IR Sensor Calibration¶
Unlike the other workspaces, this isn't computing a sensitivity value — it's a diagnostic recording tool for checking that an infrared (IR) emitter/detector pair (used elsewhere in CFTS/ABTS to track things like an animal's position or nose-pokes) is producing a healthy analog signal.
Opening the workspace¶
Launch CFTSCal and select the IR Sensor Calibration workspace.
Recording¶
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Output Channel | Which physical output drives the IR emitter. |
| Generator | A label for the physical IR emitter connected to this output. Click + to add a new one; - removes the selected one from the list. |
| Input Channel | Which physical input the IR detector is wired to. |
| Target folder | The folder the recording is saved in. Pick an existing folder, or leave it at (auto create from input channel) to have one made for you. Note the auto-created folder is named after the input's hardware name (e.g. ai2), not the label shown in the Input Channel dropdown (e.g. Ch 2). To create, rename or delete folders, right-click in the Recordings list. |
| Sensor | A label for the physical IR detector connected to this input. Click + to add a new one; - removes the selected one from the list. |
Running the recording¶
Click Record. It stays greyed out until both a Generator and a Sensor are picked. A new window will open; once ready to acquire, click Start.
Reviewing the results¶
Input Recording shows the detector's raw signal over time.
Recordings (the list) shows every recording ever made for this workspace. Tick a recording to plot it. Right-click it to export or delete it; double-click to rename it, or drag it onto a folder to move it. A warning icon after a name means it couldn't be read properly; hover for why. The columns are:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Input | Which input channel was recorded. |
| Date | When the recording was made. |
| Range | The signal's 5th-to-95th-percentile range (e.g. -0.021 to 4.982), in volts. Using a percentile range rather than the raw min/max keeps a single stray spike from making a healthy signal look wider than it really is. |
Sanity-checking a recording¶
- Is the Range a healthy swing? It should track the detector's expected working range for your setup, not sit pinned near 0 (no signal) or the supply rails (saturated).
- Does it look like previous recordings of the same input? A shrinking range over time can mean dust or misalignment is gradually blocking the beam.
Troubleshooting¶
Common pitfalls
- Emitter and detector misaligned, or the beam path obstructed produces a narrow or flat Range.
- Detector saturated (Range pinned at one extreme) usually means the emitter is too bright or too close for this detector.