Active Silicon FireBird User manual

QUICKSTART GUIDE
FireBird Frame Grabbers - Installation and Use

FireBird Frame Grabber – Quickstart Guide v1.6
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FIREBIRD FRAME GRABBER – QUICKSTART GUIDE
Contents
HARDWARE INSTALLATION 3
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION 4
UPDATING THE FIREBIRD FIRMWARE 5
WHERE TO GO NEXT 6
ASDEMO APPLICATION - BASIC OPERATION 7
ASDEMO APPLICATION - ADVANCED OPTIONS 8
WHAT ELSE IS INSTALLED? 9
SOFTWARE UN-INSTALLATION 10
CONTACT DETAILS 12

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Power o and open up the computer
(taking the usual anti-static
precautions).
Please note: The boards are keyed
so that they can only be tted into
a slot in which they will work. DO
NOT modify the FireBird board or
the motherboard in an attempt to
override the keying as this could result
in serious damage.
For full performance this board must
be tted in a slot that supports PCI
Express Gen2 at x8 width. Check your
computer documentation for details
of the PCI Express connectors, and
see the FireBird Hardware Manual for
more information.
CoaXPress Boards Only: If the
board will be used to power cameras
through the CoaXPress cables using
PoCXP then the auxiliary power
connector J13 must be connected
to the computer power supply. The
correct power supply cable is one
intended for PCI Express Graphics
(PEG) cards, and may have 6 or 8
ways. To distinguish it from other
similar connectors in the computer,
the connector should be black and
may be marked ‘PCI-E’ or ‘PEG’. Similar
connectors that are not PEG should be
white. However this is often not the
case, so the cables should be carefully
checked for the pattern of squares
and chamfers on the plastic body of
the connector at the end of the cable.
See the images below.
Also, the wires should be black on
the side with the connector clip, and
colored (often yellow or blue) on the
side opposite the connector clip.
If the connector does not match
those shown above, DO NOT
attempt to force it into FireBird as
this could result in serious damage.
If a 6 way connector is plugged into
FireBird, it should be aligned at the
upper 6 ways of the 8 way FireBird
connector as shown below.
PEG cable splitters, PEG to SATA
adapters and PEG to‘Molex’ adapters
are available from Active Silicon and
are included in the optional cable
starter kit.
Close and power on the computer.
HARDWARE INSTALLATION
6 way PEG cable Connector
8 way PEG cable connector
6 way cable alignment

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SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
The Active Silicon FireBird Package
includes the FireBird Driver (device driver
and core libraries), various applications
including ASDemo, a GenICam-based GUI
program, and the GenTL Producer. It also
installs the GenICam library if this is not
on the computer. Additionally, the SDK
Package is for software developers.
By default, selecting Typical installs
everything, but individual options can
be de-selected if required (see image
below).
The packages are supplied as a
compressed le which includes the install
package along with these instructions
and the release notes.
The le naming convention is:
as-<product>-<OS>- vXX_YY_ZZ
where <product> is:
zfbd-cxp for the FireBird CoaXPress
Package.
zfbd-cl for the FireBird Camera Link
Package.
zfbd-phx-sdk for the FireBird and
Phoenix SDK Package.
Software installation options
Windows 7 & 8.1
Uninstall any previous version of the
Active Silicon FireBird Package (see
later section). Note: The previous
SDK can be left on the PC to allow
developers to refer to both old and
new SDKs.
If it is supplied with the msi, run
ActiveSiliconCleanUpTool.exe to
remove any unused les left behind
from previous installations.
Run the supplied msi package.
Follow the on-screen prompts,
including to reboot the PC once
installation has completed.
Note that the GenICam library is
installed via a separate installer
which is automatically run during the
installation process.
After completing installation it is
recommended to update the FireBird
rmware – see the next section.
Windows 8.1 Notes
If the PC does not have a Start Menu
utility installed, then all the applications
and documentation referred to in this
document can be found in the Apps view
of the Start Screen, under Acve Silicon
FireBird <xx> or Acve Silicon SDK xXX.
YY.ZZ.
Other Operating Systems
See the specic Quickstart Guide
supplied with the installation package.
Note: <xx> represents the camera interface, e.g. CXP or CL.

