Hello,
we use the NI PCI-1428 board to configure and control our self-made camera. We use NI Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX) to grab the images, and we use our own little application to configure and control the camera corresponding to the Camera Link Specification. This works fine as long as we use both applications separately. But this fails if we try to use both together. If MAX is active, our application fails calling the Camera Link function clSerialInit() (error code -10021). If our application is active, MAX fails with the IMAQ error 0xBFF600BD.
MAX supports serialized communication with the plugged camera, but only at the beginning of each image acquisition. We want to use our own configuration tool, but we can't if MAX is active. The disabling of the "Enable Serial Commands" option doesn't help, but it should help according to the MAX documentation. We tried other applications instead of MAX, like the NI Camera File Generator and some sample applications delivered with NI-IMAQ, with the same result: It seems that the IMAQ device blocks an open channel to any application except the one who had opened the channel.
We used our camera and application together with image acquisiton boards and software of other manufacturers (e.g. Euresys, Matrox), and all works fine like we expected. Only with NI-IMAQ there seems to be no way.
Our questions: Is there an option in MAX or the camera configuration file to tell IMAQ to give free the serial interface? Is there another application which can grab images and do serial communication via IMAQ at the same time (perhaps LabView/LabWindows)?
In hope of helpful hints
Uwe.
P.S.: some versions: MAX V3.1.1.3004, NI Camera File Generator V2.0, NI-IMAQ V3.1.3, clsernat.dll V3.1.2.49152
