Frequently Asked Questions

ASTERIX is a set of Eurocontrol Specifications for the exchange of surveillance information such as radar plots, tracks and video. Different categories are available for different types of information, e.g. CAT-48 for plots and tracks, or CAT-240 for radar video. More information can be found at https://www.eurocontrol.int/asterix.

CAT-240 is a category within the ASTERIX specification which is dedicated to the exchange of radar video data across a network. (Plots and tracks are supported by other categories such as CAT-48.)

CAT-48 is a category within the ASTERIX specification which is dedicated to the exchange of radar plot and track messages, typically across networks. It is usually used in conjunction with CAT-34, the category used for radar status messages. Other categories for radar target messages include CAT-1, CAT-10 and CAT-62, whereas radar video uses CAT-240.

PIM is an acronym for Polar Interface Module. This is one of the classes (SPxPIM) within Cambridge Pixel’s SPx Development Library and is used for the storage of radar video data for processing and display.

The SPx software supports the NMEA-0183 standard for navigation data such as position, velocity, heading etc., via either serial or network interfaces (including the LWE lightweight ethernet protocol).

In addition to printed hard copies of documentation, soft copies of all documents are also available. These are usually in the “Docs” sub-directory of an SPx software installation, or can be requested by emailing [email protected].

RPM stands for Revolutions Per Minute. Typically it is used to describe how fast a radar rotates, i.e. how many times it sweeps through 360 degrees in 60 seconds. It is inversely related to the Period.

Period is the number of seconds that an event takes to repeat. It is often used to describe how long a radar takes to sweep through 360 degrees. For example, a 2 second period means a radar rotates completely every 2 seconds, which is the equivalent of a 30RPM rotation rate.

Please email us at: [email protected] with your request.

Product specific manuals are supplied with purchases of SPx software, but can also be requested directly from our website, or by emailing your request to: [email protected]

Yes, we can offer training courses on Cambridge Pixel’s SPx software products. Please email us to arrange this, providing us with your company name and product of interest.

We can offer a training course, yes. Please email us to arrange this, providing us with your company name and country in the first instance? 

The quick and simple answer is yes. This assumes the airborne radar can either provide plot reports (ideally in CAT-48 with CAT-34 status messages, or CAT-1 and CAT-2 resp.), or there is an ICD to enable us to convert a proprietary format to ASTERIX, or can provide analogue or digital radar video that can be processed by our SPx Server to produce ASTERIX plot reports.

SPx Tracker-3D is initially aimed at static radars, such as CUAS, with a roadmap for supporting moving platforms, such as airborne platforms. We have interfaced to many radars, including airborne radars on aerostats including both primary and IFF radars.

The SPx Tracker product produces track reports with optional CPA/TCPA (Closest Point of Approach and Time to CPA) values, relative to own ship.

However, we also have a product called the Alarm Server that can be integrated into a solution to provide CPA/TCPA and other alarms for targets.