Perhaps these notes from NI could be of some help for you:
Notes on Upgrading from the 1408 to the 1409
One of the major differences that can cause a "Can't lock on video source" error for the PCI-1409 and not the PCI-1408 is due to variations in locking circuitry. For non-standard analog cameras, the PCI-1408 and PCI-1409 are designed to lock to these cameras in external lock mode. This means the camera's HSYNC, VSYNC, and pixel clock are supplied to the IMAQ board, which allows the board to bypass its locking circuitry and acquire the non-standard images using the camera's timing signals instead of generating its own. The PCI-1408 could often times acquire from non-standard cameras without being in external lock mode because its locking circuitry was more flexible, but it didn't cover as wide a range of frequencies as the PCI-1409. The PCI-1409 supports standard, discrete locking frequencies that cover a wider range (including VCR), but for frequencies that aren't quite standard frequencies, it won't lock. Operating in External Lock mode will acquire non-standard images for both the PCI-1408 and PCI-1409.
Because the 1409 supports 10-bit images, you may have code written for the 1408 expecting 8-bit images. If you replace your 1408 board with the 1409, your images are now 10-bit images, so your code will give you an error. You can either change the code to accept the higher precision images (i.e., change the "image type" input of the IMAQ Create function from 8 bits to 16 bits), or simply change the 1409 in the Measurement & Automation Explorer to acquire 8-bit images from the property page of the camera.
The camera files are also different. The 1408 had the option to choose Interlaced vs. Non-Interlaced for the standard RS-170, CCIR, NTSC, PAL cameras. The 1409 has that box grayed out (Interlaced being the only option) because the only time you would have Non-Interlaced selected is for Progressive Scan cameras, and there are now four progressive scan camera files you can choose from (25, 30, 50, and 60 Hz). So if you have a PCI-1409, instead of trying to set an RS-170 camera file to Non-Interlaced, select the 30 or 60 Hz progressive scan camera file.
The Area Scan camera file was designed for non-standard cameras, and it would often work with the PCI-1408 without configuring the board in external lock mode, but the PCI-1409 would not lock to non-standard cameras using this camera file. This goes back to the first point, and both boards should be configured in external lock mode to acquire from non-standard cameras.
If you are using the breakout box for the 1409, it requires you to remove a jumper on the 1409 to reduce noise. The 1408 did not have this requirement.
If you are genlocking multiple cameras together (they are synchronized using the same timing signals from a master camera and the others are slaves), you need to set the 1409 up for external CSYNC lock mode. If you don't, your images will be superimposed on top of each other and scrambled. To set the 1409 for CSYNC external lock mode, go to Measurement & Automation and right click on the 1409. Choose Properties>>Operating Mode and select CSYNC External for the Acquisition Mode and select the master camera's channel for the CSYNC Source.
Look at http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/3efedde4322fef19862567740067f3cc/df0f02236f45816f86256a78007afa6d?OpenDocument
Hope that helps,
Michael
