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AWR6843ISK: DCA1000EVM

Part Number: AWR6843ISK
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: DCA1000EVM, , MMWAVEICBOOST

Tool/software:

Hello, TI team,

We are trying to get radar streaming data using 3 Tx antenna. But there are some problems.

1. Streaming speed is too low.

I think this problem is due to the configuration file. We are using "xwr68xx_3Tx_UpdateRate_1" or "xwr68xx-IQDataStreaming" (2 Tx) configuration file which is included in default mmwaveStudio config file.

So I revised some variables like changing lvdsStreamCfg from "-1 0 0 0" to "-1 0 1 0". But still the capturing speed is too low. Are there any config files for 3-Tx IQData Streaming?

2. The role of MMWAVEBOOST.

Actually, this is not a problem we have now, but we can't identify the role of the board. Some manuals said that we have to connect AWR6843ISK, DCA1000EVM and MMWAVEBOOST, but we can't connect to those trio with Matlab. I used "RtttNetClientController.dll" but I still cannot control the series of board with Matlab. (My trial was 1. connect those board with 2 cables, 1 ethernet, 2 DC power connector 2. turn on mmwaveStudio 3. Run lua script file on matlab using RtttNetClientController.dll; I'm not sure that this dll file executes the lua scipt file) But every single time I sent "ar1.Connect(5,115200,1000)", I got the message, "Error: Connection failed: Calling_ConnectTarget returned 3". But this doesn't happen when we use only AWR6843ISK and DCA1000EVM.

We would appreciate your guidance on those problems.

Best,

Sungho Cho

  • Hi, Sungho:

    1) Can you provide more details on the capture speed?  Did you experience any problems when configure with higher data rate? Such as reduce the frame duration. 

    2) Which application you are working on?  As long as you are not enable 3 TX at the same time, you can use AWR6843ISK board without ICBooster. 

    But it should also work with ICBooster. Please check the hardware settings at page: https://dev.ti.com/tirex/explore/node?node=A__AGTrhNYW8jE6cMxbovlfaA__radar_toolbox__1AslXXD__LATEST 

    Best,

    Zigang

  • 1) There were no problems with 2 Tx antenna, ADC sampling rate is 6144 ksps, number of ADC samples collected during "ADC Sampling Time" is 240.

    3 Tx antenna version is 12499 ksps for ADC sampling rate, 256, number of ADC samples. When I tried to change this value, ethernet was disconnected.

    2) We are now just making a real-time sensing platform. But I don't know why it doesn't work. It sometimes can be connected to MMWAVESTUDIO but sometimes it doesn't work. Should I changed the MMWAVEICBOOST board?

  • HI, Sungho:

    1) Can you send me your chirp configuration for 3 TX case?  Can you confirm that demo runs with this configuration and only data capture gets into the problem? 

    2) As I mentioned, you do not need to connect to ICBooster board as long as you are not enable the three TX simultaneously.  

    Best,

    Zigang

  • The raw chirp configuration variable for 3 Tx is

    chirpCfg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
    chirpCfg 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
    chirpCfg 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
    We confirmed that taking only one snapshot works well, but if we tried to capture data per 0.1s, the capture speed couldn't reach to 0.1s per one shot. Sometimes, packet loss occured.
    FYI) below is our total config file.
    % ***************************************************************
    % Created for SDK ver:03.06
    % Created using Visualizer ver:3.6.0.0
    % Frequency:60
    % Platform:xWR68xx
    % Scene Classifier:best_range
    % Azimuth Resolution(deg):15 + Elevation
    % Range Resolution(m):0.244
    % Maximum unambiguous Range(m):50
    % Maximum Radial Velocity(m/s):1
    % Radial velocity resolution(m/s):0.13
    % Frame Duration(msec):1000
    % RF calibration data:None
    % Range Detection Threshold (dB):15
    % Doppler Detection Threshold (dB):15
    % Range Peak Grouping:enabled
    % Doppler Peak Grouping:enabled
    % Static clutter removal:disabled
    % Angle of Arrival FoV: Full FoV
    % Range FoV: Full FoV
    % Doppler FoV: Full FoV
    % ***************************************************************
    sensorStop
    flushCfg
    dfeDataOutputMode 1
    channelCfg 15 7 0
    adcCfg 2 1
    adcbufCfg -1 0 1 1 1
    profileCfg 0 60 577 7 47.06 0 0 85 1 240 6144 0 0 158
    chirpCfg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
    chirpCfg 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
    chirpCfg 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
    frameCfg 0 2 16 0 1000 1 0
    lowPower 0 0
    guiMonitor -1 1 1 1 0 0 0
    cfarCfg -1 0 2 8 4 3 0 15 1
    cfarCfg -1 1 0 4 2 3 1 15 1
    multiObjBeamForming -1 1 0.5
    clutterRemoval -1 0
    calibDcRangeSig -1 0 -5 8 256
    extendedMaxVelocity -1 0
    bpmCfg -1 0 0 1
    lvdsStreamCfg -1 0 1 0
    compRangeBiasAndRxChanPhase 0.0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
    measureRangeBiasAndRxChanPhase 0 1.5 0.2
    CQRxSatMonitor 0 3 4 63 0
    CQSigImgMonitor 0 127 4
    analogMonitor 0 0
    aoaFovCfg -1 -90 90 -90 90
    cfarFovCfg -1 0 0 49.99
    cfarFovCfg -1 1 -1 1.00
    calibData 0 0 0
    sensorStart
  • HI, 

