Evaluation of phase error in a software-defined radio network testbed

Abstract

When building a sensor network testbed each system component must be completely understood both in its operation and as a possible source of error. We seek to quantify phase error in the USRP-N210 software-defined radio in order to determine how accurately this error can be calibrated out of a network of USRP-N210 based sensor nodes. We measure the frequency stability of a single tone created using a USRP-N210. We also measure the phase difference between two receivers which have been synchronized and are receiving the same signal.