Basler Vision Technologies A202k, User Manual

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Configuring the Camera
BASLER A202
k
4-5
DRAFT
4.2 Configuring the Camera with Binary
Programming Commands
Configuration commands can be issued to the
A202
k
via the RS-644 serial connection in the
Camera Link interface between the frame grabber and the camera. Commands are issued using
a binary protocol. With this protocol, data is placed into a frame and sent to the camera. Once the
data is received it is checked for validity. If valid, the data is extracted and the command is
executed.
If the command issued to the camera was a read command, the camera will respond by placing
the requested data into a frame and sending it to the host computer.
A standard application programmer’s interface (API) for asynchronous serial reading and writing
via the RS-644 port on the frame grabber has been defined in the Camera Link standard
(Appendix B, API Functions). All Camera Link compatible frame grabbers provide a software
library (.dll file) named clser***.dll where *** is specific to the frame grabber vendor. There are four
functions within that DLL:
• ISerialInit - Initialize the serial communication for a specific board.
• clSerialRead - Read bytes from the camera.
• clSerialWrite - Write bytes to the camera.
• clSerialClose - Close the serial communication.
To execute the binary programming commands, you can load the DLL for the frame grabber you
are using into your programming tool. You can use either the API from the DLL delivered with the
grabber or the Basler CPA driver for executing the binary commands.
The Basler CPA (Camera Port Access) is a software framework which standardizes access to the
camera ports via frame grabbers from different vendors. With the help of the Basler CPA driver,
you can read and write blocks of data to and from the camera. The binary command protocol is
fully implemented in the CPA driver.
The CPA driver and a Programmers Guide for the driver are both part of Basler’s Classic Camera
Configuration Tool. The Classic Configuration Tool can be downloaded from the Basler web site
at www.basler-vc.com.
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The Basler Camera Configuration Tool is available in two versions: the Classic Camera
Configuration Tool (Classic CCT) and the Camera Configuration Tool Plus (CCT+). The
CPA driver and its Programmer’s Guide are only included with the Classic CCT.
A202
k
cameras will only work with the CCT+ version of the configuration tool. If you
want to use the configuration tool with an
A202
k
camera, you must download and in-
stall the CCT+ version and you must use the CCT+ to access the camera.
If you would also like to use the CPA driver, you should download and install the Classic
CCT. Once the Classic CCT is installed, you should check the path
C:\Program Files\Basler\Camera Config Tool\Cpa. The Cpa folder will contain the files
you need to work with the driver.
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If you are using your camera with an optional Basler Interface Converter (k-BIC), you
can configure the camera via the RS-232 serial connection between your PC and the
k-BIC.