Multichannel Systems STG4004+STG4008 Manual - Manual (Page 10)

Stimulus Generator 4000 Series Manual
6
4000 Series
The real-time stimulus generator of the 4000 series is an advanced version and the world's first
STG that is able to send continuous pulse streams to stimulating electrodes. In addition, you can
trigger all (up to 8) channels separately by external TTL pulses. 2 trigger inputs (Trigger In) and
2 trigger outputs (Sync Out) are shared by 2 channels in the 2-channel version. 4 trigger inputs
(Trigger In) and 4 trigger outputs (Sync Out) are shared by 4 channels in the 4-channel version,
and 8 trigger inputs (Trigger In) and 8 trigger outputs (Sync Out) are shared by 8 channels in the
8-channel version.
The STG 4000 series has two operating modes: Download mode and Streaming mode.
In Download mode, you can control the STG either by the MC_Stimulus II or by a custom
program. Stimulus protocols are created in MC_Stimulus II or the custom program; complete
protocols are downloaded onto the STG, and can after the download be executed without a
computer connection. MC_Stimulus II is downward compatible to MC_Stimulus (for controlling
the 1000 series), that means, you can load stimulus protocols generated by MC_Stimulus into
MC_Stimulus II, but not the other way round.
In the Streaming mode, you can control the STG either by the Stimulus Streamer or by a
custom program. If you use the Stimulus Streamer, you can load stimulus protocols in Mono-
MP3 or binary file format of unlimited size that were generated by a custom application and are
then sent continuously from the computer to the STG in small data packets. If you use a custom
program for controlling the STG, this program can generate and send the stimulation protocols
in parallel from the computer to the STG.
Custom applications for the Download or the Streaming mode can be programmed in Matlab,
Labview, C/C++, and Visual Basic. This documentation refers only to the STG hardware and
MC_Stimulus II software. For more information on the STG's DLL functions and programming
of custom software, please read the separate documentation of the Documentation folder in
the MC_Stimulus II program directory.