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John Smith wrote:
gb: Well, we certainly need to examine the "bottle neck" and remove it... before we are doomed... If we can't institute this "radical" idea here, we need to look at Canada, Mexico, So. America, China, India, etc... When there are as many functional radios (or "cards") hitting the dumpster as there are functional computers and related equip. (replaced with upgrades) we will know the right idea has prevailed and radio has come home... I would think there must be some EXCELLENT argument/reasoning serving as a road block, or else, others are simply going to pass us by... John I've considered this sort of a radio before. There are a few problems, however: First, there is a fundamental difference between digital systems and analog systems that prevents this sort of thing working with the success of a PC. The basic difference is that with a digital system you either end up with a clean signal or a useless signal. In an analog system the character and purity of the signal must be carefully guarded, at least until you manage to digitize it. This means that there will be a much greater chance that adding a new card to the radio will degrade not only the function of the new card, but the function of all the other cards. Second, the PC market is a huge one, with great advantages to be derived from common equipment and software, and much smaller advantages to be derived from commonality. This is the exact obverse of the radio market, including homebrew radios. To make a "card" radio would be to define a basic radio architecture, probably down to the IF frequency (or at least to the point of forcing you to match your IF and front end). While improvements could be made within this structure an independent experimenter couldn't play around with such things as direct-conversion, different IF schemes, etc., without extensive modification. In this way the radio market is more like the market for computing devices as a whole. The PC market doesn't account for the most processors sold, or even the most dollars of all computing devices. The largest segment of the market is in embedded computing devices ranging from things as visible and obvious as your PDA, through cell phones, and down to burglar alarms and TV remotes. Take apart a new home thermostat or TV remote and there's a good chance that you'll find a processor that implements most of its functionality in software -- but a very slim chance indeed that its PC compatible! -- Tim Wescott Wescott Design Services http://www.wescottdesign.com |
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