Install the StarLab software first and then install the BeamGage software. Open the BeamGage software with your camera connected and click on the Power Meter section and select your Ophir meter that shows up. If you already have BeamGage installed, you currently will need to reinstall BeamGage. We are working on a solution to fix this that will be in a pending release of BeamGage.
This is a known issue where installing the StarLab software in a 64-bit PC will break the connection for the power meter in BeamGage. The solution is to install BeamGage after installing StarLab; then both will work OK.
In terms of breakthroughs, there are many hidden in the software architecture, but they are exciting only for the ardent software geek. The remaining beam analysis breakthroughs have mostly been functional.
It took years for the total vision of BeamGage to emerge. The system is the result of lessons learned from several predecessor systems. The constant need to interface new camera technology with different types of analysis tools, forced us to realize that analyzers and sources must be able to evolve independently of one another and on top of a solid video transport backbone. The BeamGage effort was all about creating the “Next Generation Profiler” (and sneaking a much-needed video transport backbone passed the bean counters, don’t tell anyone!).
The first real breakthrough was recognizing the need for a beam analysis system that was self validating. The system would validate against theoretical beams and adhere tightly to the ISO specification.
Second was the realization that data sources (cameras, files, and synthetic beams) should be treated by the analyzer in a symmetric fashion, the analyzer not knowing how to distinguish between them. In other words, the data sources are interchangeable and the analyzers compute results on theoretical beams and real beams in the exact same way.
Third was the realization that sources should be location transparent. In other words, the location on the network where video data is collected should be independent (or transparent) of the location where data is analyzed.
Forth was the realization that computer processors are not going to scale up in clock cycle speed as quickly as they will begin to scale up in number of CPUs per chip. A modern video analysis system should be designed to take advantage of multiples CPU cores. BeamGage has done this!
Multi-machine, multi-camera users can use BeamGage to throw enough hardware at a problem to get the job done. This is one of the market “sectors” that has not been addressed by previous beam analysis systems. Laser manufactures, government agencies, and large corporations should love this feature as it will support the notion of networking to centralize control rooms and automation systems that make use of BeamGage's new (and replete) automation interface. The custom computational package feature described above should target many new niche markets. Many scientists process video data or compute new results from the information provided by beam analysis systems. They don't want to invest in a massive amount of effort interfacing cameras and writing complicated user interfaces. BeamGage has made it easy for them to do their custom computations but still use all the facilities of BeamGage to manage those results. We are really hoping this “round hole” can accommodate more of the disenfranchised “square pegs” out there.
BeamGage will be a big plus to users that want to sample optical paths in more than one location simultaneously.
Those that align two or more beams or an array of fibers will greatly benefit from partitioning features.
All users will enjoy the rich 2D/3D beam rendering and expanded computation, pass/fail, and statistics features.
Going forward, Ophir-Spiricon will be able to add new video analysis applications on top of the existing video backbone, allowing instant use of all camera technologies wired to the backbone. Any new cameras added to the system will immediately be available to all analyzers built on the backbone. This capability will lower the development and maintenance costs of analyzers and cameras, and open the door for more innovation on the analysis side of that backbone.
BeamGage is the top of the line profiler product. It will allow users to synchronize external Ophir power meters and provide live calibration. Eventually, the other software products will be rewritten to use the same video backbone.
BeamGage is the industry's first beam profiling software to be newly designed, from scratch, using the most advanced tools and technologies. It took years for the total vision to emerge. BeamGage is the result of lessons learned from several predecessor systems. The constant need to interface new camera technology with different types of analysis tools forced us to realize that beam analysis software and sources must be able to evolve independent of one another and on top of a solid video transport backbone. The BeamGage effort was ALL about creating the "next generation laser beam profiler."
The first real breakthrough was recognizing the need for a beam analysis system that was self validating. (A method for users that need to know the difference between theoretical accuracy and measured accuracy; specifically, for anyone needing to validate measurements like laser manufacturers and regulatory users.) BeamGage needed to validate against theoretical beams and also adhere tightly to the ISO specification.
