[FAQ] AWR1843: Running AWR1642 code on AWR1843

The purpose of this FAQ is to answer the following question: How do I run an AWR1642 demo on AWR1843?

AWR1642 and AWR1843 mmwave sensors are very similar. Actually the AWR1843 is a superset of AWR1642. Please see the datasheet for comparison.

So, it is reasonable to think that a demo that runs on AWR1642 would run on AWR1843 as well.

However, the first important thing to understand is that a demo runs on a board (EVM) that includes the antenna.

TI provides for AWR1642 and AWR1843 two types of antennae available with EVMs:

• BOOST antenna - best azimuth angle accuracy
  • AWR1642 version with 2Tx
  • AWR1843 version with 3Tx
    
    
• BOOST-ODS antenna - wide field of view
  
  • AWR1642 version with 2 TX
  • There is NO AWR1843 version with 3TX
    

Demos that run on the AWR1642BOOST EVM can be ported with minor changes (see next) to AWR1843BOOST EVM.

Demos that run on the AWR1642BOOST-ODS EVM can not work correctly on AWR1843BOOST EVM because angle calculation will not be correct due to the difference in the antennae.

• Actually there is a single demo that was designed for AWR1642ODS-BOOST antenna. This is "lab0004_obstacle_detection" in the Automotive Toolbox. This demo can't be ported to AWR1843BOOST EVM because the antenna is different. A new board with a new antenna would have to be designed for AWR1843

HOW TO PORT A DEMO FROM AWR1642BOOST EVM to AWR1843BOOST EVM?

As shown in the pictures above, the AWR1642 Tx2 maps the the AWR1843 Tx3. This is the minor change that must be performed for the AWR1642 code to run correctly on AWR1843.

Here are the steps to update the code for AWR1843:

• create new ccs projectspecs for both dss and mss to build the demo for AWR1843 platform.
• update the chirp configuration to reflect Tx antennae numbering on AWR1843 as shown below.
  
  • the example below uses the chirp configuration profile format used by the mmWave SDK demo. Please refer to the SDK User's Guide for detailed description of the command format.

The example above is provided from "mmwave_automotive_toolbox_2_9_1\labs\lab0003_occupancy_detection"

• for ccs projectspecs examples see "mmwave_automotive_toolbox_2_9_1\labs\lab0003_occupancy_detection\src"
• for chirp configuration see "mmwave_automotive_toolbox_2_9_1\labs\lab0003_occupancy_detection\chirp_configs"

In later versions of the automotive toolbox this example is no longer available. To download an older version of the toolbox click on the "three dots" and select "Manage versions"

After performing these updates, re-build the demo code as described in the demo documentation.

The re-build binaries should run on the AWR1843BOOST EVM correctly.

Thank you

Cesar