National Instruments NI PCIe-1429 User manual

Getting Started with the NI PCIe-1429 and
NI PCIe-1430
The NI PCIe-1429 (NI 1429) and NI PCIe-1430 (NI 1430) are PCI Express (PCIe) image acquisition
devices. The NI 1429 supports Base, Medium, and Full configuration Camera Link-compatible
cameras. The NI 1430 supports up to two Base configuration Camera Link-compatible cameras. This
document describes how to install and configure the necessary hardware and software components to
begin using the NI 1429 and NI 1430.
What You Need to Get Started
You need the following items to set up and use the NI 1429 or NI 1430:
❑NI 1429 or NI 1430 image acquisition device
❑Cameras and cables
• NI 1429
– Camera Link-compatible camera
– One MDR 26-pin Camera Link cable for Base configuration cameras
– Two MDR 26-pin Camera Link cables of the same length for Medium or Full
configuration cameras
• NI 1430
– Up to two Base configuration Camera Link-compatible cameras
– One MDR 26-pin Camera Link cable per Base configuration camera
❑Computer running Microsoft Windows Vista/XP/2000 with at least one available x4 or larger PCIe
slot
Note Visit ni.com/info and enter rdvisionvista for more information about
National Instruments image acquisition device compatibility with Windows Vista.
❑NI Vision Acquisition Software 8.0 or later, which includes the NI-IMAQ driver software
❑Optional software for developing applications:
– NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection
– NI Vision Development Module
–LabVIEW
– LabWindows™/CVI™
– Microsoft Visual Basic

Getting Started with the NI PCIe-1429 and 1430 2 ni.com
Optional Equipment
National Instruments offers a variety of products for use with the NI 1429 and NI 1430, including
the following:
• NI Camera Link I/O Extension Board for additional triggering, timing and I/O
(Part number 779352-01)
• SMB to BNC cable, used for front panel trigger I/O (part number 763389-01)
Refer to the National Instruments catalog, visit ni.com, or call the National Instruments office nearest
you for specific information about these products.
Related Documentation
The following documents contain additional information that you may find helpful:
•NI PCIe-1429 User Manual—Contains information about programming options, hardware
functionality, and signal connections.
•NI PCIe-1430 User Manual—Contains information about programming options, hardware
functionality, and signal connections.
•NI Vision Acquisition Software Release Notes—Outlines new functionality, system requirements,
installation procedures, and descriptions of the documentation included with the NI-IMAQ driver
software.
• Measurement & Automation Explorer Help for NI-IMAQ—Describes how to configure the
NI-IMAQ driver software, NI image acquisition devices, and cameras using Measurement &
Automation Explorer (MAX).
•NI-IMAQ Help—Contains fundamental programming concepts for the NI-IMAQ driver software
and terminology for using NI image acquisition devices.
Safety Information
Caution The following paragraphs contain important safety information you must follow when
installing and operating the device.
Do not operate the device in a manner not specified in the documentation. Misuse of the device may
result in a hazard and may compromise the safety protection built into the device. If the device is
damaged, turn it off and do not use it until service-trained personnel can check its safety. If necessary,
return the device to National Instruments for repair.
Keep away from live circuits. Do not remove equipment covers or shields unless you are trained to do
so. If signal wires are connected to the device, hazardous voltages can exist even when the equipment is
turned off. To avoid a shock hazard, do not perform procedures involving cover or shield removal unless
you are qualified to do so. Disconnect all field power prior to removing covers or shields.
If the device is rated for use with hazardous voltages (>30 Vrms, 42.4 Vpk, or 60 Vdc), it may require a
safety earth-ground connection wire. Refer to the device specifications for maximum voltage ratings.
Because of the danger of introducing additional hazards, do not install unauthorized parts or modify
the device. Use the device only with the chassis, modules, accessories, and cables specified in the
installation instructions. All covers and filler panels must be installed while operating the device.
Do not operate the device in an explosive atmosphere or where flammable gases or fumes may be
present. Operate the device only at or below the pollution degree stated in the specifications. Pollution
consists of any foreign matter—solid, liquid, or gas—that may reduce dielectric strength or surface
resistivity. The following is a description of pollution degrees.

