IQManager—a tool for integrated record and replay of IQ data

Development, optimization and test of signal processing algorithms lacks the reproducibility of real weather. Tests during severe weather conditions are often not possible due to the necessity of a fully operational system. The costs for additional dedicated test systems overdraw most budgets. Although most modern weather radar systems have the capability to record at least spots of IQ data the handling of these records is complex. The SELEX-Gematronik software IQManager provides the capability to record IQ data on fully operational systems without interfering the operational data acquisition. IQ records can be replayed to a standalone signal processor in office. This provides the reproducibility of real weather data without blocking operational systems and speeds up algorithm development and offline optimization of scan parameters. The seamless integration to the SELEX-Gematronik application concept enables all online tools to work also in offline mode without complex reconfiguration.