trgenpy 1.1.1

## A Python library for Trgen Device

trgenpy 🐍🧠

A Python library for Trgen Device

TRGEn Device is the ultimate triggerbox with the easiest API ever.

The full documentation is available here.

---

Features

• Nanosecond powered --- every trgenpy features is tested with signals that perform into the nanosecond
• Easy coding --- code is clean and well documented for a simple use.
• Open Source --- feel free to read and spread the code, do your forks and share it!
• Customize --- with carefully-designed sidebar navigation and inter-page links.
• Configurazion Export/import --- your TriggerBox session can be imported and exported on file where you want.

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Index

• 📚 Getting started
  • How to install
  • Architecture
  • Import the library
  • Client
• 🏁 How to use
  • Sending Default Single Trigger to BNCO
  • Send Trigger(s) to Multiple Ports
  • Sending Markers
• 🚀 Programming Custom Trigger Signals
  • TrgenPin
  • TrgenPort
  • Custom Instruction Set
  • Concatenate Instructions
  • Instruction Helpers
  • Write Instruction on TRGenPort
  • Event Listening
    • Listen for Default Simple to BNCO
    • Listen for Markers
    • Listen for Custom Triggers
• 🧩 Native Commands
  • Program TrgenPort
  • Start Trigger
  • Set GPIO I/O Direction
  • Request Implementation
  • Request TrgenPort Status
  • Set The Trigger Level
  • Get The Trigger Level
  • Get the GPIO I/O Direction
  • Stop the TrgenPort
• 🛟 Helpers
  • Reset TrgenPort
  • Get Default Duration
  • Set Default Duration
  • Get Implementation
• ⚙️ Export/Import configuration
  • Configuration Manager
  • Create Configuration
  • Export Configuration
  • Import Configuration
  • Configuration file format
• 🧠 E-Prime integration
• 💪 Examples

---

📚 Getting started

How to install

To install this package use is required Python >= 3.9

pip install trgenpy

Architecture

As explained in this Mermaid diagram, it is possible to program n (0-25) TrgenPorts to the TrgenClient

graph TD
    A[TrgenClient]
    A --> Impl[TrgenImplementation]
    A --> B0[TrgenPort 0]
    A --> B1[TrgenPort 1]
    A --> BN[TrgenPort n]
    B0 --> P0[TrgenPin]
    B1 --> P1[TrgenPin]
    BN --> PN[TrgenPin]
    B0 --> M0[Memory]
    B1 --> M1[Memory]
    BN --> MN[Memory]
    M0 --> I0[Instruction 0]
    M0 --> I1[Instruction 1]
    M0 --> I2[Instruction n]
    M1 --> J0[Instruction 0]
    M1 --> J1[Instruction 1]
    M1 --> J2[Instruction n]
    MN --> K0[Instruction 0]
    MN --> K1[Instruction 1]
    MN --> K2[Instruction n]

Import the library

# you can import 
# library like this:
import trgenpy as tp
client = tp.TrgenClient()

# or like this:
from from trgenpy import TrgenClient,TrgenPin,istrActiveFor,istrUnactiveFor,istrEnd,istrWaitNE,istrWaitPE
client = TrgenClient()

Client

The TrgenClient object stores all the information about the socket connection between the user PC and the TrGEN Device. It may be istantiated like this:

client = TrgenClient() # now I can use this client for any purpose.

