Unable to add IMAQ devices to RTSI in MAX. Only DAQmx could be added. We have a 1429 IMAQ board and 6221 DAQmx board..wher one is needed to trigger the other

[pg41]

Hi,

Need help immediately.

WE have a camera, PCI 1429 and 1428 IMAQ board and PCI 6221 DAQmx board . To trigger the 1429 with the 6221 we connected the RTSI cable physically between them.

For this to work, in MAX  under 'devices and interface' one has to right click on the RTSI to add devices. For  us, only the 6221 is shown and not the 1428 or 1429..

 But they have been installed on the system as they are displayed in MAX under the 'NI IMAQ devices' heading .  So how to go about this to connect the 1429 to RTSI?

 So how do i trigger the camera through 1429 if i wm unable to initialize it in MAX with RTSI?

Thanks! 

[Kristen_K.]

Hi pg41,

It is possible to route a trigger signal to the CC lines on the 1429 (and thus to the camera) in the Camera Attributes tab.  In MAX, expand Device and Interfaces, NI-IMAQ devices, and PCIe-1429.  Then go to the Camera Attributes tab and uncheck the use default source under Camera Control Lines Source.  You can the select RTSI in the CC1 drop down list.  

The reason the 1428 or 1429 are not listed under the devices to add to the RTSI is because they use a different driver.  142x uses NI-IMAQ and 6221 uses DAQmx.  Adding the RTSI cable in MAX is a feature in DAQmx.  

I hope this helps!

Kristen H.

[ysirotin]

Hello,

I am having a similar problem, but with the 1427 IMAQ board.  I tried to edit the CC settings in MAX, but I do not see RTSI as an option in the dropdown menu.  Could you please advise me on how to proceed?

My goal is to start synchronized camera input and analog output using MATLAB image acquisition and data acquisition toolboxes.

  --Yevgeniy

[Paul_M.]

Hi ysirotin,

The reason why you aren't able to select RTSI under the CC line configuration is because that feature isn't supported with the 1427 board. Take a look at the knowledge base articles that I've linked below. You'll still be able to synchronize the camera input but just not through the RTSI line. You'll have to route the signal externally from the DAQ board into the 1427. Let me know if you have any other questions.

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/49A701F932DA43818625716A001B4D1B?OpenDocument

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/4FC0695C6489E11C8625716A0024AF4D?OpenDocument

Paul M

[ysirotin]

Hi Paul,

I am a little confused.  In the documentation for the board it says:

"Using the RTSI bus, you can develop applications for which vision, data acquisition, and motion are all tightly integrated. Using the NI PCI-1426 or NI PCIe-1427, you can route digital timing lines such as acquisition in progress or frame start across the RTSI bus to control the timing of your machine vision application."

So does that mean I can only use the RTSI bus to SEND trigger from the camera to the DAQ?  How would I do that?  I am a little new to this so pardon my naiveté.

  --Yevgeniy

[ysirotin]

Reading the manual further,

"The NI 1427 can start acquisitions in the following ways:

• Software control—The NI 1427 supports software control of 

acquisition start. You can configure the NI 1427 to capture a fixed 

number of frames. Use this configuration for capturing a single frame 

or a sequence of frames.

• Trigger control—You can start an acquisition by enabling external or 

RTSI bus trigger lines. Each of these inputs can start a video 

acquisition on a rising edge or a falling edge"

When I bought this board, I assumed that this functionality would exist.  Could you explain please.

[Paul_M.]

Hi ysirotin,

So I think there was a bit of confusion based on my last post, so I wanted to apologize. Essentially, both the manual and what I said in my earlier post were correct. What I was indicating by my post and those knowledgebase articles that I posted was that the CC lines could not be configured to use a RTSI signal. This means that you would not be able to synchronize your frame by frame capture with a RTSI signal, for example a pulse train, only by an external line. However, if you want to just synchronize the the start of the acquisition at a given frame rate then you can use the RTSI cable and signal, and you don't need to configure this setting in Measurement and Automation Explorer. All you need to do is use the IMAQ Trigger Drive VI and IMAQ Configure Trigger VI. Let me know if you have any further questions and sorry for the misunderstanding.

Paul M

[ysirotin]

Thank you!

This resolves my problem.  I had been expecting to have to somehow specify the RTSI connection using MAX.  This clears things up for me.  Would both rising edge and falling edge triggers work on the RTSI line?

  --Yevgeniy

[Paul_M.]

Hi ysirotin,

You can use the IMAQ Configure Trigger VIs polarity input to configure whether or not you want the trigger to come on a rising edge or a falling edge.

Paul M