NAME
bladeRF-cli - command line interface and test utilitySYNOPSIS
bladeRF-cli <options>DESCRIPTION
The bladeRF-cli utility is used to flash firmware files, load FPGA bitstreams, and perform other tasks on the nuand bladeRF software-defined radio system.OPTIONS
- -d, --device <device>
- Use the specified bladeRF device.
- -f, --flash-firmware <file>
- Write the provided FX3 firmware file to flash.
- -l, --load-fpga <file>
- Load the provided FPGA bitstream.
- -L, --flash-fpga <file>
- Write the provided FPGA image to flash for autoloading. Use -L X or --flash-fpga X to disable FPGA autoloading.
- -p, --probe
- Probe for devices, print results, then exit. A non-zero return status will be returned if no devices are available.
- -e, --exec <command>
- Execute the specified interactive mode command. Multiple -e flags may be specified. The commands will be executed in the provided order.
- -s, --script <file>
- Run provided script.
- -i, --interactive
- Enter interactive mode.
- --lib-version
- Print libbladeRF version and exit.
- -v, --verbosity <level>
- Set the libbladeRF verbosity level. Levels, listed in increasing verbosity, are:
- critical, error, warning,
- info, debug, verbose
- --version
- Print CLI version and exit.
- -h, --help
- Show this help text.
- --help-interactive
- Print help information for all interactive commands.
Notes:
- The -d option takes a device specifier string. See the bladerf_open() documentation for more information about the format of this string.
- If the -d parameter is not provided, the first available device will be used for the provided command, or will be opened prior to entering interactive mode.
- Commands are executed in the following order:
- Command line options, -e <command>, script commands, interactive mode commands.
- When running 'rx/tx start' from a script or via -e, ensure these commands are later followed by 'rx/tx wait [timeout]' to ensure the program will not attempt to exit before reception/transmission is complete.
INTERACTIVE COMMANDS
bladeRF-cli supports a scriptable interactive mode. Run bladeRF-cli --interactive to enter this mode. Type " help" for a listing of all commands, or " help <command>" for more information about <command>.calibrate
Usage: calibrate <operation> [options] Perform the specified transceiver calibration operation. Available operations:- •
- LMS internal DC offset auto-calibrations
- •
- calibrate lms [show]
- •
- calibrate lms tuning [value]
- •
- calibrate lms txlpf [<I filter> <Q filter>]
- •
- calibrate lms rxlpf [<I filter> <Q filter>]
- •
- calibrate lms rxvga2 [<DC ref> <I1> <Q1> <I2> <Q2>]
- •
- RX and TX I/Q DC offset correction parameter calibration
- •
- calibrate dc <rx|tx> [<I> <Q>]
- •
- calibrate dc <rxtx>
- •
- RX and TX I/Q balance correction parameter calibration
- •
- calibrate iq <rx|tx> <gain|phase> <value>
- •
- Generate RX or TX I/Q DC correction parameter tables
- •
- calibrate table dc <rx|tx> [<f_min> <f_max> [f_inc]]
- •
- Generate RX or TX I/Q DC correction parameter tables for AGC Look Up Table
- •
- calibrate table agc <rx|tx> [<f_min> <f_max> [f_inc]]
clear
Usage: clear Clears the screen.echo
Usage: echo [arg 1] [arg 2] ... [arg n] Echo each argument on a new line.erase
Usage: erase <offset> <count> Erase specified erase blocks SPI flash.- •
- <offset> - Erase block offset
- •
- <count> - Number of erase blocks to erase
flash_backup
Usage: flash_backup <file> (<type> | <address> <length>) Back up flash data to the specified file. This command takes either two or four arguments. The two-argument invocation is generally recommended for non-development use. Parameters:- •
- <type> - Type of backup.
This selects the appropriate address and length values based upon the selected
type.