Once the client object is created, connection between user PC and TrGEN Device is achieved with:

client.connect()

It is also possible to check the availability of the device (useful to check if properly connected)

isAavailable = client.is_available() # true / false

---

🏁 How to use

Here's some basic features that let the use send signals out of the TRGen Device. These functions are used to send a defaul trigger signal (positive square with lasting 20µs)

Sending Default Single Trigger to BNCO

To send a default trigger to the BNCO the sendTrigger() function can be used:

client.sendTrigger()

Send Trigger(s) to Multiple Ports

To send trigger to a customa single or multiple custom triggers at the same time (i.e., with nanosecond time resolution), the same sendTrigger() function can be used but with one extra argument: A list of type TrgenPin

client.sendTrigger([TrgenPin.NS0,TrgenPin.GPIO0])

It send on TRGen Device two signals like these

gantt
    title Synchronized Triggers - Multiple Pins
    dateFormat X
    axisFormat %s µs
    
    section NS0 (NeuroScan)
    High (PE)    :active, 0, 20
    Low  (NE)     :20, 50
    
    section GPIO0
    High (PE)   :active, 0, 20
    Low  (NE)    :20, 50
    

In this example, sendTrigger has one array as argument. The array represent the list of the desired PINs (PIN 0 of the parallel port and PIN 0 of the GPIO, TrgenPin.NS0 and TrgenPin.GPIO0, respectively) to send simultaneous triggers. This function can also be used to test whether signals on PINs are properly functioning. See the TrgenPin documentation.

Sending Markers

To send a marker to bioamplifiers equipped with parallel ports used for triggering and register events, the function sendMarker() function can be used with the following arguments:

• markerNS (default None)
• markerSA (default None)
• markerGPIO (default None)
• LSB (default False)
• stop (default True)

like this:

client.sendMarker(markerNS=12,markerSA=139,markerGPIO=42)

sendMarker(markerNS,markerSA,markerGPIO) will send the appropriate triggers to generate the desired marker n on the electrophysiological signal from ALL the equipped output ports (NeuroScan, SynAmps, GPIO) on the TRGen device.

Pin Binary Mapping

sendMarker(markerNS,markerSA,markerGPIO) use a binary mapping system where each pin corresponds to a specific bit position. This allows for efficient encoding of multiple pin states in a single value:

Pin	Binary Position	Decimal Value	Binary Representation
NS0	Bit 0 (2^0)	1	00000001
NS1	Bit 1 (2^1)	2	00000010
NS2	Bit 2 (2^2)	4	00000100
NS3	Bit 3 (2^3)	8	00001000
NS4	Bit 4 (2^4)	16	00010000
NS5	Bit 5 (2^5)	32	00100000
NS6	Bit 6 (2^6)	64	01000000
NS7	Bit 7 (2^7)	128	10000000

Example of mapping marker values:

• sendMarker(markerNS=1) → activates only NS0 (binary: 00000001)
• sendMarker(markerSA=128, markerNS=2) → activates SA7 (binary: 10000000) and NS1 (binary: 00000010)
• sendMarker(markerGPIO=131) → activates GPIO0 + GPIO1 + GPIO7 (binary: 10000011)

This same mapping applies to Synamps (SA0-SA7) and GPIO (GPIO0-GPIO7) pins when using their respective marker parameters.

LSB

If the marker number sent does not match with the one observed on the physiological signal, this is may due to an inverted mapping of the bioamplifier’s PINOUT. To fix the issue, also it is possible to invert the bit order, just flag the LSB argument (False by default)

client.sendMarker(markerNS=13,LSB=True)

Example of mapping marker values with LSB:

• sendMarker(markerNS=1,LSB=True) → activates only NS0 (binary: 10000000)
• sendMarker(markerSA=12,markerNS=2,LSB=True) → activates SA0 (binary: 00000001) and NS6 (binary: 01000000)
• sendMarker(markerGPIO=131,LSB=True) → activates GPIO0 + GPIO6 + GPIO7 (binary: 11000001)

In this way, a marker value of 8 will be generated from the parallel port, 2 on the second parallel port and 15 from the GPIO port.

Auto-Stop

If setted to False, the TRGen Device will continue the execution.

client.sendMarker(markerSA=100,LSB=True,stop=False)
# it's the same of calling client.stop() right after.

🚀 Programming Custom Trigger Signals

trgenpy offers some advanced functions and features for users need to customize the output/input signal's behaviour.

