Beginners workshop on SDR programming using the Gnu Radio Companion
On the day before the RSGB Convention, Friday the 12th of October, Kent’s Hill Conference Centre Milton Keynes will be hosting a “Beginners workshop on SDR programming using the Gnu radio companion”
Supported by the RSGB legacy fund and hosted by the UK Microwave Group, the workshop will be a full-day, hands-on introduction to programming for Software Defined Radio using the Gnu radio companion.
Software defined radio (SDR) is the future for Amateur radio and SDR techniques are already the norm in professional wireless design circles. The RSGB and the UKuG is taking the lead in educating its membership on these techniques.
The course will be based around “Gnu Radio” a free, graphical, software development toolkit that provides signal processing blocks to implement software-defined radios and signal-processing systems. It can be used with external RF hardware to create software-defined radios, or without hardware in a simulation environment. It is widely used in hobbyist, academic, and commercial environments to support both wireless communications research and real-world radio systems.
The Course Team
The course will be led by Derek Kozel MW0LNA, a Carnegie Mellon University graduate and Software Design Engineer at Ettus research, and Heather Lomond MIET, M0HMO an Embedded Software Engineer, specialising in Linux, audio and memory systems for mobile phones and dongles.
Delegate Requirements
As part of the course fee of £60, the course delegates will be provided with an “RTL Dongle” type SDR receiver and all the required software on a memory stick plus lunch and refreshments throughout the day.
Delegates must provide their own (preferably laptop) computer, meeting a minimum specification of, two or more USB ports, preferably one of which is USB 3.0, 4 GB or more of RAM, Wifi, Intel or AMD processor.
Installation software and instructions will be shipped as far in advance of the course as possible to allow delegates to pre-configure their own computers before the course.
Important Note
To be absolutely clear, this is a PROGRAMMING course, NOT “How to use 3rd party application software, so is aimed at people who want to create their own SDR Applications and go beyond just installing standard SDR software and hardware.
We hope that this course will act as a pilot for similar courses run in the future by the RSGB. Numbers are strictly limited to 20 on the day. You may apply for a place at the workshop by emailing john@bravoao.co.uk requesting an application form. This will describe the course in more detail and ask you to provide a brief resume of your interests in Amateur radio, how much exposure to SDR techniques you already have and how you plan to use the knowledge gained on the day in advancing the SDR aspect of our hobby.
