DCA1000EVM: [AWRL6844EVM + DCA1000EVM] – RAW Capture via mmWave Studio Fails at Device Power Up (SPI Disconnected)

Razvan Trif

Part Number: DCA1000EVM
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: AWRL6844EVM, , AWRL6844

Tool/software:

Hello TI experts,

I'm trying to perform RAW data captures using AWRL6844EVM and DCA1000EVM in mmWave Studio 2.1 / 4.3.1.0, following the instructions from:

Setup Details

Radar board: AWRL6844EVM (ES1.0)
Capture card: DCA1000EVM
Power: External 5V adapter connected to DCA1000
COM Ports:
- Radar XDS110 UART (COM3) and Auxiliary (COM4)
- DCA1000 FTDI (COM11 to COM14)
USB + Ethernet connected, static IP configured (1 Gbps verified)
mmWave Studio platform: xWRL684xx, with correct firmware paths loaded
I’ve successfully used COM3 and COM4 for point cloud capture with the In-Cabin GUI, so UART communication is known to work.

Issue Description

Running the script common_device_setup.lua fails during the Device Power Up phase with the following error:

xw_status = -2007 (RL_SPIBUSY_TIMEOUT)
Device Power Up Failed-2007

SPI Connectivity: Disconnected
APSS Status: ??? Inactive
FTDI and RS232: Connected

From the logs, it seems the board hangs during SPI-based reset.

What I Have Tried

Verified DIP switch configuration on both boards (see attached photos)
Confirmed proper SOP mode (Mode 3)
Verified 5V external power supply (LEDs on)
Correct firmware paths and versions loaded in mmWave Studio
COM ports recognized and responsive
Reset FTDI and reconnected USB and Ethernet multiple times

Could you please help me understand why SPI is not initializing correctly?
Is there anything specific for AWRL6844 ES1.0 or DCA1000 I might be missing?

I will attach:

Photos of both boards and switch settings
Screenshots of mmWave Studio connection window

