... Thus I was grateful when a very knowledgeable Amateur Radio friend tipped me off that the Analog Devices ADALM-PLUTO is about the best "starter" Software Defined Transceiver for experimenting with software defined radio (as in the radio frequency hardware) for doing advanced data communications in Amateur Radio.
The ADALM-PLUTO has much to recommend it:
- Capable - RF coverage from 325 MHz to 3.8 GHz, and up to 20 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth, and has separate receive and transmit antenna ports. Regrettably, this precludes the ADADM-PLUTO from being used on the US Amateur Radio 50-54 MHz (6 meters), 144-148 MHz (2 meters), and 219 / 222-225 MHz (1.25 meters) bands.
- Continuously available by a major manufacturer (Analog Devices) and stocked by a major distributor (Digi-Key Electronics)
- Reasonably low cost ($150 at Digi-Key Electronics)
- Software support includes GNU Radio (and by extension, GNU Radio Companion - the graphical front end for GNU Radio)
- It's easy to experiment with in a lab / experiment setting - it's powered and communicated with by USB
The ADALM-PLUTO is likely to remain in production until superseded by a better unit. The ADALM-PLUTO's "mission" is to be an "RF lab in a shirt pocket" for students such as those in electrical engineering programs, and of course it's in Analog Devices' interest to get engineering students familiar with its products and thus the ADALM-PLUTO showcases several of Analog Devices' chips. Thus it's optimized for cost and functionality, not for usability by Amateur Radio operators.
One benefit that the ADALM-PLUTO has over competing software defined transceivers is that for it to be usable by students, it has to be well-documented, and that seems to be the case - see the ADALM-PLUTO Overview page. Upon first connection to a computer, the ADALM-PLUTO enumerates on USB as a drive, with considerable documentation onboard.
The major downside to the ADALM-PLUTO is that the transmit power is very low - 5 dBm which is approximately 3 mW (3 milliwatts, 3/1000 watt). (Remember, it's powered entirely by a USB connection over a micro USB connector.) Given the intended audience and price point of this product, that's to be expected. To get a more reasonable power level, you would have to implement a power amplifier, and it's tough to make a good power amplifier that works over a wide frequency range as the ADALM-PLUTO does.
Thus, this page will become my reference page for all the bits of info that I'll be gathering about the Analog Devices ADALM-PLUTO in Amateur Radio Data Communications.
Manufacturer Product Page - Analog Devices ADALM-PLUTO
Distributor Product Page - Analog Devices ADALM-PLUTO on Digi-Key Electronics
Support:
Analog Devices ADALM-PLUTO Wiki
Facebook Group 1 (public) - Adalm-Pluto PlutoSDR
Facebook Group 2 (private) - ADALM - Pluto, interest group
Last updated 2021-04-15
Thanks for reading!
Steve Stroh N8GNJ
Bellingham, Washington, USA
Copyright © 2021 Steven K. Stroh