LimeNET Micro - [Not] Getting Started

1

I’m having blocking issues with my LimeNET Micro.

First, everywhere it is said the board comes with a U-Blox GNSS receiver and a Wi-Fi module, but these are not installed on the v2.1 board I received. This is a big disappointment.

The installation instructions are beyond my ability to comprehend.

First, the USB driver installation link points to the instructions for another board, and suggest installing USB3 drivers the LimeNET Micro does not have.

The software suite executable does not start. LimeSuiteGUI_20201029_480bfea.exe and LimeQuickTest_20201029_480bfea.exe cannot be downloaded from the link using Chrome. Maybe use a zip file? I was able to download them from the version archive, but then they don’t run at all: missing MSVCP140.dll, and VCRUNTIME140.dll, despite these files being present on my machine.

If I copy the two DLLs in the same folder where the LimeSuite exe are, the apps still don’t start (status 0xc000007b - INVALID_IMAGE_FORMAT) probably because the DLLs I copied are 64-bit and the apps maybe are 32-bit? Maybe link the C runtime statically to avoid all those problems?

I’m left with a device that does not match the description of the product I ordered as it misses two important modules. I cannot install the drivers for it, and the software that runs it don’t install on my computer.

This appears to be a nice and promising project but I just want an SDR that works. What is the process to send to board back and get a full refund?

Thanks,
Axel

2

GNSS, yes, it certainly should have this, but WiFi, no. A build variant with this populated was never offered for sale. Likewise, it’s possible to have a duplexer fitted, but this was not offered for general sale either. The specs are here:

Could you post a picture with the missing GNSS receiver. If this is not populated it must be an assembly error and we would need to arrange an RMA.

If you bought it from another distributor and they said it would have the WiFi module fitted, you should contact them about this.

If you’re running Windows, rather than just download those two debug/test applications, I would recommend the Pothos installer. You can get the latest from here:

This will give you those two apps, plus things like GNU Radio and Gqrx.

3

Google chrome will not by default allow people to download any executable files, it assumes that everyone is an idiot. It has a bypass by pressing “CTRL”+“J” and right clicking on the automatically disabled download and telling it again that was what you meant. But my advise would be upload any executable file downloaded to somewhere like virustotal to at least attempt to validate that you are not doing something silly.