trx-rs/SDR.md

SDR Backend Requirements

This document specifies the requirements for a SoapySDR-based RX-only backend (trx-backend-soapysdr) and the associated IQ-to-audio pipeline changes in trx-server.

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Progress

For AI agents: This section is the single source of truth for implementation status. Each task has a unique ID (e.g. SDR-01), a status badge, a description, the files it touches, and any blocking dependencies. Pick any task whose status is [ ] and whose Needs list is fully [x]. Update status to [~] while working, [x] when merged. Record notes under the task if you hit non-obvious issues.

Status legend: [ ] not started · [~] in progress · [x] done · [!] blocked

Foundational (must land first)

ID	Status	Task	Touches
SDR-01	[x]	Add AudioSource trait to trx-core; add as_audio_source() default on RigCat	src/trx-core/src/rig/mod.rs
SDR-02	[x]	Add RigAccess::Sdr { args: String } variant; register soapysdr factory (feature-gated soapysdr)	src/trx-server/trx-backend/src/lib.rs
SDR-03	[x]	Add SdrConfig, SdrGainConfig, SdrChannelConfig structs; parse type = "sdr" in AccessConfig; add sdr: SdrConfig to ServerConfig; add startup validation rules (§11)	src/trx-server/src/config.rs

New crate: trx-backend-soapysdr

ID	Status	Task	Touches	Needs
SDR-04	[x]	Create crate scaffold: Cargo.toml (deps: soapysdr, num-complex, tokio), empty lib.rs	src/trx-server/trx-backend/trx-backend-soapysdr/	SDR-01, SDR-02
SDR-05	[x]	Implement demod.rs: SSB (USB/LSB), AM envelope, FM quadrature, CW narrow BPF+envelope	…/src/demod.rs	SDR-04
SDR-06	[x]	Implement dsp.rs: IQ broadcast loop (SoapySDR read thread → broadcast::Sender<Vec<Complex<f32>>>); per-channel mixer → FIR LPF → decimator → demod → frame accumulator → broadcast::Sender<Vec<f32>>	…/src/dsp.rs	SDR-04, SDR-05
SDR-07	[x]	Implement SoapySdrRig in lib.rs: RigCat (RX methods + not_supported stubs for TX), AudioSource, gain control (manual/auto with fallback), primary channel freq/mode tracking	…/src/lib.rs	SDR-03, SDR-06

Server integration

ID	Status	Task	Touches	Needs
SDR-08	[x]	main.rs: after building rig, if as_audio_source() is Some skip cpal, subscribe each decoder and the Opus encoder to the appropriate channel PCM senders; validate stream_opus count ≤ 1	src/trx-server/src/main.rs	SDR-03, SDR-07
SDR-09	[x]	Add trx-backend-soapysdr to workspace Cargo.toml; update CONFIGURATION.md with new [sdr] / [[sdr.channels]] options	Cargo.toml, CONFIGURATION.md	SDR-04

Validation & tests

ID	Status	Task	Touches	Needs
SDR-10	[x]	Unit tests for demod.rs: known-input tone through each demodulator, check output frequency correct	…/src/demod.rs	SDR-05
SDR-11	[x]	Unit tests for config validation: channel IF out-of-range, dual stream_opus, TX enabled with SDR backend, AGC fallback warning	src/trx-server/src/config.rs	SDR-03

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Goals

• Receive-only backend that uses any SoapySDR-compatible device (RTL-SDR, Airspy, HackRF, SDRplay, etc.) as the rig
• Full IQ pipeline: raw IQ samples → demodulated PCM → existing decoders (FT8, WSPR, APRS, CW) with zero decoder-side changes
• Wideband capture: one SDR IQ stream feeds multiple simultaneous virtual receivers, each independently tuned and demodulated
• Configurable per-channel filters and demodulation modes
• Demodulated audio streamed to clients as Opus over the existing TCP audio channel

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Non-Goals

• Transmit (TX/PTT) of any kind
• Replacing or deprecating the existing cpal-based audio path (it stays for transceiver backends)

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1. Device Abstraction

1.1 RigAccess extension

A new access type sdr is added alongside serial and tcp:

[rig.access]
type = "sdr"
args = "driver=rtlsdr"             # SoapySDR device args string

The args value is passed verbatim to SoapySDR::Device::new(args). It follows SoapySDR's key=value comma-separated convention (e.g., driver=airspy, driver=rtlsdr,serial=00000001).

