LabSmith LC880 User manual

LC880 Experiment Controller
User Guide
Documentation for the LC880™Controller
and Trigger™Control Software v. 5.0
Trigger software ©1996--2002 LabSmith.
This manual ©2002 LabSmith. No part of this document may be reproduced or distributed without the consent of LabSmith.

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INTRODUCTION 5
Parts List 5
Specifications 5
Basic Functions 5
How You’ll Use the LC880 6
Installing Trigger Software 6
Setting Up the LC880 6
Getting Help 7
OVERVIEW OF LC880 CONTROLS 8
Back Panel Inputs and Outputs 8
Front Panel Controls 9
TRIGGER SOFTWARE INTERFACE 10
Main Screen 10
General Settings 11
Disable/Enable I/O 11
Lock/Unlock Panel 11
Time base settings 12
CHANNEL PROPERTIES 13
Channel Properties Screen 13
Quiescent States 14
Timing Modes 14
“Apply” versus “Program All Channels”15
Fixed Output Mode 15
Passive Mode (Output = Input) 16
Clocked Pulse Stream Mode 17
Delayed Pulse After Trigger Mode 18
Validated Trigger Input Mode (Noise Suppression) 21
Counter/Timer Mode 23
Dynamically-Delayed Pulse Mode 25
Toggled Output Mode 28
Logic 28
Predefined Variables 30
Global Variables 31
Parsing 31
Sending Logic 31

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RUNNING EXPERIMENTS 33
Storing and Recalling Experiment Files 33
Front Panel Controls and Indicators 33
Channel LEDs 33
ALL Channel LED 33
Selecting a Channel from the Front Panel 34
Performing a Front Panel Function 34
Enable/Disable ALL 35
Enable/Disable Channel 35
Trigger a Channel 35
Reset 35
Store/Recall Settings Profiles 36

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INTRODUCTION
The LC880 is a fully programmable logic and timing controller for coordinating and synchronizing lab equipment
and physical experiments. LC880 provides clocks, counters, triggers, and many other useful functions, with 10 ns
resolution and 100 ps accuracy.
As you are well aware, controlling and synchronizing your experimental equipment are often the most tedious tasks
you’ll face in the lab. Experimenters regularly build their own controls from scratch or piece together systems from
the limited offerings on the market. The LC880 simplifies your control setup, so you can go about the business of
gathering data, and making knowledge.
The LC880 consists of two components: Trigger software and the LC880 experiment controller. Trigger lets you
design and run experiments from a simple graphical interface. The LC880 controller provides the connections and
control for your experimental devices.
PartsList
Your LC880 package should include the following items:
1. the LC880 controller
2. AC power cable
3. Trigger software installation CD
4. 9-pin RS232 cable
5. User’s manual
If any parts are missing or damaged please contact LabSmith support.
Specifications
Trigger software will run on any PC-compatible computer running Microsoft®Windows®95, 98, Me, NT, 2000 or
XP. Drivers for National Instruments’® LabView®software are also available for download. See
http://www.labsmith.com for more information.
The LC880 includes eight TTL-compatible inputs and eight TTL-compatible outputs. Voltages in the range 2.5 –5
V are TTL “highs” and voltages in the range 0.0 –0.2 V are TTL “lows.” Intermediate voltages should not be
present on inputs and outputs except during transitions. The inputs and outputs are protected against connection to
115 VAC. When disconnected the inputs are read as TTL “highs.”
The LC880 can be connected to/ disconnected from the PC at any time without damage to either unit. This ability
allows you to program to LC880 at your computer, then to take the unit to the experiment area for stand-alone use.
BasicFunctions
The LC880 provides eight functional channels,or internal signal paths.
At any time, each channel can be assigned one of eight timing modes. Timing modes include clocks, counters,
delayed triggers, etc. You can set various properties for each timing mode—for example, the delay length on a
Delayed Trigger. All modes are aligned to a precise, 100 MHz internal clock or an external clock, allowing
resolution down to 10 ns.
Each channel also includes logic settings which specify the conditions that will trigger the channel. A channel can be
triggered by any logical combination of signals from the eight inputs and/or the outputs of other channels.
The timing properties and logic that you set up in Trigger can be transferred and stored in the memory of the LC880.
You can store up to 64 variations of these properties in settingsprofiles in the LC880. You can then switch between

