Connecting to a laptop or computer

Owned by Katherine Lund-Yates (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jan 31, 2022 by Guy Avery
4 min read

In order to connect directly to the radar sensor, you will require:

  • A portable computer running Windows 7 or later,

  • A CAT 5, 5e or 6 network cable (straight or crossover wiring).

You can connect your computer at any point along the signal link from the radar sensor, either directly into the sensor mounted socket, at the pole mounted enclosure (if the signal link is joined there) or at the far end of the link where it will join the RPU (Radar Processing Unit) system. Note: The sensor can be powered on or off while connecting and disconnecting the network link.

The network controller within the radar sensor is autosensing so that you can use either straight through or crossover cables and it will adjust its operation accordingly.

To connect your computer

  1. Connect a link cable between your computer and the network port, either on the sensor or elsewhere along the signal path.

  2. Ensure that the radar sensor is powered on and is rotating - you can faintly hear the rotor when it is running.

On this page:

Preparing the laptop

IMPORTANT: Ensure that your laptop has its IP address set to operate within the same subnet as the radar sensor

Factory settings

  • The IP address (e.g. 192.168.0.1) of the radar sensor is preset before leaving Navtech Radar Limited according to client specifications and will be declared on a label attached to the outer casing. Instructions on changing this address can be found in a later section of this manual.

  • The subnet mask of the radar sensor is often preset to 255.255.255.0 but could also be set wider (such as 255.255.0.0) if requested. 

  • Therefore, if the sensor IP address is 192.168.0.1 and the mask is 255.255.255.0, then your computer must use an IP address in the range: 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254.

Changing the IP address of your laptop or computer

  • Open your computer's Network and Sharing Centre 

  • Select the network you are looking to change - in this instance the ethernet. 

  • Click on Properties

  • Highlight the Internet Protocol, and again select properties

  • Select "Use the following IP address" and enter a suitable address. As previously mentioned, if, for instance, the sensor IP address is 192.168.0.1 and the mask is 255.255.255.0, then your computer must use an IP address in the range: 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254. The IP address should not be different from the radar's.

  • Once you have chosen an appropriate IP address, click OK to ensure this change has been saved.

Checking Network is connected

To ensure that your laptop and radar are connected to your desired network, it is good practice to send a ping to the radar in question. 

In order to do this, open the command prompt and type: "ping <IP address of the radar>", as seen below, and press the return key.

If the radar is connected to the radar this will provide four positive responses from the radar.

If the radar is not connected to the network, or you have entered an incorrect IP address, no response will be sent. If this occurs, check that the radar is powered by ensuring that you can hear the rotar rotating, and ensure that the ethernet connection is secure at all points of the chain. Also confirm that the radar has a unique IP address, and does not share an address with any other radar. If these checks are carried out and the radar is still unreachable, please contact Navtech Radar's support line. 



Next: Using the Vertex interface with your CIR sensor