1.2 AudioSource trait

A new trait is added to trx-core (src/trx-core/src/rig/mod.rs):

pub trait AudioSource: Send + Sync {
    /// Subscribe to demodulated PCM audio from the primary channel.
    fn subscribe_pcm(&self) -> broadcast::Receiver<Vec<f32>>;
}

RigCat gains a default opt-in method:

pub trait RigCat: Rig + Send {
    // ... existing methods ...
    fn as_audio_source(&self) -> Option<&dyn AudioSource> { None }
}

SoapySdrRig overrides as_audio_source() to return Some(self). When the server detects this, it skips spawning the cpal capture thread entirely.

1.3 TX-only RigCat methods

The following methods return RigError::not_supported(...) on the SDR backend:

• set_ptt()
• power_on() / power_off()
• get_tx_power()
• get_tx_limit() / set_tx_limit()
• toggle_vfo() (not applicable; channels are defined statically in config)
• lock() / unlock()

The following methods are fully supported:

• get_status() → returns primary channel's current (freq, mode, None)
• set_freq() → re-tunes the SDR center frequency (keeping center_offset_hz invariant) and updates all channel mixer offsets
• set_mode() → changes the primary channel's demodulator
• get_signal_strength() → returns instantaneous RSSI for the primary channel (dBFS mapped to 0–255 S-unit range)

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2. IQ Pipeline Architecture

2.1 Center frequency offset

SDR hardware has a DC offset spur at exactly 0 Hz in the IQ spectrum. To keep the primary channel off DC, the SDR is tuned to a frequency offset from the desired dial frequency:

sdr_center_freq = dial_freq - center_offset_hz

With center_offset_hz = 200000 and dial freq 14.074 MHz, the SDR tunes to 13.874 MHz. The 14.074 MHz signal appears at +200 kHz in the IQ spectrum and is mixed down to baseband in software.

center_offset_hz is a global SDR parameter (not per-channel). A reasonable default is 100000 (100 kHz).

2.2 Wideband channel model

One SoapySDR RX stream produces IQ samples at sdr.sample_rate (e.g. 1.92 MHz). This stream is shared among all configured channels. Each channel defines an independent virtual receiver:

SoapySDR RX stream  (complex f32, sdr_sample_rate Hz)
    │
    ├──► Channel 0  (primary)   offset_hz=0,      mode=USB,  bw=3000 Hz
    ├──► Channel 1  (wspr)      offset_hz=+21600, mode=USB,  bw=3000 Hz
    └──► Channel N  ...

A channel's frequency in the real spectrum is:

channel_real_freq = dial_freq + channel.offset_hz

A channel's IF frequency within the IQ stream is:

channel_if_hz = center_offset_hz + channel.offset_hz

This is the frequency at which the channel's signal appears in the captured IQ bandwidth, and is what the channel's mixer shifts to baseband.

Constraint: |channel_if_hz| must be less than sdr_sample_rate / 2 for every channel. The server validates this at startup and rejects invalid configs.

2.3 Per-channel DSP chain

Each channel runs the following stages independently on the shared IQ stream:

IQ input (complex f32, sdr_sample_rate)
    1. Mixer:     multiply by exp(-j·2π·channel_if_hz·n/sdr_sample_rate)
                  → complex f32 centred at 0 Hz
    2. FIR LPF:   cutoff = audio_bandwidth_hz / 2, order configurable
    3. Decimator: sdr_sample_rate / audio_sample_rate  (must be integer; resampler used otherwise)
    4. Demodulator (mode-dependent, see §3)
    5. Output: real f32 at audio_sample_rate
    6. Frame accumulator: chunks of frame_duration_ms
    7. broadcast::Sender<Vec<f32>>  →  decoders + optional Opus encoder

Channels run concurrently in separate tasks, all reading from the same raw IQ broadcast channel.

2.4 IQ broadcast channel

The SoapySDR read loop runs in a dedicated OS thread (matching the existing cpal thread model). It reads IQ sample blocks from the device and publishes them on:

broadcast::Sender<Vec<Complex<f32>>>   // capacity: configurable, default 64 blocks

Each channel task subscribes to this sender. Lagged receivers log a warning and continue.