Full output log from mmWave Studio

Fullscreen 2605.mmWaveStudio_log.txt Download

[17:39:40]  xw_status, deviceMapInfo = mws.getFtdiDeviceInfo()
[17:39:40]  DeviceIndex:0; SerialNumber:FT7RV54M; Description:AR-DevPack-EVM-012 
[17:39:40]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:40]  --(getNumDevices): xw_return = 0; numFtdiDevices = 1
[17:39:40]  xw_status, deviceMapInfo = mws.getFtdiDeviceInfo()
[17:39:40]  DeviceIndex:0; SerialNumber:FT7RV54M; Description:AR-DevPack-EVM-012 
[17:39:40]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:40]  --(getNumDevices): xw_return = 0; numFtdiDevices = 1
[17:39:40]  xw_status, deviceMapInfo = mws.getFtdiDeviceInfo()
[17:39:40]  DeviceIndex:0; SerialNumber:FT7RV54M; Description:AR-DevPack-EVM-012 
[17:39:40]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:40]  --(getNumDevices): xw_return = 0; numFtdiDevices = 1
[17:39:40]  xw_status, deviceMapInfo = mws.getFtdiDeviceInfo()
[17:39:40]  DeviceIndex:0; SerialNumber:FT7RV54M; Description:AR-DevPack-EVM-012 
[17:39:40]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:40]  --(getNumDevices): xw_return = 0; numFtdiDevices = 1
[17:39:51]  xw_status = mws.selectBDType(1, 1, 0, 0)
[17:39:51]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:51]  xw_status = mws.selectComIfType(1, 1000, 0, 2, 0)
[17:39:51]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:51]  [RadarAPI]: mws.SelectCaptureDevice("DCA1000")
[17:39:51]  [RadarAPI]: Status: Passed
[17:39:51]  xw_status = mws.captureCardCfgResetFPGA()
[17:39:51]  [RadarAPI]: Sending reset_fpga command to DCA1000
[17:39:51]  [RadarAPI]: 
[17:39:51]  Reset FPGA command : Success
[17:39:51]  --xw_status=0
[17:39:51]  xw_status = mws.captureCardEthernetCfg("192.168.33.30", "192.168.33.180", "12.34.56.78.90.12", 4096, 4098, 1)
[17:39:51]  [RadarAPI]: Sending eeprom command to DCA1000
[17:39:51]  [RadarAPI]: 
[17:39:51]  EEPROM Configuration command : Success
[17:39:51]  --xw_status=0
[17:39:51]  xw_status = mws.captureCardModeCfg(1,2,1,2, 3, 25)
[17:39:51]  [RadarAPI]: Sending fpga command to DCA1000
[17:39:51]  [RadarAPI]: 
[17:39:51]  FPGA Configuration command : Success
[17:39:51]  [RadarAPI]: Sending record command to DCA1000
[17:39:51]  [RadarAPI]: 
[17:39:51]  Configure Record command : Success
[17:39:51]  --xw_status=0
[17:39:51]  xw_status, s_version, s_dllVersion = mws.getCaptureCardFPGAVersion()
[17:39:52]  [RadarAPI]: Sending fpga_version command to DCA1000
[17:39:52]  [RadarAPI]: 
[17:39:52]  
[17:39:52]  FPGA Version : 2.9 [Record]
[17:39:52]  
[17:39:52]  [RadarAPI]: Sending dll_version command to DCA1000
[17:39:52]  [RadarAPI]: 
[17:39:52]  DLL Version : 1.0
[17:39:52]  --xw_status=0
[17:39:52]  xw_status = mws.sopControl(0, 3)
[17:39:52]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:52]  xw_status = mws.nReset(0)
[17:39:52]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:52]  xw_status = mws.rs232Config(0, 4, 1, 0)
[17:39:53]  Switching to BaudRate:921600
[17:39:55]  xw_status, lot, wafer, devX, devY = mws.decodeDieId(1889763840, 2484060292)
[17:39:55]  DeviceType:16656x
[17:39:55]  SafetyType:1
[17:39:55]  ES_PG_Version1
[17:39:55]  SOP_MODE:3
[17:39:55]  DieId:8380.1231405056.1889763840.2484060292
[17:39:55]  XTAL_Type:1
[17:39:55]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:55]  xw_status = mws.sopDebugFwPreBootCfg(0, 0, 0, 0)
[17:39:56]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:56]  xw_status = mws.fwBuildImageDownload(0, 2, "C:\\ti\\MMWAVE_L_SDK_06_00_03_00\\mmwave_l_sdk_06_00_03_00\\firmware\\mmwave_dfp\\rfevalfirmware\\appss\\mmwave_plt_ram.rig")
[17:39:56]  file_name:C:\ti\MMWAVE_L_SDK_06_00_03_00\mmwave_l_sdk_06_00_03_00\firmware\mmwave_dfp\rfevalfirmware\appss\mmwave_plt_ram.rig, file_size:90840, num_images:1
[17:39:58]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:58]  xw_status = mws.sopDebugFwPostBootCfg(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0)
[17:39:58]  --xw_status = 0
[17:39:59]  xw_status = mws.fwBuildImageDownload(0, 1, "C:\\ti\\MMWAVE_L_SDK_06_00_03_00\\mmwave_l_sdk_06_00_03_00\\firmware\\mmwave_dfp\\rfsfirmware\\xWRL68xx\\mmwave_rfs_patch.rig")
[17:39:59]  file_name:C:\ti\MMWAVE_L_SDK_06_00_03_00\mmwave_l_sdk_06_00_03_00\firmware\mmwave_dfp\rfsfirmware\xWRL68xx\mmwave_rfs_patch.rig, file_size:5160, num_images:1
[17:39:59]  --xw_status = 0
[17:40:00]  xw_status, t_deviceStatus = mws.devicePowerup(0, 0, 0, 0)
[17:40:02]  -----------rfEvalDevAppStsGet----------- 
[17:40:02]  
[17:40:02]  [DFP API]xw_status, response=mws.rfEvalDevAppStsGet(0)
[17:40:02]  --[[ Response
[17:40:02]                c_GenVerNum = 0                               
[17:40:02]              c_MajorVerNum = 0                               
[17:40:02]              c_MinorVerNum = 0                               
[17:40:02]              c_BuildVerNum = 0                               
[17:40:02]                     c_Year = 0                               
[17:40:02]                    c_Month = 0                               
[17:40:02]                     c_Date = 0                               
[17:40:02]                 c_Reserved = 0                               
[17:40:02]                  h_FwState = 0                               
[17:40:02]                 c_XtalType = 0                               
[17:40:02]             c_DigPllStatus = 0                               
[17:40:02]         c_AppCoreClockType = 0                               
[17:40:02]               c_SafetyType = 0                               
[17:40:02]           h_CoreFreqFcount = 0                               
[17:40:02]               c_PlatformId = 0                               
[17:40:02]                   c_RfType = 0                               
[17:40:02]               c_TestTarget = 0                               
[17:40:02]               c_TestStatus = 0                               
[17:40:02]                w_reserved1 = 0                               
[17:40:02]  ]]
[17:40:02]  --xw_status: -2007 (RL_SPIBUSY_TIMEOUT)
[17:40:02]  
[17:40:02]  Device Power Up Failed-2007
[17:40:02]  --xw_status = -2007
[17:40:02]  
[17:40:02]  &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
[17:40:02]  ***Script FAILED!***
[17:40:02]  &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
[17:40:02]  Exception message is:
[17:40:02]  ...eStudio_luaExamples\xWRL6844\common_device_setup.lua:81: ERROR: API failed

