After two weeks of happy use my Lime seems broken. While adjusting receiving antenna, using a VOLMET signal on air VHF band as reference on SDR-Console, my RX1_L went totally deaf. Confirmed with Gqrx and GRC. _W and _H works, but _W shows a -15dB difference without the fix.
Scenary: EasyFix 1 applied, gains LNA -15, TIA -12, PGA 4, passive BFM notch filter. Lime sitting in his isolated metal case. Maybe a static discharge, I don’t know.
I tried to select RX2 on GRC using the 2 channels trick but didn’t work for me
File “/home/ismael/hw/LimeSDR/top_block.py”, line 65, in init
self.osmosdr_source_0 = osmosdr.source( args=“numchan=” + str(2) + " " + ‘driver=lime,soapy=0’ )
File “/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/osmosdr/osmosdr_swig.py”, line 1173, in make
return _osmosdr_swig.source_make(*args, **kwargs)
RuntimeError: Wrong device arguments specified. Missing nchan?
So, I have several question and pleas:
Is there any other thing I can check?
In the worst case, is it possible to send it back to Lime Microsystems for repair? I fear that it will imply replacing LMS7000
Could friends @csete, @SimonG4ELI and Myriad people update libraries and soft for selecting channel 2 inputs?
This is a big deal for me because had plans on decoding wide digital signals and experiment with osmo* and DVB.
A follow-up on the subject.
My RX1_L seems not totally broken, as it receives signal but about -35dBm lower. It seems not shorted nor opened, but deafened. RXLNAL should have blown. RXMIX, RXTIA and the rest modules works normally on that band. So it’s not totally lost as an external LNA could still be used.
I’ve checked all possible polarization values in LimeSuite RBB tab for RXLNA awakening to no avail.
Also I’ve reviewed the event and I think it happened when RX1_L got shorted for about 250ms when unproperly disconnected while LimeSDR was energized.
I wonder if Easyfix shunt coil removal leaves input less protected from unwanted spikes. i think it should be investigated.
I’d also like to hear from people with similar issue to share thoughs,
Could you check please if transformer/balun is not physically broken on channel RX1_L. Or share a good resolution picture of LimeSDR-USB RF RX1_L part.
Tested, no luck.
Followed all track from input to chip, no difference in signal amplitude. Passive components seem OK, unless transformer coil is shorted. Don’t know how to check that without desoldering. Impedance curve variation?
Setup: Using TX1 as signal generator, all TXPAD and RXLNA, MIX, TIA and PGA gains minimum. Out-of-band sonde as atenuator.