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3. Demodulators

Demodulator is selected per-channel based on mode. Modes map as follows:

RigMode	Demodulator
USB	SSB: mix to IF, take real part (upper sideband)
LSB	SSB: mix to IF, take real part (lower sideband, negate IF)
AM	Envelope detector: sqrt(I² + Q²), DC-remove, normalize
FM	Quadrature: arg(s[n] · conj(s[n-1])), i.e. instantaneous frequency
WFM	Same as FM, wider pre-demod filter (wfm_bandwidth_hz)
CW	Narrow BPF centred at cw_center_hz (audio domain), then envelope
DIG/PKT	Same as USB (pass audio through for downstream digital decoders)
CWR	Same as CW (reversed sideband, uses same audio envelope)

For SSB modes (USB/LSB), after mixing to baseband the channel's audio_bandwidth_hz defines the one-sided cutoff of the post-demod LPF.

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4. Gain Control

Gain is configured globally under [sdr.gain].

[sdr.gain]
mode  = "auto"    # "auto" (AGC via SoapySDR) or "manual"
value = 30.0      # dB; ignored when mode = "auto"

• auto: calls device.set_gain_mode(SOAPY_SDR_RX, 0, true) to enable hardware AGC if the device supports it. If the device does not support hardware AGC, falls back to manual with a warning.
• manual: calls device.set_gain(SOAPY_SDR_RX, 0, value) with the specified total gain in dB.

Advanced per-element gain is out of scope for this phase (no lna/vga/if sub-keys initially).

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5. Filter Configuration

Filters are configured per-channel. The following are settable:

[[sdr.channels]]
audio_bandwidth_hz = 3000    # One-sided bandwidth of post-demod BPF (Hz)
                             # For FM: deviation hint for deemphasis
fir_taps = 64                # FIR filter tap count (default 64); higher = sharper roll-off
cw_center_hz = 700           # CW tone centre in audio domain (default 700 Hz)
wfm_bandwidth_hz = 75000     # Pre-demod bandwidth for WFM only (default 75 kHz)

fir_taps controls the same FIR used in stage 2 of the DSP chain (§2.3). It applies uniformly to both the pre-demod decimation filter and the post-demod audio BPF in this phase.

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6. Channel Configuration and Decoder Binding

Channels are declared as a TOML array. The first channel in the list is the primary channel and is the one exposed via RigCat (set_freq/set_mode affect it; get_status reads from it).

[[sdr.channels]]
id               = "primary"   # Identifier, used in logs
offset_hz        = 0           # Offset from dial frequency (Hz)
mode             = "auto"      # "auto" = follows RigCat set_mode; or fixed RigMode string
audio_bandwidth_hz = 3000
fir_taps         = 64
decoders         = ["ft8", "cw"]   # Which decoders receive this channel's PCM
stream_opus      = true            # Encode and stream via TCP audio channel

[[sdr.channels]]
id               = "wspr-14"
offset_hz        = 21600       # 14.0956 MHz when dial = 14.074 MHz
mode             = "USB"       # Fixed mode, ignores RigCat set_mode
audio_bandwidth_hz = 3000
decoders         = ["wspr"]
stream_opus      = false

[[sdr.channels]]
id               = "aprs"
offset_hz        = -673600     # e.g. 144.390 MHz when dial = 145.0635 MHz
mode             = "FM"
audio_bandwidth_hz = 8000
decoders         = ["aprs"]
stream_opus      = false

mode = "auto" means the channel's demodulator tracks whatever set_mode() last set on the backend. Only the primary channel should use "auto" in typical use.

decoders maps to the decoder task IDs: "ft8", "wspr", "aprs", "cw". Each named decoder subscribes to the PCM broadcast channel of the listed channel(s). A decoder can only be bound to one channel (first binding wins if duplicated).

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7. Opus Streaming

Channels with stream_opus = true have their demodulated PCM Opus-encoded and streamed over the server's existing TCP audio port (default 4531).

For this phase, only one channel may have stream_opus = true (validation error otherwise). This channel's Opus stream replaces what cpal would have produced — the TCP audio protocol and client-side handling are unchanged.