BeamGage includes an innovative utility, BeamMaker, which permits BeamGage to mathematically analyze synthetically generated beam profiles in the same way it would analyze real beam profiles. With BeamMaker, you can create synthetic profiles in virtually any camera frame format. Simulations can be done of width, height, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16... bit digitizers, as well as many other features like modal content, and noise and background effects. This opens up many reference beam processing options never available in the industry. Now a user can know the exact theoretically expected measurement, system induced error, and the difference between the theoretical and actual measurement.
BeamGage uses industry standard Microsoft Windows technology and is fully compatible with most desktop or laptop PC's. Laser beam images are brought into the PC using a camera with a standard USB or Firewire interface.
BeamGage is the first fully scalable beam analysis system. Any number of cameras can be viewed/analyzed/controlled from any number of networked machines, simultaneously. This gives the user the ability leverage large amounts of hardware power (RAM, CPU, storage and networks) to solve more complex video analysis problems. It has even been optimized to allow local-machine analysis clients to run uninhibited by the slower cross-network clients.
BeamGage is the first system to implement true multi-client functionality. This allows the user to launch any number of analyzers that subscribe to a single camera source and partition the detector data for area of interest based analysis. In other words, you can analyze any number of spatially-separated beams on the same detector or compute different results on overlapping regions.
One of the advantages for building software products on Microsoft technology is long-term viability, support, and user acceptance. Therefore, BeamGage is not likely to become obsolete in the near future. It should have a life of at least 8-10years.
We expect BeamGage to open several very important doors that were not available until this product.
BeamGage is the first ground-up beam profiling development in 10 years. A complete rewrite, it has: a) capitalized on the latest technology advancements including client/server, Internet, and Windows tools advancements, and b) taken all the lessons learned from beam profiling users and extended proven ISO techniques to support all the new ways the laser manufacturers and user communities are innovating with lasers.
A trademark has been received.
Yes, depending on the camera. If it's USB or FireWire, it will only require a license key that may or may not need to be purchased depending on when you ordered the camera. The only USB cameras that will not work with BeamGage are the rare LBA-USB-L230, L130, or L070 cameras. If you camera uses a frame grabber card it will not work with BeamGage. BeamGage will not support the legacy frame grabber cards.
Yes, you will still be able to use your FireWire or USB Ophir-Spiricon camera with the latest version of LBA and BeamStar after upgrading to BeamGage.
BeamGage Standard runs on .NET 3.5, so you need to make sure you have installed .NET 3.5 along with Service Pack 1 and any other updates that are available prior to installing BeamGage Standard.
To run your camera under BeamGage Standard it must be licensed. To license your camera, you need to contact our Service Department with the model number and serial number of the camera to check to see if you are eligible for a free upgrade license.
Yes, BeamGage works with Windows 7 32 bit.
BeamGage-Enterprise version, tentatively scheduled to be released July 2010, will run on Windows 7-64bit.
Yes.
Basic Automation Capability will be supported in BeamGage-Professional, not BeamGage-Standard, which is scheduled to be released Q1 2010.
If BeamGage does not recognize your camera immediately after the installation, reboot the computer.
BeamGage Professional and all other versions of BeamGage can be ran on the same computer all installed at the same time. We do it all the time in the Service and Sales Departments. You just need to make sure you are running the same revisions of BeamGage. Since they are available free from the web site you can easily upgrade all versions of BeamGage to the most current.
The ability to export ASCII data from BeamGage was recently added in the newest version 5.3. You can download it by following the link below. We also added the ability to export data in a number of different image formats. http://www.ophir-spiricon.com/laser-measurement-instruments/beam-profilers/services/software-download
Exporting ASCII or Image Data from BeamGage can be done by doing the following:
Since its introduction mid-2009 there have been a several update releases of BeamGage. For someone that was an early adaptor we highly recommend you go to our web site and download the latest version; its FREE! Not only will you be getting a version that has several new features but, and more importantly, we have taken many of the issues reported by our customers through our customer service group and the Microsoft error report process and fixed them in subsequent updates.
