FreeCalypso > hg > freecalypso-docs
annotate RFFE-notes @ 94:7aaed576fa26
SIM-data-formats: fix Russian UCS-2 string example
author | Mychaela Falconia <falcon@freecalypso.org> |
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date | Tue, 10 May 2022 06:33:43 +0000 |
parents | dd94e04b9539 |
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rev | line source |
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1 Every GSM phone handset or modem that is based on our beloved Calypso+Iota+Rita |
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2 chipset also contains a functional section (can be a single component or a group |
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3 of components) which we call the RFFE: radio frequency front end. This RFFE is |
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4 the functional block that provides frequency-filtered radio Rx paths from the |
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5 antenna interface to Rita LNA inputs, as well radio Tx paths from the PA to the |
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6 antenna. The choice of particular RFFE implementation (specifically in the Rx |
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7 direction) determines the device's GSM frequency band capabilities, i.e., |
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8 whether your GSM phone or modem is dual-band, triband or quadband. |
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9 |
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10 The least band-capable Calypso-based devices we are aware of are dual-band, |
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11 i.e., we are not aware of anyone having ever made a Calypso-based GSM device |
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12 that supports only one GSM frequency band. The lowest-end configuration is |
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13 single-region dual-band, supporting one low band and one high band, either EU |
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14 bands or US bands. The next step up is triband, supporting two EU bands and |
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15 one US band or vice-versa, and the best RFFE designs are quadband, supporting |
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16 all 4 possible GSM frequency bands. |
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17 |
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18 There are two particular RFFE designs that enjoy the privileged status of being |
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19 most native to FreeCalypso: TI's original Leonardo+ quadband reference design |
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20 and Openmoko's derivative design that is very polished, but is only triband. |
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21 In absolute historical terms TI's Leonardo existed first and OM's version was a |
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22 later derivative work, but for FreeCalypso the two got somewhat reversed with |
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23 our peculiar timeline: |
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24 |
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25 * The Mother bought her first Openmoko Neo FreeRunner in 2011, and lots of other |
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26 people in the community have been playing with Openmoko devices - whereas TI's |
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27 Leonardo development board has always been legendary unobtainium. |
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28 |
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29 * Openmoko's PCB layout has been liberated (freely published) in 2015, whereas |
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30 TI's Leonardo PCB design remained as elusive as ever. |
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31 |
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32 * Between 2015 and 2017 we've successfully produced our FCDEV3B board based on |
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33 Openmoko's PCB layout, featuring OM's triband RFFE, and we gained a lot of |
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34 experience working with this RFFE as we recreated the previously lost theory |
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35 and tools for RF calibration. |
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36 |
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37 * In December of 2019 I was searching the world high and low for a real TI |
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38 Leonardo board so I could do some CMU200 experiments with its RFFE, but |
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39 instead I found the historical commercial Calypso modem module which we call |
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40 Tango, which is nothing less than a mass-produced version of the core of |
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41 Leonardo, the full quadband version. |
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42 |
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43 The discovery of Tango modules has finally brought TI's original quadband RFFE |
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44 design back to its rightful place at the top of the quality hierarchy among |
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45 Calypso GSM devices, and we are finally able to study it as much as we have |
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46 studied OM's triband version in the preceding years. |
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47 |
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48 Leonardo and Openmoko RF sections |
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49 ================================= |
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50 |
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51 The RF sections of both Leonardo/Tango and Openmoko/FCDEV3B consist of TI's |
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52 Rita RF transceiver, a standalone PA (RF3133 or RF3166) and the part we focus |
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53 on as the RFFE. The best way to illustrate the essential divisions and |
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54 interconnections between components is with a block diagram: |
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55 |
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56 +-------+ |
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57 | RF PA | |
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58 | | |
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59 +--------------- HB Tx path ------+-->>>--+------+ |
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60 | +-------- LB Tx path ------+-->>>--+---+ | |
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61 | | | | | | |
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62 +---+------+---+ +-------+ | | |
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63 | HB Tx LB Tx | | | |
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64 | | +-+--+--+ |
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65 | Rita | | RFFE | |
