceiver layout

1. Analog RX IF output connector

See the RX connector description in Transceiver sections.
2. Reference clock trim pot
Used to adjust the output frequency of the VCTCXO by modifying the voltage that controls it.
3. Analog RF input connector
See the RF Ant connector description in Transceiver sections.
4. Power connector
Used to supply the necessary voltages to the RF transceiver. The power is supplied by the control board.

Table 7 RF transceiver power connector pin assignments

Pin Voltage Pin Voltage Pin Voltage

1 NC 3 GND 5 NC
2 GND 4 NC 6 12 V

5. SPI GPIO control header

Used for serial communications between the control board and the RF transceiver.

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 Product description and installation

Table 8 SPI GPIO control header pin assignments

Pin Signal Pin Signal

1 SPI clock 2 SPI data in

3 SPI data out 4 SPI IOX select
5 SPI select RX LO1 6 SPI select RX LO2
7 SPI select RX LO3 8 SPI select TX LO
9 Reserved 10 RF transceiver off
11 GND 12 NC
13 NC 14 NC
15 NC 16 NC

6. Analog RF output connector

See the TX Ant connector description in Transceiver sections.
7. Transmission carrier leakage trim pot
Used to reduce the carrier leakage of the transmitter by attenuating the carrier.
8. Analog TX baseband input connectors
See the TX I and TX Q connector description in Transceiver sections.
9. Reference output clock connector
See the Clk Out connector description in Transceiver sections.
10. Reference input clock connector
See the Clk In connector description in Transceiver sections..
11. LEDs
See the LED descriptions in table 13.

Functional descriptions
Follows detailed functional descriptions of the receiver, transmitter, control, and power sections of the RF
transceiver. Key electronic components are also described here.

Figure 8 Detailed block diagram of the low-band RF transceiver

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Twin Tunable RF Transceiver—User's guide—v1.3

The low-band RF transceiver has an RX section comprised of a three-stage superheterodyne receiver with a final
IF frequency of 30 MHz and a selectable bandwidth of 5 MHz or 20 MHz, depending on the application. Its TX
section is based on a two-band (250–500 MHz, 500–1000 MHz) quadrature mixer. In addition, all the controls
are managed by the I/O expander, handling such things as SPI communications with the control board of the
Twin Tunable RF Tunable, TX prescaler, LEDs, band-pass filters, and PLL lock status.

Superheterodyne receiver
20-MHz
BW
High-pass Low-pass
1.6 GHz LNA 2.3 GHz
Mixer 20-MHz BW Amplifier Mixer Amplifier DC–1 GHz Amplifier Amplifier DC-65 MHz

RX RF RX IF

5-MHz
BW
2.6–3.2 GHz 1.0–1.3 GHz 200–400 MHz
RX_LO1 RX_LO2 RX_LO3

DC–65 MHz
Supply and control Transmitter
TX baseband In phase

Amplifier DC–2.5 GHz DC–2.5 GHz Amplifier DC–2.5 GHz

12-V DC Control 1.6–2.5 GHz

TX_LO
supply through SPI

TX baseband In quadrature

DC–65 MHz

Figure 9 Detailed block diagram of the high-band RF transceiver

The high-band RF transceiver has an RX section comprised of a three-stage superheterodyne receiver with a final
IF frequency of 30 MHz and a selectable bandwidth of 5 MHz or 20 MHz, depending on the application. Its TX
section is based on a quadrature mixer covering the 1.6-GHz to 2.5-GHz band. In addition, all the controls are
managed by the I/O expander, handling such things as SPI communications with the control board of the Twin
Tunable RF Transceiver, the TX prescaler, the LEDs, the band-pass filters, and the PLL lock status.

Receiver

Note
Numbers specified in parentheses pertain to the high-band RF transceiver.

Filters

The receiver section of the RF transceiver is composed of four filters used in rejecting noise outside the band of
interest.

The first filter of the RF Low band transceiver is a 1-GHz low-pass filter. The second filter is a 20-MHz band-
pass filter centered at 1575 MHz.

The first filter of the RF High band transceiver is a 1.6-GHz high-pass filter. The second filter is a 20-MHz band-
pass filter centered at 975 MHz.

The other filters are common to the two RF transceivers. Therefore,the third filter is a selectable 5-MHz or 20-
MHz band-pass filter centered at 300 MHz. The fourth filter is a 65-MHz low-pass filter used to produce the
final IF signal sent to your ADCs.