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settingsprofiles to switch experiments, compare different timing scenarios, or simulate different real world
conditions.
All settings and settingsprofiles for a particular experiment can be stored as an experiment file on your computer.
Experiment files bear a .trg extension.
HowYou’llUsetheLC880
In most cases, you’ll use the LC880 as follows:
1. Using the Trigger software, open an existing experiment file, or create a new file.
2. In Trigger (or LabView®), program the properties and logic for each channel and for the experiment as a
whole.
3. Send the properties and logic to the LC880’s memory.
4. Test your program by simulating triggers and examining the outputs using the LC880’s channel LEDs, an
oscilloscope or other diagnostic tool.
5. Store variations of the channel properties in one of the 64 settingsprofiles in the LC880.
6. Plug your experimental equipment to the LC880.
7. Run the experiment, using the LC880 by itself or leaving it tethered to the PC. Switch between settings profiles
during the experiment to handle or simulate various timing conditions.
InstallingTriggerSoftware
Insert the Trigger Software disk in the CD-ROM drive and execute the setup.exe file.
SettingUptheLC880
1. Plug the power cable from the back of the unit into a 110–250 VAC power outlet.
2. Connect the 9-pin cable to the back of the LC880 and to a free serial port on your PC.
3. Press the Power button on the front of the LC880.
4. From your computer, run Trigger.exe to launch the Trigger software.
5. From within Trigger, select View>Options>Com Port. The Serial Communications screen will open.
6. Select the port to which the LC880 is connected. The LC880 will automatically detect the baud rate, which is
typically set to 38400. If the RS232 cable running to your LC880 is greater than 30m long, you may need to
lower the baud rate to achieve reliable communication.

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GettingHelp
This guide is your main source for information on operating the LC880 and Trigger software. The guide is also
available in an Adobe®Acrobat®Portable Document Format (pdf) file for electronic viewing.
While running Trigger, press F1 to view this document on-line. Or, press SHIFT-F1, then select a button or menu
option to view help topics for a particular feature.
The LabSmith web site (www.labsmith.com) also includes helpful applications notes and other technical information
to help you use the LC880.
If you are unable to find the information you need, please contact our technical support team at (925) 292-5161, or e-
mail us at info@labsmith.com.
If you need to contact support, please let us know the version of software you are using. To determine the software
version number, select “About Trigger” from the Help menu.

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OVERVIEW OF LC880 CONTROLS
The LC880 is the control unit and interface for your experimental equipment. You will program it using the Trigger
software. Once you’ve designed, tested and downloaded your program,you can control the LC880 from the
computer, or you can run it in stand-alone mode.
Indicators and controls on the LC880 front panel will help you run your experiments. You’ll learn all about these
functions in the Experimenting section later. For now, we’ll give you a short tour of the inputs, outputs and controls
so you can work with the unit while you learn to use the Trigger software.
BackPanelInputsandOutputs
The back panel includes the following connectors:
-an internally-fused jack for a standard 110–250 VAC power cord
-a 9-pin RS232 jack to connect to the Comm port of your PC
-eight BNC channel input jacks (in1–in8), normally-high (5 Volts)
-eight BNC channel output jacks (outA–outH), normally low (0 Volts)
-a BNC input jack for an external clock source.
The inputs and outputs will accept any device into that sends or receives TTL-compatible signals.
Channel Inputs
Clock Input
Channel Outputs
110-220 VAC
Input
RS232 PC Input

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FrontPanelControls
The LC880 front panel controls begin with the Power button and Power LED in the upper left corner. When you
first press the Power button, the LED will flash green and red while the system runs its initial diagnostics. It will
then glow a steady color . When it glows a steady green, the front panel is unlocked and accepting button pushes.
When it glows red, the front panel is locked. When the front panel is locked, even the power switch is deactivated,
providing security against accidental mis-setting or tampering.
The channel LEDs offer useful information about the state of each channel. A green light typically indicates that the
channel is ready to receive a trigger. A red light typically indicates that the channel is in the process of triggering.
When a channel indicator is off, the channel is disabled (see Running Experiments:Enable/Disable Channels). Some
useful exceptions will be discussed in the Timing modes section below.
The All Channel LED shows the status for all channels. A green LED indicates that the LC880 will respond to
external inputs and that external outputs are active. A red LED indicates that the LC880 will not respond to external
inputs and that outputs are in a fixed and frozen logical state..
The Channel and Function Buttons work as pairs—you will select one of each to perform any function. In the base
state, all buttons glow dimly, indicating that they’re ready for your instruction. Once you press a channel or function
button, only the available options will be illuminated.
Power Switch
Channel LEDs
Power LED
Channel Buttons
Function Buttons

