PUNE BLOGGERS MEET - a Report

PUNE BLOGGERS MEET

A Report

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Part 1

When you “retire” you have two choices.

You can hang out with your fellow retiree “oldie-goldies” and make your life miserable in the company of pessimistic, gloomy, cynical old-fogies who keep living in the past, carping and complaining about the present, and speculating and worrying about the future.

In short you can succumb to what I call the “Auld Lang Syne” complex. This is guaranteed to make you feel older than your chronological age.

The other choice is to spend your time in the company of lively enthusiastic youngsters who have a zest for life. This is what I prefer to do, for it makes me feel young and cheerful.

That’s why I decided to attend and actively participate in the Pune Bloggers Meet the moment I came to know about it on the IndiBlogger IndiVine.

Chronologically I may have been the oldest participant, but those present will agree with me, that I am quite young at heart, and in enthusiasm and passion, I am as young as, or maybe, even “younger” than many who are half my age.

Though I have been blogging for around 9 years, this was my second Bloggers Meet.

Around 5 years ago (on 16 June 2007) I attended BlogCampPune at SCIT in theInfoTech Park in Hinjewadi. It was a huge sponsored affair and the focus was more on the business opportunities from Blogging,  rather than the creative aspects.

Though they called it an “unconference”, the proceedings were quite structured and the event was dominated by the marketing guys and the IT Nerds – the Bloggers hardly had any say. However, Blogging was still in its nascent stage in India, and as a budding blogger, this BLOG CAMP was quite an informative and instructive experience and I wrote a blog post about it the next day:

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/06/blog-camp-pune.htm

Though we got plenty to eat and lots of freebies, it was like attending a trade show or a seminar. I hardly got to personally interact with fellow bloggers and though I was educated about various aspects of blogging, especially from the technical and commercial points of view, there was nothing much for a simple blogger like me who blogged to showcase my creative writing and who wasn’t much interested in the business opportunities from blogging.

In contrast, the Pune Bloggers Meet (on 05 May 2012) which was more of a social get-together of the IndiBlogger Members of Pune, where the focus was on social interaction, fellowship and kinship, and the friendly informal atmosphere facilitated the formation of creative personal relationships between fellow Bloggers from Pune’s Blogging Community.

I am sure you have heard the famous Zen Story EMPTY YOUR CUP.

A university Professor went to visit a famous Zen Master. The Professor wanted to learn about Zen.

The Zen Master served Tea.

While the Zen Master quietly served tea, the Professor talked about Zen.

The Master poured the visitor's cup full to the brim, and then kept on pouring.

The Professor watched the overflowing cup and soon he could no longer restrain himself and so the Professor blurted out to the Zen Master, “Please stop pouring the tea. The cup is overfull. No more tea will go in.”

“You are like this cup, full of your own opinions and beliefs,” the Zen Master said, “How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup.”

The moral of the story is that even if you are an experienced  veteran, you must get rid the “Been There, Done That” mentality and keep your mind open to receiving new ideas. That is why I always “empty my cup” whenever I want to learn something. Though I am quite an experienced blogger I made sure that I emptied my “cup” before I went to the Bloggers Meet and this strategy paid me handsome dividends as it seamlessly enabled me to learn so many new things about blogging.

The Pune Bloggers Meet was scheduled to start at 11 AM on Saturday the 5th of May 2012 at RajLaxmi Sabhagruha, Kothrud, Pune. As per my habit, ingrained during my Navy days, I reached the venue well before time, at 10:45 AM, and was probably the first to reach, but soon Bloggers started trickling in, and in due course soon there was enough quorum start the meet.

In today’s parlance, it was an “awesome” event and the credit for this successful meet must go to the organizer Animesh Mishra and his volunteer colleagues, to IndiBlogger whose IndiBiker Vineet Rajan came all the way from Mumbai to attend, and, of course, to all the Bloggers from Pune who participated.

Well, it is past midnight, I am feeling sleepy now, so I will tell you more about what happened at the meet in Part 2 …

So, Dear Reader: Good Night, Sleep Tight, God Bless.

To be Continued in Part 2 …

VIKRAM KARVE 

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like this post?
I am sure you will like the 27 fiction short stories from my recently published anthology of Short Fiction COCKTAIL 
To order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
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COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
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SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

  

 

IMPLEMENTATION MANAGEMENT

IMPLEMENTATION MANAGEMENT

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Implementation is the phase between a decision and its realization. 