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It is recommended to always update the
rmware on FireBird boards to match
that in the current driver set. To do this
run the FireBird Firmware Updater utility
from the StartMenu under Acve Silicon
FireBird <xx> – Ulies.
The update utility also allows the
conguration mode of the board to
be changed – for example a four input
CoaXPress board by default supports
one camera with up to four coax cables,
but it can be congured e.g. to support
four cameras each with one coax (select
Design 4xCXP: 4 Camera).
UPDATING THE FIREBIRD FIRMWARE
The Design option controls the conguration mode of the board. The options presented
depend on the board in use. This example shows the options with a 4xCXP FireBird.
Default updates the rmware keeping the same conguration mode as before the update.
4xCXP: 1 Camera selects the conguration mode with 1 camera with up to 4 coax cables.
4xCXP: 2 Camera selects the conguration mode with 2 cameras each with 2 coax cables.
4xCXP: 4 Camera selects the conguration mode with 4 cameras each with 1 coax cable.
The Feedback window shows which boards
will be updated, their current conguration
and rmware version, what they will be
updated to, and progress information during
updating.
The Board option allows only selected boards
in a system to be updated. By default all
boards are updated. Note that the current
version of the updater will update any
Phoenix boards it nds in a system as well
as FireBirds. To prevent this happening the
Phoenix boards should be removed from the
PC before the updater is run.
Click the Program Board(s) button to start
the update process. Wait for the process to
complete, then reboot the PC.
If the updater fails for any reason so
that the board is no longer recognized,
jumper J8 can be moved to the‘FF’
position before rebooting the PC to allow
the board to congure from its ‘Factory’
design, to allow the update process to
be run again. When the updater has
nished, shut down the PC and move
the jumper back to its default position
before powering up the board. See the
Jumpers section of the FireBird Hardware
Manual for more information.
Note: The above refers to Windows. For the location of utilities
and documentation for other for other operating systems refer to
the specic Quickstart Guide.
Note: <xx> represents the camera interface, e.g. CXP or CL.

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WHERE TO GO NEXT
Check the PC BIOS:
Older BIOS versions in PCs can
give noticeably lower PCI Express
bandwidth. It is recommended to
check for available BIOS updates,
especially if any bandwidth problems
are seen.
Many PCs now support power saving
features in the BIOS. These can result
in poor PCI Express bandwidth,
maybe only occasionally. Therefore
Active Silicon recommends that the
following settings are used (where
available):
zC-States should be o.
zSpeedstep should be o.
zPCI Performance Mode should be
on.
Check the Bandwidth:
Next run the Bandwidth Test Utility.
FireBird can transfer data at very high
rates but if the PC cannot keep up the
system will not work. This utility, in the
StartMenu under Acve Silicon FireBird
xxx - Ulies, shows the maximum rate
that FireBird can transfer data to the
PC. A value around 3400 Mbytes/sec is
typical of a good PC. A low or unstable
value means that problems are likely to
be seen.
Low Bandwidth?
If the bandwidth test reports a low or
unstable value, here is a list of things to
check:
Check that a suitable PCI Express slot
is in use (see Hardware Installation
page). Sometimes motherboard
restrictions mean that a Gen 2 x16 slot
works much better than a Gen 2 x8
slot, so try using a x16 slot.
Check the BIOS settings (see Check the
PC BIOS opposite).
How old is the motherboard?
Chipsets more than three years old
may show worse performance than
current ones.
Documentation:
The StartMenu under Acve Silicon
FireBird <xx> has this document, release
notes, and the following key documents:
The FireBird Hardware Manual gives
full details of all connectors, LEDs and
jumpers on FireBird, I/O support, and PC
requirements.
The FireBird Programmer’s Manual is
the rst place for system developers and
programmers to go. It gives an overview
of the options to congure a system,
describes all the trigger modes in detail,
and discusses system issues.
For documentation on the API, see the
SDK section later in this guide.
Hardware Manual example
Programmer’s Manual example
Bandwidth test results

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This is a GenICam GenTL demo
program that can be used with cameras
supporting GenICam, such as CoaXPress
ones.
Run the program from the StartMenu
under Acve Silicon FireBird <xx> –
ASDemo. The use of GenICam means
that no manual setup of the camera or
frame grabber is needed to get a picture
– simply connect and click Live.
ASDEMO APPLICATION - BASIC OPERATION
In common with standard GenICam
programs, to get a live image:
1. Select TLActiveSilicon.cti.
The program will then attempt to
communicate with the camera and
download the XML le from it.
2. The Found Hardware tab should
show the frame grabber and
camera as shown here. Click on
Stream#1.
3. Click Connect.
4. Click Live.
Note: The above refers to Windows. For the location of utilities and documentation for other operating systems refer to the specic Quickstart Guide.
Note: <xx> represents the camera interface, e.g. CXP or CL.

