WARPLab 7 Example: EEPROM User Extension

File: wl_example_8x2_array.m​

This example shows how WARPLab can be used for array communications even when the number of antennas exceeds what can be supported on a single WARP board. This example uses two separate WARP boards to act as a single many-antenna transmitter while a third board receives their transmissions.

This example uses 3 nodes:

• A node that acts as a primary transmitter. This node uses its own on-board clocks for sampling and RF clocking.
• A node that acts as a secondary transmitter. This node uses the primary transmitter's clocks as the sources for sampling and RF. Furthermore, the Trigger Manager core is used such that the secondary transmitter is triggered by an external twisted pair cable assembly.
• A node to act as a receiver.

Requirements:

• WARPLab reference design 7.1.0 or later
• 3 WARP v3 nodes
• 2 CM-MMCX clock modules
• 2 FMC-RF-2X245 radio modules
• 2 MMCX cable assemblies
• 1 twisted pair cable assembly

Setup

To run this example, you must set up your experiment as follows:

1. Mount the CM-MMCX modules on two WARP v3 nodes. Power must be off when mounting/unmounting a clock module.
2. Mount the FMC-RF-2X245 modules on the same two WARP v3 nodes. For assistance installing an FMC-RF-2X245, see the FMC Installation How-To.
3. Set the CM-MMCX switches on each node (see figures below); one node will be the clock source, the other will be the clock sink.
4. Connect MMCX cables from the outputs of the source node to the inputs of the sink node.
5. Connect the twisted pair cable between the debug headers of the WARP v3 boards. Pin 8 of the source node should connect to pin 15 of the sink node. Use the other conductor of the cable to connect ground between nodes (see figure below).
6. Set the DIP switches on the WARP v3 boards to 0000 (clock source node) and 0001 (clock sink node).
7. Power on the two WARP v3 nodes
8. Download the 4RF WARPLab reference bitstream to both nodes (clock source node first). Both nodes should boot, with the source node showing "01" on the hex displays and the sink showing "02".
9. Set the DIP switch on the third WARP v3 board to 0010.
10. Power on the third WARP v3 board and download the 2RF WARPLab reference bitstream. The node should boot and show "03" on the hex displays.