Screenshot of COM port configuration in Device Manager

Thank you for your support!

Best regards,

Razvan

2 months ago

0 Kristien Everett 2 months ago

TI__Genius 13176 points

Hey Razvan,

Thanks for reaching out regarding getting the DCA1000 and AWRL6844 working together. I have looped in our raw data collection expert, so please give them a day or two to respond. It appears you may have set the DCA1000 SW2 switches incorrectly. Please set SW2.7 and SW2.8 to OFF instead of ON.

Regards,

Kristien

0 Razvan Trif 2 months ago in reply to Kristien Everett

Prodigy 20 points

Thanks Kristien,
I had tried with your proposed switch settings, I'm receiving same error.

Regards,
Razvan

0 zigang Yang 2 months ago in reply to Razvan Trif

TI__Mastermind 40355 points

HI, Razvan:

Please find the all the switch settings the following radar toolbox page.

https://dev.ti.com/tirex/explore/node?node=A__AZpB296-3QEz48rsFnFiOw__radar_toolbox__1AslXXD__LATEST

Best,

Zigang

0 Razvan Trif 2 months ago in reply to zigang Yang

Prodigy 20 points

Thanks, Zigang, for your response.

As mentioned at the beginning of this thread, I’ve followed the setup instructions from TI’s documentation, including the pages below:

I’ve already configured the switches on both the DCA1000EVM and AWRL6844EVM, as seen in the pictures I attached earlier. After Kristien's answer, I’ve updated the DCA1000EVM switch positions to match the reference, and they now visually align with the documentation images.

That said, to avoid any ambiguity due to picture resolution or board revisions, could you please confirm in writing the exact switch positions (S1 to S8) for the DCA1000EVM when used with the AWRL6844?

Also, if possible, it would be helpful to have the confirmed SOP/SW configurations for the AWRL6844EVM in text form, as seen in your internal test setups.

I tried applying the same configuration as in the documentation photos, but in that setup, I lost access to the COM ports (XDS110) of the radar board, so I reverted to the initial switch positions to regain UART access (COM3 & COM4, which were previously working for radar-only point cloud capture).

Looking forward to your confirmation.
Thank you!

Best regards,
Razvan

0 zigang Yang 2 months ago in reply to Razvan Trif

TI__Mastermind 40355 points

Hi, Razvan:

Please check the setting in yellow box below. The S4.3 needs to be on.

Please also find the EVM user guide here: https://www.ti.com/lit/ug/swru630/swru630.pdf?ts=1753117636282&ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.ti.com%252Ftool%252FAWRL6844EVM

Best,

Zigang

0 Razvan Trif 1 month ago in reply to zigang Yang

Prodigy 20 points

Thanks Zigang. The settings of AWRL6844 I had already tried.
What I actually need is the switch layout in written from DCA1000EVM, it is not clear in the picture from the tutorial here, or I need to change my glasses :)
https://dev.ti.com/tirex/explore/content/radar_toolbox_3_10_00_05/hardware_docs/dca1000_perDevice/dca1000_mmwave_studio_xWRL6844.html

All the best,
Razvan

0 Kristien Everett 1 month ago in reply to Razvan Trif

TI__Genius 13176 points

Hey Razvan,

Zigang is currently out of office for this week, so some other engineers will look into this for the time being. The DCA1000 switch settings should be the following:

SW2.1 = OFF
SW2.2 = ON
SW2.3 = OFF
SW2.4 = OFF
SW2.5 = ON
SW2.6 = ON
SW2.7 = OFF
SW2.8 = OFF

Let us know if that works or if you have any other follow up questions.

Regards,

Kristien

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DCA1000EVM: [AWRL6844EVM + DCA1000EVM] – RAW Capture via mmWave Studio Fails at Device Power Up (SPI Disconnected)

Setup Details

Issue Description

What I Have Tried