Using SPx RadarView

Owned by James Eadie
Last updated: Sept 14, 2016
3 min read


Using SPx RadarView Lite

The SPx RadarView application consists of two files which must be located in the same folder (any folder) on your laptop:

  •  

    •  

      • SPXRadarView.exe 

      • SPXRadarView.rpi

 

  • Run SPXRadarView.exe. You should see a blank main screen:

Note: In the lower panel, the Video and Turn indicators will be red indicating that there is no communication with the sensor

  • Click the Channel-A menu on the toolbar, and select the Source... option.


Ensure that the Selection option is set to Network and in the Address field, enter the IP Address of the sensor. The Port must be set to 700.
Click OK. 
 
 
Once the IP address and port are correctly set and the application makes contact with the sensor, the Video and Turn indicators should turn green. Shortly afterwards, you should begin to see radar scan information within the main window.
On the left side of the screen, ensure that the Raw option is ticked.

  • Click the

    button to show the Display Control dialog box:


Ensure that in the Raw Radar section, the Fading option is set to Sweep and the Rate (sweeps) is set to 5. Click OK.

  • Click thebutton to zoom into the radar view so that you can clearly see the both of your test targets:

 

  1. 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.


   
    (Signal power is in dB) 
 
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.

 

  1. 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:

  1. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for the other target so that you can view both on screen at the same time.

  2. Adjust the radar sensor level (See Section 2.7) while checking the scan graphs to ensure the best response from both targets.

  3. To assist with orientation, optionally click the

    button to show the Graphics Control dialog box:

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.

  • Enable the Range Rings option to overlay range lines every 100m onto the sensor view

 

Next: Radar configuration record & system diagram