Hermes Lite 2 SDR

Hermes Lite 2 SDR is a relatively low cost direct conversion software defined amateur radio HF transceiver. This QRP radio has a maximum power output of 5W and a low power output option of 40 mW. It is based on a broadband modem IC and the Hermes SDR project. Key fact about Hermes Lite 2 SDR is that it is an entirely open source and open hardware project, including the tools used for design and fabrication files. The broadband modem IC has RF amplification and a 98 MHz analog to digital (A/D) converter that digitizes the RF signals from the antenna directly. It covers the entire amateur radio HF bands from 160m to 10m (1.8 MHz to 30 MHz). As can be seen from the picture, Hermes Lite 2 needs a power supply ranging from 11 to 16 Volts DC at 2A. Best would be to provide 12 to 13.8 VDC. Good thing is that the supply input is protected against reverse polarity. Low noise linear power supply is recommended, though a good quality switch mode power supply can also be used.

Hermes Lite 2 connects to your computer using an Ethernet or LAN (Local Area Network) port which supports both 100 MBPS and 1000 MBPS or Gigabit LAN by autosense. It will obtain an IP address from your DHCP server, usually there in your home router. For those unfamiliar with these terminology, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a protocol between the client and server computers that automatically provides an Internet Protocol (IP) address and other related configuration information. More information on Hermes Lite 2 is available on the Github wiki. There are plenty of pictures, details on how to buy, assemble and links to Google Support Groups on Hermes Lite 2. VU3WEW in this region uses Hermes Lite 2 for his Open WebRX also.