©National Instruments Corporation 3 Getting Started with the NI PCIe-1429 and NI PCIe-1430
• Pollution Degree 1—No pollution or only dry, nonconductive pollution occurs. The pollution has
no effect.
• Pollution Degree 2—Normally only nonconductive pollution occurs. Occasionally, nonconductive
pollution becomes conductive because of condensation.
• Pollution Degree 3—Conductive pollution or dry, nonconductive pollution occurs. Nonconductive
pollution becomes conductive because of condensation.
Clean the device and accessories by brushing off light dust with a soft, nonmetallic brush. Remove
other contaminants with a stiff, nonmetallic brush. The unit must be completely dry and free from
contaminants before returning it to service.
Yo u must insulate signal connections for the maximum voltage for which the device is rated. Do not
exceed the maximum ratings for the device. Remove power from signal lines before connection to or
disconnection from the device.
Caution National Instruments measurement products may be classified as either Measurement
Category I or II. Operate products at or below the Measurement Category level specified in the
hardware specifications.
Measurement Category1: Measurement circuits are subjected to working voltages2and transient
stresses (overvoltage) from the circuit to which they are connected during measurement or test.
Measurement Category establishes standardized impulse withstand voltage levels that commonly
occur in electrical distribution systems. The following is a description of Measurement (Installation3)
Categories:
• Measurement Category I is for measurements performed on circuits not directly connected to the
electrical distribution system referred to as MAINS4voltage. This category is for measurements of
voltages from specially protected secondary circuits. Such voltage measurements include signal
levels, special equipment, limited-energy parts of equipment, circuits powered by regulated
low-voltage sources, and electronics.
• Measurement Category II is for measurements performed on circuits directly connected to the
electrical distribution system. This category refers to local-level electrical distribution, such as
that provided by a standard wall outlet (e.g., 115 V for U.S. or 230 V for Europe). Examples of
Measurement Category II are measurements performed on household appliances, portable tools,
and similar products.
• Measurement Category III is for measurements performed in the building installation at the
distribution level. This category refers to measurements on hard-wired equipment such as
equipment in fixed installations, distribution boards, and circuit breakers. Other examples are
wiring, including cables, bus-bars, junction boxes, switches, socket-outlets in the fixed installation,
and stationary motors with permanent connections to fixed installations.
1 Measurement Categories as defined in electrical safety standard IEC 61010-1.
2 Working voltage is the highest rms value of an AC or DC voltage that can occur across any particular insulation.
3 Measurement Category is also referred to as Installation Category.
4 MAINS is defined as the (hazardous live) electrical supply system to which equipment is designed to be connected for the
purpose of powering the equipment. Suitably rated measuring circuits may be connected to the MAINS for measuring
purposes.