Implementation may be placed in a continuum in which interaction takes place between those who seek objective and those on whom action depends.

The importance of implementation is undeniable because it is a struggle over the realization of ideas.

Effective implementation overcomes the gaps between intention and promise, aspirations, achievement and performance, and prescription and reality. Implementation comprises the ability to achieve specified ends by chosen means.

The time factor is critical in the implementation phase of a project.

Contingencies characterize implementation in several ways hence interactive and dynamic elements are vital to implementation management in order to forge links in the causal chain connecting actions to objectives with a view to minimizing the discrepancy between what actually occurs and what was envisaged.

Implementation is not self-executing.

Implementation is not a process that follows automatically once a program has been formulated. 

Implementation requires the presence of an action-forcing mechanism.

Implementation is a control task; hence, it needs to be dynamic, flexible and adaptable to changing situations.

Breakdowns of implementation represent fundamental failures to translate meaningful ideas into effective action.

Despite taking initiatives and using rational methods, on many occasions implementation is swamped by constant pressures of unpredictable problems and crises.

It is important to distinguish between non-implementation and unsuccessful implementation. 

 

In the case of non-implementation, the program is not put into effect as intended.

Unsuccessful implementation, on the other hand, occurs when a program is carried out, but fails to produce the desired results.

Implementation seems vulnerable to the domino effect in that when the initial phase is troubled the implementation failure tends to transmit itself to later phases. 

Once implementation dynamics are set in motion, they become vulnerable to adverse or diversionary forces which pull them away from their original design. Hence, a cogent implementation schedule and specific techniques are necessary to move from the realm of intention to the ambit of reality.

Force Field Analysis, a technique developed by Lewin, is useful in designing and executing the implementation process.

Force Field Analysis is a technique for systematically reviewing the elements working for and against a proposed course of action. It assumes that in any situation there are both driving forces and restraining forces that influence implementation. 

Driving Forces are those forces that facilitate implementation.

Restraining Forces impede the implementation process – they tend to restrain, dissipate, decrease or negate the Driving Forces.

For successful implementation it is essential to push on and overpower or immobilize the restraining forces, or try to transform the restraining forces into driving forces.

From the Human Resource (HR) perspective the Driving Forces include Participants [people who recognize their responsibility in the success of implementation], Movers [people who remove obstacles to implementation when they encounter them] and Shakers [people who recognize an opportunity and will make implementation happen] and the Restraining Forces may comprise Spectators [people not interested in implementation], Protectors [of Status Quo], Doubters [of the way the implementation is being done], Worriers [who are afraid of failure] and Switchers [people who abdicate and “delegate” their implementation responsibility].

Before embarking on implementation you must determine the driving forces and restraining forces and formulate a strategy to tackle them; if you rush into implementation without proper analysis, you may get frustrated and not know why.

 

VIKRAM KARVE
 

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". A collection of his short stories about relationships titled COCKTAIL is being published soon and Vikram is currently busy writing his first novel and with teaching and training assignments. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and his muse – his pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog : http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
 

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
 

Professional Profile of Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
 

Email: vikramkarve@sify.com
 

Foodie Book:

Appetite for a Stroll 
http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

http://shopping.sify.com/appetiteforastroll-vikram-karve/books/9788190690096.htm

Short Stories Book: Cocktail
Cocktail - Short Stories about Relationships :  
http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?pages#!/pages/Cocktail-by-Vikram-Karve-APK-Publishers/177873552253247

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

DONKEY WISDOM

DONKEY WISDOM

Mulla Nasrudin Stories

by

VIKRAM KARVE

 

Here are a few Mulla Nasrudin Stories to cheer you up:

 

 

Strolling on a beach, Mulla Nasrudin noticed some fishermen huddled lighting a fire near a wooden boat, and curious, he asked them what it was for.

 

“We are melting tar,” said a fisherman.

 

“Tar?” Nasrudin asked confused.

 

 “Yes, we are making tar to cover the cracks in the underside of the boat. This reduces the friction and makes the vessels go faster.”

 

Nasrudin rushed straight home and made a bonfire.

 

Then he tied up his lazy donkey and melted some tar in a pan.

 

As soon as he brought the smoking tar close to the underside of the donkey and began applying the molten red hot liquid to the donkey’s stomach, the terrified donkey broke loose, ran like the wind and disappeared over the horizon at top speed.

 

Truly amazed at what he saw Mulla Nasrudin exclaimed: “It works all right...!” 

