Detect a trigger

[nachikulk]

Hi,

I have a UI324xCP camera. I want to operate it based on a trigger generated externally. Could you please help me with the labview code which would help detect the trigger?

Nachiket

[NIquist]

This doesn't make sense.  If you need to GENERATE a signal to trigger your camera, why do you need LabVIEW code to DETECT a trigger??? 

In any case, LabVIEW is a programming language.   It can't detect or generate anything by itself.  You need to describe what kind of physical signal your camera needs, what physical event will generate them and what actual hardware you have to do it.  Once we know those things it should be easy to generate trigger signals for your camera...

[nachikulk]

I am sorry I didn't phrase it properly. I want the camera to acquire images when it receives a pulse from the external source. How can I achieve it on a UI424xCP camera?

Thanks for your reply

[Jacobson-ni]

I couldn't find any information about the camera, can you tell us what the interface is (camera link, USB, GigE)? If I am remembering everything correctly, what you do in LabVIEW will change slightly based on the interface.

If you just want to make sure this is working correctly in NI MAX, you will need to make sure to change the camera or acquisition attributes in MAX to make sure the acquisition mode is triggered and that the trigger is external. It's hard to give you exact instructions because I couldn't find anything about the camera but the attribute names are usually pretty clear.

[nachikulk]

Hi Matt,

It is a USB camera. I am sorry I misspell the camera name. I am attaching the datasheet for the camera.

I tried using the property node feature in NI-IMAQ but it wouldn't recognise the trigger.

Thanks,

Nachiket

[NIquist]

I saw that datasheet last night and it has a trigger + and - input but it doesn't say what kind of signal it takes to drive it.  With a + and - it looks differential but no voltage level is mentioned.  You need that info so you may need to contact the company if you can't find more specific datasheets online.

You also still need to tell us what hardware you're going to use to generate the signal.  Do you have a DAQ card?  What model?

NI-IMAQ won't work since the trigger is not on the USB bus, it's on the separate Hirosi connector on the back of the camera.  You'll need a special cable with the mating connector and hook that up between your camera and the DAQ card.

[NIquist]

The mating connector is available at Digi-Key:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/hirose-electric-co-ltd/HR25-7TP-8S(72)/HR1434-ND/1083572

I would buy some nice quality, shielded 8 conductor cable with a couple twisted pairs for the differential lines too.  For a short run you could probably get by with some cheap Cat-5 internet cable though.

[nachikulk]

Hi,

I checked the voltage level need to trigger the camera, its like 5volts. the camera receives a signal from a projector which sends a pulse to the camera.

Yes, I have already made the connections to the camera using Hirose cable.

Thanks for your reply

Nachiket

[nachikulk]

Hi,

After using the Hirose connector, could somone please helkp me how to trigger the camera?

Thanks

[NIquist]

If the camera will accept a 5V TTL signal it's very easy to do that with LabVIEW DAQmx.  But, you still have not told us what DAQ hardware you have.  Almost any card will have a digital port you can use.  

Tell us what hardware you're going to use to generate the signal and we can help you code it up.  If you haven't bought any hardware yet you need to tell us more about the application.  What is the pulse width and top frequency of the pulse train for instance?

If we have that info we can recommend a good card...