Hardware Evidence Index¶
This page collects hardware-facing proof artifacts for the course. It is a navigation layer between educational labs and engineering evidence.
Purpose¶
The course should not only explain SDR, DSP, fixed-point and HDL concepts. It should also show what was actually verified, what is still a template, and what requires a real board run.
Use the status values below:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
template |
structure exists, no measured data yet |
synthetic |
reproducible simulation or generated data only |
measured |
real hardware or instrument result exists |
reviewed |
result has configuration, metadata, plots, metrics and limitations |
Evidence map¶
| Evidence item | Path | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block 5 FPGA evidence page | docs/block5-fpga-evidence.md |
reviewed | nav-visible digest of the current Vivado evidence package |
| Block 5 HDL latency contract | blocks/block_05_fpga_hdl_flow/hdl_latency_contract.md |
reviewed | observable valid/data timing contract for the smoke-tested HDL blocks |
| Z7020 OOC FPGA summary | reports/fpga/z7020-resource-summary-template.md |
synthetic | first curated resource/timing snapshot with board clock provenance |
| Block 5 utilization summary | reports/fpga/block5-utilization-summary.md |
synthetic | LUT/FF/DSP/BRAM usage for the four Block 5 HDL examples |
| Block 5 timing summary | reports/fpga/block5-timing-summary.md |
synthetic | 100 MHz OOC timing snapshot and limits |
| Integrated Zynq implementation pair | reports/fpga/integrated-zynq-implementation-summary.md, reports/fpga/integrated-zynq-snapshot-implementation-summary.md |
measured | CDC-fixed snapshot closes timing; selected snapshot strategy reaches WNS +0.096 ns and passes fabric board qualification; standalone remains diagnostic |
| Integrated Zynq implementation sweep | reports/fpga/integrated-zynq-snapshot-implementation-sweep.md |
measured | 6/6 implementation strategies completed timing-clean; Performance_ExtraTimingOpt is selected |
| Block 5 latency/throughput notes | reports/fpga/block5-latency-throughput-notes.md |
reviewed | one-cycle behaviour and streaming-rate notes from HDL testbenches |
| Integrated SDR project labs | docs/ru/labs/lab-11-7-axi-lite-bpsk-bringup.md and following |
synthetic | control-plane and burst-capture workflow now documented for lab execution |
| Block 11 hardware bring-up summary | docs/block11-hardware-bringup-summary.md |
measured | compact tracker for current integrated SDR hardware state, blocker and next experiments |
| Clean-image Zynq RX observation manifest | datasets/lab6_6_zynq_rx_observation/ |
measured | first board-facing RX-only manifest package; keep reports and plots synchronized when new captures are added |
| Stock-shell Zynq OTA tone observation | datasets/lab6_8_zynq_ota_tone_observation/ |
reviewed | measured 915 MHz / 700 kHz tone package with manifest, FFT plot, metrics JSON and conservative TX/RX settings |
| Synthetic QPSK replay dataset | datasets/demo_qpsk_capture/manifest.yaml |
synthetic | deterministic generator, checksum, analyzer and CI thresholds provide replay evidence; measured RF capture remains open |
| QPSK dual-modem HDL path | blocks/block_05_fpga_hdl_flow/tb/tb_qpsk_bridge_loopback.v |
synthetic | 140 QPSK symbols / 280 bits cross the course gpreg bridge at BER=0 |
| Runtime QPSK fabric qualification | reports/hardware/qpsk-fabric-loopback-qualification-20260707.md |
measured | CDC-fixed payload reaches BER=0 across 4/4 boots and 13/13 selected-offset attempts; selected ExtraTiming payload passes 10/10 fabric attempts |
| Runtime QPSK external RF qualification | reports/hardware/qpsk-rtl-sdr-qualification-20260707.md |
measured | independent RTL-SDR validates 3/3 OTA baseline sessions and 90/90 bursts with 0/25,200 bit errors; 2026-07-08 longer attempt is recorded as a transport limitation |
| Zynq-to-RTL-SDR tone witness | reports/hardware/rtl-sdr-tone-witness-20260707.md |
measured | antenna path sees +201.965 kHz tone at 40.30 dB SNR with no clipping |
| Hardware validation backlog | docs/hardware-validation-backlog.md |
reviewed | issue-linked closure plan for #25, #26 and #29 |
| FPGA resource report template | reports/fpga_resource_report.template.md |
template | use when extending the current package to a new design |
| Reviewer checklist | docs/reviewer-checklist.md |
reviewed | general acceptance criteria |
| Reviewer one-page summary | docs/reviewer-one-page-summary.md |
reviewed | short entry point for technical review and local checks |
| Real data policy | docs/real-data-policy.md |
reviewed | prevents large binary data from bloating Git |
| Experiment manifests | experiments/ |
synthetic | machine-checkable scenario descriptors |
| IQ dataset descriptors | datasets/ |
template | use manifests and external storage when needed |
| Dual-modem final implementation report | docs/final-project-dual-modem-implementation-report.md |
reviewed | connects model, RTL, routed implementation and current board evidence while marking open RF gates |
Recommended hardware proof package¶
A mature hardware experiment should include:
configuration notes
-> dataset or capture manifest
-> generated plots
-> metrics table
-> short engineering conclusion
-> limitations and next action
Minimum files for one experiment:
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
manifest.yaml |
settings, format, source and reproducibility metadata |
report.md |
human-readable explanation and conclusion |
summary.csv |
compact metrics table |
*.svg or *.png |
spectrum, time-domain, constellation or other plot |
Open proof gaps¶
The strongest next artifacts are:
- Issue #25 remainder: a safe cabled loopback capture report with attenuation notes.
- Issue #26: a small validated QPSK dataset package.
- Issue #29: an AD9363 gain and large-signal characterization table.
- Repeat-build or seed evidence that the selected WNS +0.096 ns snapshot keeps useful positive timing margin.
Review rule¶
A hardware result should not be marked as reviewed until another engineer can answer:
- what was configured;
- what was captured or built;
- what command or tool produced the artifacts;
- what metric was calculated;
- what conclusion follows;
- what is not proven yet.