Staff Assigned: Adam Robichaud Linux Drivers for Aluma CCD47

Discussion in 'Aluma CCD Series' started by William Deich, Mar 22, 2022.

  1. William Deich

    William Deich Standard User

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    Hello,

    We have an Aluma CCD47, and would like to get the Linux drivers (and SDK) for it.

    We're currently using CentOS8 on an x86_64 system.

    (In roughly 3-6 months, we'll be switching from CentOS8 to Ubuntu 20, so I'm actually interested in having both available.)

    thanks much,
    -will
     
  2. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

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  3. William Deich

    William Deich Standard User

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    Ping -- I'm still seeking further info on these.

    I have since come across the drivers and API at https://cdn.diffractionlimited.com/dlapi/, which look to be what I need. Are those the latest/current packages?

    Also, has DL or the community created a Python or other high-level wrapper for this API?

    thanks!
     
  4. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

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    The API there is the prior release however it is quite representative of the current SDK.
    Adam has just returned from personal leave a few days ago and is getting caught up.
    No, we have not produced a Python wrapper - what are you looking to do?
     
  5. William Deich

    William Deich Standard User

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    We will be using the Aluma ccd47 as an exposure meter for a new instrument. For initial engineering, test, and development, we expect to use the Maxim software. However, the operational instrument will be run from a Linux server, and operationally our needs are much more limited than during the initial checkout and test period.

    I don't know what sort of adjustments we'll have to work through, e.g. whether there are choices of amplifiers, readout speeds, and finding a good operating temperature, and so on, but I expect our science team will sort that out during the initial engineering work, and that we'll then have fixed settings for normal instrument use. On the Linux server, I think that our key needs will be very simple: (a) setting exposure time based on the object and sky conditions; and then (b) using the TTL trigger capability for initiating and ending a series of full-frame unbinned exposures. Then there will be the usual range of lesser but still important operational issues, such as managing output directories and logging. We don't need shutter control -- indeed, we'll be removing its builtin shutter -- because the instrument has its own shutters controlled independently.

    With such a limited set of needs, it would be great if we could take advantage of a high-level scripting wrapper, or just use an existing standalone command-line application for driving the camera.
     
  6. Adam Robichaud

    Adam Robichaud Lead Developer Staff Member

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    Hi Will,

    Sorry for the slow response—I'm in the process of revalidating DLAPI 2.1 on Ubuntu 18.04. I've got a build for Ubuntu 20.04 as well, but our development environment isn't set up to test it yet (we're using Windows Subsystem for Linux to do that compilation, which doesn't have full USB support, so we're in the process of setting up a dev-box for that as well). I'll let you know when we've got something for you.

    -A
     

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