LimeSDR Mini

An open, full-duplex, USB stick radio for femtocells and more

The LimeSDR Mini development board is a hardware platform for developing and prototyping high-performance and logic-intensive digital and RF designs that use Altera’s MAX 10 FPGA and Lime Microsystems’ LMS7002M RF transceiver.

LimeSDR vs LimeSDR Mini

The LimeSDR and LimeSDR Mini are members of the same family of software-defined radios. One does not replace the other. Rather, they are complementary.

Simply put, the LimeSDR Mini is a smaller, less expensive version of the original LimeSDR. However, it still packs a punch – at its core, the LimeSDR Mini uses the same LMS7002M radio transceiver as its big sibling. The Mini has two channels instead of four, and, by popular demand, SMA connectors instead of micro U.FL connectors. Check out the comparison table below for more details.

We’ve already shipped thousands of LimeSDR boards and are about to clear out the backlog of remaining LimeSDR orders. The LimeSDR Mini is built on the LimeSDR supply chain, dev tools, and community in a way that makes software-defined radio more accessible than ever.

Features & Specfications

RF transceiver: Lime Microsystems LMS7002M
FPGA: Altera MAX 10 (10M16SAU169C8G)
- 169-pin FBGA package
- 16 K Les
- 549 KB M9K memory
- 2,368 KB user flash memory
- 4 x fractional phase locked loops (PLLs)
- 45 x 18×18-bit multipliers
- 130 x general purpose input/output (GPIO)
- Single supply voltage
- Flash feature
- FPGA configuration via JTAG
EEPROM memory: 2 x 128 KB for RF transciever MCU firmware and data
Flash memory: 1 x 4 MB flash memory for data
General user inputs/outputs:
- 2 x dual color (red + green) LED
- 8 x FPGA GPIO pinheader (3.3 V)
Connectivity:
- USB 3.0 Type-A (FTDI FT601 controller)
- Coaxial RF (SMA) connectors
- FPGA GPIO headers
- FPGA JTAG connector
Clock system:
- 30.72 MHz onboard VCTCXO
- Possibility to tune VCTCXO with onboard DAC
Board dimensions: 69 mm x 31.4 mm

Block Diagram

Comparison Table

	HackRF One	Ettus B200	Ettus B210	BladeRF x40	RTL-SDR	LimeSDR	LimeSDR Mini
Frequency Range	1 MHz – 6 GHz	70 MHz – 6 GHz	70 MHz – 6 GHz	300 MHz – 3.8 GHz	22 MHz – 2.2 GHz	100 kHz – 3.8 GHz	10 MHz – 3.5 GHz
RF Bandwidth	20 MHz	61.44 MHz	61.44 MHz	40 MHz	3.2 MHz	61.44 MHz	30.72 MHz
Sample Depth	8 bit	12 bit	12 bit	12 bit	8 bit	12 bit	12 bit
Sample Rate	20 MSPS	61.44 MSPS	61.44 MSPS	40 MSPS	3.2 MSPS	61.44 MSPS	30.72MSPS
TX Channels	1	1	2	1	0	2	1
RX Channels	1	1	2	1	1	2	1
Duplex	Half	Full	Full	Full	N/A	Full	Full
Interface	USB 2.0	USB 3.0	USB 3.0	USB 3.0	USB 2.0	USB 3.0	USB 3.0
Programmable Logic Gates	64 macrocell CPLD	75k	100k	40k (115k avail)	N/A	40k	16K
Chipset	MAX5864, MAX2837, RFFC5072	AD9364	AD9361	LMS6002M	RTL2832U	LMS7002M	LMS7002M
Open Source	Full	Schematic, Firmware	Schematic, Firmware	Schematic, Firmware	No	Full	Full
Oscillator Precision	+/- 20 ppm	+/- 2 ppm	+/- 2 ppm	+/- 1 ppm	?	+/-1 ppm initial, +/-4 ppm stable	+/- 1 ppm initial, +/- 4 ppm stable
Transmit Power	-10 dBm+ (15 dBm @ 2.4 GHz)	10 dBm+	10 dBm+	6 dBm	N/A	max 10 dBm (depending on freq.)	max 10 dBm (depending on freq.)
Price	$299	$686	$1,119	$420 ($650)	~$10	$299	$99