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66 | | | | |
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67 | LB LNA-+----- LB Rx path ---------------+- -+-- ANTENNA |
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68 | DCS LNA-+---- DCS Rx path ---------------+- | |
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69 | PCS LNA-+---- PCS Rx path ---------------+- | |
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70 | | | | |
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71 +--------------+ +-------+ |
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72 |
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73 HB = high bands (DCS & PCS, 1800 & 1900 MHz) |
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74 LB = low bands (GSM850 & EGSM, 850 & 900 MHz) |
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75 |
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76 The block marked as RFFE on the above block diagram is the one that differs |
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77 between Leonardo/Tango and Openmoko/FCDEV3B, and it is this block that makes |
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78 one quadband and the other only triband. In the original Leonardo+ quadband |
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79 reference design the RFFE block is a single component (Epcos M034F) that is |
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80 called a Front End Module (FEM), whereas Openmoko replaced this integrated FEM |
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81 with an Antenna Switch Module (ASM) plus 3 discrete SAW filters. Both RFFE |
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82 designs implement the following functions: |
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83 |
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84 * They switch the antenna interface between Rx and Tx - a GSM MS never needs to |
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85 receive and transmit at the same time, thus an antenna switch is used instead |
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86 of more expensive duplexer or diplexer arrangements. |
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87 |
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88 * They accept RF Tx signal from one of two separate inputs (one for LB, one for |
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89 HB), and they provide the necessary low pass filters to suppress unwanted |
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90 harmonics present in the PA output. |
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91 |
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92 * Rx signals are fed to the RF transceiver on one of 3 separate Rx signal paths |
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93 as appropriate for the band in which reception takes place (LB, DCS or PCS), |
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94 and for each supported band the incoming signal is passed through an |
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95 appropriate SAW - a very narrow frequency-specific bandpass filter. |
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96 |
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97 RF Tx paths |
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98 =========== |
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99 |
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100 There are only two RF Tx paths: one for GSM850 and EGSM (850 & 900 MHz) bands |
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101 combined, and the other for DCS and PCS (1800 & 1900 MHz) bands combined. Thus |
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102 the RF Tx section of a Calypso+Iota+Rita GSM phone or modem is exactly the same |
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103 between dual-band, triband and quadband designs - only Rx paths differ. |
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104 |
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105 Both Leonardo/Tango and Openmoko/FCDEV3B use PAs from the same family by RFMD, |
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106 just different evolutionary versions: Leonardo and Tango use the slightly older |
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107 RF3133 PA whereas OM and FCDEV3B use the slightly newer RF3166. The two PAs |
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108 have exactly the same controls, and they are wired in exactly the same way |
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109 between Leonardo and Openmoko. |
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110 |
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111 Besides PA controls, there are two very important Tx path control signals that |
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112 are driven by Calypso and go to the FEM or ASM: RFFE LB & HB Tx switch controls. |
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113 Both the M034F FEM used in Leonardo and Openmoko's triband ASM have two |
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114 baseband-controlled internal switches selecting between Rx and Tx. When these |
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115 switches are inactive (no voltage applied), both LB and HB RF paths are set up |
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116 for Rx; one of these Tx switches enables LB Tx path and the other enables HB Tx |
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117 path. There is also a third switch present both in M034F and in OM's ASM, but |
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118 that one is for different Rx bands as explained later in this article. |
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119 |
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120 RF Rx paths |
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121 =========== |
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122 |
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123 TI's Rita RF transceiver supports all 4 GSM frequency bands internally for both |
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124 Rx and Tx, but in the Rx direction it has only 3 LNA inputs. GSM850 and EGSM |
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125 share the same LNA input, whereas each of DCS and PCS gets its own. There is |
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126 also a requirement that whenever reception takes place in a given band, the Rx |
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127 signal has to pass through a SAW filter specific to that band: thus dual-band |
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128 designs have two SAW filters in them somewhere, triband designs have 3 and |
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129 quadband designs have 4 of them. |
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130 |
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131 Triband design with Rita and other similar transceivers like Silabs Aero I/I+ |
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132 is straightforward: the antenna switch module (ASM) puts out 3 Rx paths |
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133 corresponding to LB, DCS or PCS, each of the 3 is passed through its own SAW |
