High level python library for interfacing with ROACH1/2 using the corr package.

Installation instruction only for Linux-based system provided:

0. It is recommended to use this software in a python virtual enviroment.
1. Install these packages (Ubuntu command): sudo apt install python-dev python-tk g++
2. git clone or download/unzip repository
3. Install repository dependencies, in roach_tools root folder: pip install -r REQUIREMENTS (install pip if necesarry)
4. Install repository: python setup.py install

Note: If you are getting errors while installing the dependencies or the package, updating pip and/or virtualenv may help. Installation in virtual environment should work with pip>=10.0.1 and virtualenv>=15.0.1.

roach_tools use config files to configure all the desired parameters to interface with the ROACH. A config file is a simple python script which contains only variable definitions. Here is an example a simple config file:

# Basic settings
simulated  = True         # True: run in simulation, False: run in real ROACH
roach_ip   = '0.0.0.0'    # ROACH IP address
roach_port = 7147         # ROACH communication port
upload     = False        # True: upload .bof/.bof.gz model to ROACH
program    = False        # True: program FPGA with .bof model
boffile    = ''           # Filepath of the .bof to upload/program
set_regs   = [{'name' : 'reg_name', 'val' : 1}] # Registers to set at startup
reset_regs = ['reg_name'] # Registers to reset (->1->0) at startup
bw         = 1000         # Bandwidth used for plotting/simulation purposes (in MHz)

For more complete examples check here. For a more complete description of all possible parameters in a config file check here.

CalanFpga is a wrapper around corr's FpgaClient. It implements most of the FpgaClients functions and adds new high level functions for easy ROACH development. Among these you can find:

• ROACH initialization
• Read multiple snapshots/bram at the same time
• Synchronized snapshot data read
• Read and interleave bram data

To create a CalanFpga object you must provide a config file as a command-line argument. A simple ROACH initialization script would look like this:

# Script: init_roach.py
from roach_tools.calanfpga import CalanFpga
fpga = CalanFpga()
fpga.initialize()

Then you run this script by typing in terminal: python init_roach.py config_file.py.

Note: due to python's importlib module limitations you must always run a roach_tools script in the same location as the config file. The python script can be in other location though.

To learn about all the functions of CalanFpga, read them directly form the code documentation.

The repository also provides script files to easily perform common ROACH tasks out of the box. For a list of implemented scripts see the Wiki sidebar. For an explanation on how to use the scripts look at the Calan wiki.

• simulink_models: Sister repository with simulink models, compiled .bof files, and configuration files for various examples and projects.
• Calan Digital Wiki: Wiki site with ROACH tutorials and information about our (Milimeter-Wave Laboratory) digital back-end projects.
• CASPER Site: Oficial CASPER site, the developers of the ROACH and other digital platforms for radioastronomy.

Franco Curotto

Millimeter-wave Laboratory, Department of Astronomy, University of Chile

http://www.das.uchile.cl/lab_mwl