DEVICE: Chronos and Triggers [24492]

This article applies to:

Chronos

 

Detail

Chronos I/O Capabilities

Chronos comes packed with a wide array of options for I/O communication. This allows the easy integration of external devise without the need to have antiquated hardware, like parallel ports (or PCIe cards) installed on your computer. The Chronos’ I/O features allow for these types of communication to be handled entirely by Chronos. There are several ways to integrate I/O communication into your experiment. This article outlines a few of the basic implementation methods.

 

Chronos Auxiliary I/O Breakout Cable
Without purchasing additional equipment, Chronos comes packed with an Auxiliary I/O Breakout Cable. This device allows for simple communication with external devices.

 

Chronos

 

We have made communication with the Auxiliary I/O Breakout Cable as simple as possible. To set up the hardware, all you have to do is plug the fitted end of the breakout cable into the back of the Chronos (see image above). Then, simply plug the wires of the breakout cable into their desired location. Below is a diagram of the cables of the Auxiliary I/O breakout cable and their functions.

 

I/O Cable

 

I/O Cable Wires

 

Pin	Color	Function	Description	Response Mapping (Psuedo Button)
1	Light Blue	+5V	+5V	n/a
2	Light Green/Teal	OUT14 (base 0)	Digital Output	n/a
3	Purple	OUT15	Digital Output	n/a
4	White	Digital Ground	Digital Ground	n/a
5	Orange	Analog Ground	Analog Ground	n/a
6	Yellow	IN16 (base 1)	Digital Input	G
7	Brown	In15 base 1)	Digital Input	F
8	Red	ADC1	Analog Input	9

 Table1 Auxiliary I/O Cable pinout and description

 

Note: As of 2023, a paper copy of the color coding chart for your Auxiliary I/O cable is included in your purchase. This paper copy is accurate for your cable, while this article's chart above is subject to change. PST verifies each cable's color coding before a paper copy of the correct chart is put in the bag with the cable. If you purchased Chronos in 2018 or 2019, there is a chance your Auxiliary I/O cable uses a unique color coding. Chronos devices with this Auxiliary I/O cable using this different color coding were only available for a small period of time before the color coding was changed back to the original color coding. Please refer to Revision 2 of the Chronos Operator Manual if your Auxiliary I/O cable has two light blue wires and no purple wire. Also, your cable may include an additional uninsulated ground wire (drain wire). This wire is connected to the cable’s shielding and can be connected to ground, to the shielding of an extension cable, or left unconnected (recommended).

 

With these cables, you can both send and receive a wide array of signals from a variety of device. Below is an image of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the software interface.
 

Chronos Digital Out Properties GUI

 

Chronos Analog Out Properties GUI

 

This is all you need to communicate with external devices using the Auxiliary I/O port on the back of Chronos.

 

Chronos I/O Expander
A few devices require very specific communication that is beyond the capabilities of the I/O Breakout Cable. In these instances, the device with which E-Prime is communicating requires very specific signals to be sent. Often, companies will recommend a PCIe card to be able to send triggers to specific pins to accommodate the complex communication. However, Chronos has a solution to this as well. You can achieve the same level of signal specificity with the Chronos I/O Expander, pictured below.

 

Chronos I/O Expander

 

The I/O Expander is able to achieve this level of signal specificity through the 25-pin input and output board. This is this the full solution to not having a parallel port installed on your computer. Communication via the Chronos I/O Expander is simple and functions very similarly to the Auxiliary I/O cable. A step-by-step guide can be found below.

 

1) Determine the types of signals needed for your experiment.

Waveform with Markers

 

2) Set up E-Prime experiment accordingly.

Task Event that sends a signal to the Chronos at the onset of the Stimulus object

 

3) Plug the Chronos into the USB drive of the computer.

Chronos plugged into the USB drive of the testing computer

 

4) Plug the I/O Expander into the back of the Chronos Device.

Chronos with I/O Expander

5) Attach the correct wires to the I/O expander.

Wires coming from pins 2, 9, and Ground of the I/O Expander

 

6) Attach the correct wires from the I/O expander to your external device.

Wires coming from Chronos to external device

 

Complete setup

 

These six steps will allow you to communicate with an external device through the Chronos I/O Expander without the need for a parallel port. Steps 2, 3 and 4 will change depending on the type of equipment to which you are sending signals, the types of signals that you are sending, and the signals that the receiving equipment is expecting. Once you know this information, following this guide will be very simple.

Triggers in E-Prime Software
E-Prime has a feature that allows for triggers to be time-locked with events in E-Prime. This feature is called Task Events (as seen in Image 6) and is handled entirely though the Graphic User Interface. This means that you won’t have to write complex lines of script in order to achieve the same millisecond accuracy when sending triggers. The Task Events feature will do this for you. If you would like to learn more about Task Events and how to pair events in E-Prime to triggers, please take a look at the following article on the topic: E-STUDIO: Using Task Events [22862].