Error 0xBFF6001F with CameraLink Camera

Updated Mar 5, 2021

Reported In

Hardware

  • PCIe-1427
  • Camera
  • PCI-1428

Software

  • Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX)

Driver

  • NI-IMAQ

Issue Details

I am using a PCIe framegrabber card to take images with my CameraLink camera. When I try to take an image in NI Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX), I get Error 0xBFF6001F: Cannot detect recognizable video source. How can I troubleshoot this error?

Solution

This error usually means that the frame grabber is not receiving any information from the camera, and this could be happening for a variety of reasons. Outlined below is a list of troubleshooting steps.
 
  1. Check the camera power supply.
  • Is there enough power being supplied?
  • Is there another power supply you could use?
  1. Check the cable connecting the camera to the framegrabber.
  • Is there another video cable you could try?
  1. Try connecting the camera to anything else that accepts an analog signal, such as a TV. This will confirm the camera is producing a valid video signal.
  • Check any dip switches on the back of the camera to make sure the camera is correctly configured.
  1. If you possess a scope you can probe the analog line and confirm that you sending the correct horizontal sync (HSYNC) signal marking the beginning and end of each line. If this signal is not present, the framegrabber will be unable to assemble a video frame from the camera. For more information on how to identify the components of an analog signal see the link to Anatomy of a Camera. 
  2. Update to the latest version of the IMAQ driver. 
  3. Make sure you are using the correct camera file.
  • For example, the default mode for the PCI-1407 is RS-170; if you are using a CCIR camera, make sure you change the framegrabber settings in MAX to reflect this.
  • It is possible that your camera file has been corrupted. A reinstall of the driver would fix this.
  1. For example, the default mode for the PCI-1407 is RS-170; if you are using a CCIR camera, make sure you change the framegrabber settings in MAX to reflect this.
  2. Make sure that the camera file's name follows this format: camera_model.icd.
  • The Frame Grabber won't recognize the space, you need to substitute it with an underscore.
  1. It is possible that your camera file has been corrupted. A reinstall of the driver would fix this.
  2. Make sure no other 3rd party software is installed and trying to access the framegrabber.
  3. If the above steps have not solved your issue, try the framegrabber in another PC. This will rule out the PC as the source of the problem.

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