How to use a counter generated pulse to trigger 1394 camera

[M.T.]

Hi,

This may be simple to do, but I have not found any examples. I have a sony dfx-sx900 camera and I am able to use the 1394 vi's to get a and display the picture without any problems. But I have not figured out any way that I can use the a pulse train generated from one of my counters (on pxi-6602) to control when to snap or grab a picture. Does anyone have an example of how this can be done?

Thanks in advance,

Michael Terk

[Dan_Quinn]

Hi Michael,

Thanks for using our discussion forums! Your camera should have a trigger connection on the back of it (I assume you meant the Sony DFW-SX900?). Basically what you will need to do is run the signal from your 6602 to this input on your camera. Then you can configure the trigger in software using the IMAQ 1394 Configure Trigger function.

Regards

Dan
National Instruments

[M.T.]

Dan,

Thanks for the info. I was also wondering if the same can be done in software for the cameras that have not hardware triggers.

M.T.

[Dan_Quinn]

Michael,

Unfortunately there is nothing built into the 1394 protocol that will send a trigger to your camera without the hardware trigger support on the camera. What you might try, however, is setting up a simple button or something in your software so that it acquires an image every time you press it. This could be used in part with the signal from a 6602 if every time a signal went high you change a value that would then tell your camera to snap an image. This is essentially a "software trigger" and should work well, although the timing will not be as accurate as it would with a hardware trigger. Good luck on your application!

Regards

Dan
National Instruments