TrgenPin

Each Pin on the TRGen Device has an unique PIN_ID. This is the classification of each Port grouped by connector Type

This is the complete list of the TRGen Device's pinout:

• Neuroscan IDs The Neuroscan pinout (only for used pins) goes from 0 to 7
  • [NS0,NS1,NS2,NS3,NS4,NS5,NS6,NS7]
• Synamps IDs The Neuroscan pinout (only for used pins) goes from 0 to 7
  • [SA0,SA1,SA2,SA3,SA4,SA5,SA6,SA7]
• BNC I/O IDs
  • BNCO
  • BNCI
• GPIO IDs The GPIO pinout goes from 0 to 7
  • [GPIO0,GPIO1,GPIO2,GPIO3,GPIO4,GPIO5,GPIO6,GPIO7]

The definition of a specific port is done by calling an enumeration through the TrgenPin class by doing TrgenPin.PIN_ID, like this:

# defining pin
neuroscan_third_pin = TrgenPin.NS3

TrgenPort

The TrgenPort object defines a single trigger behaviours through its id. This is the list of supported TrgenPin values for the TRGrgen:

Instantiate the TrgenPort object with:

# a NeuroScan port is defined passing 
# the TrgenPin.NS3 enum in the constructor argument
client = TrgenClient()
neuro_scan = client.createTrgenPort(TrgenPin.NS3)

# but it's also possible to store the pin variable
bnco_pin = TrgenPin.BNCO
bnco_port = client.createTrgenPort(bnco_pin)

passing as only argument the enum from TrgenPin corresponding to the real used pin.

Custom Instruction Set

The TrgenPort object has a memory property. memory has to be filled with a list of 2^mtml slots, default cardinality is 32. Each slot can contain a single instruction that will be executed in order from the first to the last.

see the "Concatenate Instructions"" section for further informations.

The supported instruction set for TRGen Device is:

• Unactive For N µs

  The TrgenPort stays unactive for N µs

• Active For N µs

  The TrgenPort stays active for N µs

• Wait Positive Edge

  The TrgenPort waits until there is a positive edge

• Wait Negative Edge

  The TrgenPort waits until there is a negative edge

• Repeat from N, for X times

  The TrgenPort istrRepeat the instruction sequence from the index X to the current one, for X times

• End

  The TrgenPort istrEnd its behaviour

• Not Admissible

  This instruction is ignored, but it is necessary to fill the empty instruction list. NOTE: if the space is empty, it will be filled automatically by trgenpy

Concatenate Instructions

Each TrgenPortcan be programmed with a bunch of instructions. the function setInstruction() can be use to store instructuons into memory slots.

Instructions can be added in memory slots using the static function setInstruction(i, x), that adds a specific instruction (x) in the desired memory index (i).

Index position is important since the program counter of TRGen Device execute each TrgenPort instructions from 0 to 2^mtml.

def setInstruction(self, index, instruction):
# index: 0-32 value
# instruction: instruction_code

Remember, the setInstruction(index,instruction) function does not program the TrgenPort, it just stores the instructon, that will be written using writeTrgenMemory().

Instruction Helpers

Since for TRGen Device all instruction are "bitmask chunks" this library offers some helper functions that do the bitmask encoding. They can be used to define easily any instruction:

Instruction	1° Param	2° Param	Description
istrUnactiveFor(us)	µ seconds duration		Set the unactivation time for µ seconds
istrActiveFor(us)	µ seconds duration		Set the activation time for µ seconds
istrWaitPE(tr)	TrgenPin		Wait the positive edge for a specific TrgenPin
istrWaitNE(tr)	TrgenPin		Wait the negative edge for a specific TrgenPin
istrRepeat(addr,time)	Instruction address	Time of istrRepeat	Set the activation time for µ seconds
istrEnd()			End the behaviour
istrNotAdmissible()			Empty instruction, it has to be placed after the istrEnd()

