Krontech Chronos

Compact, affordable high-speed cameras (Chronos 1.4, Chronos 2.1) controlled over the network.

Models

Chronos 1.4, Chronos 2.1

Connection

Ethernet / WiFi

Driver software

none (camera firmware)

In PIVlab select

PIVlab LD-PS + Chronos

PIVlab has been tested with the Chronos 1.4. The Chronos 2.1 is expected to work the same way.

1. Prepare the camera

1. Use firmware 0.5.1. It records reliably without skipped frames.
2. On the Chronos touchscreen, open the Trigger I/O menu and disable Debounce in the IO1 BNC panel.

2. Connect to PIVlab

1. Connect the camera to the computer’s network. A small WiFi router at the camera (for example a VONETS VAP11s) lets you control it wirelessly.
2. In PIVlab’s image acquisition panel, click Setup and enter the IP address of the Chronos, for example 192.168.254.100.
3. Enter a resolution the camera accepts, for example 1280 × 720 or 1280 × 1024.
4. Use PIVlab to switch between live image and PIV capture.

3. Record

1. Click Start in the Capture PIV images panel. The Chronos records images synchronized to the laser into its RAM ring buffer, also when Save is not ticked.
2. Click Abort to stop the recording.
3. Review, select and save the frames you need, either in the Chronos web interface or on the touchscreen. The camera can save to SD card, SSD or an SMB network drive.
4. Check that images A and B are in the right order before analysing.

File formats: TIFF raw gives the best PIV results. H.264 saves much faster with lower image quality.

1000 fps with external trigger: use a slightly reduced resolution such as 1280 × 720.

Tips

Clean images (black calibration)

If you see stripes in the images, cover the lens and try these steps one after the other:

1. Util → Factory → Black calibrate all resolutions.
2. Set the camera to the resolution you need, then Black cal on the main screen.
3. In Record settings, click both max buttons, then OK.
4. Switch to a different resolution and back.

Switching on and off

• Starting the camera takes 30 seconds to a minute.
• When the camera is set to external triggering, hold the power button a little longer to switch it off, or start the live image from PIVlab first.