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 free-form label for the physical IR emitter connected to this output. Click + to add a new one.
Input Channel	Which physical input the IR detector is wired to.
Sensor	A free-form label for the physical IR detector connected to this input. Click + to add a new one.
Target folder	Organizes recordings into folders, same as every other workspace.

Running the recording

Click Record. 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, with the following columns:

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.