Write Instruction on TRGenPort

Once the desired instruction set has be setted, the memory can be written using the function writeTrgenMemory(trgenport=TrgenPin.BNCO) to a specific TrgenPort by its TrgenPin. After this, the program can be executed invoking the static method start()

The following script use the whole instruction set in order to program a single TrgenPort

custom instructions examples

client = TrgenClient()
bnco = client.createTrgenPort(TrgenPin.BNCO)
impl = client.getImplementation()

# helper function used to clear the current TrgenPort memory
# it program the desired TrgenPort with a blank program
# made of one istrEnd() and all istrNotAdmissible() instructions
client.resetTrgenPort(bnco) # it is explained in the "Helpers" paragraph

bnco.setInstruction(0, istrActiveFor(5))
bnco.setInstruction(1, istrUnactiveFor(3))
bnco.setInstruction(2, istrRepeat(0,2))
bnco.setInstruction(3, istrWaitPE(TrgenPin.NS4))
bnco.setInstruction(4, istrUnactiveFor(3))
bnco.setInstruction(5, istrWaitNE(TrgenPin.NS0))
bnco.setInstruction(6, istrEnd()) # istrEnd is mandatory!
for i in range(7,impl.memory_length): # from 7 to 31!
    bnco.setInstruction(i, istrNotAdmissible()) # this also is mandatory

# write the program
# every instruction in bnco.memory
# is flashed into TRGen Device
client.writeTrgenMemory(bnco)

# execute the TRGen Device
client.start()

writeTrgenMemory() write only specific TrgenPort. This means that many custom programs can be written

bnco = client.createTrgenPort(TrgenPin.BNCO)
ns7 = client.createTrgenPort(TrgenPin.NS7)

# you can also use this helper in order to reset All TrgenPort
client.resetAllTrgenPorts()

bnco.setInstruction(0, istrActiveFor(5))
bnco.setInstruction(1, istrUnactiveFor(3))
bnco.setInstruction(2, istrEnd())
for i in range(3,31):
    bnco.setInstruction(i, istrNotAdmissible())

ns7.setInstruction(0, istrWaitPE(TrgenPin.BNCO))
ns7.setInstruction(1, istrActiveFor(5))
ns7.setInstruction(2, istrUnactiveFor(3))
ns7.setInstruction(3, istrEnd())
for i in range(4,31):
    ns7.setInstruction(i, istrNotAdmissible())

client.writeTrgenMemory(ns7)
client.writeTrgenMemory(bnco)

# execute the TRGen Device
client.start()

---

Event Listening

These are functions that helps on programming simple and customized behaviour on a simple trigger event on a specified inputPin.

Listen for Default Simple to BNCO

Configures the BNC output to automatically respond to signals received on a custom inputPin

from trgenpy import TrgenClient

client = TrgenClient()
client.connect()

# Respond to positive edge (default)
# default input inputPin is BNCI
# send default Trigger to BNCO
client.callbackCustomTrigger(inputPin=TrgenPin.BNCI)

# Program a behaviour that send default trigger when BNCI (default) is on negative edge
client.callbackCustomTrigger(ne=True,inputPin=TrgenPin.BNCI)

# Program a behaviour that send default trigger when NS6 is on negative edge
client.callbackCustomTrigger(ne=True,inputPin=TrgenPin.NS6)

# Program a behaviour that send default trigger when GPIO2 is on positive edge (default True)
# it automatically set the global GPIO direction to "input" 
client.callbackCustomTrigger(ne=True,inputPin=TrgenPin.GPIO2)

# Remember to call .start(), because this is just Port programming
# Start listening
client.start()

Listen for Markers

Configures the GPIO connector (in "input direction" mode) to respond to signals received on a specific GPIO pin.

