The DSP-10 is a 2 meter all mode transceiver with a digital signal processor (DSP) in the final IF and AF stages. With the usage of the DSP, the design is often called a software defined radio (SDR). The DSP does all of the modulation and demodulation for cw, ssb, wbfm, nbfm and several digital modes. The radio is controlled from a computer which eliminates the most expensive part of the radio, the front panel display and controls.

The DSP-10 was designed by Bob Larkin (W7PUA) and presented in QST over three months in 1998. Reprints are available for download from the ARRL and Bob maintains a webpage for information and updates. See my DSP-10 reference area for more details.

Why redesign?
The orginal design appears to be good and well suported by the original designer and a group of loyal followers. So why would I redesign a good thing? Here is my wish list:

1. Remove dependancy on the EZ-KIT LITE
   The design makes use of a prototyping kit known as the ADSP EZ-KIT LITE. This is an assembled board from Analog Devices for use by engineers to become familar with their ADSP-2181 digital signal processor chip. Problem is, the ADSP-2181 has reached the end its design life and is no longer recommended for new designs. Thus, this board is becoming scarce and shortly will no longer be available.
   
   
2. Newer DSP
   As with all good things, there are bigger and better replacements. Newer members of the ADSP-218x familiy offer more MIPS (measure of speed in million instructions per second), more memory and less power consumption. These are code and pin compatible with original ADSP-2181 and cost the same or less. There is also a newer ADSP-219x family which is code compatible, but adds more hardware bells and whistles making it not pin compatible and more costly.
   
   
3. New CODEC
   The AD1847 CODEC (coder/decoder - basically a audio analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog combination) used on the EZ-KIT LITE board is now also an obsolete part. A newer part would be needed, which again would be better at the same or less cost.
   
   
4. Messy wiring
   The interconnects between the DSP board and the rf board is a mess of wires. Unfortunately, this is the only way to do it given the design of the DSP board. However, it isn't the most RF clean design and a bunch of filters and feedthru capacitors are used to clean things up. Also the DSP was housed in a homemade brass box inside the main enclosure to reduce radiation.
   
   
5. More modular
   I would like to re-use the DSP with an HF front end or possibly multiple 2m front ends. Since I am interested in weak signal stuff, it is best to mount all of the RF gear at the antennas. My thinking is it would be better to run audio to and from the remote antennas rather than the 2m RF. The cost of the 2m front end might be less than the expense of low loss coax in some installations.
   
   
6. More compact
   The original design seems to be spread out on a larger than necessary printed circuit board. I think little emphasis was placed on making the design smaller because the DSP board is large. Since I would like to remote mount one of these at the antenna mast, smaller would be better. This would also be true for a mobile installation.