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134 filter, and then they go to the 3 LNA inputs. SAW filters in the DCS and PCS |
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135 Rx paths are unambiguous, whereas the third SAW filter in the LB Rx path can be |
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136 populated in one of two ways: populating an EGSM downlink band filter produces |
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137 a tri900 GSM device, populating a GSM850 DL band filter produces a tri850 GSM |
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138 device. Openmoko's triband RFFE which we've reproduced on our FCDEV3B is built |
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139 in exactly this manner. |
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140 |
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141 Quadband design with the same Rita transceiver is more complicated: there need |
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142 to be a total of 4 SAW filters, but they need to go to just 3 Rita LNA inputs. |
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143 One can make a discrete design: use an antenna switch module that puts out 4 |
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144 switched Rx paths, pass them through 4 discrete SAW filters, and then somehow |
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145 combine the outputs of GSM850 and EGSM filters onto the single LB LNA input. |
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146 Huawei's MG01GSMT design appears to do something similar (except that it |
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147 supports a non-standard band in the place of GSM850), but I don't really |
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148 understand how this magic works in terms of PCB layout. |
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149 |
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150 The M034F integrated FEM that was chosen by TI Back In The Day is much neater: |
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151 it is a quadband FEM, containing 4 SAW filters inside, but it was specifically |
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152 designed to interface with transceivers like TI Rita or Silabs Aero that have 3 |
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153 Rx input paths - thus the magic that combines the output of GSM850 and EGSM SAW |
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154 filters is contained inside this FEM component. |
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155 |
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156 We do have an M034F.pdf datasheet for this magic component (came along with |
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157 Calypso and Leonardo docs), and the block diagram on page 6 shows the magic |
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158 quite clearly: there is a baseband-controlled switch selecting between EGSM Rx |
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159 and GSM850 Rx (in addition to the two usual Tx switches), this switch directs |
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160 the low band Rx path toward one of two different SAW filters, and the outputs |
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161 of those two filters are then joined. The high band Rx path always goes to both |
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162 DCS and PCS band SAW filters, and each of those high band Rx SAW filters gets |
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163 its own output going to its own dedicated Rita LNA input. Note the lack of a |
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164 baseband-controlled switch between DCS and PCS in the high band Rx path! |
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165 |
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166 For a long time prior to the 2019-12 breakthrough I was concerned about this |
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167 lack of a baseband-controlled switch between DCS and PCS in the high band Rx |
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168 path: this switch is present in every triband RFFE design I am familiar with, |
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169 including the one we got from Openmoko, and I was concerned that feeding the |
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170 high band Rx path to both DCS and PCS SAW filters without a switch would |
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171 introduce a 3 dB penalty into these high band Rx paths. But when I got my |
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172 hands on the newly discovered Tango modem modules, looked at the GMagic numbers |
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173 written into their FFS as part of the manufacturer's production calibration and |
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174 then independently verified them with our CMU200, all fears were dispelled: the |
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175 Rx performance of this M034 FEM in all 4 bands is exactly the same as our |
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176 current Openmoko-based triband RFFE, with GMagic around 200 half-dB units. |
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177 |
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178 RFFE switches and control signals |
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179 ================================= |
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180 |
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181 Both our new quadband M034F and our more mature OM-based triband ASM have 3 |
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182 baseband-controlled switches inside: two Tx switches (one for LB Tx, one for HB |
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183 Tx) and one Rx band steering switch. The Rx switch is entirely different |
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184 between the two RFFE designs: |
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185 |
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186 * Our OM-based triband ASM has an Rx path steering switch between DCS and PCS |
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187 just like every other triband RFFE design I have seen, and of course being |
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188 triband, it has no capability of switching between GSM850 and EGSM. |
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189 |
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190 * Epcos M034F has a baseband-controlled Rx path steering switch between GSM850 |
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191 and EGSM (seems unavoidably necessary in this architecture), but it has NO |
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192 switch between DCS and PCS - instead both high band Rx paths are "always on". |
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193 |
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194 All 3 RFFE switches are controlled by Calypso TSPACT signals passed through PNP |