Marker arguments

Same parametrization of standard sendMarkers:

• markerNS: for NeuroScan ports
• markerSA: for Synamps ports
• markerGPIO: for GPIO ports

# Program a behaviour that send default trigger when GPIO2 is on negative edge
# Also set the Global GPIO direction to "input"
client.callbackMarker(ne=True, markerNS=50,inputPin=TrgenPin.GPIO2)

# Start listening
client.start()

NOTE

It's not allowed to send GPIO markers when the inputPin is GPIO

# THIS WILL GENERATE ERRORS
client.callbackMarker(ne=True, markerGPIO=13,inputPin=TrgenPin.GPIO2)

# Like:
# ❌ GPIO cannot be used as both input and output simultaneously

Listen for Custom Triggers

Configures a custom output pin to respond to a specific inputPin of type TrgenPin

# Program a default trigger to Neuroscan 7 and Synamps 8 pins on a negative front edge from the BNCI port
client.callbackCustomTrigger(ne=True, trgenPinList=[TrgenPin.NS7,TrgenPin.SA8], inputPin=TrgenPin.BNCI))

# Start listening
client.start()

# Advanced configuration: use custom instruction set
# Configuration with custom instructions
instruction_set = [
    istrWaitPE(TrgenPin.BNCI),      # Wait for positive edge on BNCI
    istrActiveFor(50),           # Active for 50µs
    istrUnactiveFor(10),         # Inactive for 10µs
    istrActiveFor(30),           # Active for 30µs
    istrUnactiveFor(20),         # Inactive for 20µs
    istrActiveFor(20),           # Active for 20µs
    istrUnactiveFor(30),         # Inactive for 30µs
    istrEnd()                        # End program
]

# Program a custom trigger on GPIO8 and BNCO on a positive edge front (default when not specified) with a custom instruction set
client.callbackCustomTrigger(trgenPinList=[TrgenPin.GPIO8,TrgenPin.BNCO], inputPin=TrgenPin.BNCI,customInstructions=instruction_set)

# Start listening
client.start()

NOTE

Programming custom trigger does not include the automatic start. It's always recommended to invoke the start() function once your custom instruction set is written

---

Native Commands

TRGen devices can receive some commands, the full instruction set includes:

• Program TrgenPort
• Start TrgenPort
• Set GPIO I/O Direction
• Request Implementation parameters
• Request TrgenPort Status
• Set the TrgenPort level
• Get the TrgenPort Level
• Get GPIO I/O Direction
• Stop the TrgenPort

Program TrgenPort

You can program a trigger behaviour in two ways:

1. Default trigger using programDefaultTrigger()

tr = client.createTrgenPort(TrgenPin.GPIO0)
# This sends an impulse of duration (default 20µs)
client.programDefaultTrigger(tr)  # impulse of default 20µs

tr = client.createTrgenPort(TrgenPin.GPIO0)
# This override the standard duration and sends an impulse.
client.programDefaultTrigger(tr, us=50)  # impulse of 50µs

# In this way, all the successive triggers 
# sent from GPIO0 PIN will have a duration of 50 microseconds

2. Advanced programming by manually setting instructions with setInstruction()

tr = client.createTrgenPort(TrgenPin.NS1)
tr.setInstruction(0, istrActiveFor(10))
tr.setInstruction(1, istrUnactiveFor(5))
tr.setInstruction(2, istrRepeat(0, 3))
tr.setInstruction(3, istrEnd())
client.writeTrgenMemory(tr)

Start Trigger

After programming triggers, you can start them with:

client.start()

This command makes the Trgen execute all programmed triggers.
Remember: you must have previously written at least one TrgenPort program into its memory.

Set GPIO I/O Direction

You can use this helper to build the complete or partial pinout map to set.