Valid options are:
Option | Description |
cal | Calibration data |
fw | Firmware |
fpga40 | Metadata and bitstream for 40 kLE FPGA |
fpga115 | Metadata and bitstream for 115 kLE FPGA |
fpgaA4 | Metadata and bitstream for 49 kLE (A4) FPGA |
fpgaA5 | Metadata and bitstream for 77 kLE (A5) FPGA |
fpgaA9 | Metadata and bitstream for 301 kLE (A9) FPGA |
- •
- <address> - Address of data to back up. Must be erase block-aligned.
- •
- <len> - Length of region to back up. Must be erase block-aligned.
- •
- flash_backup cal.bin cal
Backs up the calibration data region.
- •
- flash_backup cal_raw.bin 0x30000 0x10000
Backs up the calibration region as a raw data image.
flash_image
Usage: flash_image <image> [output options] Print a flash image’s metadata or create a new flash image. When provided with the name of a flash image file as the only argument, this command will print the metadata contents of the image. The following options may be used to create a new flash image.- •
- data=<file>
File to containing data to store in the image.
- •
- address=<addr>
Flash address. The default depends upon type parameter.
- •
- type=<type>
Type of flash image. Defaults to raw.
Valid options are:
Option | Description |
cal | Calibration data |
fw | Firmware |
fpga40 | Metadata and bitstream for 40 kLE FPGA |
fpga115 | Metadata and bitstream for 115 kLE FPGA |
fpgaA4 | Metadata and bitstream for 49 kLE (A4) FPGA |
fpgaA5 | Metadata and bitstream for 77 kLE (A5) FPGA |
fpgaA9 | Metadata and bitstream for 301 kLE (A9) FPGA |
raw | Raw data. The address and length parameters must be provided if this type is selected. |
- •
- serial=<serial>
Serial # to store in image. Defaults to zeros.
flash_init_cal
Usage: flash_init_cal <fpga_size> <vctcxo_trim> [<output_file>] Create and write a new calibration data region to the currently opened device, or to a file. Be sure to back up calibration data prior to running this command. (See the flash_backup command.)- •
- <fpga_size>
Either 40 or 115, depending on the device model.
- •
- <vctcxo_trim>
VCTCXO/DAC trim value (0x0-0xffff)
- •
- <output_file>
File to write calibration data to. When this argument is provided, no data will
be written to the device’s flash.
flash_restore
Usage: flash_restore <file> [<address> <length>] Restore flash data from a file, optionally overriding values in the image metadata.- •
- <address>
Defaults to the address specified in the provided flash image file.
- •
- <length>
Defaults to length of the data in the provided image file.
fw_log
Usage: fw_log [filename] Read the contents of the device’s firmware log and write it to the specified file. If no filename is specified, the log content is written to stdout.help
Usage: help [<command>] Provides extended help, like this, on any command.info
Usage: info Prints the following information about an opened device:- •
- Serial number
- •
- VCTCXO DAC calibration value
- •
- FPGA size
- •
- Whether or not the FPGA is loaded
- •
- USB bus, address, and speed
- •
- Backend (Denotes which device interface code is being used.)
- •
- Instance number
jump_to_boot
Usage: jump_to_boot Clear out a FW signature word in flash and jump to FX3 bootloader. The device will continue to boot into the FX3 bootloader across power cycles until new firmware is written to the device.load
Usage: load <fpga|fx3> <filename> Load an FPGA bitstream or program the FX3’s SPI flash.xb
Usage: xb <board_model> <subcommand> [parameters] Enable or configure an expansion board. Valid values for board_model:- •
- 100
XB-100 GPIO expansion board
- •
- 200
XB-200 LF/MF/HF/VHF transverter expansion board
- •
- 300
XB-300 amplifier board
Common subcommands:
- •
- enable
Enable the XB-100, XB-200, or XB-300 expansion board.
XB-200 subcommands:
- •
- filter [rx|tx] [50|144|222|custom|auto_1db|auto_3db]
Selects the specified RX or TX filter on the XB-200 board. Below are
descriptions of each of the filter options.
