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# Nuand bladeRF 2.0 micro
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The bladeRF 2.0 micro is the second generation of highly capable SDRs produced
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by Nuand, LLC. It will be the main SDR used for the CDC design project.
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## Content
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1. [Overview](#overview)
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2. [Command Line Interface](#command-line-interface)
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3. [SoapySDR Block](#soapysdr-block)
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- [Block Configuration](#block-configuration)
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- [Message Port Interface](#message-port-interface)
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- [Stream Tag Interface](#stream-tag-interface)
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4. [libbladeRF](#libbladerf)
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5. [Performance](#performance)
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## Overview
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The key component on the bladeRF 2.0 board is an Analog Devices AD9361 wideband
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transceiver, an RFIC which is also found in many other common SDRs (Ettus
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USRP B series and ADALM PlutoSDRs).
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The following is a list of useful references for understanding and using the
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bladeRF. The bladeRF wiki is the best place to start.
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- [bladeRF 2.0 micro](https://www.nuand.com/bladerf-2-0-micro/)
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- [bladeRF wiki](https://github.com/Nuand/bladeRF/wiki)
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- [libbladeRF documentation](https://nuand.com/bladeRF-doc/libbladeRF/v2.2.1/)
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- [bladeRF source code](https://github.com/Nuand/bladeRF)
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- [bladeRF 2.0 Schematic](datasheets/bladeRF-micro.pdf)
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To use the bladeRF within our Ubuntu environment, it first must be connected to
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the VM by selecting: *Devices > USB > Nuand bladeRF 2.0*
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In CDC we will use the *xA9* version of the board, where board versions vary
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only in the size of the onboard FPGA.
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<div align="center">
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| Version | Logic Elements |
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| ------- | :------------: |
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| xA4 | 49k |
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| xA5 | 77k |
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| xA9 | 301k |
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</div>
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> **Important Note:** To avoid violating governmental regulations and damaging
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> the hardware, please acknowledge and adhere to the following guidelines:
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> - Never transmit or receive on any band on which you are not licensed to
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> operate
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> - Always terminate TX and RX ports with a 50 Ohm load (either an antenna or SMA
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> terminator)
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> - Never connect a TX port directly to an RX port without proper attenuation
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> at least 30 dB)
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## Command Line Interface
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The `bladeRF-cli` command line utility can be used to verify device connectivity
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as well as query and set device parameters. For complete information, see the
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following references.
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- [Verifying Basic Device Operation](https://github.com/Nuand/bladeRF/wiki/Getting-Started%3A-Verifying-Basic-Device-Operation)
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- [bladeRF CLI Tips and Tricks](https://github.com/Nuand/bladeRF/wiki/bladeRF-CLI-Tips-and-Tricks)
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For our purposes, we will only use `bladeRF-cli` to verify connectivity and not
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to set device parameters. To ensure the bladeRF is correctly attached, the
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`--probe` or `-p` command can be used.
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```
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$ bladeRF-cli -p # probe for connected bladeRF devices
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Description: Nuand bladeRF 2.0
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Backend: libusb
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Serial: 991431a963384f8289baea2ba586720d
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USB Bus: 2
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USB Address: 2
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```
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The command line tool also has an interactive mode, which can be a more
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convenient way of querying and configuring the board.
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```
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$ bladeRF-cli -i # enter interactive mode
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```
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Within interactive mode you can check the bladeRF driver, device firmware, and
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FPGA versions currently loaded.
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```
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bladeRF> version
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bladeRF-cli version: 1.8.0-0.2019.07.rbuild1
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libbladeRF version: 2.2.1-0.2019.07-4build1
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Firmware version: 2.3.2
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FPGA version: 0.11.0 (configured by USB)
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```
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You can also read expanded device information.
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```
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bladeRF> info
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Board: Nuand bladeRF 2.0 (bladerf2)
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Serial #: 991431a963384f8289baea2ba586720d
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VCTCXO DAC calibration: 0x1d11
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FPGA size: 301 KLE
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FPGA loaded: yes
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Flash size: 128 Mbit
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USB bus: 2
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USB address: 2
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USB speed: SuperSpeed
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Backend: libusb
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Instance: 0
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```
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See `bladeRF --help` for a full list of possible commands.
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## SoapySDR Block
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TODO
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## libbladeRF
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The bladeRF device can be controlled directly from Python and C/C++ programs
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using the libbladeRF library.
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- [libbladeRF documentation](https://nuand.com/bladeRF-doc/libbladeRF/v2.2.1/)
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## Performance
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This section will describe procedures for characterizing performance of the
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bladeRF boards and report typical results.
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Metrics:
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- USB throughput
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- Noise figure/floor
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- Frequency Stability
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- DC offset
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- IQ imbalance |