# we choose to set just GPIO0 -> High and the GPIO1 -> Low
mask = DirectionConfig().out(TrgenPin.GPIO0).in(TrgenPin.GPIO1).build()
# once you have it, you can use it as argument in the set_level function
client.set_gpio_direction(mask)

Request Implementation

You can get information about the hardware configuration (number of channels, memory length, etc.) with:

impl = client.getImplementation()
print(impl.memory_length)  # max number of instructions per trigger

Request TrgenPort Status

To check current status of triggers (active/inactive state):

status = client.get_status()
print(status)

This returns an integer bitmask where each bit represents the state of a trigger pin.

Set the Trigger level

It is possible to change the polarity (active-high or active-low) for any TrgenPort: Use the helper funcion set_levellike this in order to build the complete or partial pinout map to set.

# we choose to set just GPIO0 -> High and the GPIO1 -> Low
mask = LevelConfig().high(TrgenPin.GPIO0, TrgenPin.BNCO).low(TrgenPin.GPIO1).build()
# once you have it, you can use it as argument in the set_level function
client.set_level(mask)

Get the Trigger Level

To check trigger polarity:

level = client.get_level()
print(bin(level))

Get the GPIO I/O Direction

To retrieve the current GPIO configuration:

gpio_state = client.get_gpio_direction()
print(bin(gpio_state))

Stop the TrgenPort

To stop the TRGen device use the stop() function

gpio_state = client.stop()

---

Helpers

Here's some utility functions used to simplify the TRGen Device interaction

Reset TrgenPort

In order to reset a specific TrgenPort program, the following static functions can be used:

• resetTrgenPort(trgenport)
• resetAllTrgenPorts()

bnco = TrgenPort(TrgenPin.BNCO)
client.resetTrgenPort(bnco) # reset just bnco
# it basically does
# bnco.setInstruction(0, istrEnd())
# for i in range(1, 31):
#    bnco.setInstruction(i,istrNotAdmissible())

client.resetAllTrgenPorts() # reset all TrgenPorts

Set Default Duration

In this and this section is explained how to send a default trigger to BNCO or multiple TrgenPorts

Default duration is 20µs, but it can be changed using setDefaultDuration(duration_us) like this:

client.setDefaultDuration(100)
client.sendTrigger() # now this default trigger lasts 100µs

Get Default Duration

To get standard new duration use getDefaultDuration() like this:

new_duration = client.getDefaultDuration() # returns an int value

Get Implementation

The TRGenDevice has its own "settings" stored into the impl object defined by class TrgenImplementation. impl is a TrgenClient property and can be reached invoking the static function getImplementation() like this:

client = TrgenClient()
impl = client.getImplementation()

TrgenImplementation contains informations about:

• TRGen cardinality
• mtml
• memory_length

TRGen Cardinality

Its a bunch of properties describing the maximum number of TrgenPort by type:

• ns_num (8)
• sa_num (8)
• bnco_num (1)
• bnci_num (1)
• gpio_num (8)

Max TRGen Memory Length (mtml)

Each TrgenPort can support a list of N instructions, where N = 2^MTML (Max TrgenPort Memory Length). the Memory Length is a "magic number" hardcoded inside the triggerbox firmware. In the current versions is 5 You can access to the mtml value by

# Add this in try block to manage errors
try:
    impl = client.getImplementation()
    mtml = impl.mtml
except InvalidAckError as e:
    print(f"⚠️ ACK sbagliato: {e}")
except AckFormatError as e:
    print(f"⚠️ ACK malformato: {e}")
except TimeoutError as e:
    print(f"⏱️ Timeout: {e}")

Memory Length

memory_length is the max number of instructions per TrgenPort, that is 2^mtml.

---

⚙️ Export/Import configuration

You can export the current device configuration to a file and import it back when needed. This is useful for backup, sharing, or restoring device settings. You basically save the TrgenClient state.

