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Various Projects Find Hidden SDR Capabilities in ESP32 Microcontrollers

288 points · 67 comments · nkw

  1. BlackRabbit1 · · focus · HN ↗
    As far as I follow the research process it's currently quite difficult to get all data (like the 80MSPS@10-Bit showcase on Reddit) to a computer without a FPGA+USB3.

    With the new ESP32-S31 we most likely can extract the I/Q data over its new 1 GBit/s interface. Guessing something around 20-40MSPS should work.

    These hack will most likely will be a revolution for 13cm ham radio. With the new 5GHz ESP32 modules most likely also for 5cm. As all Espressif components are WiFi-qualified we can expect a very very stable and robust radio.

    I ordered a few and waiting for Ali to deliver them to my lab.

    1. rasz · · focus · HN ↗
      >FPGA+USB3 80MSPS@10-Bit

      >compresses to about 1.2 bytes per pair, around 95–100 MB/s

      No mention what FPGA platform/board used, FT600 USB chip is ~$10 alone.

      Now you can replace all of it with one of those silly $5 FX2LP USB 2.0 dev boards. CY7C68013A-56 supports 16bit interface and will happily pump 30MB/s all day long for a fraction of the price. $10 total for 2.4GHz ~12MSPS@10-Bit SDR.

      1. rasz · · focus · HN ↗
        and a day later <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;ESPARGOS&#x2F;SoapyESPSDR" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;ESPARGOS&#x2F;SoapyESPSDR already got native ESP32-S31s USB 2.0 working streaming 20 MSa&#x2F;s @8bit, pretty amazing at $7 + shipping.
        1. mallets · · focus · HN ↗
          Too bad the coreboard is OOS everywhere, I was interested in S31 before this just for GigE. That, and possible Linux support.
          1. BlackRabbit1 · · focus · HN ↗
            I just (two days ago) ordered 3 pieces from the Aliexpress Espressif store. It got sipped.
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