When using vertical binning, I get a timeout error on imaqGrab but not imaqSnap

[DukeTom]

I have a Dalsa Pirahna HS-40-04k40 camera and the PCIe-1427 camera link board. When I enable any vertical binning on my camera, I can successfully capture images using the imaqSnap command. However, when I use imaqGrab I receive error code -1074397150 (0xbff60022) "A timeout error occurred while waiting for the specified event". My imaqGrab command is preceded by imaqSetupGrab. Can anyone help with this? Thanks!!

[Ben-N]

Hi DukeTom,

Are you able to perform a Grab if you do not enable vertical binning?  Do you get that same error?

[DukeTom]

When vertical binning is off, I am able to perform grab operations successfully. I can continuously grab frames, and verify with various test patterns, at expected frame rates. I can also acquire properly vertically binned images using the Snap command, again verified with the camera's built in test images.

[Ben-N]

Hey DukeTom,

Are you able to do this in Measurement & Automation Explorer?  Also, what version of IMAQ are you using?  Are you using LabVIEW?  If so, when you enable vertical binning and try to run an example, do you get this same behavior?

[DukeTom]

I am not sure how to set a region of interest in MAX. There is no attribute defined in the camera .icd file for ROI. Most of the .icd file attributes appear to talk to the Dalsa camera by serial command, and I am familiar with all of the serial commands for the camera. Nothing in the file calls the "roi x1 y1 x2 y2" serial command, however. I have NI-IMAQ 4.6.1, NI-IMAQ I/O 2.5 and NI-IMAQdx 3.9.1. I am writing my program in LabWindows/CVI. I have not yet tried to write a .vi for the camera, LabWindows is my preferred environment. (By the way, how do I know if I'm using the NI-IMAQ or NI-IMAQdx drivers when I construct a LabWindows/CVI application?) Thanks!

[Ben-N]

Hi DukeTom,

I looked more into this and have a few more questions for you.  First, what camera file are you using?  I noticed that the camera files we provide on our site are not listed as compatibile with the the PCIe 1427.  Did you build this camera file yourself and make modifications for use with the 1427 or are you running what we have provided?

A lot of times a camera that we provide support for with one specific board but not another will have limited functionality with other boards, in this case, the inability to enable vertical binning and perform an image Grab.  It seems to me that this is what we are seeing.  I suspect that we offer support for the 1426-1429 but not this specific board reflects that there is some hardware difference that makes the 1427 not fully functional with this camera.

Regarding the inclusion of one of the IMAQ drivers, this should be in your header file.  If you are able to perform a Snap or Grab at all, you are including the driver.

[DukeTom]

There is actually a camera file for a similar Dalsa camera provided for the PCIe-1427 (I forget which camera).  However, as you mention, the file does not specify a way to interact with the camera's vertical binning system.

I can directly enable vertical binning on the camera by issuing a serial command to it (in this case, "sbv %d"), where the integer %d goes from 1-8 and represents a vertical binning factor from 1-8.  The camera now bins the image before it returns it over the camera link to the board, where I'm assuming it should be read out like a normal image, just with smaller dimensions.

I confirm this behavior because the imaqSnap command correctly acquires the expected, binned image with the proper dimensions.  The only problem I have is with the Grab command.  I'm assuming somewhere in the Grab or its setup / configuration the system is expecting to acquire an image from the camera of the wrong size.  I'm assuming that the Grab or associated calls is looking for a 4096x96 image (the native pixel dimensions of the camera), and not the smaller, binned image which the camera is now returning.

[Ben-N]

Hi Tom,

It's hard to say exactly what the issue is with the Grab command, but it is completely plausible that the issue is that the image size is not what is expected.  Because you are using a camera file from a camera that is not the camera that you are using, it's not surprising that you have limited funcationality.  If you do need to enable binning and in addition to being able to perform a Grab, I would suggest using a different camera or a different frame grabber.  That specific combination isn't something that we support, and I suspect that the reason for this is that there is some sort of hardware compatibility issue (perhaps what you've pointed out with the expected image size).

[DukeTom]

That is not a very satisfying answer, because I have an email from NI stating that this camera and card work together: "Yes, the NI PCIe-1427 will work with the HS-40-04k40. The reason that those cards are listed is because the camera file is made specifically for those cards. You will need to edit the camera file to include the support for the PCIe-1427 but once that is done, you will be able to use them together. Hope this helps!" I used that as confirmation before I made my purchase. I would appreciate further support from NI on this problem, because it seems like it should be a simple fix somewhere if it is just expecting a different size image. Thanks!

[Ben-N]

Hi DukeTom,

I can certainly look more into what might be going in the camera file that is causing the issue we are seeing, but without knowing which camera file you started from, it's going to be hard to get all the details sorted out.  Can you post the current version of the camera file you are using?  Is there anyway you can figure out which camera file you started with?  A manfucaturer will probably use similar serial commands to perform various tasks, but once you get into moving from one camera to another, there are tons of specifications that need to be in line, including the expected image size, which as we mentioned earlier may be the cause of the issue.  With that said, any of the parameters being wrong can generate this error.

I suspect that there is a configuration issue with the command that enables veritcal binning and then the command that performs the grab.  If you can tell me what camera file you started with, what you've changed and post what you currently have I can look into this more and if necessary get in touch with our R&D department to see what we can work out. 

It is probably possible for binning to be enabled and perform a Grab with this board and camera combination, but because we don't have a camera file specifically to do this, I'm hesitant to give you a definitive yes that it will work.  Get back to me with the info above and we can work through what is going on and what we can come up with.