• UUGear’sVUGPSDRis a low-cost GPS-disciplined SDR expansion board designed specifically for theVivid Unit, a palm-sized Rockchip RK3399-based touchscreen SBC we covered back in 2024. • The VU GPSDR is built around the RTL2832U ADC and Rafael Micro R860 tuner, but what makes it different from SDRs like thePhaseLatch MiniandDeepRad SDRis the integration of a u-blox NEO-M8N GPS module. • This module provides a GPS-disciplined 24 MHz clock reference to the Si5351 local oscillator, which ensures high frequency stability and timing accuracy that is typically only found in much more expensive SDR hardware. • VU GPSDR specifications: Supported Platform - UUGear Vivid Unit via Vivid Unit Extender Gen 1/2 (See details below) MCU - STM8S003F for board-level controls RFTuner -Rafael Micro R860ADC - Realtek RTL2832UFrequency Range - 500 kHz to 1.766 GHzBandwidth - Up to 3.2 MHz (2.4 MHz recommended for stability)HF Support - Integrated 108 MHz up-converter for reception below 30 MHz (Shortwave/Amateur bands)Antenna1x SMA (SDR input); no Bias-Tee1x SMA Output (Software-controlled clock source via Si5351) Tuner -Rafael Micro R860 ADC - Realtek RTL2832U Frequency Range - 500 kHz to 1.766 GHz Bandwidth - Up to 3.2 MHz (2.4 MHz recommended for stability) HF Support - Integrated 108 MHz up-converter for reception below 30 MHz (Shortwave/Amateur bands) Antenna1x SMA (SDR input); no Bias-Tee1x SMA Output (Software-controlled clock source via Si5351) 1x SMA (SDR input); no Bias-Tee 1x SMA Output (Software-controlled clock source via Si5351) ClockingLocal Oscillator - Si5351, disciplined by 24 MHz PPS from u-blox NEO-M8N GPSGPS-adjusted clock for long-term frequency accuracy; falls back to internal TCXO without GPS fix1x onboard GPS antenna connected via IPEX 1st gen connector; with 5V Bias-Tee supportI2C header for NEO-M8N Local Oscillator - Si5351, disciplined by 24 MHz PPS from u-blox NEO-M8N GPS GPS-adjusted clock for long-term frequency accuracy; falls back to internal TCXO without GPS fix

Article Summaries:

  • UUGear’s VU GPSDR is a low-cost GPS-disciplined SDR expansion board designed specifically for the Vivid Unit, a palm-sized Rockchip RK3399-based touchscreen SBC we covered back in 2024. The VU GPSDR is built around the RTL2832U ADC and Rafael Micro R860 tuner, but what makes it different from SDRs like the PhaseLatch Mini and DeepRad SDR is the integration of a u-blox NEO-M8N GPS module. This module provides a GPS-disciplined 24 MHz clock reference to the Si5351 local oscillator, which ensures high frequency stability and timing accuracy that is typically only found in much more expensive SDR

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