Documentation Home Page ◇ RT-LAB Home Page
Pour la documentation en FRANÇAIS, utilisez l'outil de traduction de votre navigateur Chrome, Edge ou Safari. Voir un exemple.

Abaco ARINC429 Configuration Python API Tool

Owned by Sylvain Ménard
Last updated: Apr 28, 2023
4 min read

Description

A Python API has been created to provide an interactive/scriptable way of generating an ARINC-429 configuration from a (Python) command-line.

The API allows the user to create and validate a loadable ARINC-429 configuration file (in JSON format) that can be then loaded directly in RT-LAB using the ARINC-429 Importer tool addressed in the driver documentation.

List of Functions

The following is a list of the Functions available in this API:

These functions are detailed in the functions details section.

Workflow Description

This section explains the steps needed to generate a valid ARINC-429 configuration file that can be loaded by the ARINC-429 Importing tool using RT-LAB.

To interactively create the ARINC-429 configuration in RT-LAB we can make use of the included Python tools already available:

  • From the Tools menu select Python >Open console and select Python console in the pop-up window.


  • Using the newly-opened console, import the required arinc.py module by typing:
from opal.drivers.arinc import *

  • To start creating a new configuration type:
my429Config = create_config("ARINC429_config")

  • Now we will add a board, channels and messages to the configuration:
     board = my429Config.add_board(name='RAR PCIE Board', device_id=0,clock=Clock.Internal)
     tx_channel_1 = board.add_transmission_channel(name='tx_channel_1')
     tx_message_1 = my429Config.add_transmission_message(name='tx_message_1')
     tx_message_1.add_signal(name='signal_1')

  • We will need to assign a channel and board for the message we just created:
    tx_message_1.set_board_and_channel(board, tx_channel_1)

  • To have a look at our current configuration we can use:
my429Config.print_config()

and save it with:

my429Config.save_config()

Your JSON format ARINC429 file is now available in your RT-LAB project directory. You can import it using the ARINC-429 Configuration Importer.

Note: If you need to re-generate a JSON file from a pre-existing Python script, you can also do it as shown in the image below:

Function Details

To avoid potential errors in the creation of configuration files, a list of enums has been created. The valid values for each enum appear in the following table:

Enums Table

Enum NameValid Values
CardRAR_PCIE_22
RAR_PCIE_44
RAR_PCIE_88
RAR_PCIE_1616
ClockInternal
External_IRIGB
SdiOrSsm_00
_01
_10
_11
BitrateLow
High
Custom
TxParityNone
Even
Odd
RxParityOn
Off
BitErrorDisabled
Low_Bits
High_Bits
EncodingBCD
BNR
DIS

Functions Table

Function NameExample Usage(s)Input
[default value]		OutputExceptions

create_config

config = create_config(config_name)

config_name (str)
["default"]

ARINC429Config instance

none

add_board


    1. board_params = {'name': 'Board_X', 'card' : Card.RAR_PCIE_88, 'device_id' : 1, 'clock' : Clock.External_IRIGB} board = config.add_board(**board_params )

  • board = config.add_board(name='Board_X', card=Card.RAR_PCIE_88, device_id=2, clock=Clock.External_IRIGB)



name (str)
[""]

device_id (int)
[0]

clock (enum)
[Clock.Internal]

Card (enum)
[Card.RAR_PCIE_44]

ARINC429Board instance

OpalARINC429Exception

add_transmission_channel


    1. transmit_ch_params= {'name': 'Tx_Channel_X', 'channel_number' : 1, 'bitrate' : Bitrate.High, 'tx_parity' : TxParity.Odd, 'gap_error' : True, 'inject_bit_error' : BitError.Low_Bits, 'external_tx' : True}
      tx_channel_1 = board.add_transmission_channel(**transmit_ch_params)

  • tx_channel_1 = board.add_transmission_channel(name='Tx_Channel_X', channel_number=1, bitrate=Bitrate.High, tx_parity=TxParity.Odd, gap_error=True,inject_bit_error=BitError.Low_Bits, external_tx=True)



name (str)
[""]

channel_number (int)
[0]

bitrate (enum)
[Bitrate.High]

custom_bitrate (float)
[50] 

tx_parity (enum)

[TxParity.Off]

gap_error (bool)

[False]

inject_bit_error (bool)

[BitError.Disabled]

external_tx (bool)

[True]

ARINC429TransmissionChannel instance

OpalARINC429Exception

add_reception_channel


    1. receive_ch_params = {'name': 'Rx_Channel_X', 'channel_number' : 1, 'bitrate' : Bitrate.Low, 'rx_parity' : RxParity.On, 'internal_loopback' : True, 'merged_buffer' : True}
      rx_channel = board.add_reception_channel(**receive_ch_params )

