Knowledge Base

Problem

A user wants to program the DanioVision top unit lighting to automatically cycle on and off for extended periods (e.g., 14 hours on, 10 hours off) over multiple days using EthoVision.

Details

DanioVision lighting is controlled through EthoVision's Trial Control feature. Users may not know how to set up automated multi-day light/dark cycling schedules. This applies to DanioVision systems running EthoVision XT with the Trial & Hardware Control module licensed.

Solution

1. Open your experiment in EthoVision and navigate to Experiment Explorer.
2. Right-click 'Trial Control Settings' and create a new Trial Control.
3. Add a sequence of actions and time-based conditions to create the on/off cycle:
- Add an action: Set Light output to ON.
- Add a time condition: After 14 hours (or the desired ON duration), trigger the next action.
- Add an action: Set Light output to OFF.
- Add a time condition: After 10 hours (or the desired OFF duration), loop back to the ON action.
4. To repeat this cycle over multiple days, use a loop or repeat structure within the Trial Control rules.
5. Ensure the Trial & Hardware Control module is licensed (check via Help > About or the Modules section).
6. Start the trial and verify the light state changes at the expected times by monitoring the hardware output log.
7. If the cycle does not repeat correctly, review the sub-rule and loop configuration in Trial Control — conditions must resolve correctly for the loop to continue.