In some instances on laptops with integrated webcams, the integrated webcam drivers may be supplanting themselves in place of the Ophir-Spiricon driver, so the only way to overcome the driver mismatch and to provide support for the Ophir-Spiricon provided camera is to disable the integrated webcam in BIOS and remove the associated integrated webcam software.
Windows 7 contains a new set of 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller drivers. For some unknown reason these drivers will not communicate with the Pyrocam III. When the Pyrocam III is plugged into a Windows 7 computer nothing happens. No indication can be found that the Pyrocam III is plugged into the computer. The problem lies with the new OHCI Compliant Host Controller driver.
The solution is to replace the default "Texas Instruments 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller" with the "1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)".
To replace the default Texas Instruments 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller:
Yes you can. Go to Logging and select whether you want to log Continuously, by number of Frames, or by some duration of Time. The data will be saved in an Excel Friendly format. Now, take the data and you can have Excel load these files for your analysis.
There are two possible solutions:
On some computers the Pyrocam III does not register properly and Windows tries to use the wrong driver. This creates a problem in the Windows Device Manager and keeps the Pyrocam III from showing up in BeamGage. To fix this do the following: Enter the Windows Device Manager and locate the Pyrocam III with the Yellow Triangle next to it. Right click on the Pyrocam III and select Uninstall. Click on the computer name at the top of the Device Manager tree. Click on Action then Scan for hardware changes. The Pyrocam III will show up again, but without the Yellow Triangle. Now when you start BeamGage it will show up.
Note; this answer applies to new Pyrocam III's that are shipped with BeamGage software or have been upgraded to work with BeamGage software. If a Pyrocam III is not licensed to work with BeamGage software, then the license needs to purchased and the Pyrocam III will need to be upgraded first.
The Pyrocam III uses the 1394a 400MBS protocol, but will operate as a 1394b 800MBS interface card, however it will revert still to the 1394a 400MBS protocol.
The Pyrocam III with BeamGage also uses a separately installed device driver which may not install and operate correctly at first.
Note for Windows 7. Windows 7 contains a new set of 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller drivers that will not communicate with the Pyrocam III. When the Pyrocam III is plugged into a Windows 7 computer nothing happens. No indication can be found that the Pyrocam III is plugged into the computer. The problem lies with the new OHCI Compliant Host Controller driver.
The solution is to replace the default "Texas Instruments 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller" with the "1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)".
To replace the default Texas Instruments 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller:
The Pyrocam III Camera Driver Installation version 1.0 is available from our web address;https://www.ophiropt.com/laser-measurement-instruments/beam-profilers/services/software-download
We recommend that you right mouse click on the Setup.exe and "Run as Administrator".
If the Pyrocam III Camera Driver Installation version 1.0 doesn't work to install the Pyrocam3Wdf.sys driver properly, you may have to do the following;
Go to the Device Manager and with the Pyrocam III connected you should see it (probably) listed under Imaging Devices with a yellow exclamation error mark. Right click on it and select Update Driver Software…
Do not install automatically. Do install from a list. Do not search, but do install from a specific location.
Select Browse my computer for driver software and then select Browse to C:\Program Files\Spiricon\PyrocamKMDF\ and it will install the correct driver from there.
The most common problem we see with BeamGage software installations are that the Microsoft .NET Framework 4 is not installed completely or correctly. Make sure all of the available Windows updates are installed and also that the Microsoft .NET Framework 4 is installed and fully updated by running Windows Update.
The second most common problem are attempts to install the BeamGage software when the log-on account is not an Administrator level account on the computer. For Windows 7 we recommend right clicking on the Setup.exe file and selecting Run as Administrator. Don't click on the other files on the installation CD as the Setup.exe file looks at your computer to see what additional components may be required to install the BeamGage software.
The third most common problem we see is when the BeamGage software is downloaded from the web page and attempts are tried to run the installation from inside the downloaded zipped file. Make sure you unzip the file to a folder on your desktop and then enter the folder and run the Setup.
The fourth most common problem we see is IT departments setting security settings tight enough that Anti-Virus or Fire Wall programs block the installation of BeamGage so it will not correctly complete the installation.
The fifth most common problem we see is on laptops using a built in web cam. This is typically revealed when you try to launch BeamGage and get an error that states the Spiricon Console Service is not installed on the computer. If you do not receive this same error when you try to run Beam Maker, uninstall your web cam software and it should resolve this error.
When doing an Ultracal to zero the baseline of the camera it is very important that you do not block the input of the camera. Instead you should block just the source. This way the camera can zero out any electronic and/or optical noise that may be getting to the detector so you are measuring just the source and not plus or minus a background shift that may occur when you uncover the input of the camera. This may require that you optimize the sampling/attenuation on the front of the camera so it blocks out the optical noise that the camera may pick up that would change the baseline.
With laptops being ever so more popular in the work place these days most of them are coming equipped with a built in web cams. These built in web cams most commonly use a Microsoft Direct Show driver which is the same driver used by the Ophir-Spiricon SP line of USB cameras. Since the web cam is built in it gets priority on the system and gets in the way of BeamGage finding the SP line of USB cameras. With some laptop computers you can enter the Windows Device Manager and disable the web cam to allow operation of the SP line of USB cameras with BeamGage. However, some computers also require that you uninstall the web cam application program to release control of the Microsoft Direct Show driver so it can be used by BeamGage to operate the SP USB cameras.
By applying a reading in BeamGage from a power/energy meter into the Computations, Power/Energy menu to the beam profile and turning on a drawn aperture in the Aperture/Manual Aperture menu you can enable a result in the computed results, Power/Energy section that shows how much of the total power the camera is being illuminated with inside this aperture. You can pick the shape; define the size and location of this aperture to be able to isolate the region of your beam that you want to know how much of the total power is isolated in this region.
In previous versions of BeamGage it was required to install and operate BeamGage with elevated privileges. The BeamGage 6.1 application core has been over hauled to eliminate the need for operating the software with elevated privileges. You still have to install BeamGage 6.1 from an Administrator level account, but now you can operate it OK with restricted user privileges.
As BeamGage collects data points to put into the Pointing Stability function it allows you to see the concentration of where the data points are located. These are fitted to a distribution and you can get fractions of data that can produce information that is beyond the precision of the camera pixel.
An example would be if we collect 10 data points that have 5 points in one location and 5 points in a location just 1 pixel away. The distribution will indicate the centroid is in between these two points at 1/2 the pixel size. This is beyond the capability of the equipment, but the distribution mathematically is correct.
Before allowing laser energy to enter the instrument, it is important to limit the beam intensity. Excessive laser energy may cause damage to the camera or the internal components of the M² optical train.
Typically, a CCD camera imager can be damaged at energy levels in excess of 1 mJ/cm² or at power levels greater than .15 mW/cm². Adjust these input limits downward based on the likely focused spot size resulting from your M² lens focal length. Beam splitters and/or filters may be used to attenuate the beam, but care must be used to prevent the introduction of distortions.
During an M2 measurement operation, the peak energy density that reaches the camera will change, potentially over several orders of magnitude. This is a result of the camera effectively moving from a larger unfocused spot near the lens, into and through the focus at the waist, and then out again to an unfocused spot (see Figure 21 on page 91). The optical train will automatically adjust to accommodate these changes in beam intensity, so long as you, the operator, have prudently selected the initial beam intensity. Thus, it is your responsibility to attenuate the laser sufficiently to operate within the safe dynamic range of the M²-200s system.
BeamGage has the most extensive set of ISO and non-IS0 beam diagnostics computations assembled in a beam profiling tool.
BeamGage is the first fully scalable beam analysis system. Any number of cameras can be viewed/analyzed/controlled from any number of networked machines, simultaneously. This gives the user the ability leverage large amounts of hardware power (RAM, CPU, storage, and networks) to solve more complex video analysis problems. It has even been optimized to allow local-machine analysis clients to run uninhibited by slower, cross-network clients.
