How to build an application in LabVIEW 10 including FLIR Thermovision Toolkit 3.3

[maxwellb]

Hi Everyone,

I am also developing an application for FLIR camera communication using the ThermoVision toolkit. Almost everything is working perfectly for me, except for one strange issue. Externally triggered recording seems to work as a VI, but not as a built executable. User-commanded recording works fine either way. When I use the VI and set the camera for externally triggered recording using "ThermoVision Digital SetRecordingParameters.vi", then give it a trigger, it records a video file. If i use the exectuable and follow the same steps, it doesn't. Can anyone think of why this might be the case? Has anyone successfully used externally triggered recording with an executable?

I'm using LabVIEW 2010.

Thanks!

Max

[maxwellb]

I've developed an example VI and project that contains all you need to demonstrate this, except you will have to do the EXE build yourself because itwon't let me attach it. You will want to change the IP address and camera type settings if you try to run it. If anyone else could give it a try and see if they have the same issue as me (camera does not react to external trigger when connected via executable), I would really appreciate it!

Max

[maxwellb]

I haven't made any progress on the external triggering issues, and unfortunately, I ran into another problem that is much more of a showstopper for me. I have three FLIR cameras that I'm trying to interface with: an SC304, an A645, and an A655sc. Whenever I try to change the MeasurementRange of the A645 or A655sc, the cameras seem to crash and will not record data or display temperatures until they are manually power cycled. The SC305 allows me to change the measurement range. Oddly enough, changing the FrameRate works just fine for all cameras, even though it is contained within the same cluster and set using the same VI.

Being able to change measurement range is absolutely essential to me, because the cameras must be focused with the object at room temperature each time they are used, but parts of the object itself will reach ~ 1000 C during operation.

I've added logic to change the measurement range and frame rate to my TriggerTest.vi, which is attached here. The problem can be reproduced with it.

[The_Hunt]

Hello Maxwell, 

Thank you for providing your information and the files. But unfortunately, I have not been able to work with the VIs because the toolkit requires a license from FLIR that we do not have.

I would strongly suggest that you get in touch with FLIR, as they were the ones to develop this toolkit. As their direct customer, I believe that having you contact them will help to speed up the process of resolving this issue, especially seeing as how this is of an immediate concern and a show-stopper. 

[maxwellb]

I was going to do that eventually, but thanks for the prodding, Huntington!

I did get in contact with FLIR. I was pleasantly suprised at how quickly they got back to me. Below is their response.

Dear Maxwell,

I think the problem is in combination of parameters that are set consequently without delays (as it is implemented in the method "ThermoVision SetCameraParameters.vi"). This is a know issue. The method will be depreciated in next version of the Thermovision LabVIEW Toolkit. I hope the next version will be released within few weeks.

To avoid waiting for the next version, please use the attached file instead of the "ThermoVision SetCameraParameters.vi" when you set the measurement range. You will probably need to find the sub-VI manually when you open this VI first time. You can try to reduce the delay time that is hard-coded in the attached VI. The necessary delay could depend on particular settings of the camera.

With regards
LabVIEW specialist (Andrei Zagorodni)

He did also attach a slight modification to ThermoVision SetCameraParameters.vi that he thinks will fix the issue. I'm concerned it might be a copyright violation to post it here, so contact me privately if you'd like to see it. It adds a 1.5 second delay in between setting camera properties 17 and 41.

I will give it a try as soon as I can. 

[The_Hunt]

Maxwell, 

I am happy to hear that FLIR has responded with a known resolution in a timely manner. What were your results from using their modified file? If this successfully resolved the issue, then I may want to contact you privately to receive this file in case future customers happen to run into this same issue before FLIR is able to release their next revision. 

[_Y_]

Reason for the problem is quite simple. Some cameras do not accept some combinations of settings if they are set without intermediate delays. Version 3.3.7 (last release) of the Toolkit still uses old approach where settings are sent to the camera at once. This approach is simple (allows writing less customised code) but… does not always work nowadays.

[maxwellb]

I've had mixed results with the modified file they sent. It worked for me several times with an A655, but the first and only time I got to try it with an A645, it experienced the same crash as before. Unfortunately, I don't get to do a lot of testing because the cameras I am developing for are in active service and their users get annoyed with me if I crash them constantly.

_Y_, do you have any specifics on which cameras cannot accept which combinations of settings? Or any advice on how I can go about modifying the code myself to solve this?

Thanks!

[DarkLordOfG]

Hello,

I am having similar issues.  I have a program that works fine on the development machine but when we deploy the exe we get and Active X error.  I can see the OCX registered in the registry.  Does the version of the SDK runtime matter?

John

[FuManWho]

Hi Rammer,

I would suggest making a new post in order to get more visibility. Feel free to link this discussion forum in your new post, if you want.