Local oscillators

Three local oscillators are used in the three receiver stages to lower the RX signal from RF to IF so that it can be
processed by your ADCs. Each local oscillator includes a TRF3750 PLL synthesizer that locks the frequency of
the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). The following table summarizes the local oscillator frequencies used in
the RX section.

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 Product description and installation
Table 9 Local oscillator frequencies—RX section

Oscillator Low band High band

1 1775–2575 MHz 2575–3275 MHz

3 1275 MHz 1275 MHz
5 330 MHz 270 MHz

Frequency mixers

Frequency mixers are used to mix signals from the local oscillators with those received, bringing them to the
desired IF. Three frequency mixers are used in the receiver—one for each local oscillator.

Table 10 Mixer intermediate frequencies—RX section

Low band High band

Oscillator
RF IF center RF IF

First mixer (up conversion) 200–1000 MHz 1575 MHz 1700–2300 MHz 975 MHz
Second mixer (down conversion) 1575 MHz 300 MHz 975 MHz 1275 MHz
Third mixer (down conversion) 300 MHz 30 MHz 300 MHz 30 MHz

Transmitter

The RF transmitter is a single-stage transmitter. Its key components are presented below.

Local oscillator

The local oscillator of the transmitter is composed of a TRF3750 PLL synthesizer, a VCO, and a divide-by-two
prescaler that can be activated or deactivated, depending on the desired frequency. A frequency of 200 MHz to
500 MHz is supplied to the quadrature modulator when the prescaler is active, whereas a frequency of 500 MHz
to 1 GHz is available from the VCO when it is inactive. Only one band is available to high-band RF transceivers,
covering 1.6-GHz to 2.5-GHz range.

Quadrature modulator

The quadrature modulator is a Texas Instruments TRF3701 (high band—TRF3702) able to produce a single-
sideband TX output, converting a low-IF signal to an RF signal.

Reference clock

The reference clock is used by the receiver and the transmitter as a reference to the onboard PLL of the local
oscillators to ensure that all the frequencies are in-phase. It is possible to select the internal 10-MHz reference
clock or the external clock that can be supplied at the reference input clock connector of the RF transceiver.

Control section

The control section uses a 16-pin connector and is based on SPI links that can be targeted to individual SPI-
capable chipsets (each of the four TRF3750 and an SPI demux/expander chipset for up to 16 control signals).

The control header is an FTSH-107-01-L-D-RA model by Samtec with the following pin assignments (pin 1 is
adjacent to the connector index mark):

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Twin Tunable RF Transceiver—User's guide—v1.3

SPI I/O expander control signals

Table 11 SPI I/O expander control signals

Signal Description

RX_LO1_MUXOUT This signal comes from the TRF3750 PLL synthesizer of the receiver’s local oscillator 1 (RX_LO1
in Figure 8). It indicates that the PLL is locked onto the desired frequency supplied by the VCO.
The signal is used to drive the corresponding LED through a buffer. When the PLL is locked, the
associated LED lights.
RX_LO2_MUXOUT This signal comes from the TRF3750 PLL synthesizer of the receiver’s local oscillator 2 (RX_LO2
in Figure 8). It indicates that the PLL is locked onto the 1.275 GHz supplied by the VCO. The
signal is used to drive the corresponding LED through a buffer. When the PLL is locked, the
associated LED lights.
RX_LO3_MUXOUT This signal comes from the TRF3750 PLL synthesizer of the receiver’s local oscillator 3 (RX_LO3
in Figure 8). It indicates that the PLL is locked onto the 330 MHz supplied by the VCO. The signal
is used to drive the corresponding LED through a buffer. When the PLL is locked, the associated
LED lights.
TX_LO_MUXOUT This signal comes from the TRF3750 PLL synthesizer of the transmitter’s local oscillator. It
indicates that the PLL is locked onto the desired frequency supplied by the VCO. The signal is
used to drive the corresponding LED through a buffer. When the PLL is locked, the associated
LED lights.
TX_ON This signal is an output of the I/O expander and is used to turn on the transmitter by activating a
load switch.
RX_ON This signal is an output of the I/O expander and is used to turn on the receiver by activating a load
switch.
TX_LO_DIV2 This signal is used to select the divide-by-two prescaler on the transmitter. Along with the next
signal (the logical opposite to this one), the transmitted signal is switched to pass through the
prescaler or to bypass it.
TX_LO_DIV2N This signal is used with the previous one to enable or disable the prescaler of the transmitter. When
the TX_LO_DIV2N is set, the prescaler is disabled.
RX_FL_5MHZ This signal is used to select the 5-MHz band-pass filter used in the second stage of the heterodyne
receiver. This filter cannot be enabled at the same time as the 20-MHz filter.
RX_FILTER_20MHZ This signal is used to select the 20-MHz band-pass filter used in the second stage of the heterodyne
receiver. This filter cannot be enabled at the same time as the 5-MHz filter.
REF_CLK_SEL This signal is used to switch the reference clock from the internal 10-MHz clock to an external
clock applied at the Clk In connector of the RF transceiver and vice versa.
USER_LED This signal is used to control the general-purpose user LED.