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195 transistors that act as inverting buffers. The assignments of which Calypso |
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196 TSPACT controls which RFFE switch were made by people who came before us, and |
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197 these assignments are different (incompatible) between Leonardo/Tango and |
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198 Openmoko/FCDEV3B. |
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199 |
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200 Leonardo RFFE control signal assignments (used on Tango) are as follows: |
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201 |
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202 TSPACT1 = Tx high bands |
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203 TSPACT2 = Tx low bands |
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204 TSPACT4 = Rx GSM850 band |
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205 |
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206 Openmoko's version (used on FCDEV3B) is as follows: |
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207 |
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208 TSPACT1 = Rx PCS band |
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209 TSPACT2 = Tx high bands |
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210 TSPACT4 = Tx low bands |
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211 |
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212 In the now-seemingly-unlikely event that we end up building a new FreeCalypso |
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213 GSM device (not Tango) with M034F quadband FEM, we have two sensible choices |
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214 for TSPACT control signal wiring. One option would be to copy Leonardo and |
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215 Tango, and the other option would be to use the following novel assignment: |
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216 |
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217 TSPACT2 = Tx high bands |
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218 TSPACT4 = Tx low bands |
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219 TSPACT5 = Rx GSM850 band |
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220 |
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221 The latter option can be made firmware-compatible with our current OM-based |
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222 triband RFFE, by having our firmware drive the signals as follows: |
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223 |
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224 TSPACT1 = Rx PCS band |
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225 TSPACT2 = Tx high bands |
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226 TSPACT4 = Tx low bands |
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227 TSPACT5 = Rx GSM850 band |
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228 |
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229 Right now this consideration is purely academic because there presently exists |
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230 no business case for building new FreeCalypso hardware, given the existence of |
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231 Tango modules. |
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232 |
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233 RF magic glue: Rx paths |
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234 ======================= |
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235 |
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236 RF signal paths coming out of the 3 Rx SAW filters in our current OM-based |
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237 design or out of M034F Rx pins are differential pairs; Rita LNA inputs to which |
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238 these signal paths go are also differential. But these RF signal paths are not |
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239 simple pairs of PCB traces going from one chip to the other, instead every |
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240 existing design features "RF magic glue" matching networks in these signal |
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241 paths, made up of inductors and/or capacitors. These "magic glue" LC networks |
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242 exist in a seemingly endless number of permutations: every historical design I |
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243 got a chance to examine exhibits a slightly different LC network topology among |
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244 the 3 Rx signal paths that are present. Sometimes the same LC network topology |
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245 is replicated for all 3 Rx signal paths, othertimes the same board will feature |
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246 different LC network topologies for different Rx band signal paths. |
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247 |
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248 Openmoko's Rx path "magic glue" networks look neat and tidy, with the same |
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249 topology in all 3 Rx band signal paths. This topology consists of a series |
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250 inductor in each trace (6 of them in total for 3 differential pairs) and shunt |
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251 capacitor footprints both before and after these series inductors - but all of |
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252 these shunt capacitor footprints are left unpopulated. Inductor values are |
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253 naturally a little different for each frequency band. |
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254 |
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255 Prior to the discovery of Tango modules, when I was thinking about designing |
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256 and building new FreeCalypso hw with our long-desired M034F quadband FEM, I had |
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257 the big dilemma of deciding what topology should be implemented for the "RF |
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258 magic glue" matching networks. OM's version looks very neat and tidy and it is |
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259 known to work well with OM's triband RFFE, but would it still work well if that |
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260 triband RFFE were to be replaced with M034F? The answer is very uncertain, |
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261 especially considering that the output impedance specifications given in our |
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262 only available M034F.pdf datasheet look very weird. |
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263 |
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264 The discovery of Tango has saved the day in this department. The "magic glue" |
