Also for a student: I was at university 20 years ago and there was no possibility to "hack" RF devices.
Right now, with less than 200€ (a NanoVNA and a good SDR), you can do almost everything.
Combined with a good directional coupler and GPSDO, people do build very high-end pieces of equipment. Not user friendly for most students, but removes a lot of traditional DSP complexity.
Current design limits on bit-resolution and bandwidth are usually just people avoiding getting hit with export restrictions.
The Pluto SDR rich software ecosystem is likely a better option for students:
https://www.mouser.com/c/?marcom=120135054
Combined with a good directional coupler and GPSDO, people do build very high-end pieces of equipment. Not user friendly for most students, but removes a lot of traditional DSP complexity.
Current design limits on bit-resolution and bandwidth are usually just people avoiding getting hit with export restrictions.
The Pluto SDR rich software ecosystem is likely a better option for students:
https://www.analog.com/en/resources/evaluation-hardware-and-...
Have a wonderful day =3