 

He had never seen his lazy and lethargic donkey run so fast before.

 

Nasrudin’s  donkey did not return for many days. 

An anxious Nasrudin repeatedly kept asking every one he met whether they had seen his donkey. 

Fed up with him, they told him to ask the town's ‘wise man’ who knew the answers to all the questions. 

“Nasrudin,” the wise man said, “your donkey has run off, turned into a man and has been appointed magistrate in the next town.

         

Thanking the wise man for the information, Mull Nasrudin trudged to the neigbouring town and entered the courtroom.

There sat the magistrate, and Nasrudin shook his fist  angrily at him : “Come home at once, you foolish animal!”  

The magistrate was furious : “Who are you and how dare you talk to me like that...? I’ll have you arrested and sent to jail...!” 

 

“I am the well-known  Mulla Nasrudin of the neighbouring town and you are my donkey...!”

"Who told you that...?" the magistrate asked.

"The wise man in my town told me..." Nasrudin answered.

 

“That’s ridiculous. Are you mad...? Do I look like a donkey...?” the incredulous magistrate asked Nasrudin.

 

Nasrudin drew himself up to his full height and said : “I prefer to believe the statement of a wise man rather than that of a donkey.”

 

The furious magistrate ordered that Nasrudin immediately be thrown out of this town, so a distraught Nasrudin returned home.

Mulla Nasrudin’s donkey did not return for many days and Nasrudin was overcome with grief.

 

“You may have lost your donkey, Mulla Nasrudin, but you don’t have to grieve over it more than you did when you lost your wife.”

       

“Ah,” Nasrudin said, “if you remember when I lost my wife, all you villagers consoled me and said:  ‘We will find you a new wife – and you did find me a new wife’. So far, nobody has offered to replace my donkey.”

 

VIKRAM KARVE

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU, Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune,  is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. 

 

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm

Academic Journal Vikram Karve – http://karvediat.blogspot.com

Professional Profile of Vikram Karve - http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve 

Email: vikramkarve@sify.com
Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll  

© vikram karve., all rights reserved

 

Appetite for a Stroll Food for the Soul

APPETITE FOR A STROLL Food for the Soul Book Review

Here is a Review of my Book APPETITE FOR A STROLL

Appetite For A Stroll Food For The Soul

If the aroma of good food brings a smile to your face and lightens up your mood,then Vikram Karve’s Appetite for a Soul is your best bet. As the author travels through the streets of Mumbai, Pune and other cities in search of good food, he shares his invigorating experience of food hunting and learning new recipes. His explorations lead him to some of the rarest cuisines and authentic rustic preparations.

Going by the mantra “there is no love greater than the love of eating”, his writings could transform any lay man into a delightful food connoisseur. His experiments with recipes, reviews of some of the oldest restaurants and mouth-watering description of dishes would mark an everlasting image in the minds of the reader.

“Good food must be savoured delicately, slowly, attentively and respectfully, in a befitting manner, with finesse and technique, with relish and appreciation and you will experience true gustatory delight. That’s essence of the Art of Eating.”

An excerpt from book Appetite for a stroll, by Vikram Karve 

Some may feel that it’s a wrong idea to live for eating, but writer Vikram Karve has a different theory to offer. 

“Eating is not just making yourself not-hungry. It is about filling your appetite by having a soul-satisfying tasty food,” feels Karve, who follows his appetite rather than following the clock for eating.

Given his taste for rich and spicy food, Karve is often asked about the health aspects of indulging his cravings. 

So here is what Vikram Karve says: “Why neglect the soul while we do so much so for our bodies? I feel, while exercise is good for a healthy body, good and tasty food is neccesary for the soul. So we must strike a balance. I eat good food and I burn it out by walking and exercising. I don’t believe in multi-tasking when it comes to food. That is, when I eat, I just think of the food and the taste, and when I am working out, I just think of my health.”

Speaking about the book that features food joints and eateries in Pune, Vikram Karve says that the city offers a lot to food lovers. “In the 1960s food was quite well defined in Pune. While city area like Peths offered typical Mahastrian fare, the Camp and nearby areas offered Chinese and Iranian food. But now, as Pune takes a turn towards becoming a metro, the boundaries have blended and disappeared. We get the same menu everywhere. However, a few old eateries still promise that same flavour which we relished in that era,” recalls Vikram Karve.

