RF in Slow Motion: Using Acoustics for SDR Education
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RF in Slow Motion: Using Acoustics for SDR Education
What if you could hear a QAM or OFDM signal? By translating RF waveform experimentation into the acoustic domain, realistic multipath, Doppler, digital modulation, and other physical-layer effects encountered in SDR systems can be explored using purpose-built hardware, without the cost barrier of equivalent RF platforms. The key insight is wavelength-consistent scaling: compressing the frequency axis by the ratio of the speed of light to the speed of sound (roughly a factor of one million) maps RF waveforms into the audio band while preserving the underlying physics of propagation, reflection, and interference. SigPro Labs, LLC has developed the RadioSonic platform for this purpose.
This talk examines the practical challenges of using acoustics for wavelength-consistent emulation of RF waveforms. Here we’ll see (and hear!) how RF modulation behaves when observed “in slow motion,” and how conventional SDR algorithms for synchronization and demodulation perform under these conditions. As bandwidth increases, impairments familiar to SDR practitioners emerge in exaggerated form: intersymbol interference requiring equalization, carrier and timing offsets demanding synchronization algorithms analogous to those used in production SDR systems, and dramatically enhanced Doppler effects resulting from the much slower propagation speed of sound. This talk concludes by comparing where acoustic emulation faithfully mirrors RF behavior and where the analogy begins to break down.
Targeted for release in Summer 2026, RadioSonic is intended as an open platform for the SDR education and research community, providing a reproducible testbed for physical-layer algorithm development and wireless channel experimentation. This presentation highlights both the technical discoveries and unexpected insights encountered while developing an acoustic-domain emulator for RF communication systems.
Abbreviations:
OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
RF Radio Frequency
SDR Software Defined Radio
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- Starts 26 May 2026 04:00 AM UTC
- Ends 16 June 2026 04:00 PM UTC
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Speakers
Dan Boschen of SigPro Labs, LLC
RF in Slow Motion: Using Acoustics for SDR Education
Biography:
Dan Boschen holds an MS in Communications and Signal Processing from Northeastern University and has broad industry experience in the design of radio transceivers and modem hardware. His career has included engineering roles at Signal Technologies, MITRE, Airvana, and Hittite Microwave, where he worked across the entire signal chain, from baseband through RF to the antenna. He currently serves as a Senior Technical Staff Engineer for Hardware at Microchip Technology, leading the design efforts for advanced frequency and time solutions, and continues to provide consulting services worldwide for wireless and RF communications, beam-steering phased array design, and advanced signal processing algorithms.
An active DSP educator for more than 20 years, Dan contributes extensively to dsprelated.com and dsp.stackexchange.com, and has been an active participant in the GNU Radio community, presenting workshops at GNU Radio conferences, and currently serving on its organizing committee. He has developed and taught courses in signal processing and software-defined radio for international audiences and private industry. He recently co-founded SigPro Labs, LLC, with a mission to make hands-on SDR education more accessible through purpose-built hardware and curriculum, including the open-source RadioSonic platform.
Additional background information is available on Dan's LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/danboschen
Address:United States
Agenda
WEBINAR: 7:00 - 8:00 P.M.
The Zoom Webinar link and password will be forwarded to all registered participants after Noon on the day of the meeting. Check your spam folder if you don't see the email.
Webinar is open to all.
PDH certificates are available and an evaluation form will be emailed to you after the meeting. PDH certificate are sent by IEEE USA 3-4 weeks after the meeting.