BeamGage is the first system to implement true multi-client functionality. This allows the user to launch any number of analyzers that subscribe to a single camera source and partition the detector data for area of interest based analysis. In other words, you can analyze any number of spatially-separated beams on the same detector or compute different results on overlapping regions.
BeamGage is the first beam profile analysis system to allow users to analyze mathematically generated beam profiles in the same way they would analyze real beam profiles. With BeamMaker you can create synthetic profiles in virtually any camera frame format. Simulating not only width; height; 8, 10, 12, 14, 16… bit digitizers; but many other features like modal content, noise, and background effects. This opens up many reference beam processing options never available before.
BeamGage is the first beam analysis system to fully address the problem of application complexity. It can be configured by the factory or the end-user to scale its complexity up or down, showing only the controls required by the user and hiding un-needed complexity.
BeamGage is the first beam analysis system allowing the user to fully exploit their accelerated graphics card and render rich 3D visualizations of the beam in full camera resolution.
BeamGage is the first beam analysis system to combine the accuracy of UltracalTM – Ophir-Spiricon's patented baseline correction algorithm that helped establish the ISO 11146-3 standard for beam measurement accuracy – with the simplicity of AutoX – an adaptive mode that automatically adjusts exposure, gain, and black level, simplifying optical system setup and alignment.
BeamGage is the first full-featured beam analysis system to allow synchronized external power meter calibrations.
BeamGage also supports custom computational packages. Said another way, we do the work of capturing video data and computing any enabled results. BeamGage passes those results and video data to end-user defined routines (which are simple to create); we then take the values returned from end-user defined routines and do the work of displaying, keeping statistics, checking pass/fail, buffering, saving, logging, and printing. This feature provides a simple solution to users who have problems that fall outside of the “typical” beam analysis domain.
BeamGage is the first beam analysis system to output data in HDF5 format, an open source format compatible with tools like MatLab.
Select an attached power meter or use the manual calibration tool if power calibration is required. If calibration is required counts will turn to an actual power reading for the total frame power or energy:
You said you need an average so I will assume "Total" is the item you are averaging. It could be any results just enable the one(s) you need:
You need to average 100 shots at 30Hz each hour so you will need to use the Burst Capture feature. The controls below (as currently set) will capture 100 frames every hour in results priority mode (what you need for this requirement).
Provide a log file name here:
Set frame averaging to 100 because you want to average the frames collected. This will produce results that are an average of 100 samples.
Set logging to continuous as you will stop it manually after 30 days.
You could also do the math (Days x Logs Per Day = Total logs or 30x24=720) and figure out how many samples a 30 day log would produce at this rate and place this number in the box below in place of the 1 you see now. Then click on the "Folder/Play-Button" icon to the right of the spin buttons to enable "Stop after X Logs"
When you are ready to start logging, make sure the data source is running and click on the top middle icon you see here, which is the results logging button (has the 1.2 in the icon):
When you are running and click the "Log Results" button the logging to disk will begin.
2D and 3D images (Pro release to introduce image logging) can also be logged by enabling the required image file types here:
Use Excel to import the data from the log file with comma delimiting and you will see the following type of log: This log of total frame counts was made using burst capture of 100 frames every 5 seconds.
Tip: When you setup a log in this way you will only see the frames that are logged appear in the BeamGage beam displays. If you are logging one sample an hour you will not see a lot of activity in the beam display windows. Not to worry, you have the power of Multi-Clienting at your finger tips so you can minimize this instance of BeamGage and let it go on logging in the background (maximize it again when you want to see the last frames logged). Now, launch a new instance of BeamGage and connect to the same camera. Because the camera is set at 30Hz you will see a 30Hz video feed in the second instance of BeamGage. This will allow you to monitor in real-time while you are logging in slow-time.
Behold, the power of subscription rate when combined with logging and multi-clienting.
