IWR6843ISK-ODS: Hardware trigger of Sync_in pin on IWR6843ISK-ODS Rev C without the carrier board

Elahe Soltanaghai

Part Number: IWR6843ISK-ODS
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: IWR6843

Tool/software:

We'd like to syncronize two IWR6843ISK-ODS boards using Sync pin, we will also have DCA boards connected to each radar for raw data collection. How can we perform a hardware trigger without the carrier board in this case? we're OK with some hardware modification, but we won't be able to use the carrier board because of the form factor issue and radar and DCA fit on carrier board. We appreciate any suggestions.

5 months ago

+1 Blake Kisshauer 5 months ago

TI__Expert 4360 points

Elahe,

I'm gonna zero in on a side question here first: what is the indented use case here for syncing two IWR6843ISK-ODS boards?

Thanks!

Blake

0 Elahe Soltanaghai 5 months ago in reply to Blake Kisshauer

Prodigy 20 points

thanks for your response. We'd like to set them up as a bistatic radar system. We have specifically selected IWR6843ISK-ODS for its good spatial resolution in both vertical and horizontal planes. We are open to changing our radar model If you know of any other radar that has a good 2D antenna array and has a sync pin.

0 Blake Kisshauer 5 months ago in reply to Elahe Soltanaghai

TI__Expert 4360 points

Elahe,

I think you will run into an issue in that the two IWR6843 chips will not be phase locked. This means that even with using the external trigger, you will not recover usable data. Additionally, this is unfortunately not a supported application of the IWR6843.

A cascaded radar solution is the better option here. What is the physical separation between units you are trying to acchieve in this bistatic arrangement?

Blake

0 Elahe Soltanaghai 5 months ago in reply to Blake Kisshauer

Prodigy 20 points

so just to confirm, the sync pin does not phase lock the two radars and this is not unique to IWR6843. Is that correct? If so, what is the use of sync-pin?

the distance between two radars should be around 20-30cm. Do you have any cascadded radar solution that can provide this?

0 Blake Kisshauer 5 months ago in reply to Elahe Soltanaghai

TI__Expert 4360 points

Elahe,

That is correct. The sync pin is designed to be used as an external trigger for a chirp. Essentially, when using the sync pin, an external host can trigger a chirp by strobing the Sync Pin. However, as stated, this doesn't phase lock the radars.

20-30 cm could be possible with cascade but would likely require a custom PCB design. If you are interested in cascade, please send me an DM to continue this conversation.

Blake

0 Elahe Soltanaghai 5 months ago in reply to Blake Kisshauer

Prodigy 20 points

Thanks for the clarification. Yes, I am interested in designing a custom PCB board. Can I have your email to follow up on this?

0 Blake Kisshauer 5 months ago in reply to Elahe Soltanaghai

TI__Expert 4360 points

Elahe,

I'll reach out to you directly. I'm going to close this thread.

Thanks.

Blake

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IWR6843ISK-ODS: Hardware trigger of Sync_in pin on IWR6843ISK-ODS Rev C without the carrier board