Testing methods and error budge analysis of a software defined radio

Ideally a software defined radio (SDR) is designed to accept a multitude of waveforms at any carrier frequency. This paper will discuss the importance of PHY layer measurements made in both the digital and analog domains including the additive effects impairments can have on BER. The paper will consider interoperability of a SDR with respect to three different modulation formats; OFDM, CDMA, and QAM. The importance of BER budgeting and a multitude of critical measurements including EVM, CCDF, ACP, spectrum mask, constellation displays, noise figure, and phase noise will be discussed.