Matrox Meteor-II /Camera Link grab section 33
!On the PC/104-Plus form factor, all the signals described in this subsection are
acessible using the Video input connector (Video in) on Matrox 4Sight-II. See the
4Sight-II Ins tallation a nd Hardware Refe rence manual for pinout information.
Synchronization The board can supply the HSYNC and VSYNC signals to the camera, in LVDS
or TTL format, and are passed through the DB-44 expanded connector on the
PCI form factor. Synchronization data is also received, in LVDS format, through
the Camera Link connector, along with the video data (see the Video data input
section earlier in this chapter).
Clock The interface of the Matrox Meteor-II /Camera Link board can supply two clock
signals to the camera through the DB-44 expanded connector on the PCI form
factor. The board can also receive a clock along with the video input data, through
each of the video input Camera Link connectors.
User input and
control
Five general purpose auxiliary signals are supported on the PCI form factor: two
LVDS user input signals, and three TTL control output signals. On PC/104-Plus
form factor, only two user input signals are available: one LVDS and one TTL.
User input and control signals are available for controlling external devices, such
as a strobe light. User signals are programmed using the MIL-Lite command
MdigControl().
Camera control Four LVDS pairs are available on each Camera Link video input connector to
transmit four general-purpose camera control signals from the board to the
camera. With the PCI form factor, they are also provided on the auxiliary sync
and control connector for optional use, two of which are in TTL format.
Trigger Three trigger inputs are routed to the PSG; the interface supports TTL, LVDS,
and opto-isolated trigger inputs. The latter, connected to the OPTOTRIG- and
OPTOTRIG+ input pins, passes through an opto-coupler, a device that protects
the board from outside surges; OPTOTRIG- is usually connected to the ground
of the trigger source. External trigger inputs allow image acquisition to be
synchronized with external events. The board can operate in one of two modes
(next valid frame/field mode, or asynchronous reset mode), and the selected mode
is specified by the DCF.
Matrox Meteor-II /Camera Link can operate in next valid frame/field mode.
When in this mode, the digitizer waits for the next valid frame or field (as specified
by the DCF file) before commencing the grab. This trigger mode functions in one
of three ways: