4411-0074 v1b Host Connectivity Kit PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation Introduction After confirming that your computer meets all hardware and software requirements, install the Host Connectivity Kit (HCK) PVCAM for PI Cameras according to the instructions that follow. Also, it is recommended that you install the PCI Serial Interface board in your computer before running the software. Instructions for installing the interface board are provided in your hardware manuals. Note: If your computer and system were purchased together from Roper Scientific, the Interface card will have been installed at the factory. System Requirements The following information lists the system hardware and software requirements. Hardware requirements Princeton Instruments controller and camera system. Princeton Instruments high speed PCI serial card (standard). Computers purchased from Roper Scientific are shipped with the card installed. Minimum of 32 Mbyte total RAM for CCDs up to 1.4 million pixels. Collecting larger images at full frame or at high speed may require 128 Mbytes or more of RAM. Hard disk with a minimum of 80 Mbytes available. A complete installation of the program files takes about 6 Mbytes, and the remainder is required for data storage. Collection of large images may require additional hard disk storage, depending on the number of images collected and their size. Disk level compression programs are not recommended. Minimum is AT compatible computer with Pentium processor (90 MHz or faster). Note: Not all computers are able to satisfy the software and data-transfer performance requirements of PI systems. If you purchased a computer through Roper Scientific, it will have already been tested for proper operation with a Roper Scientific system and will have the Interface card installed. Available PCI slot. Super VGA monitor and graphics card supporting at least 256 colors with at least 1 Mbyte of memory. Memory required will depend on desired display resolution.
2 HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation Two-button Microsoft compatible serial mouse or Logitech three-button serial/bus mouse. Operating System requirements Windows 95 (or higher) or Windows NT (ver 4.0 or higher). PVCAM for PI Cameras is not supported under OS/2. Nor will it run under Windows 3.1 or 3.11. Note: The Win 95 and NT versions of PVCAM for PI Cameras are different and must be installed on the intended platform. Software and Location Requirements HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras acts as a bridge to provide a standard interface between third party PVCAM compatible software packages and PI Cameras. By providing support for PI cameras via PVCAM, third-party software can be readily adapted to operation with PI cameras without need for understanding the detailed hardware interface requirements of the supported cameras. The coding requirements for interpreting the PVCAM interface are detailed in other Roper Scientific documents. However, there are two constraints that you must be aware of, as follows. The third-party software must be 32-bit compatible and using 32-bit DLLs. In recent years, many software packages have evolved from 16-bit to 32-bit programs. HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras can only be used with software packages that are already using the 32-bit DLLs. HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras must be installed in the directory that contains the executable of the third-party software. The program Camtst32.exe, one of the files installed by the procedure, is very useful for testing the system. It recognizes the camera and allows data to be acquired. Installation Procedure HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras must be installed under Windows. It cannot be installed on a computer only running DOS, or from the DOS shell. HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras is normally distributed on floppy disks, on a CD, or by executing the installation program provided on Roper Scientific s FTP or Web site. Note: When HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras is installed under Win 95, it modifies the Windows Registry. If for any reason you reinstall Windows, the Registry may be replaced, and PVCAM for PI Cameras may not run correctly. Reinstall HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras to correct this problem. Note: If installing under Windows NT, you must be logged on as administrator of the NT Workstation. Certain changes are made to the Registry during the installation. If you are not logged on as the administrator, the Registry changes cannot be made and the installation will fail. Note that the failure doesn t occur until the installation process is almost complete. A warning is provided to help assure that users do not experience this problem. Proceed as follows to install HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras on your computer.
HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation 3 Exit any software currently running. This will speed the installation. Installation from disk Insert the PVCAM for PI Cameras floppy disk #1 into your computer s floppy drive. Click the desktop Start button, select Run, key x:\setup (where x is the letter designating your installation drive as shown in Figure 1) and press the Enter key on your keyboard. The install sequence will begin, the Install Shield setup will run (Figure 2) and the PVCAM for PI Cameras Welcome screen will appear (Figure 3). Proceed to Steps Common to all Setups. Figure 1. Running the Setup program. Figure 2. Install Shield Setup Message.