XB-300 subcommands:
- •
- 50
-
Select the 50-54 MHz (6 meter band) filter.
- •
- 144
-
Select the 144-148 MHz (2 meter band) filter.
- •
- 222
-
Select the 222-225 MHz (1.25 meter band) filter. Realistically, this filter option is actually slightly wider, covering 206 MHz - 235 MHz.
- •
- custom
-
Selects the custom filter path. The user should connect a filter along the corresponding FILT and FILT-ANT connections when using this option. Alternatively one may jumper the FILT and FILT-ANT connections to achieve "no filter" for reception. (However, this is _highly_ discouraged for transmissions.)
- •
- auto_1db
-
Automatically selects one of the above choices based upon frequency and the filters' 1dB points. The custom path is used for cases that are not associated with the on-board filters.
- •
- auto_3db
-
Automatically selects one of the above choices based upon frequency and the filters' 3dB points. The custom path is used for cases that are not associated with the on-board filters.
- •
- <pa|lna|aux> [on|off]
Enable or disable the power amplifier (PA), low-noise amplifier (lna) or
auxiliary LNA (aux). The current state if the specified device is printed if
[on|off] is not specified.
Note: The auxiliary path on the XB-300 is not populated with components by
default; the aux control will have no effect upon the RX signal. This option
is available for users to modify their board with custom hardware.
- •
- <pwr>
Read the current Power Detect (PDET) voltage and compute the output power.
- •
- trx <rx|tx>
The default XB-300 hardware configuration includes separate RX and TX paths.
However, users wishing to use only a single antenna for TRX can do so via a
modification to resistor population options on the XB-300 and use this command
to switch between RX an TX operation. (See R8, R10, and R23 on the
schematic.)
Examples:
- •
- xb 200 enable
Enables and configures the XB-200 transverter expansion board.
- •
- xb 200 filter rx 144
Selects the 144-148 MHz receive filter on the XB-200 transverter expansion
board.
- •
- xb 300 enable
Enables and configures the use of GPIOs to interact with the XB-300. The PA and
LNA will disabled by default.
- •
- xb 300 lna on
Enables the RX LNA on the XB-300. LED D1 (green) is illuminated when the LNA is
enabled, and off when it is disabled.
- •
- xb 300 pa off
Disables the TX PA on the XB-300. LED D2 (blue) is illuminated when the PA is
enabled, and off when it is disabled.
mimo
Usage: mimo [master | slave] Modify device MIMO operation. IMPORTANT: This command is deprecated and has been superseded by "print/set smb_mode". For usage text, run: “set smb_mode”open
Usage: open [device identifiers] Open the specified device for use with successive commands. Any previously opened device will be closed. The general form of the device identifier string is: <backend>:[device=<bus>:<addr>] [instance=<n>] [serial=<serial>] See the bladerf_open() documentation in libbladeRF for the complete device specifier format.peek
Usage: peek <rfic|pll|dac|lms|si> <address> [num_addresses] The peek command can read any of the devices hanging off the FPGA. This includes the:- •
- bladeRF 1: LMS6002D transceiver, VCTCXO trim DAC, Si5338 clock generator
- •
- bladeRF 2: AD9361 transceiver, VCTCXO trim DAC, ADF4002 frequency synthesizer
Device | Address Range |
rfic | 0 to 0x3F7 (1015) |
pll | 0 to 3 |
dac | 0 to 255 |
lms | 0 to 127 |
si | 0 to 255 |
- •
- peek si ...
poke
Usage: poke <rfic|pll|dac|lms|si> <address> <data> The poke command can write any of the devices hanging off the FPGA. This includes the:- •
- bladeRF 1: LMS6002D transceiver, VCTCXO trim DAC, Si5338 clock generator
- •
- bladeRF 2: AD9361 transceiver, VCTCXO trim DAC, ADF4002 frequency synthesizer
Device | Address Range |
rfic | 0 to 0x3F7 (1015) |
pll | 0 to 3 |
dac | 0 to 255 |
lms | 0 to 127 |
si | 0 to 255 |
- •
- poke lms ...