Configuration Manager

The class ConfigurationManager offers function for the entire lifecycle of a configuration. creation, import and export

Create Configuration

You can create the current configuration to a JSON file using the export_config() method:

config = TrgenConfiguration()

# Set metadata
config.metadata.project_name = "Advanced EEG Experiment"
config.metadata.description = "Configuration with custom timing for multi-modal experiment"
config.metadata.author = "Research Team"

# Set custom default duration
config.defaults.default_trigger_duration_us = 50  # 50 microseconds
config.defaults.auto_reset_enabled = True
config.defaults.auto_reset_delay_us = 200

# Configure NS0 with custom instructions (100µs trigger)
ns0_config = TriggerPortConfig(32)
ns0_config.id = TrgenPin.NS0
ns0_config.name = "EEG Start Marker"
ns0_config.type = "NeuroScan"
ns0_config.enabled = True
ns0_config.custom_duration_us = 100
ns0_config.notes = "Used for experiment start markers"

# Program custom instructions for NS0
ns0_config.memory_instructions = [0] * 32
ns0_config.memory_instructions[0] = istrActiveFor(100)   # Active for 100µs
ns0_config.memory_instructions[1] = istrUnactiveFor(500) # Inactive for 500µs
ns0_config.memory_instructions[2] = istrEnd()               # End sequence
ns0_config.last_instruction_index = 2
ns0_config.programming_state = "Programmed"

config.trigger_ports["NS0"] = ns0_config

# Configure SA0 with different timing
sa0_config = TriggerPortConfig(32)
sa0_config.id = TrgenPin.SA0
sa0_config.name = "Stimulus Trigger"
sa0_config.type = "Synamps"
sa0_config.enabled = True
sa0_config.custom_duration_us = 200
sa0_config.notes = "Used for stimulus presentation markers"

# Program custom instructions for SA0
sa0_config.memory_instructions = [0] * 32
sa0_config.memory_instructions[0] = istrActiveFor(200)   # Active for 200µs
sa0_config.memory_instructions[1] = istrEnd()               # End sequence
sa0_config.last_instruction_index = 1
sa0_config.programming_state = "Programmed"

config.trigger_ports["SA0"] = sa0_config

# Configure BNCO for TMS applications
bnco_config = TriggerPortConfig(32)
bnco_config.id = TrgenPin.BNCO
bnco_config.name = "TMS Output Control"
bnco_config.type = "BNCO"
bnco_config.enabled = True
bnco_config.custom_duration_us = 1000  # 1ms for TMS
bnco_config.notes = "Controls TMS device output"

# Program TMS-specific instructions
bnco_config.memory_instructions = [0] * 32
bnco_config.memory_instructions[0] = istrActiveFor(1000) # Active for 1ms
bnco_config.memory_instructions[1] = istrUnactiveFor(5000) # Inactive for 5ms safety margin
bnco_config.memory_instructions[2] = istrEnd()              # End sequence
bnco_config.last_instruction_index = 2
bnco_config.programming_state = "Programmed"

config.trigger_ports["BNCO"] = bnco_config

# Add some standard ports without custom programming (will use defaults)
for i in range(1, 4):  # NS1, NS2, NS3
    port_config = TriggerPortConfig(32)
    port_config.id = getattr(TrgenPin, f'NS{i}')
    port_config.name = f"NeuroScan {i}"
    port_config.type = "NeuroScan"
    port_config.enabled = True
    config.trigger_ports[f"NS{i}"] = port_config

The exported configuration includes:

• All programmed TrgenPort instructions
• GPIO direction settings
• Trigger level configurations
• Default duration settings

Export Configuration

Export is easy:

# Export current client state (if you have an existing setup)
print("\n4. Exporting current client configuration...")
export_file = TrgenConfigurationManager.export_configuration(
    client, # is the current TrgenClient used
    "config_examples/current_setup.trgen", # destination path
    project_name="Current Device Setup", # project name
    description="Exported configuration from current client state", # description
    author="TrGEN User" # author
)

Import Configuration

To load a previously saved configuration, use the import_config() method:

from trgenpy import TrgenClient

client = TrgenClient()
client.connect()