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TRIGGER SOFTWARE INTERFACE
Trigger has been designed exclusively for setup and control of the LC880. You’ll use Trigger to set the timing
properties and logic for each of the eight channels and to set up overall properties for the experiment.
MainScreen
When you run Trigger, you’ll be greeted by the Main screen:
From this screen you’ll control or access all of Trigger’s functions. Most Trigger functions can be accessed in two
ways by selecting an option from a pull-down menu or by pressing a button on the Main screen.
1. Menu options:
The File menu lets you open, close and save experiment files. Trigger files bear a .trg suffix.
The Edit Menu lets you cut, copy and paste text as you edit your program.
The View menu lets you set up the Trigger interface. Choose to display or hide the tool bars and status bar,
select the font used in Trigger, and set up communications with the LC880.
The Channel menu lets you open the screens for “General Settings” and for each of the eight channels.
The Program menu includes options for communicating with the LC880. You can send logic, send
properties, reset all channels, or enable/ disable the LC880’s inputs and outputs.
2. The buttons are as follows:

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The General Settings button opens the General Settings screen.
The Channel buttons open the Settings screens for all channels.
1. The Program button updatesthe LC880 with all current settings.
2. The Reset button resets all channels of the LC880. Retriggering Counters and delay settings will be
reset as well.
3. The Main window panel shows a text summary of all of the settings that have been entered. This summary
may be printed for review and documentation purposes. The text is not freely editable and must be modified
through the dialogs. Double clicking on selected parts of the summary opens the dialog needed to edit the
text.
At any time,the LC880 control bar can be hidden or displayed by clicking View>LC880.
GeneralSettings
The “General Settings” screen lets you control functions that affect all channels of the LC880. To reach this screen,
click the “General Settings” button, or choose “General” from the Channel menu.
Disable/EnableI/O
On occasion you will need to abort an experiment or quickly place all outputs to your equipment in a “safe” state.
Each of the tabs of the General Settings screen includes buttons that let you “disable” and “enable” all inputs and
outputs to the LC880. With I/O disabled, input signals are ignored. Each output will be held at either a logic low or
logic high, depending upon its channel properties. We’ll refer to the “safe” voltage that a channel produces when
disabled as the “quiescent state” (see Channel Properties: Quiescent States).
To restore channels functions, click the “Enable I/O” button. These functions are nonvolatile: the enabled and
disabled state are restored on power cycle.
You can also disable or enable inputs and outpus from the LC880 front panel (see Experimenting: Disable/Enable
All).
Lock/Unlock Panel
You may lock or unlock the front panel buttons using the “Lock Panel” and “Unlock Panel” buttons. This ability
comes in handy for example in embedded control applications where the LC880 should function only in stand-alone
or computer-controlled modes. When the panel is locked, the LED next to the power button glows a steady red and
all buttons are dark. When the panel is unlocked, this LED glows green and front-panel buttons are illuminated.
Like the enable/disable IO functions, these settings are nonvolatile and are restored on power up. Because the power
button is disabled,the LC880 must be disconnected from AC power to turn it off, if the front panel is locked.

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Time base settings
Each pair of channels of the LC880 can independently utilize one of four different time bases so you can control and
measure events that occur a few nanoseconds apart, or a few hundred seconds apart.
In “100”MHz time base mode (the default) , the LC880 aligns signals to an internal 100 MHz clock, for timing
resolution of 10 ns. Use this “hi-res.”mode when the events of your experiment occur in rapid succession
(milliseconds or less).
“100/64”MHz time base mode allows the LC880 to control events that occur over longer time periods (milliseconds
to minutes). This mode is called “low-res.” mode in the following documentation.
In “Ext.” time base mode, the channels use an external clock input for the time base. This input must be TTL-level
between 1 and 100 MHz applied to the external clock input on the back of the LC880. This allows multiple LC880s
to be synchronized to the same time base, high-precision external time bases to be used, or variable-frequency time
bases to be used. This time base cannot be produced by a channel using the time base as an input!
“Ext./64” time base mode divides the frequency of the signal applied to the external clock input before using it as a
time base.
If the external clock is being used as a time base, the frequency entered into the edit box is used to calculate the
timing settings. For example, if this setting is 10% higher than actual, the channels using this time base will be 10%
long on delays and durations.