The Opus encoder uses the [audio] config for frame_duration_ms, bitrate_bps, and sample_rate. The SDR pipeline must output PCM at the same sample_rate as [audio]; a mismatch is a startup validation error.

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8. Full Configuration Example

[rig]
model = "soapysdr"
initial_freq_hz = 14074000
initial_mode = "USB"

[rig.access]
type = "sdr"
args = "driver=rtlsdr"

[sdr]
sample_rate      = 1920000     # IQ capture rate (Hz) — must be supported by device
bandwidth        = 1500000     # Hardware IF filter (Hz)
center_offset_hz = 200000      # SDR tunes this many Hz below dial frequency

[sdr.gain]
mode  = "auto"
value = 30.0                   # Effective only when mode = "manual"

[[sdr.channels]]
id               = "primary"
offset_hz        = 0
mode             = "auto"
audio_bandwidth_hz = 3000
fir_taps         = 64
decoders         = ["ft8", "cw"]
stream_opus      = true

[[sdr.channels]]
id               = "wspr"
offset_hz        = 21600
mode             = "USB"
audio_bandwidth_hz = 3000
decoders         = ["wspr"]
stream_opus      = false

[audio]
enabled          = true
listen           = "127.0.0.1"
port             = 4531
rx_enabled       = true
tx_enabled       = false        # No TX on SDR backend
sample_rate      = 48000
channels         = 1
frame_duration_ms = 20
bitrate_bps      = 24000

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9. Code Changes Map

File	Change
Cargo.toml (workspace)	Add src/trx-server/trx-backend/trx-backend-soapysdr member
src/trx-core/src/rig/mod.rs	Add AudioSource trait; add as_audio_source() default to RigCat
src/trx-server/trx-backend/src/lib.rs	Add RigAccess::Sdr { args } variant; register soapysdr factory (feature-gated)
src/trx-server/src/config.rs	Add SdrConfig, SdrGainConfig, SdrChannelConfig; parse type = "sdr" in AccessConfig; add sdr: SdrConfig to ServerConfig
src/trx-server/src/main.rs	After building rig: if as_audio_source() is Some, skip cpal, use AudioSource::subscribe_pcm() for each decoder and for the Opus encoder; validate at most one stream_opus = true channel
src/trx-server/src/audio.rs	Expose spawn_audio_capture and run_*_decoder without assuming cpal as the sole source; no functional change needed — decoders already take broadcast::Receiver<Vec<f32>>
src/trx-server/trx-backend/trx-backend-soapysdr/Cargo.toml	New crate
src/trx-server/trx-backend/trx-backend-soapysdr/src/lib.rs	SoapySdrRig: implements RigCat + AudioSource; spawns IQ read thread and channel DSP tasks
src/trx-server/trx-backend/trx-backend-soapysdr/src/dsp.rs	IQ broadcast loop; per-channel mixer, FIR, decimator, demodulator, frame accumulator
src/trx-server/trx-backend/trx-backend-soapysdr/src/demod.rs	Mode-specific demodulators: SSB, AM envelope, FM quadrature, CW envelope
CONFIGURATION.md	Document new [rig.access] type = "sdr", [sdr], [[sdr.channels]] options

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10. External Dependencies

Crate	Purpose
soapysdr	Rust bindings to libSoapySDR (C++)
num-complex	Complex<f32> for IQ arithmetic

System requirement: libSoapySDR installed (e.g. brew install soapysdr on macOS, libsoapysdr-dev on Debian/Ubuntu).

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11. Validation Rules (startup)

• [rig.access] type = "sdr" requires args to be non-empty.
• [sdr] sample_rate must be non-zero.
• For every channel: |center_offset_hz + channel.offset_hz| < sdr_sample_rate / 2.
• Exactly one channel must have stream_opus = true (or none; zero means no TCP audio stream).
• The audio sample_rate in [audio] must equal the target audio rate in the SDR pipeline (no cross-rate mismatch).
• [audio] tx_enabled must be false when model = "soapysdr".
• A decoder name may appear in at most one channel's decoders list.
• If the device does not support hardware AGC and gain.mode = "auto", warn and fall back to manual using gain.value.