DRS UC640-17 electrical interface doc needed - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: agate
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2017, 02:05:54 pm
content: I just purchased used DRS UC640-17. Does anybody have electrical interface (pinout) description for this device? Programming API would be good to have too.

author: nidlaX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2017, 02:45:53 pm
content: Did you ask for cables with your purchase? I believe different cables are used depending on whether you want to get imaging via CameraLink or analog video.I should be receiving some more documentation soon, and I'll let you know when it gets here.

author: agate
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2017, 03:00:16 pm
content: They sell frame grabbers and cables but I try to avoid video link - best option for me is to get to parallel interface (like in Tamarisk devices).

author: nidlaX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2017, 04:34:59 pm
content: Quote from: agate on July 19, 2017, 03:00:16 pmI believe you would disassemble the module to work with the Tamarisk base configuration if you want to use the parallel video out.This is not a Tamarisk, dis-regard my previous statement.

author: nidlaX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2017, 07:01:41 pm
content: Quote from: agate on July 19, 2017, 03:00:16 pmBy the way agate, it sounds like you've designed a pretty neat feature board for the Tamarisk modules. Care to share with us?

author: agate
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2017, 10:57:31 pm
content: I have got my unit in today and by the way UC-640-17 has very different foot print compare to Tamarisk so I'm still in a search for information.Regarding Tamarisk320, I have feature board 38x39mm.- OLED 320x240 interface- keyboard, MOSFET power on/of- raw video USB2.0 60FPS- LiIoN charger (or Power) via USB- MJPEG/Jpeg recording to SD cardSo this feature board makes tamarisk320 a hand held unit.Menu and feature can be extended.Some video samples can be found atwww.csh-tech.com

author: nidlaX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2017, 11:21:17 pm
content: Quote from: agate on July 20, 2017, 10:57:31 pmActually, you're absolutely right, it's their previous generation product and distinct from the Tamarisk.

author: agate
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2017, 11:37:13 pm
content: It actually resembles Tamarisk in terms of partitioning - the last board in a sandwich is (camera link) feature board with DC converters.

author: emerson
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 28, 2017, 02:36:28 pm
content: Hi, it looks like a camera link connector. Have you figured it out ?

author: nidlaX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2017, 10:00:32 pm
content: There are two connectors on the camera. The top connector is an extremely expensive, high reliability connector manufactured by Tyco. It handles power, analog video output, and comms (RS232 and USB).The bottom connector is a standard miniSDR connector for CameraLink only. I don't think these cameras are compatible with Power over CameraLink (PoCL) by the way, so I don't advise trying to power them that way.A parallel digital video interface is not standard, unlike the Tamarisk. You might be able to hack it depending on how they implemented their CameraLink serializer. It's also possible that there's an undocumented way of accessing it.This is all I can say at this point as I believe the software and documentation for these cameras are ITAR controlled.

author: agate
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2017, 12:47:17 am
content: Thanks nidlaX,I figured out most of (Tyco)connections and able to see analog video(Very nice quality) and program camera(RS232).My goal ideally is to get to parallel video interface (14bits). I wonder if camera link is the only way to access it or not?By any chance do you know Tyco part number?

author: agate
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2017, 12:59:05 am
content: I found connector, thanks for Tyco clue.

author: nidlaX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2017, 02:55:22 am
content: Quote from: agate on July 30, 2017, 12:47:17 amIf they used an FPGA to provide the serialized CameraLink output, then you might be out of luck unless they have an undocumented parallel output as well. On the other hand, if they used a channel link transmitter, then you might be able to tap into the upstream parallel data with some hardware mods. Best to just start probing around with a scope!I've thought about working with CameraLink, and I think the simplest solution would be to pair a channel link receiver such as the TI DS90CR288A and pair it with a bridge chip such as the FTDI FT602 to easily get USB vision compatible video.

author: agate
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2017, 11:36:30 am
content: It looks like camera link comes out of the FPGA. I'm going to use CPLD(unpack camera link) and cypress USB2 controller. I think USB3 is overkill and would limit the choices of the display devices. This mod would make camera as OTG device for tablets. It works well with Tamarisk320(60fps over USB2.0 HS).The way I transmit video over USB is - sync pattern followed by raw frame data. On a receive end there are plenty of choices mplayer or ffmpeg encoding , or other SW.I think USB vision would require implement their specific protocol, unless it has direct mapped between camera link data and USB vision data stucture.

author: agate
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 31, 2017, 06:26:59 pm
content: I have all documents now. Thanks everybody for contribution. This discussion branch can be closed.

author: emerson
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 12, 2017, 12:05:23 am
content: Hi Agate, Could you please point me to where you found the pinout?I would really appreciate it. I got one on ebay, opened it up, and a strong guess of where the power is and the video out from the AD7127 chip,however I don't wish to ruin it, so if you have the manual or pinout I would really appreciate getting a copy.thanks!