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CHANNEL PROPERTIES
ChannelPropertiesScreen
Each channel has a Settings screen in which you’ll select the timing mode, set the timing properties, and establish the
logic that will determine when the channel will trigger.
To open the Settings screen for a channel, select the channel from the Channel menu, or click a channel button (A –
H) on the Main screen. You can open more than one channel screen at a time.
Channel properties are organized by tabs. The tabs that are relevant for a particular timing mode appear
automatically when that timing mode is selected. For convenience, all settings are retained and saved, including
those for timing modes that are not currently selected.
Three additional buttons appear next to the tabs:
-Disable temporarily disables the channel. The channel remains fixed in its quiescent state (see Quiescent
States below). The front panel LED for that channel will be unlit.(See Running Experiments: Channel
LEDs)This disable function is volatile: all channels are re-enabled on power up.
-Enable restores channel functions following a temporary disable. The front panel LED for that channel will
glow to indicate the channel's status.
-Reset reinitializes the internal trigger counters and sweep timing for the current channel. This function can
be called simultaneously for all channels by pressing the “Reset” button on the main tool bar.
-Force Trigger lets you simulate a valid input signal for the channel (see Channel Properties: Logic for
more). This button, which is only available with functions that can be triggered, is useful both for

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troubleshooting your channel settings and implementing software control of experiments. You can also force
trigger a channel from the LC880 front panel (See Running Experiments: Force Trigger).
QuiescentStates
When you disable a channel, its input will not change the output. The “quiescent state” of a channel is the setting of
its output when the channel is disabled. You can set each channel’s quiescent state to be a TTL high (3.5–5 V) or
low (0–0.2 V) to provide a safe signal to the output device if you need to abort an experiment or stops its progress.
The method for setting the quiescent state depends on the timing mode. Most modes include an “Invert Output”
option which sets the output normally High.
TimingModes
In this section we’ll begin to use the various LC880 timing modes. Each channel can be configured to operate in one
of eight modes:
-Fixed output
-Output=Input (Passive Mode)
-Delayed Pulse After Trigger
-Clocked Pulse Stream
-Validated Trigger Input (Noise Suppression)
-Dynamically Delayed Pulse
-Counter/Timer
-Toggled Output.
When a timing mode is selected, the relevant property tabs will be displayed.
NOTE:All timing property tabs include a space for Notes. These notes are saved
and appear in the Main Screen program summary area.It is good practice to
document your settings extensively. As with all programming,good documentation
will simplify the process of creating, debugging and running your experiments.
For each timing mode you’ll be able to set up a simple example to view the output of the channel.
To set up for the experiments below:
1. Make sure that the LC880 is connected to the PC.
2. Plug a normally open push-button trigger switch into Input 1. The button will represent our triggering “event.”
3. Open Channel A’s Setting screen, and select the “Delayed pulse after trigger” timing mode (you’ll learn about
Delayed Trigger mode shortly).
4. Select the “Logic” tab. Enter the logical phrase:
inA = not in1;
Then click OK. With this logic, Channel A will trigger when you depress the trigger button. (You’ll learn all
about Logic below).
5. Now transfer the logic to the LC880 by clicking the “Set All Channels” button .
6. Plug an oscilloscope to Output A to observe the channel output. Remember, the output voltage will vary from
0 to 5 V.

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“Apply” versus “Program All Channels”
Each properties screen includes an “Apply” button which, when clicked, will send the current timing properties to
the channel on the LC880.
NOTE: If you change a channel’s properties, closing the Settings screen will have
the same effect as clicking “Apply.”Clicking the “OK” button will also have
the same effect.
Logic settings are sent and saved in the LC880, but any changes are not implemented on the LC880 until you click
“Set All Channels” button on the Main screen or choose Program>Program All Channels.
“Program All Channels” is the same as clicking “Apply” for all channels and then instructing the LC880 to update its
logic programming.
The “Cancel” button cancels any edits made since the last time the “Apply” button was clicked and closes the dialog
window.
Fixed Output Mode
In this mode, the channel output remains in the selected state (Low or High), regardless of the input.
The front panel LED for the channel will glow green when the output is Low or red when the output is high.
To try fixed output mode:

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On the “Properties” tab of Channel A, choose “Fixed Output” from the pop-up. Choose “Low”or “High”as the
output state, then click “Apply” to save the settings. At Output A, the signal will remain a steady TTL logic low or
high, depending on your selection.
Passive Mode (Output = Input)
In passive mode, the output signal equals the input signal or its logical inverse.
The front panel LED for the channel will glow green when the output is Low or red when the output is high.
To try passive mode:
On Channel A’s Settings screen, select the “Output=Input” timing mode. In the Function box, choose
“Output=Input,” then Click “Apply” to save the settings.
When the trigger button is not depressed (i.e.,the input signal is low), the signal at Output A will be a TTL low.
Now, depress the trigger button at Input 1—the signal at Output A will go high.
If you select “Output=!Input (invert), the channel output will remain high until you depress the trigger.