LEDs

Table 12 LED control signals

Signal Description

RX_LO1_MUXOUT LED used to indicate that the receiver’s local oscillator 1 is locked onto the requested frequency.
The requested frequency should be passed using the RF transceiver DSP API.
RX_LO2_MUXOUT LED used to indicate that the receiver’s local oscillator 2 is locked onto onto the requested
frequency.
RX_LO3_MUXOUT LED used to indicate that the receiver’s local oscillator 3 is locked onto onto the requested
frequency.
TX_LO_MUXOUT LED used to indicate that local oscillator 4 (the one used by the transmitter) is locked onto the
requested frequency. The requested frequency should be passed using the RF transceiver DSP API.

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 Product description and installation

Signal Description

POWER_GOOD LED used to indicate that power is properly supplied and distributed on the RF transceiver.
TX_ON LED used to indicate that the transmitter is on and ready to use.
RX_ON LED used to indicate that the receiver is on and ready to use.
USER_LED User-defined LED. It is driven by the I/O expander and can be turned on or off with the SPI link.

Power section

The power section has two sections:

• A TPS62110 DC-DC converter transforms the 12.0 V to 5.5 V. Two TPS79601 then convert the 5.5 V to
5.0 V and 3.0 V.
• The VCO power section uses five LT3023 to convert the 12.0 V to the appropriate PLL charge pump, VCO
supply voltages, receiver input and transmitter output amplifiers.

Installing the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver

Note
Before you begin this operation, make sure that you have a standard grounding cable handy.

1. Place your Twin Tunable RF Transceiver near your analog-to-digital conversion system.
2. On the rear panel of the transceiver, locate the grounding screw.
3. Remove the nut from the screw and place it aside for later use.
4. Insert the grounding screw in the grounding cable’s eye.

Figure 10 Grounding the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver

Note
If your grounding cable is not equipped with an eye, simply wrap a naked part of the wire around the screw,
as illustrated here.

5. Rescrew the nut that you removed at step 3 on the grounding screw.

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Twin Tunable RF Transceiver—User's guide—v1.3

Note
Make sure that the grounding cable is securely fastened to the grounding screw.
6. Connect the external 12 V power adapter to the power connector of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver.
7. Connect the power adapter to an electrical outlet.
8. Connect your ADC and DAC to the appropriate connectors of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver.
9. Connect one end of a GPIO-32 cable to the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver.
10. Connect the other end of the GPIO-32 cable to your control logic system.
11. If applicable, connect your clock source or clock input to the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver.
12. Turn on the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver.

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 Specifications

Specifications

This chapter outlines the technical specifications of the Twin Tunable RF Transceiver.

Note
The specifications in this chapter are subject to change without notice.

General specifications
Dimensions (H × W × D): 44.45 mm × 431.80 mm × 203.20 mm (1.75 in. × 17.00 in. × 8.00 in.) (standard 19 in.,
1U casing)

Mass: 2.1 kg (4.6 lb)

Electrical specifications
Supply voltage: 12 V ± 2%

Supply current: 1.5 A

Power consumption: 17 W

RF transceiver specifications

Low-band RF transceiver (revision E) with cover shield

Parameter Condition Minimum Typical Maximum

Receiver specifications

RF range 200 MHz – 1000 MHz

Final IF – 30 MHz –
RF resolution – 100 kHz –
Switching speed Programming time not included 240 μs – 420 μs
Noise figure – 5 dB –
Sensitivity (1) BW: 5 MHz (S/N=0) – −102 dBm –
Sensitivity (2) BW: 20 MHz (S/N=0) – −96 dBm –
Gain RX filter: 20 MHz 48 50 dB 52
RX filter: 5 MHz 44 46dB 48
P1 dB input −25 dBm
Phase noise (RF: 425 MHz) Offset: 10 kHz – −75 dBc/Hz –
PFD=100 kHz Offset: 100 kHz – −103 dBc/Hz –
IMD dynamic rage Tone 1: 425.1 MHz, Tone 2: – 76.5 dB –
424.9 MHz (−60 dBm RF input)

