IWR1843BOOST: DCA1000 PCAP File Format and ADC Data Order in MIMO Mode

Tool/software:

Hello,

I am currently using TI’s mmWave sensor IWR1843BOOST along with the DCA1000EVM to capture raw ADC data, which is being stored in PCAP format via Ethernet. I have a question regarding the correct reshaping format of raw ADC data obtained from DCA1000EVM when used with the IWR1843BOOST in MIMO mode.

Note: The raw ADC data has already been converted to complex values (I + jQ) and is stored as a 1D NumPy array of complex64 values in Python.

 --> The total data length is exactly 160,000 complex samples.

 System Setup:

• 2 Tx and 4 Rx

• 16 chirps per frame

• 125 ADC samples per chirp

• 10 total frames

• Complex I/Q data (already parsed and converted from PCAP)

 My Question:

I would like to confirm whether the following reshape format is valid:

In my case, this means reshaping the 1D complex array into:

This reshape produces consistent results for Range-Doppler processing. However, I would like to verify:

1. Does the PCAP data reflect the Tx antenna firing sequence (e.g., Tx0 → Tx1 → Tx0...) in chirp order?

2. Is this reshape format valid for MIMO mode, or is there any required reordering before forming the virtual antenna array for AoA estimation?

3. Is there any official guidance confirming that this chirp-by-chirp sequence aligns with the Tx antenna schedule?

Clarifying this will help ensure that our AoA and RCS mapping are based on a correctly interpreted chirp and antenna layout.

Thank you for your support!

Best regards,
Ji-yun Kim