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Picoscope 3504D possible to generate trigger signal for highspeedcamera?
Picoscope 3504D possible to generate trigger signal for highspeedcamera?
Hello all,
I am recording an electrical discharge with our Picoscope 3504D.
When detecting a current increase, I would like to send a trigger signal to a highspeed camera via the generator output.
Is this possible with this Picoscope? And if yes, how do I manage to do this?
I use the latest software.
Many greetings
Benjamin
I am recording an electrical discharge with our Picoscope 3504D.
When detecting a current increase, I would like to send a trigger signal to a highspeed camera via the generator output.
Is this possible with this Picoscope? And if yes, how do I manage to do this?
I use the latest software.
Many greetings
Benjamin
Re: Picoscope 3504D possible to generate trigger signal for highspeedcamera?
Hi Benjamin,
Sorry for the delay in responding.
Using the detected current increase you can Trigger the generation of a waveform on your PicoScope to Trigger the high speed Camera. As an example I have created a GIF file which shows this in action here:
.
I have used a PicoScope to represent the source of the current increase (using a light theme in PicoScope 7) and a PicoScope to represent how you might setup your 3504D (in a dark theme). You can download the data file of the Dark Themed PicoScope here: .
As you can see in the GIF file, the received rising (current) waveform on Channel A fires a Trigger when it passes through the threshold (set to zero Volts). When the Trigger fires, the Signal Generator creates a pulse, which is captured on Channel B, a short time later.
The pulse has a low amplitude (on purpose, to be able to see more clearly when it is changing) so you can set the level, width or any other parameter, how you want, to suit the Trigger on your Camera.
You will notice toward the end of the GIF file that I measure a delay from the Trigger position (the yellow diamond) to the leading edge of the generated pulse of around 82us. This is because the Number of Samples used for the Capture has been set to a low value which means that a low Sample rate will be used for the Capture, and the resulting Pulse Waveform, generated from the Scope trigger, will have a comparatively long delay. So, when I then increase the number of samples used for the Capture to the Maximum value for the PicoScope, the fastest sample rate is used for the Capture. This results in no visible delay for the Generated Waveform (there is a delay of around 600ns, but you would have to zoom in to see it).
So, if the Camera's response to the Trigger is fast enough to require a sub-microsecond response time for the Waveform generated from your rising edge source, you will need to use a large number of samples for your capture, to get the fastest response from the Generator.
In case you don't have the means of utilizing the generated pulses for your Camera, a quick search on the internet resulted in this https://stanfordcomputeroptics.com/tech ... tions.html (i'm sure there are plenty of other options).
If you need any further clarification, or need help modifying anything for your setup, let me know.
Regards,
Gerry
Sorry for the delay in responding.
Using the detected current increase you can Trigger the generation of a waveform on your PicoScope to Trigger the high speed Camera. As an example I have created a GIF file which shows this in action here:
I have used a PicoScope to represent the source of the current increase (using a light theme in PicoScope 7) and a PicoScope to represent how you might setup your 3504D (in a dark theme). You can download the data file of the Dark Themed PicoScope here: .
As you can see in the GIF file, the received rising (current) waveform on Channel A fires a Trigger when it passes through the threshold (set to zero Volts). When the Trigger fires, the Signal Generator creates a pulse, which is captured on Channel B, a short time later.
The pulse has a low amplitude (on purpose, to be able to see more clearly when it is changing) so you can set the level, width or any other parameter, how you want, to suit the Trigger on your Camera.
You will notice toward the end of the GIF file that I measure a delay from the Trigger position (the yellow diamond) to the leading edge of the generated pulse of around 82us. This is because the Number of Samples used for the Capture has been set to a low value which means that a low Sample rate will be used for the Capture, and the resulting Pulse Waveform, generated from the Scope trigger, will have a comparatively long delay. So, when I then increase the number of samples used for the Capture to the Maximum value for the PicoScope, the fastest sample rate is used for the Capture. This results in no visible delay for the Generated Waveform (there is a delay of around 600ns, but you would have to zoom in to see it).
So, if the Camera's response to the Trigger is fast enough to require a sub-microsecond response time for the Waveform generated from your rising edge source, you will need to use a large number of samples for your capture, to get the fastest response from the Generator.
In case you don't have the means of utilizing the generated pulses for your Camera, a quick search on the internet resulted in this https://stanfordcomputeroptics.com/tech ... tions.html (i'm sure there are plenty of other options).
If you need any further clarification, or need help modifying anything for your setup, let me know.
Regards,
Gerry
Gerry
Technical Specialist
Technical Specialist