4 HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation Figure 3. HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Setup Window. Installation from a CD Insert the PVCAM for PI Cameras CD into your CD drive. The operating system will detect the CD and the installation will begin automatically. A message will appear indicating that the Install Shield Setup program is loading. Note: If the auto-start feature has been disabled on your computer, click the desktop Start button, select Run, key x:\setup (where x is the letter designating your CD drive) and press the Enter key on your keyboard. The install sequence will begin. Proceed to Steps Common to all Setups. Installation from the FTP Site Log onto the FTP site. Execute the program HCK_PVCAM.exe. Executing either program will cause the Welcome screen to appear as shown in Figure 4. Note: If you aren t sure how to access the FTP site, contact PI s Technical Support Department for assistance. Contact information follows. Princeton Instruments a Division of Roper Scientific 3660 Quakerbridge Road Trenton, NJ 08619 (USA) Tel: 609-587-9797 Fax: 609-587-1970 Tech Support E-mail: techsupport@roperscientific.com
HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation 5 Figure 4. Welcome Click on Finish. This will open the Password screen shown in Figure 5. A valid password must be entered to proceed further. If you don t have a password, contact PI s Technical Support Department for assistance. Figure 5. FTP Password Click on Next. The License screen will open as shown in Figure 6. Carefully read the license agreement. If you understand and accept it, advance to the next step.
6 HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation Figure 6. License Click on Finish. PVCAM for PI Cameras will unpack (Figure 7), the Install Shield setup (Figure 8) will run and the PVCAM for PI Cameras Setup Welcome screen will appear (Figure 9). Figure 7. Unpacking Message. Figure 8. Install Shield Setup message.
HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation 7 Figure 9. HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Setup Window. Steps Common to all Setups Click on Next to continue. The Software License Agreement will appear as shown in Figure 10. Figure 10. Software License Agreement Screen. If you accept the License Agreement (necessary to complete the installation), click on Yes to continue. The User Information screen will open as shown in Figure 11.
8 HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation Figure 11. User Information Enter the required information and click Next to continue. The Registration Confirmation screen (Figure 8) will appear. Figure 12. Registration Confirmation If the information is correct, click on Yes to continue. The Choose Destination Location screen will open.
HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation 9 Figure 13. Choose Destination Location If the default destination is acceptable, click Next to continue. If some other destination is preferable, click on Browse to open a Win/95 browser and designate the desired destination. CAUTION HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras must be installed in the directory that contains the executable of the third-party software. On returning to the Choose Destination Location screen, click on Next to continue. The Interface Type screen will open as shown in Figure 14. Figure 14. Interface Type selection Select the installation type you prefer. A brief description of each of the available types follows.
10 HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation PCI Standard: This is the best choice for most users. It installs the DLLs and PCI Support. Standard: Installs the DLLs only. Allows data to be taken but there is no provision for transfering the acquired data to the computer. Custom: Allows the user to select the components to be installed. Figure 15 shows the available choices. Figure 15. Custom Installation Selection PCI Timer: In NT systems, there is a fourth selection, PCI Timer. PCI Timer allows data transfer to be controlled by a polling timer if using the PCI high-speed serial Interface card. Note that data transfer is slower in PCI Timer mode and data overrun more likely. Also PCI Timer cannot be used to continuously acquire small Regions of Interest in asynchronous operation. After making your selections, click on Next to continue. The Start Copying Files screen will open as shown in Figure 16.
HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation 11 Figure 16. Start Copying Files If satisfied with the displayed settings, click on Next to continue. Actual installation of the PVCAM for PI Cameras files will commence and the Copying Files screen will be displayed as shown in Figure 17. Figure 17. Copying Files Once all of the files have been installed, the Setup Complete screen will appear as shown in Figure 18.
12 HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation Figure 18. Setup Complete Click on Finish to complete the setup and close the installation program. Aborting the PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation Clicking on the Cancel button anytime during installation will cause the dialog box in Figure 19 to appear. Figure 19. The Quit dialog box. Click on the Exit Setup button to cancel the installation of the software. No part of the software will be installed. Click on the Resume button to return to the installation at the point where Cancel was selected so that installation can be completed. Installing Some PVCAM for PI Cameras Files at a Later Time You can install some PVCAM for PI Cameras files at first, and other files at a later time. Simply repeat the installation procedure, taking care to select Custom as the installation type. Then select the file type(s) to be installed and proceed as previously described.
HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation 13 Installing More than One Copy of PVCAM for PI Cameras You can install more than one copy of PVCAM for PI Cameras on a single computer. In the Custom Installation dialog box simply change all the paths listed to a new directory such as C:\PVCAM for PI Cameras. The install program will automatically create the new directory, if necessary. Uninstalling and Reinstalling If you suspect any of the PVCAM for PI Cameras files have become corrupt, you should first delete all PVCAM for PI Cameras files, then reinstall the software from the FTP site or from the original floppy disks or CD. Follow the steps below to remove all traces of the PVCAM for PI Cameras software. Then reinstall the software. PVCAM for PI Cameras includes provision for automatically deinstalling the software. To deinstall PVCAM for PI Cameras from your computer, proceed as follows. From the desktop, click on My Computer. This will bring up the dialog box shown in Figure 20. Figure 20. Your Computer dialog box. Double click on Control Panel to bring up the Control Panel dialog box (Figure 21).
14 HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation Figure 21. Control Panel dialog box. Double click on Add/Remove Programs to bring up the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box (Figure 22). Select PVCAM for PI Cameras and click on the Add/Remove button. The Remove Confirmation dialog box (Figure 23) will appear. Click on Yes and PVCAM for PI Cameras will be removed. The Remove Confirmation dialog box will then disappear. On the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box (Figure 22), click on OK to complete the process. Close the open windows to return to the clean desktop.
HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation 15 Figure 22. Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box. Figure 23. Remove Confirmation dialog box. To later reinstall the software, follow the Installing PVCAM for PI Cameras instructions provided earlier in this chapter. Use the original CD, installation disks or install using the installation program on the FTP site. Initial Checks This section provides directions for checking a newly installed system using the Camtst32 program provided with PVCAM for PI Cameras. Once the software has been installed as described in the preceding pages, users are advised to reboot the system so that the PCI driver will be installed, and then proceed as follows to check their system. Check that the system is completely set up and cabled correctly, including the TAXI * cable that transfers acquired data to the computer. Turn on the power. Using Windows Explorer, access the folder where PVCAM for PI Cameras was installed and double click on the file Camtst32.exe. * TAXI is a registered trademark of AMD Corporation.
16 HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation The Camtst32 screen should open as shown in Figure 24. Figure 24. Camtst32 Click on Camera to open the Camera menu and select Specifications. The Specifications dialog box will open as shown in Figure 25, allowing you to check critical factors such as the CCD name, CCD dimensions and controller speed. When ready to move on, click on OK to close the dialog box.
HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation 17 Figure 25. Specifications dialog box. From the Camera menu, select Setup to open the Camera Setup dialog box as shown in Figure 26. Figure 26. Camera Setup dialog box. Check and, if necessary, change the Temperature Setpoint and ADC Offset. The offset should be just high enough so that the data baseline under zero light conditions is always positive. This is done to prevent data loss during measurements. When ready to move on, click on OK to execute the changes and close the dialog box. Clicking on Cancel will close the dialog box without implementing the changes. Select Exposure on the menubar and then Setup to open the Exposure Setup dialog box as shown in Figure 27.
18 HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation Figure 27. Exposure Setup dialog box. This screen sets the exposure time and the region to be read out. For purposes of these simple checks, set the offsets to 0 and the size parameters to the full-frame chip size. Bin parameter values of 2 were used for the following data capture. When ready to move on, click on OK to execute the changes and close the dialog box. Clicking on Cancel will close the dialog box without executing any changes. Select Single Image on the Exposure menu. One frame of data will be taken. Figure 28 shows a typical acquisition. Figure 28. Single-frame Image Acquisition. Select Continuous on the Exposure menu. This will open the Expose Continuous dialog box as shown in Figure 29. In this mode the number of images (cycles) specified are taken continuously. With a setting of zero, imaging is
HCK PVCAM for PI Cameras Installation 19 continuous until halted. Continuous imaging is particularly useful for focusing operations. Click on Start to initiate data acquisition. Click on Stop to halt the image acquisition cycling. Clicking on Cancel closes the dialog box without executing any changes. Figure 29. Expose Continuous dialog box. This completes the initial checks. If the indicated results were obtained, you can be reasonably sure that your system and PVCAM for PI Cameras software are functioning properly.