[Noisebridge-discuss] Anyone willing to part with their USRP?

[Jake]

> I've done TSSOP (the smd1d6 used it: 
> http://www.youtube.com/appliedplatonics#p/u/5/bqiF1TcT5Cg), it's not a 
> really big deal, but I'm not keen on hand-soldering a couple thousand 
> pads at pitches that tight.

you're not soldering individual pins, but entire sides.  Lets say there's 
four big chips with four sides each.  Once you have your technique down 
you can do it in under a minute.  I will prove it to you on monday.

> I did look into this a bit, more to see if there was room for a ~$350 SDR
> board.  Once the quantity-100 BOM got to $150, I stopped looking.

the value of a USRP is directly related to the useful software available 
for it.  The software available increases with the availability of the 
hardware.  The potential value of a USRP is far higher than $350 once some 
killer apps get popular.

> I'd love to do this for shits and giggles, but I really don't have time 
> for the learning right now.  I'm currently playing catch-up on the 
> theory side of SDR, and would like to focus on software applications 
> once I have a handle on it, instead of implementing the circuits side.

it seems to me you have two choices:  A:\> make your own USRP (the 
schematics are open-source already) and as a bonus, have your own eagle 
files and kit-making potential, or B:\> pay $700 for a pre-built one and 
get no DIY or kit bonus.  For option A: you have at least one person 
willing to help you.

> It'd be awesome if a handful of the right people (ie: already experts in 
> one part of the problem) got together to do this, but I'm really not one 
> of them.  I've been doing electronics for ~15 years, but I'm no EE, just 
> a mathematician/linguist who fell into the wrong company. -- /jbm

I feel that the hard work has already been finished;  the schematic and 
parts list and software are all written and available.  All that remains 
is a set of gerber files and a tiny bit of soldering.  (literally tiny)

-jake