Valve calibration

Each box's water valves must be calibrated so that a requested reward (e.g. 20 µL) actually delivers that volume. Calibrate every week after changing tubing (Weekly maintenance), and whenever a valve, tube or reservoir height changes.

The calibration is stored per box in Bpod Local/Calibration Files/LiquidCalibration_<box_id>.mat.

Procedure

1. In BpodAcademy, Start Bpod for the box and then click Calibrate. This only works on the rig computer, and only while no protocol is running.
2. In the Bpod liquid calibration window:
   1. Pick the valves to calibrate. On a 3-port box these are valves 1–3 (left, center, right).
   2. Add the pulse durations (ms) to measure, or use Suggest Points to get durations for a target range (default 2–10 µL per pulse).
   3. Set pulses per measurement. The default is 100, and pulses are 0.2 s apart.
3. Put a pre-weighed cup under each port and click Measure Pending. Refill the reservoir when prompted.
4. Weigh each cup and enter the total grams delivered. Bpod converts this to µL per pulse (1 g = 1000 µL).
5. Bpod fits a curve of volume vs. pulse duration. Click Test Curve to deliver a target amount, and check it on the scale.
6. Save and close the window. The file is written as LiquidCalibration_<box_id>.mat.

Tip

Run FlushValves first so the lines are full and free of bubbles. Air in the line ruins a calibration.