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ASDEMO APPLICATION - ADVANCED OPTIONS
1. The image can be zoomed in or
out using the scroll wheel on the
mouse, or the“+” and “-” keys on
the keyboard.
2. By double-clicking any of the
devices in the Found Hardware tab,
a new tab will open listing all the
features of that device.
Any feature that is not greyed out
can be changed. Note that many
features are greyed out while
acquisition is in progress – rst
click Stop to change them.
The FireBird features for pixel
format, width and height are
automatically set to match the
camera. Therefore to change the
values of these features, change
them on the camera.
3. A live line/column prole can be
displayed for the image, along with
statistics on that line or column.
4. Similarly a histogram and statistics
are displayed for the image, or by
entering coordinates, for just part
of the image.
5. The console shows details of any
error messages.

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WHAT ELSE IS INSTALLED?
Applications:
HSDemo: There are various versions
of this application pre-compiled for
dierent cameras, which can be selected
via the Run HSDemo launcher program
in the StartMenu under Acve Silicon
FireBird <xx>. The application allows
image display, high speed sequence
capture, and supports various triggering
modes. Source for this PHX API based
application is available from Active
Silicon.
PhoenixCapture: This is Active Silicon’s
original application to display images
from cameras. For CoaXPress systems it
is largely replaced by ASDemo, but the
application is still useful for Camera Link
and for some system debugging. The
application is under StartMenu under
Acve Silicon FireBird <xx> – Ulies. The
utility is best used in conjunction with
PCF les (see below).
GenTL Conguration Tool: This allows
various settings of Active Silicon’s
GenICam GenTL Producer to be
controlled, including the ability to read
an XML from disk rather than from the
camera. The utility is in the StartMenu
under Acve Silicon FireBird <xx> –
Ulies, and runs as Administrator.
Bandwidth Test Utility: See the Where
to go Next page.
Get System Information Utility: This
utility lists information about a system in
a form that can be sent to Active Silicon
technical support. The information is
both displayed to the screen, and saved
in le as_sysinfo.txt in Public Documents \
Acve Silicon.
The FireBird Programmer’s Manual is
the rst place for system developers and
programmers to go. It gives an overview
of the options to congure a system,
describes all the trigger modes in detail,
and discusses system issues.
SDK:
The various API Manuals describe the
available SDK functions in detail. These
are in the StartMenu under Acve
Silicon SDK vXX.YY.ZZ – Documentaon.
The main manuals have links under
StartMenu; more are available via the
Open Documentaon Directory link.
Example source code and project les
are in the StartMenu under Acve Silicon
SDK vXX.YY.ZZ – Samples.
Miscellaneous:
The GenTL Producer allows GenTL
based GenICam applications to control
the camera and FireBird. Third party
applications described as ‘GenTL
Consumers’ should work with it, without
needing any custom interface code.
Note that some GenICam applications do
not use GenTL, but rely on direct image
transfer from GigE Vision cameras – these
will not work with FireBird.
PCF setup les for many cameras are in
Public Documents \ Acve Silicon \ PCFs
with a link from the StartMenu. These
congure the FireBird board to match
the camera. They can be used both with
the PhoenixCapture application, and can
be read into programs written using the
PHX API.
Note: The above refers to Windows. For the location of utilities and documentation for other operating systems refer to the specic Quickstart Guide.
Note: <xx> represents the camera interface, e.g. CXP or CL.

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Windows 7 and 8.1
Windows 7: Open the Windows
Control Panel and select Programs and
Features.
Windows 8.1: Right click the Start
Button and select Programs and
Features.
Select the package you want to
remove. e.g. Active Silicon FireBird 64
bit vXX.YY.ZZ.BBBB.
Note that it is not necessary to remove
previous SDKs before installing new
ones. Multiple SDKs can be installed
on the PC to allow developers to refer
to both old and new SDKs.
To remove the GenICam library
remove package GenICam vX.Y.
Note: XX.YY.ZZ.BBBB or X.Y.Z or X.Y
represents the version number.
Other Operating Systems
See the specic Quickstart Guide
supplied with the installation package.
SOFTWARE UN-INSTALLATION