O'Reilly ET Con: GNU Radio

Software Radios http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuradio/ The goal is to get the software as close to the antenna as possible. It will be possible to create a device that can reconfigure itself (Sat Phone, FM Radio, Wi-Fi) all in the same device. Can lead to better spectrum utilization. Possibly cognitive radios. What kind of hardware do I need? Narrow band: Sound Blaster Narrow band RF front end (NFM, USB/LSB, AM, ...) Audio output from receiver (packet, pSK31, ...) Wide band: High speed A/D (20M+ samples/sec) Wide band RF front end (e.g. TV tuner) Politics for this thing are huge. FCC has been forthcoming, and have in generally not completely freaked out over the idea of a software radio. FCC concerns are around people transmitting on the wrong frequency, like public safety bands, etc... Currently supports AM, FM, HDTV, not SSB right now.