Low Cost Packet Radio - Advanced Technology for Packet Radio Switching Applications

The Low Cost Packet Radio (LPR) is a packet radio unit with low cost, low weight, low volume, and low power. It is to be used in support of experiments with large packet radio networks. The LPR incorporates a digitally controlled, direct sequence, minimum shift keyed, spread spectrum radio and a microprocessor-based packet switch. Code changeable surface acoustic wave matched filtering provides processing gain at burst symbol rates of 100 and 400 kilo symbols per second in the presence of interference. Coherent recursive integration enhances synchronization performance, provides synchronous detection of the data, and serves the adaptive multipath accumulator. Forward error correction (FEC) utilizing convolutional encoding and sequential decoding is incorporated at four different code rates for both burst symbol rates. The microprocessor runs the networking software. Requirements and design information for the LPR are presented in addition to performance data taken on several developmental units. The repeatability of the data taken on the units is demonstrated.