Epiq Solutions, an engineering firm developing cutting-edge tools for detailed insight into RF environments, has introduced the new Sidekiq VPX410, a CMOSS/SOSA-aligned multi-channel tuner card designed to support the rapid development of RF products needing to gain access to frequencies between 400 MHz and 18 GHz (sub 6 GHz realized through bypass path with gain and filtering). Sidekiq VPX410 can support both phase-coherent operation and independently tunable operation, enabling a range of different mission requirements, and is ideally suited to handle emerging EW, SIGINT, C5ISR and other mission-critical use cases.
Built on Epiq Solutions’ proven RF transceiver technology, the Sidekiq VPX410 card comes in a conduction-cooled 3U VPX form factor with VITA 67.3 RF access through the backplane (SOSA profile 14.6.11-4). The card includes four RF receive tuners (phase coherent or independently tunable) and one RF transmit tuner, with each supporting up to 1 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth. An onboard Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+ MPSoC provides a command/control interface for the tuners via a 1 GbE connection to the backplane.
A summary of the key performance specifications for Sidekiq VPX410 is shown below:
- 3U VPX form factor with VITA 67.3 RF access (SOSA profile 14.6.11)
- RF tuner solution providing access from 400 MHz - 18 GHz
- Four RF receive tuners and one RF transmit tuner
- Instantaneous bandwidth of 1 GHz on all RF tuners
- IF input and output frequency of 3 GHz
- Supports both phase-coherent operation and independently tunable operation
- Bypass path on all tuners includes filters and amplifiers for sub-6 GHz operation
- Spurious free dynamic range > 70 dB
- Low power: ~20 W total with all tuners operational at full bandwidth
- Interoperable with Sidekiq VPX400 and other 3U VPX digitizers and SDRs
- Available with single card 3U VPX chassis for development/lab use / light field testing with Sidekiq VPX410 and/or VPX400
Sidekiq VPX410 can be paired with Epiq’s Sidekiq VPX400 SDR card to provide a complete multi-channel SDR solution with support up to 18 GHz. Access to the RF spectrum above 6 GHz presents some very compelling opportunities for DoD, government, and commercial applications, including SATCOM, radar, Wi-Fi, and 5G. “The availability of RF spectrum above 6 GHz has been of significant interest across a range of different application sets for the last several years,” noted John Orlando, CEO and co-founder at Epiq Solutions. “With the introduction of our Sidekiq VPX410, we are simplifying access to this spectrum for system integrators developing CMOSS/SOSA-based signal processing platforms that need to support operation up to 18 GHz.”
The Sidekiq VPX410 is in pre-production now. Click here to learn more about Sidekiq VPX410 from Epiq Solutions.
