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Initialization functions

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cliquot22 edited this page Jun 9, 2026 · 1 revision

The board must be initialized before any commands can be sent. After the board is initialized, each motor must be initialized individually. Motor initialization creates a motor instance (e.g. MCR.focus) that gives access to all movement and configuration functions for that motor.

Initialization sequence:

  1. MCRControl() — open the board connection and initialize the controller sub-class
  2. focusInit(), zoomInit(), irisInit(), IRCInit() — initialize each motor sequentially
  3. close() — release the connection when done (unless done automatically when the program is terminated)

Class Initialization

MCRControl(serialPortName, moduleDebugLevel=False, communicationDebugLevel=False, logFiles=True)

Top-level class for all interactions with the MCR600 series boards. Opens the serial port and confirms the connection by reading the board firmware version. The controllerClass sub-class is created automatically as MCR.MCRBoard.

Parameters

Name Type Default Description
serialPortName str — Serial port name (e.g. 'com4' or '/dev/ttyAMA0')
moduleDebugLevel bool False Set True to enable DEBUG-level console logging (default is INFO)
communicationDebugLevel bool False Set True to print all serial port traffic to the console. Implies moduleDebugLevel=True. Not recommended in production.
logFiles bool True Set True to write log files to the user's local application data directory

Class variables

Variable Description
MCRInitialized True when the class is successfully initialized (logging started)
boardInitialized True when this board instance is initialized and the COM port is open
boardCommunicationState True when the COM port is open and the board is responding
boardCommunicationRestarts Count of times the COM port has been automatically reconnected

Sub-classes

Sub-class Access Description
motor MCR.focus, MCR.zoom, MCR.iris, MCR.IRC Motor movement and configuration (created by each motor init function)
controllerClass MCR.MCRBoard Board-level commands (firmware revision, serial number, communication path)
MCRCom internal Serial port communication — not for direct use

Example

#include "TheiaMCR.h"
#include <iostream>

int main() {
    auto MCR = new TheiaMCR::MCRControl("COM4", true, false, false);
    if (!MCR->isInitialized()) {
        std::cerr << "Board not found. Check the COM port." << std::endl;
        delete MCR;
        return 1;
    }
    std::cout << "Board initialized: " << MCR->isInitialized() << std::endl;
    
    MCR->close();
    delete MCR;
    return 0;
}

Motor Initialization

focusInit

focusInit(steps, pi, move=True, accel=0, homingSpeed=-1) -> bool

Initialize the focus motor. Creates the MCR.focus motor instance. Must be called after board initialization.

Parameters

Name Type Default Description
steps int — Maximum number of steps for the full focus range
pi int — Step position of the photo interrupter (PI) limit switch
move bool True True to move the motor to the home (PI) position during initialization; False to initialize without moving
accel int 0 Motor acceleration steps. See firmware documentation for support (not currently supported v.5.3.1.2.0).
homingSpeed int -1 Speed (pps) to use when homing. Uses the default speed if set to -1 or out of range. Defaults to 1200pps.

Returns True if initialization succeeded, False otherwise.

Example

// TL1250 lens
bool success = MCR->focusInit(8390, 7959);

// Initialize without moving to home
success = MCR->focusInit(8390, 7959, false);

// Set a custom homing speed
success = MCR->focusInit(8390, 7959, true, 0, 800);

zoomInit

zoomInit(steps, pi, move=True, accel=0, homingSpeed=-1) -> bool

Initialize the zoom motor. Creates the MCR.zoom motor instance. Must be called after board initialization.

Parameters

Name Type Default Description
steps int — Maximum number of steps for the full zoom range
pi int — Step position of the photo interrupter (PI) limit switch
move bool True True to move the motor to the home (PI) position during initialization; False to initialize without moving
accel int 0 Motor acceleration steps. See firmware documentation for support (not currently supported v.5.3.1.2.0).
homingSpeed int -1 Speed (pps) to use when homing. Uses the default speed if set to -1 or out of range. Defaults to 1200pps.

Returns True if initialization succeeded, False otherwise.

Example

// TL1250 lens
bool success = MCR->zoomInit(3227, 3119);

// TL410 lens (PI near step 0)
success = MCR->zoomInit(4073, 154);

irisInit

irisInit(steps, move=True, homingSpeed=-1) -> bool

Initialize the iris motor. Creates the MCR.iris motor instance. The iris motor does not have a photo interrupter limit switch; it uses a hard stop at step 0 (fully open) for homing. Must be called after board initialization.

Parameters

Name Type Default Description
steps int — Maximum number of steps (fully closed position)
move bool True True to move the iris to the fully open (home) position during initialization; False to initialize without moving
homingSpeed int -1 Speed (pps) to use when homing. Uses the default speed if set to -1 or out of range. Defaults to 100pps.

Returns True if initialization succeeded, False otherwise.

Example

bool success = MCR->irisInit(75);

IRCInit

IRCInit() -> bool

Initialize the IRC (IR cut filter) motor. Creates the MCR.IRC motor instance. The IRC motor is a DC motor and is controlled differently from the stepper motors: it is driven for a fixed activation time rather than a step count.

At the default speed of 1000 pps, each step corresponds to approximately 1 ms of activation time. The maximum of 1000 steps gives 1 second of activation.

Returns True if initialization succeeded, False otherwise.

Example

bool success = MCR->IRCInit();

Closing the Connection

close

close()

Close the serial port and release all resources held by the MCR board instance. After calling close(), the MCR instance cannot be used again — create a new instance to reconnect.

Example

MCR->close();
delete MCR;

Complete Initialization Example

#include "TheiaMCR.h"
#include <iostream>

int main() {
    // Initialize board
    auto MCR = new TheiaMCR::MCRControl("COM4", true, false, false);
    if (!MCR->isInitialized()) {
        std::cerr << "Board not found" << std::endl;
        delete MCR;
        return 1;
    }
    
    // Initialize motors (TL1250 lens)
    MCR->focusInit(8390, 7959);
    MCR->zoomInit(3227, 3119);
    MCR->irisInit(75);
    MCR->IRCInit();
    
    std::cout << "Focus at step: " << MCR->focus.currentStep << std::endl;
    std::cout << "Zoom at step:  " << MCR->zoom.currentStep << std::endl;
    
    // ... use the motors ...
    
    MCR->close();
    delete MCR;
    return 0;
}

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