Parameter | Description |
bandwidth | Bandwidth settings |
frequency | Frequency settings |
agc | Automatic gain control |
loopback | Loopback settings |
rx_mux | FPGA RX FIFO input mux setting |
gain | Gain settings |
samplerate | Samplerate settings |
trimdac | VCTCXO Trim DAC settings |
tuning_mode | Tuning mode settings |
hardware | Low-level hardware status |
Parameter | Description |
gpio | FX3 <-> FPGA GPIO state |
lnagain | RX LNA gain, in dB (deprecated) |
rxvga1 | RXVGA1 gain, in dB (deprecated) |
rxvga2 | RXVGA2 gain, in dB (deprecated) |
txvga1 | TXVGA1 gain, in dB (deprecated) |
txvga2 | TXVGA2 gain, in dB (deprecated) |
sampling | External or internal sampling mode |
smb_mode | SMB clock port mode of operation |
vctcxo_tamer | Current VCTCXO tamer mode |
xb_gpio | Expansion board GPIO values |
xb_gpio_dir | Expansion board GPIO direction (1=output, 0=input) |
Parameter | Description |
clock_sel | System clock selection |
clock_out | Clock output selection |
rssi | Received signal strength indication |
clock_ref | ADF4002 chip status |
refin_freq | ADF4002 reference clock frequency |
biastee | Current bias-tee status |
filter | RFIC FIR filter selection |
probe
Usage: probe [strict] Search for attached bladeRF device and print a list of results. Without specifying strict, the lack of any available devices is not considered an error. When provided the optional strict argument, this command will treat the situation where no devices are found as an error, causing scripts or lists of commands provided via the -e command line argument to terminate immediately.quit
Usage: quit Exit the CLI.recover
Usage: recover [<bus> <address> <firmware file>] Load firmware onto a device running in bootloader mode, or list all devices currently in bootloader mode. With no arguments, this command lists the USB bus and address for FX3-based devices running in bootloader mode. When provided a bus, address, and path to a firmware file, the specified device will be loaded with and begin executing the provided firmware. In most cases, after successfully loading firmware into the device’s RAM, users should open the device with the “open” command, and write the firmware to flash via “load fx3 <firmware file>”run
Usage: run <script> Run the provided script.rx
Usage: rx <start | stop | wait | config [param=val [param=val [...]]> Receive IQ samples and write them to the specified file. Reception is controlled and configured by one of the following:Command | Description |
start | Start receiving samples |
stop | Stop receiving samples |
wait | Wait for sample transmission to complete, or until a specified amount of time elapses |
config | Configure sample reception. If no parameters are provided, the current parameters are printed. |
Parameter | Description |
n | Number of samples to receive. 0 = inf. |
file | Filename to write received samples to |
format | Output file format. One of the following: |
csv: CSV of SC16 Q11 samples | |
bin: Raw SC16 Q11 DAC samples | |
samples | Number of samples per buffer to use in the asynchronous stream. Must be divisible by 1024 and >= 1024. |
buffers | Number of sample buffers to use in the asynchronous stream. The min value is 4. |
xfers | Number of simultaneous transfers to allow the asynchronous stream to use. This should be less than the buffers parameter. |
timeout | Data stream timeout. With no suffix, the default unit is ms. The default value is 1000 ms (1 s). Valid suffixes are ms and s. |
channel | Comma-delimited list of physical RF channels to use |
- •
- rx config file=/tmp/data.bin format=bin n=10K
Receive (10240 = 10 * 1024) samples, writing them to /tmp/data.bin in the binary
DAC format.
- •
- rx config file=mimo.csv format=csv n=32768 channel=1,2
Receive 32768 samples from RX1 and RX2, outputting them to a file named
mimo.csv, with four columns (RX1 I, RX1 Q, RX2 I, RX2 Q).