The Pyrocam III currently requires a Legacy driver for operation in Windows 7. We are in the process of upgrading its driver to be Plug and Play compatible with Windows 7. Until then please contact our Service Department for step by step instructions for getting the Pyrocam III to be recognize in Windows 7.
Click on the Beam Display tab and in the Color Section click on the Z Scale drop down list. Then click on and hold your mouse button down on the top number. Now slide the number down to the level just above the color your beam was getting to. This will compress the color scale to cover the intensity level from your camera.
It could be that you have not installed the driver for your camera yet. Please run the Camera Driver Manager and click on your camera on the left and on the right, you will be able to see if the driver has been installed or not by looking for an Install button or what version of driver has been installed
It should not look like this. Notice it says Install.
It should look like this. Notice it says “This driver is currently installed (4.0.6.3228)”
The graphics settings on some computers may be preventing the BeamGage Chart graphics function. Please try the following;
Right click on the Desktop
Click on; Configure Switchable Graphics
Click on spiricon.version5.exe and change the Graphics Setting to “Not Assigned”
Yes, all of our GigE and USB based devices including our cameras and the NanoScan 2/2s products will work with Windows 10.
Unfortunately if you have an IEEE 1394 FireWire based device, then it will not. Windows 10 does not support this style of interface any more.
If you are having problems getting your equipment to work on Windows 10, please contact our Service Department at service@us.ophiropt.com for assistance.
Other than by connecting a camera and collecting data, the best way to verify that your BeamGage installation is working correctly is to select Beam Maker as the source. You should see a simulated beam come up in the display. If it does not, it signals that the installation of the software has failed to install one or more components correctly. The solution is to uninstall and reinstall the software, ensuring that it is performed with administrator privileges.
With the release of BeamGage 6.9.1 the ability to install an Ophir power meter is available through the Spiricon Driver Manager. This allows the Ophir power meter equipment to work with BeamGage, and without the need to separately run the StarLab PC power meter application. The Spiricon Driver Manager can be accessed at the end of the BeamGage installation or at a later time by clicking on the Windows Start, going to All Programs\Spiricon Tools and select Spiricon Driver Manager. With an Ophir power meter connected through the USB cable, then Under “Select a device:” you will now see an option to install the Ophir Power Meter. Click on the Ophir Power Meter and then the Install button, located to the right, to install a connection to the Ophir power meter equipment. Power meter control options are now available through BeamGage such as selecting the appropriate wavelength and power/energy scaling factor.
BeamGage Ultracal is the camera baseline correction process that nulls the camera background energy so accurate measurements can be obtained. Upon completing the Ultracal baseline correction cycle, the Ultracal checkbox will turn ON and a Green “U” indicator will illuminate in the status bar. When a camera setting changes that can compromise the Ultracal accuracy, the “U” indicator will turn Red, and Ultracal processing will be suspended. You may notice that the Ultracal Indicator has changed to Red, indicating Ultracal suspension, and not know what changed to cause it. To see an explanation for Ultracal suspension, hover over this indicator with the mouse pointer and a pop-up message will appear providing information of what changed that caused the Ultracal suspension.
The cameras included with BeamGage have separate drivers that need to be installed in order for them to be recognized by BeamGage and connected to it. BeamGage installs a Spiricon Driver Manager utility that facilitates installing the appropriate driver for the particular BeamGage camera. You simply launch the Spiricon Driver Manager, click on the camera model listing that matches your camera and click Install. The Spiricon Driver Manager utility is accessed at the Windows Start/All Programs/Spiricon Tools location.
BeamGage has the ability to connect to an Ophir USB power meter to display the power measurement in the BeamGage Results window without needing to install the StarLab software. You can run the Spiricon Driver Manager and select Ophir Power Meter to install the drivers for the Ophir USB interface units and meters. However, if your interface or meter has an older ROM version that needs to be updated, you will need to install the latest version of StarLab that can be downloaded from our web site here to update your ROM version so it will then show up in BeamGage.