Intan RHX Controller Device

This tutorial demonstrates how to connect to an Intan RHX system using the IntanRHXDevice class and interact with it via the Remote TCP Control interface.

Important

Before starting, make sure the Remote TCP Control GUI in the Intan RHX software has both servers enabled (Command and Data ports). The default ports are 5000 (Command) and 5001 (Data).

Connect to an Intan RHX Controller

The following example show how simple it is to connect to an RHX device:

from intan.rhx_interface import IntanRHXDevice

SAMPLE_RATE = 4000.0      # Specify sampling rate in Hz, ignored if using 'playback' mode
NUM_CHANNELS = 32         # Number of channels to read from the intan device

# Initialize device
device = IntanRHXDevice(sample_rate=SAMPLE_RATE, num_channels=NUM_CHANNELS)

We can enable streaming for all channels:

# Enable "wide" channel streaming for all channels (or indices for specific channels)
 device.enable_wide_channel(range(NUM_CHANNELS))

Record EMG Data Duration

Let’s records a 10-second EMG segment and plots the result:

from intan.plotting import plot_figure
import numpy as np

DURATION_SEC = 10

# Record EMG for the specified duration (seconds)
emg = device.record(duration_sec=DURATION_SEC)

# Safely stop the device and close sockets
device.set_run_mode("stop")

# Plot the EMG data from channel 6 (index 5)
if emg is not None:
    t = np.arange(emg.shape[1]) / SAMPLE_RATE
    plot_figure(emg[5], t, title="EMG Signal", x_label="Time (s)", y_label="Amplitude (μV)", legend=False)

Remember to clode the device connection when done:

# Close the device connection
device.close()

Configuring Channels and Streaming Options

The IntanRHXDevice inherits configuration commands, so you can enable or disable specific channel types for streaming over TCP:

# Enable wideband streaming for channels 0-15
device.enable_wide_channel(range(16), status=True)

# Enable highpass streaming for channels 0-7
device.enable_high_channel(range(8), status=True)

# Disable all data outputs (recommended before changing channel configs)
device.clear_all_data_outputs()

Changing Sample Rate and Device Parameters

You can read or set core device parameters programmatically:

# Get current sample rate (Hz)
fs = device.get_sample_rate()

# Set sample rate to 5000 Hz (if supported)
device.set_sample_rate(5000)

# Set the TCP write block size (number of data blocks sent per packet)
device.set_blocks_per_write(2)

Using Context Management for Automatic Cleanup

The IntanRHXDevice supports Python’s with statement for safe usage:

from intan.rhx_interface import IntanRHXDevice

with IntanRHXDevice(sample_rate=4000, num_channels=128) as device:
    device.enable_wide_channel(range(128))
    emg = device.record(duration_sec=5)
    # Device is safely stopped and closed automatically

Troubleshooting Connection Issues

“Connection refused” or “timeout”: Ensure the Intan RHX software’s Remote TCP Control servers are running (both Command and Data). Double-check the host address and port numbers.
Device not streaming or empty data: Confirm the correct channel types are enabled (enable_wide_channel, etc.) and data output is enabled for the channels you want.
Recording length mismatch: Verify the sample rate matches your hardware/software setting in RHX.

More: Streaming and Real-Time Visualization

For live scrolling plots or real-time processing, see the multichannel_stream_plot.py and scrolling_live.py examples in the examples folder, or refer to the Streaming tutorial.

Summary

You can fully automate connection, configuration, and recording from the Intan RHX device using the IntanRHXDevice class. For advanced options (triggered acquisition, analog or spike channel streaming, or disk recording), refer to the API Reference and the configuration commands available in the RHXConfig base class.