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FLI camera DLL with LabView

I've been trying to run an FLI camera with LabView. FLI just told me to use their library files. I know there is a lot of help on here to incorporate a DLL with LabView, but I can't seem to figure these functions out. Is there anyone who has had previous or similar experience running an FLI camera with LabView?

 

Thanks.

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Hi spyderxtr7,

 

Does FLI not have any documentation in a user manual or something about the API?

 

Kristen H.

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Not that I know of. I've just sent an email asking. FLI was pretty dismissive with me before. 
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Unless someone posts that has used these specific libraries before, really the only information we can get is the function prototype in the header files and guess based on the variable names- unless, of course, there is a user manual or documentation with it. What model is the camera...i found a link to some documentation- not sure if its exactly what you're looking for: http://www.flicamera.com/fli/documentation.asp

 

Good luck!

 

Kristen H.

Message Edited by Kristen H. on 02-11-2010 10:50 AM
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There seem to be no drivers for labview, but I circumvented this problem once by writing a DLL using the functions provided by the manufacturer of another

CCD camera.

For writing the DLL, is used the free Bloodshed Dev-C++ (they provide instructions for writing a DLL, which made it easy).

I then used this DLL in Labview.

This would be some work to do, and you need some C and tinkering around to get it to work.

But this is the only solution that comes to my mind. 

Sorry for not having a more simple solution

 

Alex

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Thanks, Alex. Do you think you still have access to the VI that you used? That would be a lot of help.
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I am using a Photometrics CoolSNAP HQ and the problem for me was that i didn't succeed in calling the DLL successfully directly from Labview.

Which means i called the DLL, but it returned no data. But I could call the DLL in C, so I wrote this DLL with Bloodshed Dev C++ which calls the camera,

and then I call my selfmade DLL from Labview. That worked.

 

And it should work the same way for FLI cameras, in case you cannot call the DLL directly from Labview (even though this should work in principle too).

I suggest you try to call the DLL directly first as in the Labview VI i wrote.

 

Attached is the Labview VI that calls the DLL.

I can send you the DLL written in C (several files) separately if you want to try.

 

Alexander Wolf


awolf (addmrk) nms.ac.jp

Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology,
Institute of Development and Aging Sciences,
Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School,
TEL +81-44-733-1859

Message 7 of 18
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Hi Alex,

 

I'm trying to develop the LabVIEW drivers for a FLI Proline ccd camera and I have your same problem. Can you post some examples of your DLLs?

 

Thanks a lot.

G

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Here is the C code of the DLL i wrote, using Bloodshed Dev-C++ (there is an option to create DLLs) to create(compile) it.

The two code files  'CoolSNAP210806DLLHeader.h' and 'CoolSNAP210806DLLMain.c' are the only things used to make the DLL.

I also attached the DLL itself, which will of course not work unless you have the Photometrics CoolSNAP HQ CCD camera, but you can still

see that it contains 4 callable functions, 'CoolSNAPOpen', 'CoolSNAPAcquire', 'CoolSNAPClose' and 'CoolSNAPSetTTL' when you try to call this DLL in Labview. 'CoolSNAPAcquire' is the one actually taking the image.

The code is still unpolished (i.e. almost unchanged from the first version that worked) and one can still see remnants of the Bloodshed Dev-C++ DLL template. I hope this helps,

Good Luck

 

Alex

 

 

Alexander Wolf

Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology,
Institute of Development and Aging Sciences,
Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School,
1-396 Kosugi-cho, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-city,
Kanagawa-pref., 211-8533 Japan

Message 9 of 18
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OK...I think that this is a good starting point for my project.

Thank you very much.

If I have other questions can I ask you?

 

Regards

G

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