rawrf v0.5¶
This is the most up to date version of this file format produced by Borealis version 0.5, the current version.
For data files from previous Borealis software versions, see here.
The pydarn format class for this format is BorealisRawrf found in the borealis_formats.
The rawrf format is intended to hold high bandwidth, non-filtered raw data from every antenna.
This format is only produced in a site-style, record by record format and is only available to be produced on request. Please note that this format can cause radar operating delays and may reduce number of averages in an integration, for example.
rawrf site files¶
Site files are produced by the Borealis code package and have the data in a record by record style format. In site files, the hdf5 group names (ie record names) are given as the timestamp in ms past epoch of the first sequence or sampling period recorded in the record.
The naming convention of the rawrf site-structured files are:
[YYYYmmDD].[HHMM].[SS].[station_id].rawrf.hdf5.site
For example: 20191105.1400.02.sas.rawrf.hdf5.site
This is the file that began writing at 14:00:02 UT on November 5 2019 at the Saskatoon site, and it provides data the experiment that ran at that time. Since rawrf is not filtered, this data does not need a slice identifier because it contains all the samples being taken at that time. Some familiarity with the experiment may be necessary to understand the data, or some access to the other file types produced concurrently. This is primarily a debug format for engineering purposes and should only be produced for special cases.
These files are often bzipped after they are produced.
The file fields under the record name in rawrf site files are:
Field name
type
|
description |
|---|---|
blanked_samples
uint32
[number of blanked
samples]
|
Samples that should be blanked because
they occurred during transmission times,
given by sample number (index into
decimated data). Can differ from the
pulses array due to multiple slices in a
single sequence.
|
borealis_git_hash
unicode
|
Identifies the version of Borealis that
made this data. Contains git commit hash
characters. Typically begins with the
latest git tag of the software.
|
data
[complex64, ]
|
A contiguous set of samples (complex
float) at given sample rate. Needs to be
reshaped by data_dimensions to be
correctly read.
|
data_descriptors
[unicode, ]
|
Denotes what each data dimension
represents. = ‘num_sequences’,
‘num_antennas’, ‘num_samps’ for
rawrf
|
data_dimensions
[uint32, ]
|
The dimensions in which to reshape the
data. Dimensions correspond to
data_descriptors.
|
experiment_comment
unicode
|
Comment provided in experiment about the
experiment as a whole.
|
experiment_id
int64
|
Number used to identify the experiment.
|
experiment_name
unicode
|
Name of the experiment file.
|
int_time
float32
|
Integration time in seconds.
|
intf_antenna_count
uint32
|
Number of interferometer array antennas
|
main_antenna_count
uint32
|
Number of main array antennas
|
num_samps
uint32
|
Number of samples in the sampling
period. Each sequence has its own
sampling period. Will also be provided
as the last data_dimension value.
|
num_sequences
int64
|
Number of sampling periods (equivalent to
number sequences transmitted) in the
integration time.
|
num_slices
int64
|
Number of slices used simultaneously in
this record by the experiment. If more
than 1, data should exist in another file
for this time period for the other slice.
|
rx_center_freq
float64
|
Center frequency of the sampled data
in kHz.
|
rx_sample_rate
float64
|
Sampling rate of the samples in this
file’s data in Hz.
|
samples_data_type
unicode
|
C data type of the samples, provided for
user friendliness. = ‘complex float’
|
scan_start_marker
bool
|
Designates if the record is the first in
a scan (scan is defined by the
experiment).
|
scheduling_mode
unicode
|
The mode being run during this time
period (ex. ‘common’, ‘special’,
‘discretionary’).
|
sqn_timestamps
[float64, ]
|
A list of GPS timestamps corresponding to
the beginning of transmission for each
sampling period in the integration time.
These timestamps come from the USRP
driver and the USRPs are GPS disciplined
and synchronized using the Octoclock.
Provided in milliseconds since epoch.
|
station
unicode
|
Three-letter radar identifier.
|
Site/Array Restructuring¶
File restructuring to array files is not done for this format.