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265 Rx path matching networks implemented on this module are exactly the same as |
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266 what is depicted on our available Leonardo schematics (the ones we've had since |
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267 2011), and the fact that these modules once were a successful mass-produced |
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268 commercial product gives a huge confidence boost to what was previously just a |
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269 schematic drawing of completely unknown working quality. These Leonardo Rx path |
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270 matching networks score very low on the scale of understandability (and they |
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271 feature entirely different topology for each of the 3 Rx band signal paths), |
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272 but the fact that we have a working reference in the form of Tango is all that |
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273 matters at the end of the day... |
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274 |
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275 RF magic glue: Tx paths |
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276 ======================= |
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277 |
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278 RF Tx signal paths running from the PA to the FEM or ASM also pass through |
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279 matching networks made up of inductors and/or capacitors. The two versions of |
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280 most interest to FreeCalypso are once again Leonardo and Openmoko. The version |
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281 of Leonardo that has been mass-produced as Tango has the same T network topology |
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282 in both LB and HB Tx paths: |
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283 |
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284 PA_OUT-----C1--+--C2-----FEM_IN |
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285 | |
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286 C3 |
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287 | |
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288 GND |
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289 |
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290 LB: C1=C2=47pF, C3 is unpopulated |
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291 HB: C1=C2=12pF, C3 is unpopulated |
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292 |
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293 It needs to be noted that with the cap-to-ground leg unpopulated, the T network |
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294 is degenerate and is equivalent to a single series capacitor. It needs to be |
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295 understood that TI were not in the business of selling finished GSM phones or |
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296 modems - instead their primary business was selling chips, and their secondary |
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297 business was providing support for these chips, support that included reference |
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298 and development boards. Because Leonardo was a reference board rather than a |
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299 finished product, it appears that TI designed this board with a provision for a |
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300 possible matching network - the comment on the schematic drawing says "PA |
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301 matching possible" - but apparently no matching was needed, hence a degenerate |
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302 T network was populated. It is certainly a little strange that the makers of |
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303 Tango kept this degenerate T network and did not replace it with a single |
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304 series capacitor, but what do we know... |
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305 |
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306 Openmoko used pi networks instead: |
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307 |
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308 LB: PA_OUT-----+--10nH--+-----ASM_IN |
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309 | | |
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310 1pF NC |
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311 | | |
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312 GND GND |
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313 |
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314 HB: PA_OUT-----+--33pF--+-----ASM_IN |
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315 | | |
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316 NC NC |
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317 | | |
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318 GND GND |
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319 |
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320 The HB pi network is degenerate, reduced to a single series capacitor, and the |
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321 LB pi network is almost degenerate given how small that 1 pF cap to ground is. |
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322 But pi networks have this advantage: a degenerate pi network is reduced to just |
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323 one component, whereas a degenerate T network requires two components to be |
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324 populated. |
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325 |
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326 It is also worth noting that both "from" and "to" components connected by these |
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327 matching networks are different between Leonardo and OM: Leonardo and Tango use |
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328 RF3133 PA, OM's version has RF3166; Leonardo FEM is M034F, OM's version has a |
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329 Darfon ASM instead. |
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330 |
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331 In the now-seemingly-unlikely event that we end up building a new FreeCalypso |
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332 GSM device (not Tango) with M034F quadband FEM, which PA are we going to use, |
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333 and what "RF magic glue" matching network topology for PA-to-FEM RF Tx paths? |
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334 The Mother's current preference is to use RF3166 and OM-style pi networks, |
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335 preferably with a consultation with some better-than-me RF expert - but all |
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336 such plans are extremely nebulous, written with forks on water. |