Notes:
- •
- The n, samples, buffers, and xfers parameters support the suffixes K, M, and G, which are multiples of 1024.
- •
- An rx stop followed by an rx start will result in the samples file being truncated. If this is not desired, be sure to run rx config to set another file before restarting the rx stream.
- •
- For higher sample rates, it is advised that the binary output format be used, and the output file be written to RAM (e.g. /tmp, /dev/shm), if space allows. For larger captures at higher sample rates, consider using an SSD instead of a HDD.
- •
- The CSV format produces two columns per channel, with the first two columns corresponding to the I,Q pair for the first channel configured with the channel parameter; the next two columns corresponding to the I,Q of the second channel, and so on.
trigger
Usage: trigger [<trigger> <tx | rx> [<off slave master fire>]] If used without parameters, this command prints the state of all triggers. When and <tx | rx> and supplied, the specified trigger is printed. Below are the available options for :Trigger | Description |
J71-4 | Trigger signal is on mini_exp1 (bladeRF x40/x115, J71, pin 4). |
J51-1 | Trigger signal is on mini_exp1 (bladeRF xA4/xA5/xA9, J51, pin 1). |
Miniexp-1 | Trigger signal is on mini_exp1, hardware-independent |
Command | Description |
off | Clears fire request and disables trigger functionality. |
slave | Configures trigger as slave, clears fire request, and arms the device. |
master | Configures trigger as master, clears fire request, and arms the device. |
fire | Sets fire request. Only applicable to the master. |
- 1.
- Configure designated trigger master
IMPORTANT
Never configure two devices as trigger masters on a single chain. Contention on
the same signal could damage the devices.
- 2.
- Configure all other devices as trigger slaves
- 3.
- Configure and start transmit or receive streams.
The operation will stall until the triggers fire. As such, sufficiently large
timeouts should be used to allow the trigger signal to be emitted by the
master and received by the slaves prior to libbladeRF returning
BLADERF_ERR_TIMEOUT.
- 4.
- Set fire-request on master trigger
All devices will synchronously start transmitting or receiving data.
- 5.
- Finish the transmit and receive tasks as usual
- 6.
- Re-configure the master and slaves to clear fire requests and re-arm.
Steps 1 through 5 may be repeated as necessary.
- 7.
- Disable triggering on all slaves
- 8.
- Disable triggering on master
- •
- Synchronizing transmitters and receivers on a single chain will cause an offset of 11 samples between TX and RX; these samples should be discarded. This is caused by different processing pipeline lengths of TX and RX. This value might change if the FPGA code is updated in the future.
tx
Usage: tx <start | stop | wait | config [parameters]> Read IQ samples from the specified file and transmit them. Transmission is controlled and configured by one of the following:Command | Description |
start | Start transmitting samples |
stop | Stop transmitting samples |
wait | Wait for sample transmission to complete, or until a specified amount of time elapses |
config | Configure sample transmission. If no parameters are provided, the current parameters are printed. |
Parameter | Description |
file | Filename to read samples from |
format | Input file format. One of the following: |
csv: CSV of SC16 Q11 samples ([-2048, 2047]) | |
bin: Raw SC16 Q11 DAC samples ([-2048, 2047]) | |
repeat | The number of times the file contents should be transmitted. 0 implies repeat until stopped. |
delay | The number of microseconds to delay between retransmitting file contents. 0 implies no delay. |
samples | Number of samples per buffer to use in the asynchronous stream. Must be divisible by 1024 and >= 1024. |
buffers | Number of sample buffers to use in the asynchronous stream. The min value is 4. |
xfers | Number of simultaneous transfers to allow the asynchronous stream to use. This should be < the buffers parameter. |
timeout | Data stream timeout. With no suffix, the default unit is ms. The default value is 1000 ms (1 s). Valid suffixes are `ms' and `s'. |
channel | Comma-delimited list of physical RF channels to use |
- •
- tx config file=data.bin format=bin repeat=2 delay=250000
Transmitting the contents of data.bin two times, with a ~250ms delay between
transmissions.
