Solution
NI Camera Link Frame Grabbers give you access to the serial port on a connected Camera Link camera, but this port does not enumerate as a standard COM port. To send a serial command to your camera, you can use one of the following methods:
- Use the IMAQ Serial VIs in LabVIEW
The
NI-IMAQ driver includes VIs for communicating with your camera over serial. Use
IMAQ Serial Write.vi to write commands to the camera and
IMAQ Serial Read.vi to read the camera's response. The following example shows how to do this:
- Use the NI Camera File Generator
The NI Camera File Generator is used to create or edit camera files, which define the interaction between NI software, the frame grabber, and your camera. This tool also allows you to send and receive serial data from your camera. For more information, refer to the the following KnowledgeBase article:
Send Serial Commands via the Camera File Generator to My Camera Link Camera- Use the NI-IMAQ Driver's C Library or .NET Library in the Third-Party Software
To access these serial functions in the NI-IMAQ Function Reference Help, navigate to the following location: NI-IMAQ Functions » Low-level Functions » Serial Communication Functions
- Use the Third-Party Configuration Tool from Your Camera's Manufacturer
Many camera manufacturers have a configuration tool (such as Basler Pylon) that can be used to configure the settings for your camera, even if it is being used with an NI frame grabber.