Hi Mark,
I have a directory containing all of the Point Grey firmware I have downloaded.
corvette:~/areaDetectorVendor/PointGrey/Firmware>ls -ltr
total 1092
drwxrwxrwx 3 epics epics 142 Oct 11 2015 GS3-PGE-1.09.3-00
drwxrwxrwx 3 epics epics 139 Oct 15 2015 GS3-U3-1.15.3-00
drwxrwxrwx 2 epics epics 110 Oct 15 2015 GS3-U3-2.08.3-00
drwxrwxrwx 3 epics epics 56 Oct 15 2015 GS3-U3-2.11.3-00
drwxrwxrwx 2 epics epics 109 Oct 15 2015 GS3-U3-2.14.3-00
drwxrwxrwx 3 epics epics 58 Oct 15 2015 BFLY-PGE-1.43.3.0
drwxrwxr-x 3 epics epics 103 Jun 7 2016 GS3-U3-2.23.3-00
drwxrwxrwx 3 epics epics 34 Jun 20 2016 GS3-U3-2.24.3-00-23S6
Note that for version 2.23.3 it is a generic version for the entire Grasshopper3 USB-3.0 family of cameras. For 2.24.3 however I have a version that is specific to the 23S6 model. I suspect that what they are doing is releasing model-specific
versions so they can take advantage of new features or fix bugs quickly, and then as time permits they release a new generic version for all models in that family.
I am quite certain I have accidentally tried to flash an incompatible version into a camera, and their flashing software was smart enough to prevent this. The only problem I have had with their flashing software is with GigE cameras where
it would fail if the camera was on a shared network. I had to temporarily make a direct connection from my PC to the camera. I think the flashing software must not deal well with collisions or something. I've had no problems flashing USB-3.0 cameras.
Mark
From: Mark Engbretson [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2017 10:25 AM
To: Mark Rivers; EPICS Tech Talk
Subject: PointGrey Firmware
Historically you have mentioned in Tech-Talk that PointGrey only tends to post the latest firmware on their website once *all* the
cameras in a specific model class are know to work. So asking support for the latest versions is suggested, since the posted firmware may be very old and buggy.
I did that recently and asked what the firmware was for 3 grasshopper modules and support responded with
I have attached a dropbox link below for your new firmware. This is compatible
However, even the PointGrey website says that
Grasshopper3 USB3 Firmware
This is the latest version of firmware for the Grasshopper3 USB3 cameras. Note that the firmware is model specific.
Should I assume that Support is correct and that this is indeed a one size fits all firmware package, or at least contains multiple
firmware images that will install as required, or is a single image most probably not to work at all. If not, does the camera flashing software have enough intelligence not to update an incorrect firmware? Or be able to restore a legacy firmware if the process
fails? I do not have a camera in hand to test and wanted an expert opinion before I walk over to a beam line and start flashing hardware.