Getting Started with the NI PCIe-1429 and 1430 4 ni.com
Unpacking
The NI 1429 and NI 1430 ship in an antistatic package to prevent electrostatic discharge from damaging
device components. To avoid such damage in handling your device, take the following precautions:
1. Ground yourself using a grounding strap or by touching a grounded object, such as the computer
chassis.
2. Touch the antistatic package to a metal part of the computer chassis before removing the device
from the package.
Caution Never touch the exposed pins of connectors.
3. Remove the device from the package and inspect it for loose components or any other signs of
damage. Notify National Instruments if the device appears damaged in any way. Do not install
a damaged device in the computer.
Store the NI 1429 and NI 1430 in the antistatic package when not in use.
Installation
The following instructions are for general installation. Refer to the documentation provided by your
computer manufacturer for specific instructions and warnings. Refer to the Specifications section for
typical power requirements for the NI 1429 and NI 1430.
1. Install the NI Vision Acquisition Software before installing the NI 1429 or NI 1430. Refer to the
NI Vision Acquisition Software Release Notes for specific installation instructions.
2. Power off and unplug the computer.
Caution To protect yourself and the computer from electrical hazards, the computer must remain
unplugged until the installation is complete.
3. Remove the computer cover to expose the expansion slots.
Caution Installing a PCIe device into a PCI, PCI-X, AGP, or any non-PCIe slot can damage both the
computer motherboard and the device. If you are unsure of the difference between connector types,
do not install the device. Refer to the documentation provided by your computer manufacturer to
determine the correct slot in which to install the NI 1429 or NI 1430.
4. Touch a metal part of the computer to discharge any static electricity that might be on your clothes
or body. Static electricity can damage the device.
5. Choose an unused x4 or larger PCIe slot, and remove the corresponding expansion slot cover on
the back panel of the computer. Figure 1 shows the different types of expansion slots available on
most computers.
Note The NI 1429 and NI 1430 are intended for a x4 PCIe slot. They will not fit properly into a
x1 PCIe slot. The NI 1429 and NI 1430 will fit into, and can be used in, a x8 or x16 PCIe slot. Using
a smaller width device in a larger width slot is called up-plugging. When up-plugging, some
motherboards only support plug-in devices at the x1 data rate. If you plan to use the NI 1429 or
NI 1430 in an up-plugging configuration with a camera that produces data faster than 200 MB/s,
verify with the computer manufacturer that the motherboard will support a x4 plug-in device at a x4
data rate in the PC expansion slot you plan to use.

©National Instruments Corporation 5 Getting Started with the NI PCIe-1429 and NI PCIe-1430
Figure 1. PC Expansion Slots
6. Remove your device from the antistatic package and gently rock the device into the slot. The
connection may be tight, but do not force the device into place.
Note Check that the bracket of your device aligns up with the hole in the back panel rail of the
computer chassis.
7. Secure the device mounting bracket to the back panel rail of the computer.
Note If you will be using the NI Camera Link I/O Extension Board, refer to the NI Camera Link I/O
Extension Board User Guide for installation instructions.
8. Replace the computer cover.
9. Connect the MDR 26-pin Camera Link cable to the Camera Link-compatible camera. Refer to
your camera manufacturer documentation for specific instructions about how to connect the cable
to your camera.
10. Connect the Camera Link cable to the Camera Link connector on the NI 1429 or NI 1430 front
panel.
11. Plug in and power on the computer.
1 PCI 32-bit Connector
2 PCI 64-bit and/or PCI-X Connector
3 PCIe x4 Connector
4 PCIe x16 Connector
4
2
1
3

Getting Started with the NI PCIe-1429 and 1430 6 ni.com
The NI 1429 or NI 1430 is now installed and the camera is now connected.
Configuring the NI 1429 and NI 1430
After you have installed the NI 1429 or NI 1430 and powered on your computer, Windows will
recognize the device and assign resources to it. Use Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX),
the National Instruments configuration utility, to configure the NI 1429 and NI 1430 for acquisition.
Refer to the Measurement & Automation Explorer Help for NI-IMAQ for additional information about
configuring the NI 1429 and NI 1430.
Note Before configuring the device in MAX, ensure that you installed the NI-IMAQ driver
software.
Interfacing with the NI PCIe-1429 and NI PCIe-1430
The Camera Link standard defines physical connections between image acquisition devices and Camera
Link cameras, and it allows for flexibility of image format and data transfer protocols. The camera
manufacturer defines image parameters, such as image resolution and the number of bits per pixel, and
camera control parameters, such as frame-on-demand and exposure control signals.
These variable parameters are defined on a per-camera basis in a camera file ( <camera_model>.icd )
supplied by National Instruments. NI-IMAQ uses the information in this camera file to program the
NI 1429 and NI 1430 to acquire images from a specific camera. Without this camera file, the driver does
not have the information necessary to configure the NI 1429 and NI 1430 to recognize the image format
of the particular camera you are using. Refer to MAX for information about valid camera attributes for
your camera and image acquisition device.
Many camera files are installed when you install NI-IMAQ, and many more are available for download
from the National Instruments Camera Advisor at ni.com/camera. You can also create your own
camera files using the NI Camera File Generator. This utility can be downloaded from ni.com/
vision. When installing new camera files, save them to the <NI-IMAQ>\Data directory.
Contact National Instruments technical support to request camera files not available in the Camera
Advisor.
MAX provides a simple interface for associating a camera file with the NI 1429 and NI 1430. Use the
following guidelines to access the camera file in MAX:
NI 1429
1. Launch MAX.
2. Expand the Devices and Interfaces branch of the configuration tree.
3. Expand the NI-IMAQ Devices branch.
4. Expand the NI PCIe-1429 branch.
5. Right-click Channel 0 and select Camera.
6. Select your camera from the menu. If your camera is not in the menu, verify that the appropriate
camera file is installed in the <NI-IMAQ>\Data directory.
NI 1430
1. Launch MAX.
2. Expand the Devices and Interfaces branch of the configuration tree.
3. Expand the NI-IMAQ Devices branch.
4. Expand the NI PCIe-1430 branch.

