The Windows application SPxRadarViewLite can be used to view and explore live raw radar data.
Download the application from the link below and unzip the contents in to a single folder.
Run SPXRadarView.exe. You should see a blank main screen:
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Click the Channel-A menu and select the Source... option.
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With a radar Run SPXRadarView.exe. You should see a blank main screen:
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Contact industrial.automation@navtechradar.com for the password to extract the files.
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It is important to launch theviewer application with the correct configuration according to the radar model/variant. |
Included within the zip file, the windows command-line tool spx_configuration_generator.exe can be used to interrogate a connected radar for its' configuration, and it will launch the raw radar data viewing software with the appropriate settings.
Example syntax to use the configuration generator tool is:
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As shown within the syntax example above, the IP address of the connected radar should be provided to allow the tool to connect the radar and retrieve its' settings.
For any assistance, please contact industrial.automation@navtechradar.com.
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If the spx_configuration_generator tool is executed by double-clicking (rather than calling it from the command-line), it will attempt to read the configuration from a radar at the default address of 192.168.0.1, and to launch the raw data viewer to that device. |
Once the IP address and port are correctly set and the application
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establishes connection with the
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radar, the “Video”and “Turn” indicators
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will turn green. Shortly afterwards,
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the main
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part of the application window will present a live display of raw radar data.
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Click the button to show the Display Control dialog box:
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Ensure that in the Raw Radar section, the Fading option is set to Replace.
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Click the button to zoom into the radar view so that you can clearly see the both of your test targets:
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Right click the mouse pointer on the exact middle point of one of the targets to display a popup options box. Click the option Popup Channel-A AScan…. to display a scan window:
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The scan window provides live signal strength data concentrating only on the angular direction of the chosen target from the radar sensor. In each of the two graph plots, the x-axis shows the distance from the sensor while the y-axis indicates the returned signal strength. You should see a spike representing your target at the relevant distance.
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On the top graph, left click on either side of the spike to create a zoomed view on the lower graph. This will allow you to see small changes in the returned signal strength on the lower graph when levelling the sensor:
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Repeat these steps for the other target so that you can view both on screen at the same time.
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Adjust the radar sensor level (See the section Levelling and optimising the radar position) while checking the scan graphs to ensure the best response from both targets.
To assist with orientation, optionally click the button to show the Graphics Control dialog box:
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Two options within this dialog box are of particular use:
Enable the Compass Ring option to superimpose compass graduation marks around the sensor view.
Note: North is aligned to the zero point of the radar sensor, not magnetic north.
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The main part of the application window can be scaled/zoomed using the mouse wheel or by clicking the magnifying glass icons. Clicking with the left mouse/touchpad button and dragging over the raw radar data allows the view to be panned.
The image displayed presents the intensity of radar energy reflected from each point within the radar’s field of view by the image brightness at the corresponding location.
This page has described the simplest use of the software SPxRadarView-Lite. Within the zip file above, there is a PDF instruction manual included.
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If it is required to connect to a local source of replayed radar data, using the spx_configuration_generator tool with the argument radar --ipaddress 127.0.0.1 will ensure that the viewer tool is configured and launched according to the data being replayed |