Time and frequency synchronization characteristics in rapid prototyping environments

This paper presents the transfer of a real-time test-bed communication system, where the wireless measured bit error rate (BER) matches the theoretical one, into a Matlab-Simulink and GNURadio model. With this model we investigate the characteristics of the time and frequency synchronization algorithm with respect to several frequency offsets and different matched filter interpolations. The chosen frequency offset up to 10 % is identical to one expected in radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. In the following we show that the constructed GNURadio model acts in combination with an Ettus Research universal software radio peripheral (USRP) as the theoretically expected BER. Finally, we will highlight the benefits of the development of test-beds combining USRP, GNURadio, and Matlab-Simulink in the context of rapid prototyping.