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DCA1000EVM: + IWR1642BOOST Inconsistent Data File Size

Josiah Smith1
Prodigy 140 points
Part Number: DCA1000EVM
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: IWR1642BOOST

Hello,

I am using the DCA1000EVM + IWR1642BOOST with the mmWave SDK 3.5.0.4 OOB demo and mmWave Studio 2.1.1.0. 

I am configuring the radar over the serial port and interfacing with the DCA1000EVM via the CLI tool to coordinate measurements. I am sending a HW trigger via SYNC_IN on the radar.

However, my .bin file sizes are inconsistent at times. My data files are usually the expected size, but occasionally the file is 8 kB or 16 kB larger than expected and the log file indicates that 5 or 11 extra packets are received, respectively. This only seems to happen when I have multiple DCA1000EVMs connected simultaneously, which is part of the system requirement. The DCA1000EVMs are assigned different IP addresses and MAC addresses using the eeprom command. Again, most of the time the data are correctly formatted and I have no issues, but I do need the data to be consistent for my application.

How can I ensure consistent data file sizes? Do I need to parse the .bin file to remove extra zeros or erroneous packets? If so, how?

Thanks,

Josiah W. Smith

  • 0
    TI__Genius 17265 points

    Hi,

    I think all the necessary information (including a matlab parser script) can be found on the following appnote:
    https://www.ti.com/lit/an/swra581b/swra581b.pdf

    Best Regards,
    Alec

  • 0 in reply to Alec May
    Prodigy 140 points

    Hi Alec,

    Thanks for the response. I have read this appnote previously and have a working parser script.

    The files are usually the same size, but occasionally are slightly larger and the parser script fails.

    Here is a screenshot. The file size should be 2048 KB for each capture.

  • 0 in reply to Josiah Smith1
    TI__Genius 17265 points

    Josiah,

    Understood. Have you looked at what this data is? Does it look to be actual data, or just zeroes? can you tell if it is appeneded to the end, or if there is bloat throughout the file? If you truncate the files to the correct length, does the data probably parse and look correct at a glance?

    Best Regards,
    Alec

  • 0 in reply to Alec May
    Prodigy 140 points

    Sorry for the delay, Alec.

    I have had a chance to check the data. It does not appear that there are zeros appended to the end as the file does not end in zeros.

    For some cases, the data appear as expected, using a corner reflector. However, there are some cases where the data are not what we expected.

    Is there any reason the DCA1000EVM would transmit more packets than it should? 

    Thanks for your help,

    Josiah W. Smith

  • 0 in reply to Josiah Smith1
    TI__Genius 17265 points

    Hi,

    After investigating a bit further, I have a few follow-up questions. Are you ensuring the DCA1000 capture is started before sending sensorStart? If the capture is initiated after, it can be hard to determine the beginning of a frame. Also, how are you defining the capture size? Additionally, I would recommend you take a look at your system to coordinate the DCA's for simultaneous use, since this is not an issue when using one by itself.

    Best Regards,
    Alec