The USRP-2974 (785606-01) from National Instruments is a Software Defined Radio (SDR) that operates from 10 MHz to 6 GHz. It enables designers and users to rapidly design, prototype, and deploy complex wireless systems and is suitable for applications that require processing wide bandwidths of data in real time. This Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) SDR includes GPS disciplined oscillator (GPSDO), up to 2x2 transceiver channels, FPGA, and an onboard Intel x86 processor (optional). The onboard x86 processor integrated into this SDR creates a complex and powerful USRP platform allowing users to use it as a stand-alone radio. It includes specifications to support standards like 5G New Radio (NR).
The USRP-2974 can share up to 8 clocks using the 8-Channel Clock Distribution Accessory, or CDA-2990, and accepts both an external 10 MHz clock signal and a pulse per second (PPS) input signal. It uses LabVIEW software which offers a graphical programming language that mirrors the parallelism of hardware allowing it to target multicore general-purpose processors, NI Linux real-time, and FPGAs. The USRP SDR also includes free and open-source FPGA code with an optional Network-on-Chip (RFNoC) that provides a consistent approach to implementing FPGA DSP code in an open-source environment. It can integrate GNU radio, UHD, and FPGA using supported programming languages such as C++, Verilog, VHDL, CoreGen, IP, XML, NoScript, and Python.
This SDR uses a dataflow programming style from LabVIEW to modify both the host and FPGA in a single development environment and also allows third-party software tools like MATLAB or VHDL code to be imported from LabVIEW. It offers LabVIEW application frameworks for LTE, 802.11, and MIMO to accelerate application design. It uses JTAG, GPIO, and PCIe express interfaces to remotely monitor and control the radio. The USRP-2974 is available in an enclosure with connectors and is ideal for radar, test and measurement, and spectrum monitoring applications.
