The RoadTest for the equipment for the Red Pitaya STEMlab 125-14 PRO Gen 2 Starter Kit got off to a poor start. The equipment was delivered the week after the schedule indicated reviews were to be completed.
This review will be delayed. I don't have an end date. It’s delivery doesn’t reflect any posted schedule. I asked for and didn’t receive a reply to my request for an updated schedule. That being the case the RoadTest review delivery will be a reflection of when I have time. I don't plan to rush this review. I hope to deliver on the objectives my application offered at the time the review was posted.
It will contain a considerable bit of content that wasn’t in my application. The reason is simple, I didn’t know at the time of my application what I didn’t know. That learning journey “to know” will create content that I will share with readers.
I am breaking from my typical approach for producing a RoadTest reviews. I would normally have a list of posts that deliver on specific topics. I don’t have that list and I don’t have the time to develop the list. I’m winging it, means I’m improvising, no planning, preparation or practice. My approach will be to pick up the equipment and explore what I think is the next step in order to get to my deliverable. I not even sure if I can deliver what I offered in my application. I had some time on Sunday to begin this exercise so let’s get started.
My first thought was who is Red Pitaya?
Red Pitaya is leading a revolution in the electronics industry, pioneering the move from closed, fixed-functionality instruments to multi-function, open-source software-defined instruments that are able to satisfy broad spectrum of customers in different market segments.
What started as a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013 has now developed into a company which keeps innovating, growing and changing the test and measurement market.[1] redpitaya.com/.../
What is the gear?
The Red Pitaya STEMlab 125-14 PRO Gen 2 can be thought of as a small, computer-controlled electronics laboratory that fits on your desk.
Instead of having separate pieces of test equipment, the Red Pitaya combines several instruments with a programmable computer and FPGA on one board. It doesn't completely replace bench instruments, but it is a platform for learning electronics, instrumentation, communications, control systems, and programming.
Before I put my hands on the equipment I had my AI research assistant Chatgpt to provide me a summary of the gear for a technology student.
The analog electronics on the board provide the connection between the Red Pitaya and real electrical signals. The STEMlab 125-14 has two high-speed analog input channels capable of sampling signals at up to 125 million samples per second (125 MS/s) with 14-bit resolution. It also has analog outputs that can be used to generate signals.
An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) provides extremely fast digital processing. Unlike a normal processor that executes instructions sequentially, an FPGA can have many hardware functions operating simultaneously. Later in your studies, this becomes particularly useful for digital signal processing, communications, and real-time control.
A processor runs Linux and software applications. This means the Red Pitaya isn't simply a test instrument—it is also a small networked computer. It can process measurements, store data, communicate over a network, and run programs.
I have a strong belief that what a reviewer pitches in the application is, what the RoadTest reviewer should deliver. I’ve just gotten started and after a few hours of reading I have some concerns if I can deliver. My application was not geared towards test equipment but rather software define radio (SDR). This gear can play in that field but is not an open-source SDR platform like a HackRF or RTL-SDR. How I got test equipment and SDR mixed up is a mystery to me.
Here is the opening statements of my application:
It has been a few years since I dabbled in SDR. What is new?
In 2020 Linuxformat magazine published three articles I had written on SDR. Two focused on GNU Radio and the other on Cubic SDR applications running on Raspberry Pi. For the magazine articles, I used the original RTL-SDR RTL2832UDVB-T tuner dongle hardware and computers running Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi OS. The articles were tutorials written to assist people in using RTL-SDR devices to perform tasks like designing an FM radio.
How has SDR technology changed in 5 years? How much do I have to learn to re-create the same environments?
My goal for the Red Pitaya STEMlab 125-14 PRO Gen 2 Starter Kit is to go from unboxing to listening to an FM radio station. What is required to achieve that outcome?
Well reading that, does make me nervous. Ok, calm down. GNU-Radio can be used to create test equipment. Got some similarity in the technology.
After using the QR code redpitaya.com/.../ (that was on the back of the board pinout card found in the equipment box) to access the quickstart guide, I'm thinking there just might be some relief in my application pitch.
The words Radio Amateurs gives me some promise. Those folks are dabbling in SDR all the time. I do hope I find some relief.
I’m thinking for my next step is to try setting up the equipment. If I look at the summary from the AI research assistance and the parts checklist that came with the gear, there is a memory card, connectors cables and external modules, I figure I will have some hardware and software configurations to do.
One of the things that troubled me about unboxing the gear was the exposed open printed circuit board. A piece of gear valued over thousand bucks and no case!
Well case deliver is 7-10 days. That pushes my next post out. With this equipment sitting on my test bench (for only a holy deity knows how long) there is really good chance it is going to contact something metal. I really hate to let the magic smoke out, before I get to discover what this gear can do. So from a Newark competitor (our E14 community supporter doesn't stock the item) I ordered a metal case and a USB 3.0 reader dongle. Who can't use a reader when adding the price of the reader saved me shipping costs.
OK Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest and I've rested enough time getting this first post (second if your counting) out. Dear readers my next post will be with the equipment all wrapped in a new shiny case.