Strobe Control

The strobe function is only available for these camera operation modes:

Area-scan cameras (Imaging = AREA)

Short name	Camera operation class
PxxRC	Asynchronous progressive scan, camera-controlled exposure
PxxRG	Asynchronous progressive scan, grabber-controlled exposure

Line-scan cameras (Imaging = LINE)

Short name	Camera operation class
LxxxxRC	Grabber-controlled line scanning, camera controlled exposure
LxxxxRG	Grabber-controlled line-scanning, grabber controlled exposure
LxxxxRG2	Grabber-controlled line-scanning, grabber controlled exposure, dual signal
LxxxxRP	Grabber-controlled line-scanning, permanent exposure

TDI line-scan cameras (Imaging = TDI)

Short name	Camera operation class
LxxxxRP	Grabber-controlled line-scanning, permanent exposure

The strobe function is inoperative for PxxSC, LxxxxSC, and LxxxxSP camera operation modes; therefore, the StrobeMode parameter is filtered in MultiCam Studio for these classes of cameras.

The main control parameter is StrobeMode:

StrobeMode	Description
NONE	The strobe function is disabled. No strobe line is allocated to the channel.
MAN	The strobe function is enabled with a manual timing control feature.
AUTO	The strobe function is enabled with an automatic timing control feature.
OFF	The designated strobe line is set to the inactive level; no more strobe pulses are issued.

The default and allowable values of are depending on the camera camera operation mode:

Camera operation modes	StrobeMode
	NONE	MAN	AUTO	OFF
Grabber-controlled rate and exposurePxxRG, LxxxxRG, LxxxxRG2	OK	-	Default	OK
Grabber-controlled rate, permanent exposure LxxxxRP	OK	-	Default	OK
Grabber-controlled rate, camera controlled exposure PxxRC, LxxxxRC	OK	Default	-	OK

Parameter	Value Range	Default Value
StrobeDur	1 to 100	50
StrobePos	0 to 100	50

The strobe duration is configured as a percentage of the exposure time using the StrobeDur parameter.

The effective strobe pulsation is:

●

Expose_us x StrobeDur when the exposure time is controlled by the frame grabber (RG and RP modes)

●

TrueExp_us x StrobeDur when the exposure time is controlled by the camera (RC modes)

The strobe position is adjustable in 100 steps within the exposure time using the StrobePos parameter.

A value of 0 establishes the earliest position. The leading edge of the strobe pulse is simultaneous with the beginning of the exposure.

A value of 100 establishes the latest position. The trailing edge of the strobe pulse is simultaneous with the end of exposure.

A value of 50 % means that the strobe pulse is located in the middle of the exposure period.

Applies to:

These Grablink boards only have one dedicated strobe output line per camera.

The strobe line drives an optically-isolated pair of pins. The + pin is the collector and the - pin is the emitter of an uncommitted photo-transistor driven by LED-emitted light. The photo-transistor remains OFF during the board initialization.

There is no line selection control: the Strobeline parameter is not applicable.

There is no electrical style control. The StrobeCtl parameter is not applicable.

The strobe being always enabled by default, the IOUT1 output port is configured by default as a strobe output and driven by the strobe controller. To disconnect the IOUT1 output port from the strobe generator, set StrobeMode to OFF.