©National Instruments Corporation 7 Getting Started with the NI PCIe-1429 and NI PCIe-1430
5. Right-click Port 0 or Port 1 and select Camera.
6. Select your camera from the menu. If your camera is not in the menu, verify that the appropriate
camera file is installed in the <NI-IMAQ>\Data directory.
Note If you lose communication with the camera during an acquisition for any reason, such as
unplugging a cable or powering off your camera, you must restart the acquisition to allow the device
to relock the incoming timing signals.
Note The NI 1429 and NI 1430 are each equipped with a temperature monitor. The device will stop
acquiring images if it reaches its maximum allowable temperature. An error will occur, reporting that
the maximum temperature has been reached.
Specifications
The following specifications apply to the NI 1429 and NI 1430 image acquisition devices. These
specifications are typical at 25 °C, unless otherwise stated.
External Connections
Number of external trigger I/O lines......................1
Note External TTL lines on the 15-pin D-SUB connector become unavailable when the trigger
source is set as an optically isolated input or an RS-422 input in MAX.
External trigger lines
Voltage range .................................................0 V to 5 V (TTL)
VIH min ..................................................2.0 V
VIL max ..................................................0.8 V
VOH min .................................................2.4 V at 8 mA source
VOL max.................................................0.55 V at 8 mA sink
Polarity...........................................................Programmable, active high or active low
Power-on state........................................................Input (high-impedance) 22.1 kΩpull-down to
ground
Camera interface ....................................................Camera Link 1.1
Clocks
Pixel clock frequency range...................................20 MHz to 85 MHz1
Note The Camera Link specification requires cameras to transmit at a minimum of 20 MHz.
PCI Express Interface
PCI Express compliance ........................................Version 1.0a
Native link width....................................................x4
Up-plugging link width availability.......................x8, x16
Note Some system devices limit data transfer rates for plug-in devices in an up-plugging
configuration. Refer to the documentation provided by your computer manufacturer to determine
if your computer will support a x4 plug-in device at a x4 data rate in a larger slot.
1 This value corresponds to the serialized Camera Link cable transmission rate of 140 to 595 MHz.