A teacher by profession, Karve has penned many books and short stories. But the love for good food brought him to share his experience in an entertaining way and at the same time making it informative for people, who can enjoy good food. “The objective behind my writing is infotainment. So that I can not only help people locate the once-famous eateries but also help them realise the importance of good food.”

While Karve believes in having wholesome food, he at times, doesn’t mind pampering his taste buds with a bite of junk food too. “Bhel is the specialty of Pune. It could be rightly called as the signature dish of the city. While the new populace of the city goes for big restaurants, they might give it a thought to try Pune’s all time favourite bhels like – Kalpana Bhel at Saras Bagh, Canal Bhel near Prabhat Road or Kalyam Bhel,” he says.

As Karve savours every bite of food offered by eateries all over the city, he, like any other son, loves the menu from his mother’s kitchen. “I just love the aaloochi bhaji and masale bhaat that my mother prepares. And my love for good food helps me relish every grain,” says Karve.

When asked, if he enjoys cooking as much as eating, he says, “When I got married, one could see more of me, than my wife, in kitchen. But over the years, I have successfully turned my wife into a foodie and we both enjoy food together, be it simple ghar ka khana or a regional delicacy. My wife is good at cooking vegetarian food, while I feel biryani is my forte.”

After a great response for Appetite for a Stroll, Karve plans to write more on food and then perhaps also try his hand at writing on other topics. Guess, variety is the spice of life, especially for such a devoted foodie.

Appetite for a Stroll covers Vikram Karve’s explorations, eating and foodwalking experiences coupled with vivid photographs and features that are sure to heighten the appetite of readers. His passion and love towards food takes a new dimension that will not only create a niche for himself but also pave way for his fellow foodies.

http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

How to Buy APPETITE FOR A STROLL

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o


About the Author of APPETITE FOR A STROLL

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource and Training Manager by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book “Appetite for a Stroll”. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Creative Writing Blog Vikram Karve: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com
Academic Journal Vikram Karve: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com

Philosophy of Technology

PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY
A Reflection
By
VIKRAM KARVE



In our everyday lives most of us use a number of words which we assume have a universal, agreed-upon, and accepted meaning for all people in all contexts.

Often, the more frequently the word is used more we take for granted that our usage is the only possible usage of the term.

One word which belongs in this category is “technology.”


The vast majority of technology as machines, computers and other forms of modern hardware – the province of the scientist, engineer or specialist professional.

We have to transcend this narrow view of technology since every technology starts from a human purpose, from the intention to satisfy some human need or behaviour.

Indeed, technology is the manipulation of nature for human purpose.


But man is a part of nature by manipulating nature man is manipulates himself.

Thus, technology manipulates man, influence, even governs human behaviour, and in turn societal behaviour.

It is therefore imperative to reconceptualise the concept of technology by viewing it though the philosophical lens in order to understand the “soft” social, cultural, individual, psychological, behavioural and intellectual dimensions of technology in contrast to the “hard” technical dimension.



Language is a “soft” technology, an invented system of communication. Alvin Tofler specifically discussed “political technologies” in his description of “Third Wave” changes in our world environment. Indeed, “soft” technologies take many forms. They include the invention of social institutions – methods of organizing people for the achievement of particular ends.



Arthur Harkins defines “culture” as the metasystem or system of systems of human-invented and hereditarily transmitted technologies, and further emphasizes that human have codified technologies into what anthropologists call culture.



Even more fundamentally, or expansively, technologies are philosophies, ideologies. Ways of thinking, or world-views (Weltanschauungen). The key realization is that technologies are way of structuring and ordering the world.



This philosophical reconceptualisation of technology entails a border image wherein technologies are viewed not merely as physical or technical apparatuses but as inseparably interconnected with the fabric of social policy, values and desires and are in fact complex constellations of devices, processes, beliefs and mechanisms which are perceived as a system of interrelated innovations comprising a coherent nexus pertaining to the systematic manipulation of nature.

Technologies reconceptualised from the philosophical viewpoint are mutually supportive and harmonically attuned process and philosophies for synergistically aiding the individual or society to reach specific, hopefully preferred, future states; they are instruments for attaining and integrating the proposal future with the perceived present.

Since technology is essentially invented rather than discovered, such a reconceptualisation would help to introduce a premium for creativity and divergent thought into the academic world alongside the traditional emphasis on scholarly research and the quest for truth and would encourage cross-fertilization across disciplinary boundaries.



