Software Defined Radios (SDRs) are transforming industries with their flexibility, agility, and upgradeability—but choosing the right RF architecture is critical. This article explores five common SDR architectures—Superheterodyne, Block Converters, Direct Sampling, Zero IF, and hybrid combinations—breaking down  their strengths, trade-offs, and future potential. From the high-performance customization of Superhets to the low-SWaP efficiency of Zero IF and the
rapid evolution of Direct Sampling, each approach offers unique advantages depending on mission needs. With comparisons of form (size, weight, power, reconfigurability) and function (coverage, bandwidth, performance, selectivity), this guide helps engineers and decision-makers match architectures to real-world applications.

Software Defined Radios (SDRs) are transforming industries with their flexibility, agility, and upgradeability—but choosing the right RF architecture is critical. This article explores five common SDR architectures—Superheterodyne, Block Converters, Direct Sampling, Zero IF, and hybrid combinations—breaking down  their strengths, trade-offs, and future potential. From the high-performance customization of Superhets to the low-SWaP efficiency of Zero IF and the
rapid evolution of Direct Sampling, each approach offers unique advantages depending on mission needs. With comparisons of form (size, weight, power, reconfigurability) and function (coverage, bandwidth, performance, selectivity), this guide helps engineers and decision-makers match architectures to real-world applications.

In the second of Aaron’s videos, he walks through installing the necessary software to host one of our smallest radios on a Raspberry Pi. The episode shows the installation of Epiq’s Libsidekiq and validating that the NVM software defined radio (SDR) has been successfully installed. Low SWaP radios like the NVM2 have many applications including as RF payloads on low-cost UAV platforms.

In this video Epiq’s Application Engineer Aaron Foster uses a Thunderkiq NV100 SDR to decode a drone video transmission. He uses the open-source GNU Radio framework as well as Epiq’s libraries to construct a signal chain that takes the microwave signal, down-converts, demodulates and then displays the video feed from beginning to end.

We are proud to announce that Aaron was selected as a Cyber Distinguished
Member of the Corps for 2025 by the U.S. Army Cyber Corps. This prestigious honor recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the Corps and exemplify the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and service.