Spectrum Analyser from Cell Phones?
 

I wonder if anyone has successfully converted a
thrown-away cell-phone into a spectrum analyser?

We would seem to have all the necessary components
in there for free - keyboard, graphical display,
post-demodulation DSP, Frequency Synthesizer,
RF good up to 1 GHz (2G5Hz if an ex-WCDMA unit)

Here would seem to be an opportunity to equip
all Radio Hams with a reasonably state-of-the-art
piece of test gear, that when coupled with an
IF generator would give us all a network analyser
into the bargain!

Polymath wrote:

I wonder if anyone has successfully converted a
thrown-away cell-phone into a spectrum analyser?

We would seem to have all the necessary components
in there for free - keyboard, graphical display,
post-demodulation DSP, Frequency Synthesizer,
RF good up to 1 GHz (2G5Hz if an ex-WCDMA unit)

Here would seem to be an opportunity to equip
all Radio Hams with a reasonably state-of-the-art
piece of test gear, that when coupled with an
IF generator would give us all a network analyser
into the bargain!

Many years ago it was done with junked Video Tape Recorders and, from
what I saw and read, very successfully too.

Dave

Dave Holford wrote:
Polymouth wrote:

I wonder if anyone has successfully converted a
thrown-away cell-phone into a spectrum analyser?

We would seem to have all the necessary components
in there for free - keyboard, graphical display,
post-demodulation DSP, Frequency Synthesizer,
RF good up to 1 GHz (2G5Hz if an ex-WCDMA unit)

Here would seem to be an opportunity to equip
all Radio Hams with a reasonably state-of-the-art
piece of test gear, that when coupled with an
IF generator would give us all a network analyser
into the bargain!

Many years ago it was done with junked Video Tape Recorders and, from
what I saw and read, very successfully too.

Don't hold your breath, as there seems to be a raft of projects ahead
of this one: his own XRC machine, an ATU made from discarded CDs, a
DSP project using an FT-707, and of course, the mathematical basis for
the Big-K approach to DSP to be proved, peer-reviewed, and then
published.

from
Aero Spike

Spike wrote:

Don't hold your breath, as there seems to be a raft of projects ahead
of this one: his own XRC machine, an ATU made from discarded CDs, a
DSP project using an FT-707, and of course, the mathematical basis for
the Big-K approach to DSP to be proved, peer-reviewed, and then
published.

You also forget the gauntlet he laid down in the newsgroups to design a
transceiver that was roughly based upon re-inventing the wheel.

When people took his suggestion somewhat seriously, he backed away, and,
as it the case with all Bean-powered projects, let the subject die.

Polymath wrote:

I wonder if anyone has successfully converted a
thrown-away cell-phone into a spectrum analyser?

We would seem to have all the necessary components
in there for free - keyboard, graphical display,
post-demodulation DSP, Frequency Synthesizer,
RF good up to 1 GHz (2G5Hz if an ex-WCDMA unit)

Here would seem to be an opportunity to equip
all Radio Hams with a reasonably state-of-the-art
piece of test gear, that when coupled with an
IF generator would give us all a network analyser
into the bargain!

Bargain - of course - that's after the Radio Amateur has equipped his
shack with a very expensive SMD rework station....

Would it not be wiser to suggest the building of an interface so the
shack PC could be used to do such a task as spectrum analysis?

Beanie/Polymath - Once a dumbass, always a dumbass.

In article . com,
says...

I wonder if anyone has successfully converted a
thrown-away cell-phone into a spectrum analyser?

snippety of preposterous proposal

What are you smoking/drinking/injecting? More importantly, why
didn't you offer to share?

Are you trolling, drunk, high, or actually serious? Inquiring
minds want to know.


--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"

Wankel Rotary wrote:

Spike wrote:

Don't hold your breath, as there seems to be a raft of projects ahead
of this one: his own XRC machine, an ATU made from discarded CDs, a
DSP project using an FT-707, and of course, the mathematical basis for
the Big-K approach to DSP to be proved, peer-reviewed, and then
published.

You also forget the gauntlet he laid down in the newsgroups to design a
transceiver that was roughly based upon re-inventing the wheel.

When people took his suggestion somewhat seriously, he backed away, and,
as it the case with all Bean-powered projects, let the subject die.

His philosophy seems to boil down to "Don't do as I do, do as I say" -
the motto of the hypocrite.

from
Aero Spike

Hello Polymath

I wonder if anyone has successfully converted a
thrown-away cell-phone into a spectrum analyser?

We would seem to have all the necessary components
in there for free - keyboard, graphical display,
post-demodulation DSP, Frequency Synthesizer,
RF good up to 1 GHz (2G5Hz if an ex-WCDMA unit)

Here would seem to be an opportunity to equip
all Radio Hams with a reasonably state-of-the-art
piece of test gear, that when coupled with an
IF generator would give us all a network analyser
into the bargain!

If you have web access, I have built a scalar network analyser from one of
the commonly available TV transmitters
http://www.g6lvb.com/Articles/NetAn/index.htm.

These TV transmitters use the SP5055 2.6GHz I2C frequency synthesisers and
are easily programmed from a PIC. You could build yourself a spectrum
analyser using the synthesiser as the sweep oscillator as I did.

If you successfully reverse engineer a cellphone enough to be able to use
any of the parts you describe I am sure that there would be a great deal of
interest if you published the information for any particular model.

73, Howard G6LVB

Many years ago it was done with junked Video
Tape Recorders and, from what I saw and read,
very successfully too.

If this is the same project that I remember, it's based mostly around
the TV tuner module from an old VCR.

The TV tuners work real nicely as they have a well-defined interface to
the VCO control voltage, mixer in, and mixer out. The VCO is also the
"right range" (VHF-Lo, VHF-Hi, UHF covers a lot of frequency!) at least
for 50MHz up to the top of the UHF TV band. I don't know what they did
for frequencies below 50MHz.

The TV tuner module is also nicely interface to (a handful of easily
soldered-to pins.)

Cellphones don't really have a well-defined module like the TV tuner in
them. They aren't broadband in the same way. Their synthesizers are
not broadband either.

Tim.

"Howard Long" wrote in message
...
Hello Polymath

If you successfully reverse engineer a cellphone enough to be able to use
any of the parts you describe I am sure that there would be a great deal
of
interest if you published the information for any particular model.


Sweep oscillator on the X axis of an old junk oscilloscope and the IF stage
of an old multiband radio always did the job for me, mind you that was until
I went to university of course when we found a new use for the spectrum
analyser - listening to Radio 1 in the lab mainly.