It may be apt to conclude with a comment by RM Pirsig, who states that: “The way to solve the conflict between human values and technological needs is not to run away from technology. That’s impossible. The way to resolve the conflict is to break down the barriers of dualistic thought that prevent a real understanding of what technology is… not an exploitation of nature, but a fusion of nature and the human spirit into a new kind of creation that transcends both”.

VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU and The Lawrence School Lovedale, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog - http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/
Academic Journal Vikram Karve – http://karvediat.blogspot.com/
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve - http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Software Defined Radio

SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO [SDR]

[Here is an article on SDR compiled by my students Shijesh, Sibil, Shyju and John by browsing the internet, books and journals]

The rapid growth of technology and changing trends in the Communication techniques has paved way for the introduction of many telecommunication devices, many of which are not feasible to modify cost effectively due to lack of flexibility in their implementation. Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology mitigates this problem by providing the flexibility through software.

Software-Defined Radio (SDR) is a rapidly evolving technology that is receiving enormous recognition and generating widespread interest in the telecommunication industry. Over the last few years, analog radio systems are being replaced by digital radio systems and programmable hardware modules are increasingly being used in digital radio systems at different functional levels. SDR technology aims to take advantage of these programmable hardware modules to build open-architecture based radio system software.

An SDR system is a radio communication system where components that have typically been implemented in hardware are instead implemented using software on embedded computing devices. In other words SDR is a Radio in which some or all of the physical layer functions are software defined.

A Radio is any kind of device that wirelessly transmits or receives signals in the radio frequency (RF) part of the electromagnetic spectrum to facilitate the transfer of information.

In today's world, radios exist in a multitude of items such as cell phones, computers, car door openers, vehicles, and televisions.

While the concept of SDR is not new, the rapidly evolving capabilities of digital electronics are practical enabling many processes that were once only theoretically possible.

In the past, radio systems were designed to communicate using one or two waveforms [waveform here refers to any specific standard like Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) or it can be as simple as Frequency or Amplitude Modulation (FM or AM)].

As a result, two groups of people with different types of traditional radio were not able to communicate due to incompatibility problems. The need to communicate with people using different types of equipment can only be solved using software programmable radios because of its flexible architecture.

Traditional hardware based radio devices limit cross-functionality and can only be modified through physical intervention. This results in higher production costs and minimal flexibility in supporting multiple waveform standards. By contrast, software defined radio technology provides an efficient and comparatively inexpensive solution to this problem, allowing multi-mode, multi-band and/or multi-functional wireless devices that can be enhanced using software upgrades

The primary goal of SDR is to replace as many analog components and hardwired digital VLSI devices of the transceiver (radio) as possible with programmable devices.

Some of the advantages of SDR are:

1. Multifunctionality. The same piece of hardware i.e. the radio set can be used to transmit, receive and process different communication signals that adhere to different air interface standards. This can be done simply by reconfiguring the software.
2. Global Mobility. The same piece of hardware i.e. the radio set can be used in different parts of the world that endorse different air interface standards. This can again be done simply by reconfiguring the software.
3. Compactness and power efficient design. Unlike traditional non-SDR systems, which require multiple hardware sets for multi-functional communication, the same piece of SDR hardware can be reduced for such a purpose. This results in compact and power –efficient design, especially as the number of systems increases.
4. Ease of manufacture. A SDR comprises of fewer hardware parts than a traditional radio since most processing is done in software within a general-purpose microprocessors or special purpose microprocessors like the DSP, or in reconfigurable hardware including FPGAs. This eases the production cycle for the manufacturer with lesser parts to standardize and produce.
5. Ease of upgrades. Any service upgrade can be easily introduced through the release of new software versions without the expense of recalling or replacing the hardware units. A user can simply download the software off the internet and load it into the SDR.

The most significant asset of SDR is versatility. Wireless systems employ protocols that vary from one service to another. Even in the same type of service, for example wireless fax, the protocol often differs from country to country. A single SDR set with an all-inclusive software repertoire can be used in any mode, anywhere in the world. Changing the service type, the mode, and/or the modulation protocol involves simply selecting and launching the requisite program, and making sure the batteries are adequately charged if portable operation is contemplated.

The ultimate goal of SDR engineers is to provide a single radio transceiver capable of playing the roles of GSM phone, CDMA phone, Wimax terminal, wireless fax, wireless Web browser, Global Positioning System (GPS) unit, and other functions still in the realm of science fiction.

VIKRAM KARVE

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

vikramkarve@sify.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.