Linking PCI-1428 to external unit

[noahEEUND]

Hello,

I have recently been giving a new project. It is an imaging system on a small plane. Currently, the system is using a PCI-1428 framegrabber with a DuncanTech camera. I would like to add an IMU to the system to track attitude and other information about the plane. To run the IMU, it simply takes an input signal for it to acquire data. Is there anyway that I can have the PCI-1428 send a pulse to the IMU whenever an image is taken? This is so that the information coming from the IMU is linked to the image taken. I'm assuming any changes will have to take place in the software that controls the framegrabber and then connect the RTSI to the IMU. If you have any ideas how this can be done, please let me know.

Thanks. 

[muks]

Does IMU mean Inertial Measurement Unit?

[noahEEUND]

That is correct; IMU stands for Inertial Measurement Unit. I apologize for not specifying. 

[Vivek_N]

You can definitely use the PCI-1428 to generate a pulse output whenever a frame is acquired. Please take a look at the 'LL Trigger Drive' and 'LL Pulse Generation' examples. You can find these in the Example Finder under Hardware Input and Output >> IMAQ >> Signal Input and Output .

In the LL Trigger Drive VI, you can notice that the Trigger Type can be set to External or RTSI and you can set the Trigger Drive to Frame Start or Frame End, depending on which you would prefer. The detailed help for the LL Trigger Drive VI should provide you the details that you need. 

[noahEEUND]

I believe I have a good handle on the software in LabVIEW from those examples. However, I'm not sure what I list the Interface Name for the PCI-1428 framegrabber card on the IMAQ Init VI. Is this something that is defined by the framegrabber or is there a standard name for the framegrabber card? I know that the Help box mentioned something about a configuration file; where is this found/created?  As well, my software is not doing any imaging; this is just a supplement to other software that is already created. Will I still need to use VI's such as IMAQ Create VI, IMAQ Start VI, IMAQ Copy Acquired Buffer VI ect.?  My guess is no.  Thank you.

[Vivek_N]

The Interface Name refers to the name that shows up besides the camera under Devices and Interfaces in MAX, such as 'img0'.

There is a camera file that contains all the configuration settings for your camera. Right-click on your camera in MAX and ensure that the correct camera file is chosen. 

I did not really understand what you meant about your software supplementing another one. I would recommend creating a new thread if you have another question, to keep the subject matter specific. 

I hope this helps!