LIF Presets

A LIF preset is a named, saved configuration of the frequency-conversion chain — analogous to an FTMW preset, but currently narrower in scope: a LIF preset captures only the conversion wiring (which input feeds each stage, and which stage is marked as the excitation beam), not the LIF digitizer, gate, or manual laser-control settings, which persist separately. The conversion operation and the harmonic order of each NHG stage are hardware identity, re-read from each stage’s own profile when the chain is assembled, and are not part of the preset. Like FTMW presets, LIF presets are saved inside a loadout and cannot exist outside one; see Loadouts.

The Preset Bar

The LIF Preset group box at the top of the Conversion tab provides:

Preset selector (combo box): Lists the named LIF presets belonging to the active loadout.
Apply / Reset: When the combo selection differs from the currently applied preset, this button reads Apply; clicking it loads the selected preset’s wiring into the table, prompting to discard unsaved changes first if there are any. When the combo selection matches the currently applied preset, the button reads Reset, and is enabled only while there are unsaved changes to discard.
Save: Overwrites the currently applied preset with the table’s current wiring. Enabled only when a named (non-last-used) preset is applied and the table has unsaved changes.
Save As…: Saves the table’s current wiring to a new preset with a name you supply. If the name already exists, Blackchirp asks whether to overwrite it. After saving, the new preset becomes the applied preset.
Rename…: Renames the currently applied preset. Disabled when no named preset is applied.
Delete: Removes the preset selected in the combo box from the loadout, after a confirmation prompt. Enabled only when the combo selects a named preset other than the one currently applied. This button appears in the standalone Hardware → LIF Configuration dialog; it is hidden in the Experiment Setup wizard’s Conversion tab.

Restoring the Last Configuration

Blackchirp remembers your last-used conversion wiring even if you don’t save it as a named preset: the Conversion tab reopens with the wiring you left it in, whether or not a named preset is selected in the combo box. Each loadout also tracks its most recently applied or saved named LIF preset, which drives the initial selection in the preset bar.

Saving Changes When the Wizard Is Accepted

If the Conversion tab has unsaved changes when the Experiment Setup wizard is accepted, Blackchirp shows a Save LIF changes? prompt before the experiment starts, offering three choices:

Overwrite “<preset name>” — saves the current wiring over the applied preset (disabled if no preset was applied to overwrite).
Save as new preset… — prompts for a name and saves the wiring as a new preset, as with Save As… in the preset bar.
Proceed without saving — starts the experiment with the current wiring without creating or updating a named preset. Blackchirp still remembers the wiring as the last-used configuration (see Restoring the Last Configuration).

You will see this prompt any time you tweak the conversion wiring in the wizard and accept it, so it is worth knowing the three outcomes before you click through it.