Apparatus and associated methods relate to activating a blanking programming mode, such as fixed blanking (FB) or floating blanking (FLB), for example, for at least one user-selectable light curtain segment proximally connected to a distal-most segment in a string of cascaded light curtain segments. In an illustrative example, the selective activation may be initiated in response to a request signal from a remote request generator. The remote request generator may, in some examples, communicate the request signal to initiate the programming mode via a wireless communication link. In some embodiments, a request interface module may receive the request signal while releasably plugged into a terminal end of the distal-most segment. In various implementations, the remote selective activation may advantageously empower operators to rapidly configure cascaded light curtain systems that require programming modes for functions such as, for example, FB, FLB, or reduced resolution.