    You have:  frameCfg 0 2 16 0 1000 1 0

    Means the frame rate is 1000ms, which is 1s.  It should be long enough. 

    Best,

    Zigang

  • Shouldn't it be less than 1000ms? Since I have to capture data in short period, I think I should decrease it (e.g. 1000 -> 100 as shown in "IQDataStreaming.cfg).

    And can you please let me know the steps of adjusting configuration file? Are there any tools to calculate configuration variables? Now I have an issue about the number of chirp. Current number of chirp is 32, but the number of Tx is 3. How can I adjust the number of chirps or chips?

  • HI, there:

    1) I do not see why you can not program the frame time to 100ms.  Can you try to run the demo with LVDS streaming disabled?  Does the demo runs?

    2) You can use the sensing estimator to check your chirp design.  

    https://dev.ti.com/gallery/view/mmwave/mmWaveSensingEstimator/ver/2.4.0/

    Use the middle tab ("Advanced chirp design and tuning").  Copy/paste your chirp design below in the "Configuration I/O" window and click on "auto-populate" button 

    channelCfg 15 7 0
    adcCfg 2 1
    adcbufCfg -1 0 1 1 1
    profileCfg 0 60 577 7 47.06 0 0 85 1 240 6144 0 0 158
    chirpCfg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
    chirpCfg 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
    chirpCfg 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
    frameCfg 0 2 16 0 1000 1 0

    Best,

    Zigang

  • I used this frameCfg variable
    frameCfg 0 2 16 0 100 1 0
    At first, it worked very well (with normal speed) but it couldn't read data from radar after 5-6 sec.
    FYI) Whole config file
    % ***************************************************************
    % Created for SDK ver:03.06
    % Created using Visualizer ver:3.6.0.0
    % Frequency:60
    % Platform:xWR68xx
    % Scene Classifier:best_range
    % Azimuth Resolution(deg):15 + Elevation
    % Range Resolution(m):0.244
    % Maximum unambiguous Range(m):50
    % Maximum Radial Velocity(m/s):1
    % Radial velocity resolution(m/s):0.13
    % Frame Duration(msec):1000
    % RF calibration data:None
    % Range Detection Threshold (dB):15
    % Doppler Detection Threshold (dB):15
    % Range Peak Grouping:enabled
    % Doppler Peak Grouping:enabled
    % Static clutter removal:disabled
    % Angle of Arrival FoV: Full FoV
    % Range FoV: Full FoV
    % Doppler FoV: Full FoV
    % ***************************************************************
    sensorStop
    flushCfg
    dfeDataOutputMode 1
    channelCfg 15 7 0
    adcCfg 2 1
    adcbufCfg -1 0 1 1 1
    profileCfg 0 60 577 7 47.06 0 0 85 1 240 6144 0 0 158
    chirpCfg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
    chirpCfg 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
    chirpCfg 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
    frameCfg 0 2 16 0 100 1 0
    lowPower 0 0
    guiMonitor -1 1 0 0 1 1 0
    cfarCfg -1 0 2 8 4 3 0 15 1
    cfarCfg -1 1 0 4 2 3 1 15 1
    multiObjBeamForming -1 1 0.5
    clutterRemoval -1 0
    calibDcRangeSig -1 0 -5 8 256
    extendedMaxVelocity -1 0
    bpmCfg -1 0 0 1
    lvdsStreamCfg -1 0 0 0
    compRangeBiasAndRxChanPhase 0.0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
    measureRangeBiasAndRxChanPhase 0 1.5 0.2
    CQRxSatMonitor 0 3 4 63 0
    CQSigImgMonitor 0 127 4
    analogMonitor 0 0
    aoaFovCfg -1 -90 90 -90 90
    cfarFovCfg -1 0 0 49.99
    cfarFovCfg -1 1 -1 1.00
    calibData 0 0 0
    sensorStart
  • Hi, there:

    You are enable the heatmap transfer, that needs a lot of bandwidth.  Please remove those, and change to 

    guiMonitor -1 1 0 0 0 0 0

    Please try again and let me know.

    Best,

    Zigang

  • It works! Thank you so much!

  • Great to hear that!

    Best,

    Zigang