Next Gen LimeSDR

Interesting to see the spec of the next Lime chip which goes up to 12GHz. With two Ham GEO sats available in the next year or two using 10GHz for the downlink the next iteration could be just what a cheapskate such as myself needs.

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@SimonG4ELI it is not long time to wait. You hould be able to get samples for LMS8, some time in Q2 this year.

Oh dear - now I’ll have to buy a dish system :slight_smile: .

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Then we’d have to buy another one… :slight_smile: time to start saving I guess…

LimeSDR with LMS8 chipset would be great.

There has been talk of a geosynchronous satellite that down links on 10 gigahertz and up on 5ghz …
That next Gen lms8 would be just the ticket to use that bird for almost any ham with an abandoned C-Band dish !!!

I was under the impression that the LMS8001 board would piggyback onto the crowdfunded LimeSDR board to bring its upper frequency range to 12 GHz. Is that wrong, i.e. will the 12 GHz version be a full replacement for the LimeSDR board v1.4 instead of being an upgrade accessory?

I am really interested, because I too have hopes of using the LimeSDR board for future AMSAT-NA satellites that will use 5 GHz uplink and 10 GHz downlink frequencies.

The good news is that if you are willing to only listen to the downlink frequency and not transmit on the 10 GHz band, an inexpensive satellite TV LNB that is PLL based will bring the downlink down to a frequency that the existing LimeSDR board will easily receive, and then you just have the issue of generating RF in the 5 GHz band. But I will also say that while I am willing to have a separate radio for satellite operation vs. terrestrial weak-signal operation, I’d love it if one radio would handle all the ham bands from 50 MHz to 10.5 GHz. Granted, such a radio would need a low noise preamp, input filtering, a power amplifier, and output filtering on each ham band you’d want to operate on, but I am already building such a system in my dreams at night, though not on my bench (YET).

The LMS8001 is a companion to the LMS7002 and it is still planned for there to be an add-on board for LimeSDR.

That is a great relief to me. Thank you for the prompt reply. Now for the sticky question, “Do you have any idea when it may be offered for sale and how much it will cost?” I’m hoping that the answer is NOT that “We don’t talk about future products.” I realize that an estimate is only an estimate, not a guarantee. So I wouldn’t “hold your feet to the fire” to get the product within the estimated time. Just looking for an estimate if I can get one.

Again, many thanks for the quick response.
John Toscano, W0JT/5, EL09vu20

We’re aiming for by the end of Q3 of this year and at cost no more than that of the LimeSDR.

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when ca we start signing up?

@andrewback Thank you Andrew. The 10GHz version of a LimeSDR was my main reason for originally supporting the project. Do you plan to C.S. the 12GHz Lime as well. From a supporters point of view I am EXTREMELY happy with C.S. and they way they have handled your project.

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Ah,

Nice - in time for the GEO satellites.

I’m not involved in the commercial side, so I’m not sure and it’s perhaps early to say. However, I would also agree that Crowd Supply have done a great job with the LimeSDR :slight_smile:

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One request for the 12GHz V2 of the Lime would be no IPX IPEX U.FL connectors…

Second to that… proper connectors please :smiley:

Here interested user for 12 GHz Lime too,
for my professional (aerospace related) and ham applications.
73
Djani

Same here - I have no idea what connectors the professionals use at 10GHz but whatever it is then that’s what I want.

Could be a nice, simple way to get out on 10GHz from Dartmoor next year.

Want-now-want-now-want. Please :slight_smile: .

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@SimonG4ELI And if Simon wants to use it from Dartmoor we all win because that means we get a TX/RX Lime version of SDR Console!!! If I am totally honest that was my dream set up for the Lime from the beginning. A rig that would cover 10GHz EME running SDR Console for both TX and RX… BTW hopefully G4ELI will be operating ON Dartmoor and not FROM Dartmoor as I have a feeling the granite walls may present a bit of a problem on 10GHz.

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To be honest it will not be difficult to add the transmit support - I can already transmit via the ANAN transceivers (just got this beauty in the shack), the software’s well-enough structured to send either IQ or audio straight to the Lime.

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@SimonG4ELI,

Does that transmit capability exist now in our versions of SDRConsole we have now? Please advise - I’m foaming at the mouth for that next… :slight_smile:

73 de Marty KN0CK