Verifying USRP Operation

Introduction

This Application Note will cover basic testing to verify that your USRP is operational. You will need to have a working installation of UHD to preform the following steps to verify your USRP. If you do not have UHD installed, please reference the Basic Installation Instructions Application Note for your operating system. Alternatively, you may use the [LiveUSB SDR Environment] to perform the following steps. More information about the LiveUSB SDR environment is available at the Live SDR Environment Getting Started page.

Proper Care and Handling

All Ettus Research products are individually tested before shipment. The USRP is guaranteed to be functional at the time it is received by the customer. Improper use or handling of the USRP can easily cause the device to become non-functional. Listed below are some examples of actions which can prevent damage to the unit:

• Never allow metal objects to touch the circuit board while powered.
• Always properly terminate the transmit port with an antenna or 50Ω load.
• Always handle the board with proper anti-static methods.
• Never allow the board to directly or indirectly come into contact with any voltage spikes.
• Never allow any water, or condensing moisture, to come into contact with the boards.
• Always use caution with FPGA, firmware, or software modifications.
• Always use atleast 30dB of attenuation if in loop back configuration

Finding the Device

   uhd_usrp_probe

   uhd_find_devices

Uses broadcast packets for discovery. Often blocked by routers, switches, firewalls.

View firewall settings with:

   sudo iptables -L

Benchmarking your system

   benchmark_rate

Receiving Samples

   rx_samples_to_file

Transmitting Samples

   tx_samples_from_file

Terminal DFT/FFT

   rx_ascii_art_dft

Default installation location is

   /usr/local/lib/uhd/examples

rx_ascii_art_dft Creates ASCII/Ncurses FFT ./rx_ascii_art_dft --freq 98e6 --rate 5e6 --gain 20 --bw 5e6 --ref-lvl -50

rx_samples_to_file Saves samples to file ./rx_samples_to_file --freq 98e6 --rate 5e6 --gain 20 usrp_samples.dat

tx_samples_from_file Transmits samples from file ./tx_samples_from_file --freq 915e6 --rate 5e6 --gain 10 usrp_samples.dat

benchmark_rate Benchmarks interface with device ./benchmark_rate --rx_rate 10e6 --tx_rate 10e6

tx_waveforms Transmits specific waveform ./tx_waveforms --freq 915e6 --rate 5e6 --gain 0

Default installation location is /usr/local/lib/uhd/utils

uhd_images_downloader Downloads FPGA images for current UHD version

usrp_x3xx_fpga_burner Flashes an image onto the X300/X310 FPGA

usrp_burn_mb_eeprom Reading and writing motherboard EEPROM

usrp_burn_db_eeprom Reading and writing daughterboard EEPROM