Getting Started with the NI PCIe-1429 and 1430 8 ni.com
Serial Interface
Baud rates supported..............................................300, 600, 1200, 1800, 2000, 2400, 3600, 4800, 7200,
or 9600 bps; 19.2, 38.4, 56, or 115.2 kbps
Power Requirements
Voltage ...................................................................+12 V (1.25 A)1
Physical Characteristics
Dimensions ............................................................10.7 cm ×17.5 cm (4.2 in. ×6.9 in.)
Weight ....................................................................205 g (7.23 oz)
Environment
The NI 1429 and NI 1430 are intended for indoor use only.
Operating temperature ........................................... 0 °C to 40 °C2
Storage temperature ...............................................–20 °C to 70 °C
Relative humidity...................................................5% to 90%, noncondensing
Pollution Degree ....................................................2
Approved at altitudes up to 2,000 m.
Safety
This product is designed to meet the requirements of the following standards of safety for electrical
equipment for measurement, control, and laboratory use:
• IEC 61010-1, EN 61010-1
• UL 61010-1, CSA 61010-1
Note For UL and other safety considerations, refer to the product label, or visit
ni.com/certification, search by model number or product line, and click the appropriate
link in the Certification column.
Electromagnetic Compatibility
This product is designed to meet the requirements of the following standards of EMC for electrical
equipment for measurement, control, and laboratory use:
• EN 61326 EMC requirements; Minimum Immunity
• EN 55011 Emissions; Group 1, Class A
• CE, C-Tick, ICES, and FCC Part 15 Emissions; Class A
Note For EMC compliance, operate this device according to product documentation.
1 If you are using special firmware add-ons, this value is subject to change. Consult your firmware upgrade documentation for
specific requirements.
2 This temperature value was determined through testing the device in a Dell Precision 470 workstation with two adjacent
plug-in devices each dissipating 11.6 W.

©National Instruments Corporation 9 Getting Started with the NI PCIe-1429 and NI PCIe-1430
CE Compliance
This product meets the essential requirements of applicable European Directives, as amended for
CE marking, as follows:
• 73/23/EEC; Low-Voltage Directive (safety)
• 89/336/EEC; Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (EMC)
Note Refer to the Declaration of Conformity (DoC) for this product for any additional regulatory
compliance information. To obtain the DoC for this product, visit ni.com/certification,
search by model number or product line, and click the appropriate link in the Certification column.
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
EU Customers At the end of their life cycle, all products must be sent to a WEEE recycling center.
For more information about WEEE recycling centers and National Instruments WEEE initiatives,
visit ni.com/environment/weee.htm.
Where to Go for Support
The National Instruments Web site is your complete resource for technical support. At ni.com/
support you have access to everything from troubleshooting and application development self-help
resources to email and phone assistance from NI Application Engineers.
A Declaration of Conformity (DoC) is our claim of compliance with the Council of the European
Communities using the manufacturer’s declaration of conformity. This system affords the user
protection for electronic compatibility (EMC) and product safety. You can obtain the DoC for your
product by visiting ni.com/certification. If your product supports calibration, you can obtain the
calibration certificate for your product at ni.com/calibration.
National Instruments corporate headquarters is located at 11500 North Mopac Expressway, Austin,
Texas, 78759-3504. National Instruments also has offices located around the world to help address your
support needs. For telephone support in the United States, create your service request at ni.com/
support and follow the calling instructions or dial 512 795 8248. For telephone support outside the
United States, contact your local branch office:
Australia 1800 300 800, Austria 43 0 662 45 79 90 0, Belgium 32 0 2 757 00 20,
Brazil 55 11 3262 3599, Canada 800 433 3488, China 86 21 6555 7838,
Czech Republic 420 224 235 774, Denmark 45 45 76 26 00, Finland 385 0 9 725 725 11,
France 33 0 1 48 14 24 24, Germany 49 0 89 741 31 30, India 91 80 41190000,
Israel 972 0 3 6393737, Italy 39 02 413091, Japan 81 3 5472 2970, Korea 82 02 3451 3400,
Lebanon 961 0 1 33 28 28, Malaysia 1800 887710, Mexico 01 800 010 0793,
Netherlands 31 0 348 433 466, New Zealand 0800 553 322, Norway 47 0 66 90 76 60,
Poland 48 22 3390150, Portugal 351 210 311 210, Russia 7 495 783 68 51, Singapore 1800 226 5886,
Slovenia 386 3 425 42 00, South Africa 27 0 11 805 8197, Spain 34 91 640 0085,
Sweden 46 0 8 587 895 00, Switzerland 41 56 200 51 51, Taiwan 886 02 2377 2222,
Thailand 662 278 6777, Turkey 90 212 279 3031, United Kingdom 44 0 1635 523545

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