My active radar code has been working for some time, but I'm just now getting around to thinking about real-world tests. The difficulty I'm facing at the moment is how to isolate the transmitter and receiver while still providing decent power on target. I'm looking for suggestions.
Right now, using the RFX2400, I'm thinking something like: Tx/Rx port ----> AMP ----------->. | circulator <----> Antenna | Rx2 port <---- LNA <-----------. where ---- is coax. I found a nice LNA with SMA connectors from MiniCircuits (25 dB gain, 1.0 dB noise figure), but the problem is that all of the 2.4 GHz circulators I have found offer only ~20 dB of isolation. So, even with the "AMP" gain set to 0 dB, the Tx power into the circulator will be +13dBm.* Any attenuation to this signal via the circulator en route to the receiver will be undone by the LNA, and +13 dBm > 0 dBm, which is the safe level for the receiver.** I cannot turn down the transmit power if I hope to be able to operate at useful ranges. I have zero experience building a system like this. I'll be thinking a lot more about it, and looking for better parts, but I've learned to ask the experts early ;) Any ideas? Thanks, -Lee *http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/discuss-gnuradio/2006-06/msg00238.html **http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/discuss-gnuradio/2006-09/msg00291.html P.S. The parts I'm considering can be found here: http://www.minicircuits.com/cgi-bin/inquery.cgi?querystring=ZQL-2700MLNW&searchtype=modelfamily&x=23&y=10 http://www.ditom.com/product_info.php?products_id=30&osCsid=9339bea3608c32e01f46033a16b8255f _______________________________________________ Discuss-gnuradio mailing list Discuss-gnuradio@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss-gnuradio