SISO Broadband Radio Transceiver with miniPCI interface
DL4600-400 is a state-of-the-art embedded OFDM SISO (Single Stream) Wireless Broadband radio transceiver for the 4400-4800 MHz band. It is a member of large family of form factor compatible modules in different frequencies spanning from 150-6500 MHz. It contains all the digital and analogue/RF functions packed in a compact miniPCI size to simplify the system integration. It enables implementation of innovative Wireless Broadband applications in the MILCOM bands.
Band Availability and Radio Services 
- The US Federal 4 GHz spectrum spans 4.4 GHz to 4.99 GHz. This spectrum is designated for the U.S. military fixed and mobile communications. Typical uses include point-to-point data links, drone vehicle control and telemetry.
- This is a critical military communications band that has been preserved for military operations by the NATO; and within the individual NATO member countries. The military Nature of this band has also been maintained by certain allied and friendly nations outside the NATO alliance and by the European Cooperation Partner nations and the Partners for Peace nations.
- The band is split into several sub-bands for specific type of radio service. They generally support the 5/10/20 and 40 MHz channels. The radio transceiver can be factory configured to meet the customer project requirements and use of the sub-bands.
The DL4600-400 broadband radio transceiver can deliver IP based HD Video, Voice and Data services in Near Line of Sight (NrLOS) conditions. The transceiver delivers high Tx power, low distortion EVM (Error Vector Magnitude) signal even at 64 QAM modulation to achieve high data throughput. DL4600-400 features Doodle Labs’ proprietary Prism-WiFi® technology with advanced filtering and noise reduction techniques for better Rx sensitivity, high SNR and high interference immunity. DL4600-400 is specially designed to deliver best performance in long-range outdoor applications.
Project Showcase
Based on DL4600-400, following projects have been successfully deployed in the field.
- UAV – HD Video downlink from the Unmanned Surveillance Vehicle. Maximum range is approximately 50 km from the base station. Live Video is streamed to multiple locations over the Internet. Base station is using high gain dish antenna with automatic tracking. Use of dual polarized diversity antennas helps maintain good RF link even with the ariel vehicle’s constantly changing orientation. The high frequency band results in lower weight and compact antennas for the vehicle.
Key Features
- Best-in-class radio performance with high throughput, spectral efficiency, advanced RF interference mitigation and resistance to multi-path fading for Near Line of Sight (NrLOS) performance.
- High Tx power to maintain distortion free signal (low EVM) to maintain lowest packet errors to maximize data throughput at higher data modulation.
- Integrated LNA to achieve better Rx sensitivity and SNR.
- Advanced filtering techniques to achieve high interference immunity.
- Self-adapting OFDM modulation rates to maintain optimal link performance under different operating conditions.
- An extensive family of form factor compatible radio modules in all frequencies spanning 150-6500 MHz.
- 128 bit AES encryption for over the air data security
- Simple System Integration with commercially available components.
- Proven compatibility with OpenWrt and many other 3rd party software stack
- Open Source ath5k Linux Kernel drivers
- Designed and Verified to meet various regulatory requirements.
- Form factor compatibility with many embedded SBC (Single Board Computers).
