is LabVIEW the right language for my setup?

[Nate.H]

Dear W,

It looks as if this might still be a problem with the XML file that the camera is generating.

Try disconnecting your camera, and then deleting the "Data" folder, located at C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\National Instruments\NI-IMAQdx. Make a backup first and move it somewhere else, such as the desktop. Once the folder is deleted reconnect your camera and see if you can use it in MAX. Your camera should generate a new XML file from it's firmware. If this doesn't work, I would recommend running the Camera Validator to see if specific attributes are causing the problem. Here is the procedure for using the Camera Validator:

1. Select Start»Run to bring up the Run dialog.
2. Type in the following command:
   "<National Instruments>\NI-IMAQdx\Utility\CameraValidator.exe" /ATTRIBUTES
   where <National Instruments> is the installed directory of your National Instruments software, typically "C:\Program Files\National Instruments".
3. CameraValidator.exe will create an attribute report for each camera. You can find this report in the same folder as CameraValidator.exe. This report validates each attribute in the XML file. Check if any attribute has failed any of the steps. Then contact the camera manufacturer for an updated XML file or camera firmware to correct this attribute.

Hopefully this test should narrow down the problem and then you can get the expected values from Pulnix for the TM 1327-GE.

Best Regards,

~Nate

[whbit]

Nate,

   thanks again for your time and helpful suggestions. unfortunately, i tried your first idea, and everything ended up exactly the same as before. then i tried to do the camera validation step, but apparently i don't have that .exe file anywhere. can i download it? it's frustrating to be so close but so far. I'd like to install LabVIEW asap, and am unsure if it would be a bad idea to do so before i have the camera(s) working properly on their own. what do you think?
cheers,

W

[Nate.H]

Dear W,

The Camera Validator is an executable that began shipping with the Vision Acquisition Software 8.2.1, and should be located in the  C:\Program Files\National Instruments\ni-imaqdx\Utility directory. The Vision Acquisition Software contains the drivers needed to acquire from cameras over the various buses available. Here is a link to the download page on ni.com where you can see the contents and the readme:

Vision Acquisition Software 8.5.1 - Windows 2000/vista x64/Vista x86/XP
http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/view/p/id/960/lang/en

Do you have an earlier version of the Vision Acquisition Software than 8.2.1?

You should have no problems installing LabVIEW now, and then continuing to troubleshoot your cameras after LabVIEW is installed. You can update or re-install drivers, such as IMAQdx, and it should not adversely affect LabVIEW.

I hope this helps!

Best Regards,

~Nate

[whbit]

Nate,

   Sorry for the late reply, again a long period of silence due to the multiple-projects-on-the-go syndrome. I have the version 8.2.1 of the NI Vision Acquisition Software, but my NI-IMAQdx folder in Program Files\National Instruments does not have a Utility folder in it. I searched the entire National Istruments folder for "Validator" and found nothing of any use. Is there any way that I can get just the Camera Validator from NI? Or possibly any other way that i could find out what the issues with the camera are?

Cheers, and thanks again

L

[Nate.H]

Dear W,

No problem, I'm suffering from that myself these days!

The Camera Validator and information about it's use is available through the following KnowledgeBase:

Compatibility Test for IEEE-1394 and GigE Cameras with NI-IMAQdx
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/EBE3BBBEF4FEA92786257225006FF242?OpenDocument

Please let me know how things go, and if you have any trouble with the Camera Validator.

Cheers!

~Nate

[whbit]

Nate,

  Thanks again for poiting me in the right direction. I realized that i had forgotten to install the high performance GigE Vision Driver for my Intel Pro/1000 NIC, and once i did that things changed a little. I can now "grab" images, but the screen is constantly black, and when i save the images they come out as a completely grey screen. But i don't get the insant errors anymore...I got the validator working and ran it on my camera. It passed all the Mono8 and Mono10 tests and then failed the Mono10packed test with the result: "FAIL: Error Code = 0xBFF69008: Not implemented yet". I'm not sure what this means, but i imagine i just have to upgrade something else in this software, judging by the change that the High Performance Driver made.

   Let me know what you think.

Cheers,

L

[Nate.H]

Dear L (didn't notice the change right away),

There are a couple of things that you can do to troubleshoot your GigE Camera, and this article does a good job of explaining them:

Troubleshooting GigE Vision Cameras
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5846

Also make sure to look at the 'Acquiring from GigE Vision Camears with Vision Acquisition Software' links at the bottom of the article.

Please let me know if you are still having problems after following the steps outlined in the above articles.

Best Regards,

~Nate

[whbit]

Nate,

   I had forgotten about that troubleshooting page, as when i found it i wasn't even close to getting the camera to be recognized in MAX, so it was useless at that time. So thanks for that. This morning i tried to connect to the camera and for the first time it gave me the notice "unable to set attribute" error. i restarted the computer and it connected fine (or to the point it was at yesterday, anyway). however, when i was looking over the troubleshooting page i found a section about addressing that problem. it gets you to run cameravalidator.exe/ATTRIBUTES to find the attributes that are causing the errors. unfortunately, when i ran the cameravalidator.exe/ATTRIBUTES it came up with this error almost immediately:

"FAIL: Error Code = 0xBFF69011: Unable to get attribute."

In the troubleshooting section it tells you to get the attributes that are causing the problem and to contact the camera vendor for a new and updated version of the camera firmware. I have updated the firmware on this camera since i got it to make it compatible with gigE vision, so i feel like this would not be the route i should take. It's weird because i could get a full report with all the passes and fails yesterday, and now all it does is say "unable to get attribute"...

any ideas?

L

[Nate.H]

Dear L,

Can you attach the reports that were generated when you ran the camera file generator in both the case where it ran and passed some of the tests, and the case where it failed almost immediately?

Is there a software utility available through Pulnix that you could use to test your camera? If it is available, I am interested to see if your camera functions with it.

I am unsure what could be causing the change in behavior from one day to the next, but we are definitely still having camera file/camera firmware issues here. Is it possible for you to contact Pulnix to see what their take is on the most recent firmware available for your camera?

Best Regards,

~Nate

[whbit]

Nate,

   thanks again. I contacted Pulnix, and am in the midst of a correspondence with them about how to try to figure this out. In the meantime, i should let you know that the camera is back to not failing the tests right away. I have attached the report that it most recently generated, as i forgot to move the one where it failed right away out of the folder, so it was automatically saved over. Let me know if you have any other ideas, they are always more than welcomed.

Cheers,

L