Reference design provides complete base station on a single pcb

According to the design and development firm, Sidewinder is suitable for use in mobile phone communications and professional radio, and is software configurable between GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA+ and other SDR applications, providing new levels of adaptability for cellular base stations. Cambridge Consultants says the reference design offers a low cost of entry for companies wishing to exploit these standards and sets a new benchmark in flexible, cost effective designs. Built for the changing broadband mobile communications market, Sidewinder is said to provide a solution for developers creating products that need to adapt as new wireless technologies and standards emerge. The radio design enables it to operate at any carrier frequency from 375MHz to 4GHz and with a channel bandwidth from 200kHz to 28MHz. It is available off the shelf and supports GSM link ranges up to and in excess of 40m indoors and 200m outdoors. It can be provided either as hardware supplied directly from Cambridge Consultants, or as a reference design that can be manufactured by licencees. Sidewinder is compatible with Cambridge Consultants' own Centaur GSM/EDGE PHY software reference and WCDMA software from Picochip. Alternatively, it can also be provided in combination with the Centaur GSM PHY as a complete development platform. Cambridge Consultants describes Sidewinder's flexibility as 'unrivalled' and it is based upon two novel technologies. On the front end, it makes use of the flexible radio device from Lime Microsystems. Connected to this is Picochip's latest PC312 Femtocell Baseband SoC, delivering a high performance dsp and an ARM application processor combined with low power consumption, making it suitable for some battery powered applications. It can also be easily integrated into base station or mobile units for police, emergency services and other professional radio users. Fraser Edwards, group fead of Radio Frequency Systems at Cambridge Consultants, said: "In a product environment disrupted by new communications standards and the demand for ever higher data bandwidth, we wanted to build a low cost base station which could be customised for just about any setting. With Sidewinder we have achieved this, with the added bonus of being one of the most compact yet powerful designs on the market."