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DCA1000EVM: Unable to configure the AWR6843ISK device when it's connected to the DCA1000EVM

Part Number: DCA1000EVM
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: AWR6843ISK

Tool/software:

Hello everyone,

I'm currently working with the DCA100EVM board and the AWR6843ISK to extract raw data from the radar. I have previously used mmWave Studio to perform this task, but now I’m looking for a different way to automate the raw data recording process. For this reason, I’m trying to use the DCA1000EVM CLI with the AWR6843ISK demo from the mmWave SDK.

However, I’ve encountered an issue where I am unable to configure the AWR6843ISK device with the "*.cfg" file exported from the mmWave Demo Visualizer page, since the UART ports of the radar can't be connected.

When I use the DCA1000EVM CLI without configuring the radar beforehand, I don't receive any error code. It simply returns the "*.csv" files with 0 seconds of capture time.

Here is the .json file I am currently using to configure the DCA1000EVM:

{
  "DCA1000Config": {
    "dataLoggingMode": "multi",
    "dataTransferMode": "LVDSCapture",
    "dataCaptureMode": "ethernetStream",
    "lvdsMode": 2,
    "dataFormatMode": 3,
    "packetDelay_us": 300,
    "ethernetConfig": {
      "DCA1000IPAddress": "192.168.33.180",
      "DCA1000ConfigPort": 4096,
      "DCA1000DataPort": 4098
    },
    "ethernetConfigUpdate": {
      "systemIPAddress": "192.168.33.30",
      "DCA1000IPAddress": "192.168.33.180",
      "DCA1000MACAddress": "12.34.56.78.90.12",
      "DCA1000ConfigPort": 4096,
      "DCA1000DataPort": 4098
    },
    "captureConfig": {
      "fileBasePath": "C:\\RadarCapturesDCA",
      "filePrefix": "CLI_datacard_record",
      "maxRecFileSize_MB": 1024,
      "sequenceNumberEnable": 1,
      "captureStopMode": "infinite",
      "bytesToCapture": 50000,
      "durationToCapture_ms": 1000,
      "framesToCapture": 10
    },
    "dataFormatConfig": {
      "MSBToggle": 0,
      "laneFmtMap": 0,
      "reorderEnable": 1,
      "dataPortConfig": [
        {
          "portIdx": 0,
          "dataType": "complex"
        },
        {
          "portIdx": 1,
          "dataType": "complex"
        },
        {
          "portIdx": 2,
          "dataType": "complex"
        },
        {
          "portIdx": 3,
          "dataType": "complex"
        },
        {
          "portIdx": 4,
          "dataType": "complex"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Here is the hardware configuration I’m using:

This is the script I’m using to start recording with the DCA1000EVM:

@REM Configure DCA1000EVM
call DCA1000EVM_CLI_Control.exe fpga datacard_config.json
echo FPGA Config Return Code: %ERRORLEVEL%

@REM Configure CLI application with the record-related settings
call DCA1000EVM_CLI_Control.exe record datacard_config.json
echo Record Config Return Code: %ERRORLEVEL%

@REM Start record and wait for data over Ethernet
call DCA1000EVM_CLI_Control.exe start_record datacard_config.json
echo Start Record Return Code: %ERRORLEVEL%

@REM Wait for user input before stopping the recording
echo Press any key to stop recording...
pause >nul

@REM Stop recording
call DCA1000EVM_CLI_Control.exe stop_record datacard_config.json
echo Stop Record Return Code: %ERRORLEVEL%

Finally, this is the AWR6843ISK .cfg configuration file I would like to use:

% ***************************************************************
% Created for SDK ver:03.06
% Created using Visualizer ver:3.6.0.0
% Frequency:60
% Platform:xWR68xx
% Scene Classifier:best_range_res
% Azimuth Resolution(deg):15
% Range Resolution(m):0.039
% Maximum unambiguous Range(m):11.99
% Maximum Radial Velocity(m/s):1
% Radial velocity resolution(m/s):0.13
% Frame Duration(msec):100
% 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 5 0
adcCfg 2 1
adcbufCfg -1 0 1 1 1
profileCfg 0 60 425 7 200 0 0 20 1 384 2000 0 0 158
chirpCfg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
chirpCfg 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
frameCfg 0 1 16 0 100 1 0
lowPower 0 0
guiMonitor -1 0 1 0 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 1 1 1
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 19 125 0
CQSigImgMonitor 0 127 6
analogMonitor 0 0
aoaFovCfg -1 -90 90 -90 90
cfarFovCfg -1 0 0 12.00
cfarFovCfg -1 1 -1 1.00
calibData 0 0 0
sensorStart

Grateful for your help in advance.

  • Hi Marc,
        Can you please confirm if you are using AWR6843ISK's UART port to send cfgs? I can see that AWR6843ISK EVM is put into development (SOP2) mode. You may need to put it in functional mode SOP4 (S1.3 : ON, S1.2 : OFF, S1.2 : OFF) for sending configurations.

    Thanks and Regards,
    Sivaprasad

  • Yes, I'm sure I'm using the AWR6843ISK's UART port. Previously, I used the mmWave radar sensor in stand-alone mode, and it always performed correctly.

    To use the radar sensor with the DCA1000EVM, I followed the 60GHz mmWave Sensor EVMs user guide, specifically section 3.9 (DCA1000EVM Mode).

    Do I first need to send the configuration file (.cfg) while the AWR6843ISK is in functional mode and then switch the AWR6843ISK to DCA1000EVM Mode to capture raw data with the DCA1000EVM?

    Thank you very much,

    Marc

  • Hi Marc,
         Thanks for the confirmation. You should put the device in SOP4 (functional) mode for chirping. No need to change it to SOP2 mode. I am attaching  Data capture through DCA1000 CLI interface.zip for your reference. Please also refer to the MMWAVE SDK and MMWAVE Studio for the documentation on DCA1000 CLI capture. Please note : AWR6843ISK REV D can be directly connected to DCA1000.

    Thanks and Regards,
    Sivaprasad

  • Thank you very much! I will start working with the documentation you provided. At the moment, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to test it. If I encounter another problem, I will either start a new forum question or reply to this one. For now, I’ll mark the issue as resolved.

    Once again, thank you very much!