  • rx_channel = board.add_reception_channel(name='Rx_Channel_X', channel_number=1, bitrate=Bitrate.Low, rx_parity=RxParity.On, internal_loopback=True, merged_buffer=True)


name (str)

[""]

channel_number(int)

[0]

bitrate (enum)

[Bitrate.High]

custom_bitrate (float)

[50]

rx_parity (enum)

[RxParity.Off]

internal_loopback (bool)

[False]

merged_buffer (bool)

[False]

ARINC429TReceptionChannel instance

OpalARINC429Exception

delete_channel

my_board.delete_channel(channel)

channel(int)
[""]

none

OpalARINC429Exception

set_recording_enabled



  • my_channel.set_recording_enabled(True)

  • my_channel.set_recording_enabled(False)


enable(boolean)
[False]

none

OpalARINC429Exception

add_transmission_message


    1. transmission_msg_params = {'name' : 'Tx_Message_1', 'label' : 92, 'sdi': SdiOrSsm._01, 'ssm' : SdiOrSsm._10, 'cyclic' : True, 'transmission_rate_ms' : 25, 'offset_ms' : 2}
      tx_message_1 = config.add_transmission_message(**transmit_msg_params )

  • tx_message_1 = config.add_transmission_message(name='Tx_Message_1', label=92, sdi=SdiOrSsm._01, ssm=SdiOrSsm._10, cyclic=True, transmission_rate_ms=25, offset_ms=2)



name (str)
[""]

label (int)
[0]

sdi (enum)
[SdiOrSsm._00]

ssm (enum)
[SdiOrSsm._00]

cyclic (bool)
[False]

transmission_rate_ms (int)
[0]

offset_ms (int)
[0]

enable_dynamic_ssm (bool)
[False]

enable_dynamic_sdi (bool)
[False]

raw_data (bool)
[False]

ARINC429TransmissionMessage instance

OpalARINC429Exception

add_reception_message


    1. receive_msg_params= {'name' : 'Rx_Message_1', 'label' : 0x65, 'sdi': SdiOrSsm._01, 'ssm' : SdiOrSsm._10, 'enable_label_filter' : True, 'monitored' : True, 'timeout_ms' : 20}
      rx_message_1 = config.add_reception_message(**receive_msg_params)

  • rx_message_1 = config.add_reception_message(name='Rx_Message_1', label=0x65, sdi=SdiOrSsm._01, ssm=SdiOrSsm._10, enable_filter=True, monitored=True, timeout_ms=20)



name (str)
[""]

label (int)
[0]

sdi (enum)[SdiOrSsm._00]

ssm (enum)[SdiOrSsm._00]

monitored (bool)
[False]

timeout_ms (int)
[0]

buffer_count (int)
[1]

enable_label_filter (bool)
[False]

raw_data (bool)
[False]

ARINC429ReceptionMessage instance

OpalARINC429Exception

add_signal


    1. signal_params = {'name' : 'Tx_Data_1', 'encoding' : Encoding.BNR, 'start_bit': 29, 'gain' : 10, 'number_of_bits' : 12, 'max' : 512.5, 'min' : -510.275}
      tx_signal = tx_msg.add_signal(**signal_params )

  • tx_signal = tx_msg.add_signal(name='Tx_Data_1', encoding=Encoding.BNR, start_bit=29, gain=10, number_of_bits=12, max=512.5, min=-510.275)



name (str)
[""]

encoding (enum)
[Encoding.DIS]

startBit (int)
[29]

number_of_bits (int)
[1]

data (float)
[0]

min (float)
[1]

max (float)
[0]

gain (float)
[1]

offset (float)
[0]

ARINC429Signal instance

OpalARINC429Exception

delete_signal

message.delete_signal (signal_name)

signal_name (str)
[""]

none

OpalARINC429Exception

modify_parameter


  1. modify_board_params = {'card' : Card.RAR_PCIE_44, 'deviceID' : 2}
  2. board.modify_parameter(**modify_board_params)


Depends on the element to be modified

none

OpalARINC429Exception

print_config

config.print_config()

none

The contents of the config printed to screen.

none

validate_config

config.validate_config()

none

If errors are found, they will be printed to screen.

none

save_config

config.save_config()

none

Config serialized into a JSON file if no errors are found.

none



OPAL-RT TECHNOLOGIES, Inc. | 1751, rue Richardson, bureau 1060 | Montréal, Québec Canada H3K 1G6 | opal-rt.com | +1 514-935-2323
Follow OPAL-RT: LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | X/Twitter