Radarcape:About the Radarcape: Difference between revisions

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The idea behind the Radarcape is that there are many ideas of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode_S Mode-S] and passive radar applications that require a high performance backend. It combines a specialized [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADS-B ADS-B] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fpga FPGA] decoder with an embedded [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BeagleBone Beaglebone] board.
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Beaglebone Features:
=About the Radarcape=
* 700 MHz ARM CortexTM-A8 based board
* Supports [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux Linux], [http://www.android.com Android], and other operating systems
* USB host and slave
* 10/100 MBit LAN
* Internal Micro-SD card
* 100 kSample ADC, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I2c I²C], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Peripheral_Interface_Bus SPI], and plenty of other interfaces


The Beaglebone is supported by official Linux kernel and there are ready-to-go Linux distributions available which can simply become installed on the system. Writing software for the Beaglebone is as easy as writing software for a DOS box in Windows. Two other outstanding facts are the price, which is in the range of a single Xport, and the small size, see the Beaglebone link above.
After the big success of the [[Modesbeast:Contents|Mode-S Beast]] we saw that there is a big demand for a more sophisticated unit with a special focus on
* remote operation
* standalone data processing
* network feeding
* low power consumption
* easy maintenance and SW update
and not at least
* enhanced multilateration


Radarcape has evolved from the proven technics of the [[Modesbeast:Contents|Mode-S Beast]]. All experience and performance can 1:1 be transfered to it. It still has one receiver on boards plus a connector for external signals. The FPGA is from the next generation compared to the Mode-S Beast. It offers enough resources for internal preprocessing and other modulation schemes.
===Application Features===


Most probable the sample rate will be 32MSample per second, twice as high as of the Mode-S Beast. Due to this the timestamp accuracy will be increased, and also weak frames can be resolved much better. A Trimble GPS module has been added for timestamp and location services. The GPS information will be available to the FPGA and the Linux system.
The idea realized with the Radarcape is a combination of the Mode-S Beast and an embedded Linux board. Later are now available for a reasonable price and community support.


The FPGA firmware can be downloaded from the Linux System and is no longer be stored in a local flash. This makes firmware handling much easier and allows bundling of applications with the FPGA firmware like in many professional systems.
Example features
* Raw data streams in various qualities and with different filtering
* Web interface data access and maintenance
* The networking can support all kind of protocols you know. Currently there is only TCP support, but based on the Linux systems others are no problem. For example, we have already set up a network based on SSH tunneling which solves some firewall issues.
* There no longer are DIP switches, instead the configuration can be changed just using an web browser.
and more...


The Radarcape interfaces to an internal 3.3V TTL UART of the Beaglebone and no longer has USB on board, however there is a USB connectivity in the traditional way through the Beaglebone. Actually the Beaglebone in its basic delivery configuration already provides a FTDI serial interface towards USB. The Beaglebone's SPI and I²C interfaces can be used in order to initalize exernal hardware, for example in order to set external receivers to a dedicated frequency.
Not at least the Radarcape incorporates some improvements we've learned from the Mode-S Beast, further enhancing range and frame rate.


The mechanical design will allow an integration into a small box with all externals accessible. The total power consumption is expected to be around 5W.
===Multilateration===
 
For enhanced multilateration, the Radarcape is equipped with a GPS synchronized clock with an accuracy in the nanosecond level. This is completely processed in the FPGA without any influence through the Linux system.  
 
The Radarcape provide Multilateration (MLAT) with [https://shop.jetvision.de/Jetvision-MLAT-Server/en Jetvision MLAT Server]. It works as public, dedicated or private server.
 
===Network Feeding===
 
There are sharing networks for aircraft data. With the Radarcape you can feed data to FlightRadar24, FlightAware, OpenSky Network, ADS-B Exchange and Planeplotter.
 
===Easy Usage===
 
With its small size and the low power consumption the Radarcape is ideal for running all time without a PC behind and collecting data. The application SW on the Radarcape will output collected data in several ways, like
* raw data formats for second level software on PCs
* HTML tables for personal viewing or computer post-processing
* KML files for mapping software, such as Google Earth
 
===Custom Software running on the Radarcape ===
 
The Radarcape runs a off the shelf Linux Distribution (Debian). As a advanced user you might add your own software for any advanced use cases.

Latest revision as of 12:41, 18 November 2019


About the Radarcape

After the big success of the Mode-S Beast we saw that there is a big demand for a more sophisticated unit with a special focus on

  • remote operation
  • standalone data processing
  • network feeding
  • low power consumption
  • easy maintenance and SW update

and not at least

  • enhanced multilateration

Application Features

The idea realized with the Radarcape is a combination of the Mode-S Beast and an embedded Linux board. Later are now available for a reasonable price and community support.

Example features

  • Raw data streams in various qualities and with different filtering
  • Web interface data access and maintenance
  • The networking can support all kind of protocols you know. Currently there is only TCP support, but based on the Linux systems others are no problem. For example, we have already set up a network based on SSH tunneling which solves some firewall issues.
  • There no longer are DIP switches, instead the configuration can be changed just using an web browser.

and more...

Not at least the Radarcape incorporates some improvements we've learned from the Mode-S Beast, further enhancing range and frame rate.

Multilateration

For enhanced multilateration, the Radarcape is equipped with a GPS synchronized clock with an accuracy in the nanosecond level. This is completely processed in the FPGA without any influence through the Linux system.

The Radarcape provide Multilateration (MLAT) with Jetvision MLAT Server. It works as public, dedicated or private server.

Network Feeding

There are sharing networks for aircraft data. With the Radarcape you can feed data to FlightRadar24, FlightAware, OpenSky Network, ADS-B Exchange and Planeplotter.

Easy Usage

With its small size and the low power consumption the Radarcape is ideal for running all time without a PC behind and collecting data. The application SW on the Radarcape will output collected data in several ways, like

  • raw data formats for second level software on PCs
  • HTML tables for personal viewing or computer post-processing
  • KML files for mapping software, such as Google Earth

Custom Software running on the Radarcape

The Radarcape runs a off the shelf Linux Distribution (Debian). As a advanced user you might add your own software for any advanced use cases.

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