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Twin Tunable RF Transceiver—User's guide—v1.3

Parameter Condition Minimum Typical Maximum

In-band input IP3 – −18.75 dBm –

Spur-free dynamic range (2) 52 dB
RX/TX insulation – 80 dB –
Impedance – 50 Ω –
Connector – SMA –

Transmitter specifications

RF range 200 MHz – 1050 MHz

Synthesizer frequency range 250 MHz – 1000 MHz
IF range 0 MHz – 65 MHz
Switching speed Programming time not included 240 μs – 420 μs
Gain 8 dB
P1 dB input −4 dBm
Output IP3 – 25 dBm –
IMD 3 Tone: 0.95 MHz (−19 dBm) – 67 dBc –
Carrier 800 MHz
Carrier suppression Optimized −55 dBc
Sideband suppression Not optimized – −37 dBc –
Phase noise (carrier 425 MHz) Offset: 10 kHz – −83 dBc/Hz –
Offset: 100 kHz – −109 dBc/Hz –
Impedance – 50 Ω –
Connector – SMA –

Oscillator

Voltage variation – ±0.3 ppm –

±5% change
Ageing variation – 1.0 ppm/yr –
Temperature variation – 2.5 ppm/degree –
(−30–75 °C)

Reference output

Frequency – 10 MHz –
Amplitude – 10 dBm –
Coupling – DC –
Connector – SMA –

External reference input

Range 4 MHz – 100 MHz

Amplitude −20 dBm – 10 dBm
Coupling – AC –
Impedance – 50 Ω –
Connector – SMA –

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 Specifications
High-band RF transceiver (revision E) with cover shield

Parameter Condition Minimum Typical Maximum

Receiver specifications

RF range 1.6 GHz – 2.3 GHz

Final IF – 30 MHz –
RF resolution – 100 kHz –
Switching speed Programming time not included 240 μs – 420 μs
Noise figure – 6 dB –
Sensitivity (1) BW: 5 MHz (S/N=0) – −101 dBm –
Sensitivity (2) BW: 20 MHz (S/N=0) – −95 dBm –
Gain RX filter: 20 MHz 40 42 dB 44
RX filter: 5 MHz 38 40 dB 42
P1 dB input −25 dBm
Phase noise (RF: 2 GHz) Offset: 10 kHz – −75 dBc/Hz –
PFD=100 kHz Offset: 100 kHz – −103 dBc/Hz –
IMD dynamic rage Tone 1: 2.3 GHz, Tone 2: – 66 dB –
2.301 GHz (−50 dBm RF input)
In-band input IP3 – −17 dBm –
Spur-free dynamic range (2) 56 dB
RX/TX insulation – 80 dB –
Impedance – 50 Ω –
Connector – SMA –

Transmitter specifications

RF range 1.6 GHz – 2.5 GHz

Synthesizer frequency range 1.6 GHz – 2.5 GHz
IF range 0 MHz – 65 MHz
Switching speed Programming time not included 240 μs – 420 μs
Gain 8 dB
Output IP3 – 23 dBm –
IMD 3 Tone 1: 0.95 MHz, Tone 2: – 66 dBc –
1.95 MHz ( –19 dBm)
Carrier 2 GHz
Carrier suppression Optimized −55 dBc
Sideband suppression Not optimized – −37 dBc –
Phase noise (carrier 2 GHz) Offset: 10 kHz – −80 dBc/Hz –
Offset: 100 kHz – −109 dBc/Hz –
Impedance – 50 Ω –
Connector – SMA –

Oscillator

Voltage variation – ±0.3 ppm –

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Twin Tunable RF Transceiver—User's guide—v1.3

Parameter Condition Minimum Typical Maximum

±5% change
Ageing variation – 1.0 ppm/yr –
Temperature variation – 2.5 ppm/degree –
(−30–75°C)

Reference output

Frequency – 10 MHz –
Amplitude – 10 dBm –
Coupling – DC –
Connector – SMA –

External reference input

Range 4 MHz – 100 MHz

Amplitude −20 dBm – 10 dBm
Coupling – AC –
Impedance – 50 Ω –
Connector – SMA –

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 Specifications

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