Point Grey Grasshopper - Memory Channel Storage of Camera Settings; User Data Flash; Camera Upgrades

Point Grey Research Grasshopper Technical Reference
Camera Operations and Features
Revised 26-Nov-10
Copyright (c) 2010 Point Grey Research Inc.
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4.7.4. Memory Channel Storage of Camera Settings
The Grasshopper has the ability to save and restore camera settings and imaging parameters via
on-board memory channels. This is useful for saving default power-up settings, such as gain,
shutter, video format and frame rate, etc., that are different from the factory defaults.
Memory channel 0 is used for the default factory settings that users can always restore to. The
Grasshopper provides two additional memory channels for custom default settings. The camera
will initialize itself at power-up, or when explicitly reinitialized, using the contents of the last saved
memory channel. Attempting to save user settings to the (read-only) factory defaults channel will
cause the camera to switch back to using the factory defaults during initialization.
Refer to the Memory Channel Registers section in the Appendix for a full listing of all registers
saved.
Memory channels are configured using the following registers, which are described in detail in the
PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference: MEMORY_SAVE 0x618; MEM_SAVE_CH
0x620; and CUR_MEM_CH 0x624.
4.7.5. User Data Flash
The Grasshopper provides the user with 512KB of flash memory for the purposes of non-volatile
data storage. This is useful for saving user data such as calibration files, software license keys,
etc. The memory is divided into 2048 pages, with 256 bytes available per page. This feature is
controlled using the DATA_FLASH_CTRL register 0x1240, which is described in detail in the
PGR IEEE-1394 Digital Camera Register Reference.
4.7.6. Camera Upgrades
The firmware on the Grasshopper can be upgraded / downgraded to later / earlier versions using
the UpdatorGUI program that is bundled with every firmware version available from
www.ptgrey.com/support/downloads/. The latest firmware versions often include significant bug
fixes and feature enhancements that may benefit some users. To determine the changes made in
a specific firmware version, consult the Release Notes. For more information on updating camera
firmware, consult the UpdatorGUI User Manual available in the downloads section.