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Clocked Pulse Stream Mode
In clock mode, the output of the channel is a steady stream of pulses. You control the pulse duration and the time
between pulses. The input to a clock channel does not affect its output.
The front panel LED for a clock channel will glow green when the output is low or red when the output is high.
NOTE: For a high-frequency clock the LED will alternate between red and green
so quickly that it will appear as a continuous pale green, yellow, or orange light.
As mentioned earlier, the LC880 can operate in two clock modes: hi-resolution and low-resolution (see General
Settings: Clock). In hi-res mode, the clock pulse and duration can range from 0.64 µs to 52.4 ms in increments of
160 ns. In low-res mode, pulse and duration can range from 30.1 µs to 3.35 s in increments of 10.24 µs.Trigger
automatically rounds entries to the nearest allowed setting.
To set the pulse duration, select the timing units (seconds, microseconds, milliseconds or nanoseconds) from the
pop-up, then enter the duration in the “Clock high duration” box.
To set the time between pulses, select the units, then enter the duration in the “Clock low duration” box.
A clock’s quiescent state is normally low (See Channel Properties: Quiescent States). Check the “Inverted output”
box if the quiescent state for the channel should be high instead.
NOTE:In the normal clock state, a high input turns the clock on and a low input
turns it off. If the “Inverted output” box is checked, a low input turns the clock on
and a high input turns it off.

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To try Clock mode:
1. On the General Settings screen, select “100/64” (low-resolution mode) for Channels A and B.
2. On Channel A’s Properties tab, choose “Clock” as the mode, select an “on” duration of 100 ms and an “off”
duration of 500 ms. Click “Apply” to save the settings.
The signal at Output A will go high every 500 ms and will remain high for 100 ms each time.
To test faster clock settings, select “Full” (high-resolution) mode under General Settings, then set duration and delay
times of less than 52 ms.
Delayed Pulse After Trigger Mode
Upon receiving an input signal, a delayed trigger waits a specified delay time, then sends a pulse to the channel
output. This mode has several property tabs.
Delay
On the Delay tab you’ll specify:
Delay after trigger The delay between a valid trigger and an output signal
Duration of pulse The duration of the output signal
Until Reset The output will remain high after a valid trigger, until the channel is reset
Inverted Output Check the box to set the output high until a valid trigger.
The range of settings you can use with the delayed trigger depend upon the current timing mode:

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100 (high res mode) 100/64 (low res mode)
Delay range 20 ns to 21.47 s 1.28 µs to 1374 s
Duration range 7.7 µs to 21.47 s. 493 µs to 1374 s
Delay / Duration
resolution 10 ns 640 ns
Triggering
This tab lets you control how the channel will trigger:
Normal The channel can retrigger an unlimited number of times
Skip N triggers The channel triggersonly after the specified number of input pulses (between 0 and
2,147,483,647).
Retrigger N times Limitsthe number of retriggers allowed between resets (between 0 and 2,147,483,647).
To allow a channel to be triggered again after reaching the limit, press the “Reset”
button on the LC880 or choose Program>Reset Channels in Trigger.
Trigger on rising input Sets the channel to be edge triggered. In other words, an input signal that stays high
triggers the channel only once.
Trigger on input high Allows the channel to be repeatedly triggered while an input is high. This setting could
be used for generating a low-precision gated clock, for example. However, the latency
time between retriggers is indeterminate (typically around 10 µs) so a clock made this
way is not suitable for applications requiring high precision.

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Alert host computer Sends a “ping” to the PC upon completion of the trigger cycle.
following trigger
Sweep
To facilitate time-delay scanning experiments, the delay of the pulse relative to the trigger can be “swept” or
incremented by a specified value each time the channel is triggered. The sweep value must be positive. The
increment resolution is 5ns. However, the actual delay is rounded to the nearest 10 ns at full internal clock. For
example if the increment is set to 5 ns, the actual delay is incremented by 10 ns every second trigger event.
The front panel LED for the delayed trigger will glow green until an input signal is detected. The LED will be unlit
for the delay time and will glow red for the duration time. What happens next depends upon the channel settings:
Retriggering
enabled? Edge
triggered? the channel LED…
no yes or no remains red (no more triggers accepted)
yes no glows green (waiting for next trigger)
yes yes is off; glows green once input goes low
To try the delayed pulse mode:
Under General Properties, choose 100/64 (low resolution) clock mode for Channels A and B.
1. In Channel A’s properties screen, select “Delayed Trigger.”
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