Ettus LiveUSB SDR environment
Ettus, manufacturers of the USRP line of SDRs, has announced the availability of a customized bootable USB drive for USRP/GnuRadio development. The LiveUSB SDR Environment is a 16 GB USB 3.0 drive with Ubuntu 11.10 (64-bit), USRP Hardware Driver (UHD), GNU Radio, OpenBTS and associated documentation preinstalled.
Ettus notes that this drive is compatible with USB 2.0 ports, but the system will take longer to boot, load programs, and respond to user interaction.
The US list price is $79.00. Good news: Ettus is making a .tar.gz file with the file system available for free download here. If your hardware is 64-bit/USB 3.0, give it a try!
This entry was posted in documentation, SDR, software, tools, USB and tagged Ettus, GNUradio.
Comments
Bummer! I was hoping they had jumped on the SDR via USB train (ala FUNcube and RTL-SDR) and were now offering an “economically satisfying” device for those who can’t drop $$$ on their existing radios.
I don’t get it, is this just a glorified flash drive or this dongle actually has some ADC hardware too? I can’t find any specification on the bandwidth, frequency range, type of ADC… just list of software one can download for most linux distro’s that’s installed on live linux on the flash drive?
It appears that it is just an USB flashdisk :/ I though the same
WTF … 80$ for a flash drive with some open source software ?!
it is USB3 :)
for me it looks (for a while now) that the world of SDR is full of ppl with too much money and too much free time…
Uhhh I was thinking its one of those smart dual ID devices which we now for 3G modems… first mass storage with the software and then it switch the driver to become a SDR radio….
Hmmm nothing like that. “Just” a USB drive.
Well, this is only a USB3.0 memory stick (cost roughly $15 bucks) with an older version of Ubuntu (oh why?), Gnu Radio and some other stuff – especially the drivers for the Ettus USRP radio (if you can afford one). I don’t see a problem here Ettus is a commercial setup. So $79 bucks is OK, especially if they support the product.
Note the Ettus USB includes a (presumably working with their USRP) copy of OpenBTS. The Ettus USRP is what I would terma “middle-weight” SDR, which is FPGA etc. based. It is not an inexpensive direct-conversion SDR like the RTL-SDR or the Softrock-type front ends. (Is RTL-SDR direct conversion? Hmmm…)
I’m sure there are FOSS Live-CD’s out there that have Gnu Radio on them (amongst many other SDR tools). It has been awhile since I looked. More feedback/posts welcome.
So Ettus “commercializing” a live distro on a USB pen that uses mostly (if not all) open software to support their main hardware product. I strongly suspect the folks at Ettus contribute-back to the open-source community as well. If-so, all is good.
Hey all – Ettus Research engineer here. I stumbled upon this and figured I would answer some of the questions.
@arhi, @Sjaak, @Drone
It is actually a fairly expensive USB3.0 drive. Regardless, the point isn’t to “get people to pay money for open source software on a USB drive”. Many people who are novice users of Linux and the FOSS community struggle to get up and running with GNURadio and OpenBTS. For new users, especially, configuring Linux workstations to use these software suites, properly, with real radio hardware can be difficult and very time-consuming. The drive simply lowers the entry-barrier to getting a fully working system with real radio hardware.
Note that we provide the file system you need to create an exact replica of the drive on your own. Our goal is improve access and make it easier to support customers. If we were trying to make significant money on the drive, we would need to sell it for much more.
And Drone is right – our driver, UHD, is totally FOSS (GPL), and we are heavy contributors to GNU Radio.
@Drone – And yes, OpenBTS is pre-configured and ready to run with USRP hardware.
@torwag @Jeff D – Sorry, but no – it isn’t a radio device on it’s own. You will still need an actual radio front-end in combination with the drive if you want to TX / RX over the air.
Anyway, I hope this answered some of your questions!
Cheers,
Ben
That appears to be an AData USB 3.0 drive. If you have paid more than about $20 retail, you’re getting robbed.
ya but there is a really cool sticker on it
WTF this page just got my hopes and happiness up for a USB SDR funcube like device for my laptop who the F wants a USB flash drive for $80 i can go to the shop and get it SHAME SHAME SHAME
How to making a usb bootable using a a .tar.gz file?