SI570

The Si570 XO/Si571 VCXO utilizes Silicon Laboratories’ advanced DSPLL® circuitry to provide a low-jitter clock at any frequency. The Si570/Si571 are user-programmable to any output frequency from 10 to 945 MHz and select frequencies to 1400 MHz with <1 ppb resolution. The device is programmed via an I2C serial interface. Unlike traditional XO/VCXOs where a different crystal is required for each output frequency, the Si57x uses one fixed- frequency crystal and a DSPLL clock synthesis IC to provide any-frequency operation. This IC-based approach allows the crystal resonator to provide exceptional frequency stability and reliability. In addition, DSPLL clock synthesis provides superior supply noise rejection, simplifying the task of generating low-jitter clocks in noisy environments typically found in communication systems.

The Si570 is very popular for amateur radio use. It can be used as the local oscillator in a superheterodyne receiver, or it can be the local oscillator in a direct conversion quadrature receiver for software defined radio (SDR) such as the Softrock. In addition to its use inside a receiver, the Si570 kit can be used as a stand-alone signal source for test and measurement and for other purposes, such as a VFO for your old Heathkit DX40 for that matter. Just keep in mind that the Si570's output is a square wave and may require additional filtering for some purposes.