- •
- tx config file=mimo.csv format=csv repeat=0 channel=1,2
Transmitting the contents of mimo.csv repeatedly, with the first channel in the
file mapped to channel TX1 and the second channel mapped to TX2.
Notes:
- •
- The n, samples, buffers, and xfers parameters support the suffixes K, M, and G, which are multiples of 1024.
- •
- For higher sample rates, it is advised that the input file be stored in RAM (e.g. /tmp, /dev/shm) or on an SSD, rather than a HDD.
- •
- The CSV format expects two columns per channel, with the first two columns corresponding to the I,Q pair for the first channel configured with the channel parameter; the next two columns corresponding to the I,Q of the second channel, and so on. For example, in the mimo.csv example above, -128,128,-256,256 would transmit (-128,128) on TX1 and (-256,256) on TX2.
- •
- When providing CSV data, this command will first convert it to a binary format, stored in a file in the current working directory. During this process, out-of-range values will be clamped.
- •
- When using a binary format, the user is responsible for ensuring that the provided data values are within the allowed range. This prerequisite alleviates the need for this program to perform range checks in time-sensitive callbacks.
set
Usage: set <parameter> <arguments> The set command takes a parameter and an arbitrary number of arguments for that particular parameter. In general, set <parameter> will display more help for that parameter. Common parameters:Parameter | Description |
bandwidth | Bandwidth settings |
frequency | Frequency settings |
agc | Automatic gain control |
loopback | Loopback settings |
rx_mux | FPGA RX FIFO input mux mode |
gain | Gain settings |
samplerate | Samplerate settings |
trimdac | VCTCXO Trim DAC settings |
tuning_mode | Tuning mode settings |
Parameter | Description |
gpio | FX3 <-> FPGA GPIO state |
lnagain | RX LNA gain, in dB. Values: 0, 3, 6 (deprecated) |
rxvga1 | RXVGA1 gain, in dB. Range: [5, 30] (deprecated) |
rxvga2 | RXVGA2 gain, in dB. Range: [0, 30] (deprecated) |
txvga1 | TXVGA1 gain, in dB. Range: [-35, -4] (deprecated) |
txvga2 | TXVGA2 gain, in dB. Range: [0, 25] (deprecated) |
sampling | External or internal sampling mode |
smb_mode | SMB clock port mode of operation |
vctcxo_tamer | VCTCXO tamer mode. Options: Disabled, 1PPS, 10MHz |
xb_gpio | Expansion board GPIO values |
xb_gpio_dir | Expansion board GPIO direction (1=output, 0=input) |
Parameter | Description |
clock_sel | System clock selection |
clock_out | Clock output selection |
rssi | Received signal strength indication |
clock_ref | Enables (1) or disables (0) the ADF4002 chip |
refin_freq | ADF4002 reference clock frequency |
biastee | Enables or disables the bias tee on a given channel |
filter | RFIC FIR filter selection |
version
Usage: version Prints version information for host software and the current device.EXAMPLES
$ bladeRF-cli -l hostedx40.rbf- Loads an FPGA image named hostedx40.rbf onto the bladeRF's FPGA. Note: The FPGA image loaded with --load-fpga will be lost on power-off.
- Flashes firmware.img onto the bladeRF's firmware.
- Flashes the FPGA image named hostedx40.rbf onto the bladeRF, where it will be automatically loaded on power-up.
AUTHOR
This utility was written by the contributors to the bladeRF Project. See the CONTRIBUTORS file for more information.REPORTING BUGS
Bugs may be reported via the issue tracker at https://github.com/nuand/bladerf.COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2013-2015 Nuand LLC.SEE ALSO
More documentation is available at http://nuand.com/ and https://github.com/nuand/bladerf.December 2022 | bladeRF-cli 1.8.0-0.2022.11-1 |