- High quality design ensures durability in harsh operating environments
| TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS | |||||
| Model No. and Product Status | DL4600-400. Available now. | ||||
| RF Power | Software configurable from 14 dBm to 29 dBm | ||||
| Receive Sensitivity | -96 to -69 dBm, depends on the Modulation and the Channel Bandwidth. | ||||
| Channel Bandwidth | Software selectable 5, 10, 20 and 40 MHz channels | ||||
| Operating Modes | AP and STA modes to implement Point to Point, Infrastucture Point to multi Point, and Ad-hoc/Mesh networks | ||||
| Radio Waveform | An extension of IEEE 802.11 a | ||||
| MAC Protocol | TDMA with Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA, Qualcomm Atheros MAC – AR5414) | ||||
| Wireless Error Correction | FEC, ARQ | ||||
| Linux Software Support | OpenWRT (Wireless Router) and ath5k driver | ||||
| Tx/Rx Specification | Radio Data Rate (Mbps) | Typical TCP/IP data throughput | Modulation | Max Tx Power (± 2 dBm) | Rx Sensitivity (± 2 dBm) |
| 5 MHz Channel | 1.5 | 1.3 | BPSK | 29 | -96 |
| 6 | 4.3 | 16 QAM | 29 | -86 | |
| 12 | 7 | 64 QAM | 24 | -76 | |
| 10 MHz Channel | 3 | 2.5 | BPSK | 29 | -93 |
| 12 | 8 | 16 QAM | 29 | -83 | |
| 24 | 14 | 64 QAM | 24 | -73 | |
| 20 MHz Channel | 6 | 5 | BPSK | 29 | -91 |
| 24 | 17 | 16 QAM | 29 | -81 | |
| 48 | 27 | 64 QAM | 24 | -71 | |
| 40 MHz Channel | 12 | 10 | BPSK | 29 | -89 |
| 48 | 32 | 16 QAM | 29 | -79 | |
| 96 | 48 | 64 QAM | 24 | -69 | |
| Input Signal Strength | -40 to -80 dBm (Recommended), (Absolute Maximum=0 dBm) | ||||
| Receiver LNA Gain | +12 dBm | ||||
| Receiver Adjacent Channel Rejection (ACR) | >20 dB | ||||
| Receiver Alternate Channel Rejection (ALCR) | >40 dB | ||||
| Receiver Blocking | TBD | ||||
| Receive chain Noise Figure | +6 dB | ||||
Transmitter Adjacent Channel Leakage power Ratio (ACLR) | Min 45 dB (Fc ± ChBW), Min 50 dB (Fc ± 2*ChBW) | ||||
| Transmitter Spurious Emission Suppression | -40 dBc (Minimum) | ||||
| RF Power control | In 0.5 dBm steps. Accuracy of power control loop ±1 dBm | ||||
| It is advantageous to use the smallest Channel Bandwidth that can support the Throughput and Range requirements. Smaller Bandwidths provide more channels to choose and avoid any interference issues. The system’s SNR is higher at smaller Channel Bandwidths. | |||||
| PHYSICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER SPECIFICATIONS | |||||
| Host CPU Board | Any CPU board with Industry standard 32 bits, 33 MHz miniPCI Type III A | ||||
| Antenna Ports | Two MMCX Ports (50 Ohms). Can be programmed for Antenna Diversity or use separate antennas for Tx and Rx. | ||||
| Operating Voltage | 3.3 or 5 Volts configuration | ||||
| Power Consumption | 9W @ 29 dBm, in continuous data transfer mode 7W @ 24 dBm, in continuous data transmit mode @ 48 Mbps 2W in continuous data receive mode 0.9W in Sleep mode | ||||
| Ambient Temperature for transceiver (Operating) | Industrial grade (-20°C to +70°C). Recommended for the Outdoor/MIL-SPEC compliant modem development (-40°C to +60°C) due to internal power dissipation. Verified cold boot operation. | ||||
| Dimensions | 60 x 60 x 10 mm, approx. 60 grams. (CAD file available) | ||||
| Regulatory Requirements | Designed and Verified to meet various regulatory requirements. Formal testing and approval is required based on the Integrator’s particular host platform. The Integrator is also responsible for obtaining any other required regulatory approvals in target markets for the finished product. | ||||
| RoHS/WEEE Compliance | Yes | ||||
* Specification are subject to change without prior notice.
System Integration
As shown in the block diagram, the modular nature of the Prism-WiFi radio transceivers allows for accelerated development of the wireless modem. The Prism-WiFi transceivers operate just like standard Wi-Fi modules and are drop-in replacements.
With the use of Prism-WiFi transceivers, it is easy to embed a wireless modem in any system. Any embedded Single Board Computer with standard miniPCI Type III A interface is required. These SBC are available from many vendors and they come in various sizes and I/O configurations. The Linux distribution OpenWRT has evolved over time and now provides advanced features in a wireless router. It is a very stable distribution and many OEMs are using OpenWRT. The distribution includes the ath5k driver to interface with the Prism-WiFi transceivers. Both OpenWRT and ath5k driver have extensive documentation available.
Each Prism-WiFi transceiver model uses a corresponding frequency offset from the standard WiFi frequency bands. This allows to effortlessly introduce modems targeted for various frequency bands by just installing a different transceiver. We are happy to consult with our customers and help select the correct operating frequency to suite the application.