# Save the configuration to file
config_file = "config_examples/advanced_experiment.trgen"
imported_config = TrgenConfigurationManager.import_configuration(client, config_file)

client.start()

Configuration File Format

The configuration is stored in JSON format with the following structure:

{
    "metadata": {
        "version": "1.0",
        "created_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00.123456",
        "modified_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00.123456",
        "description": "Configuration for EEG experiment with custom triggers",
        "project_name": "Multi-modal Experiment",
        "author": "Research Team"
    },
    "defaults": {
        "default_trigger_duration_us": 50,
        "default_log_level": "info",
        "default_timeout_ms": 2000,
        "auto_reset_enabled": true,
        "auto_reset_delay_us": 200
    },
    "trigger_ports": {
        "NS0": {
            "id": 0,
            "name": "EEG Start Marker",
            "type": "NeuroScan",
            "enabled": true,
            "custom_duration_us": 100,
            "memory_instructions": [268435712, 536871424, 1, 0, 0, ...],
            "memory_length": 32,
            "last_instruction_index": 2,
            "programming_state": "programmed",
            "last_programmed_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00",
            "notes": "Used for experiment start markers"
        },
        "BNCO": {
            "id": 16,
            "name": "TMS Output Control",
            "type": "BNCO",
            "enabled": true,
            "custom_duration_us": 1000,
            "memory_instructions": [805306880, 1342177792, 1, 0, 0, ...],
            "memory_length": 32,
            "last_instruction_index": 2,
            "programming_state": "programmed",
            "notes": "Controls TMS device output"
        }
    },
    "network": {
        "ip_address": "192.168.123.1",
        "port": 4242,
        "timeout_ms": 2000
    }
}

This feature is particularly useful for:

• Sharing configurations across different experiments
• Version control of trigger setups
• Quick restoration of complex configurations
• Backup of working setups

---

🧠 E-Prime integration

trgenpy offers a wrapper version to integrate its behaviour inside the E-Prime software via Python COM-visible.

Install pywin32

pip install pywin32

Register the COM wrapper

python trgen_com.py --register

So that you can use in E-Prime like this

Dim tb
Set tb = CreateObject("Trgen.COM")

If tb.IsAvailable() Then
    tb.Connect
    tb.SendTrigger
    tb.SendMarker 13
Else
    MsgBox "Trgen not available!"
End If

💪 Examples

See the examples directory for the complete examples

Send Trigger BNCO

from trgenpy import TrgenClient,TrgenPin,istrActiveFor,istrUnactiveFor,istrEnd,istrWaitNE,istrWaitPE

# create the Client for the Trgen
client = TrgenClient() # eventually TrgenClient(ip="192.168.123.2")

client.connect()
client.sendTrigger()

Send Trigger

from trgenpy import TrgenClient,TrgenPin,istrActiveFor,istrUnactiveFor,istrEnd,istrWaitNE,istrWaitPE

# create the Client for the Trgen
client = TrgenClient() # eventually TrgenClient(ip="192.168.123.2")

client.connect()
client.sendTrigger([TrgenPin.NS0,TrgenPin.GPIO0])

Custom Trigger

from trgenpy import TrgenClient,TrgenPin,istrActiveFor,istrUnactiveFor,istrEnd,istrWaitNE,istrWaitPE
# create the Client for the Trgen
client = TrgenClient() # eventually TrgenClient(ip="192.168.123.2")

client.connect()

def set_bnco_up():
    # check if the device is online
    if client.is_available():
        print("Trgen is connected")

        # build a trigger
        bnco = client.createTrgenPort(TrgenPin.BNCO)
        bnco.setInstruction(0, istrActiveFor(5))
        bnco.setInstruction(1, istrUnactiveFor(3))
        bnco.setInstruction(2, istrEnd())
        # send the trigger
        client.writeTrgenMemory(bnco)

        # start the sequence
        client.start()

        # stop the sequence
        client.stop()
        
set_bnco_up()