FLIR E4 Teardown Q/A and newbie questions

[Sofia]

In today's test at 25c after 10min still the same :-(

have you changed some of the settings (over Telnet with RNDIS mode)?

No, I did not change anything. I had to change something?

[peo007]

If you open a photo in Flir Tools, from an unhacked E4, what will the IR resolution box say?    80x60  or  320x240.

[MarkIR]

What's the best way to restart the hack after an unsuccessful attempt?  my cmd shell looked just like David's. 

I have already updated the FlashBFS system directory and have the new menus, but the MSX option is gone, so that means the resolution hack was done incorrectly.  I saved my original cfc file and the original "system" directory.  I did notice that the file size of the new file and the old file differed which made me think I had done it incorrectly.

Using a 1.22 firmware.  My original conf.cfc file was 6336 bytes.  My new one was 6320.  Might not matter, but does indicate I may have done something wrong.

I assume I just go through the same steps on the command line that are shown in the 1.22 video and then copy the conf.cfc file back to the same spot.  Any changes to FlashBFS shouldn't have an effect on the conf.cfc.  To test, remove the battery, reinsert the battery, and power on the device.

Do I have that right?

Thanks,
Mark

NOTE : Second try is a charm.  Worked.  I may have had an extra line (2 instead of 1) at the end of the .cfg.  My new file that worked was still 6320 in size and the original was 6336 (confirmed this during the "do-over").

[rivee]

I posted this in the beginners forum before I found this thread. Sorry mods:

"I recently purchased a Flir E4 thermal imaging camera with the 1.22 software installed. I applied the E4 to E8 mods with great success.

I bought the E4 in hopes of finding lost or injured cattle on the open range. The landscape is dry rolling hills with tall dry grass and other foliage on it. The summer temps can reach 100F with the rest of the year at around 70-85 F. At times I have searched over the 3,500+ acre area with very little success in finding lost or injured cattle. I'm hoping this TI will help

I have tried it on cows that I can visually see in the open but with the daytime temps hovering around 95-100F it's hard to distinguish their IR image from tree trunks and rocks etc.

The question I have is what settings I should use with the new software to maximize my success in differentiating between the two?

I know it would be better at night or during colder periods, but don't always have the luxury to do so.

Any help would be greatly appreciated."

[fortex]

Hello.  I have an E4 1.2L with the 2.1.0 firmware and cannot get it into RNDIS mode.  I've gone into the secret menu and the setting refuses to stick.  I have read and searched through many of the 350+ pages of the other thread but I cannot find the answer.  I found things such as using something made by ge_freak but then 2 pages later, it says he has removed all of his postings and information.

I'm hoping that once I get this into RDNIS mode, I can easily update it with TIConfig.  Some direction here would be great.

[tjb1]

Hello.  I have an E4 1.2L with the 2.1.0 firmware and cannot get it into RNDIS mode.  I've gone into the secret menu and the setting refuses to stick.  I have read and searched through many of the 350+ pages of the other thread but I cannot find the answer.  I found things such as using something made by ge_freak but then 2 pages later, it says he has removed all of his postings and information.

I'm hoping that once I get this into RDNIS mode, I can easily update it with TIConfig.  Some direction here would be great.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg515462/#msg515462

[fortex]

Thanks for the reply.  That was another confusing portion of the thread that I had ran across.  I have no context at all for this statement for instance:

"If you search through Mikes original hack you can enter RNDIS mode using flirinstallnet and the FIF files from Mikes earlier hacks."

Unfortunately I don't know who Mike is or where to find his "earlier hack".  Sorry for my ignorance and newbieism but that thread is massive and appears to have been drastically tampered with at multiple points in time.  Any additional direction would be much appreciated.

[b_force]

Guys, I have a question, maybe you can help me out.
I have successfully upgraded the firmware and the menu with the E4
Now I want to install Flir Tools, but if I want to do that, I get an error message.
Does this something has to do with the drivers/upgrade, or is that completely something else?

BTW, would it be possible to reprogram the four cursors for setting the distance?

[fortex]

Thanks for the reply.  That was another confusing portion of the thread that I had ran across.  I have no context at all for this statement for instance:

"If you search through Mikes original hack you can enter RNDIS mode using flirinstallnet and the FIF files from Mikes earlier hacks."

Unfortunately I don't know who Mike is or where to find his "earlier hack".  Sorry for my ignorance and newbieism but that thread is massive and appears to have been drastically tampered with at multiple points in time.  Any additional direction would be much appreciated.

Can anyone provide more direction on this?  Where to get Mike's original hack, what to run to enable RNDIS mode, etc?  I'm feeling pretty lost here.

[Roger H]

Hi all, am new to thermal cam hacking, I just got an E40 early version with no msx, early firmware, in an ideal world I'd like this to have msx but think this may need extra hardware? Also, I've looked at E4 images before and after and can't see a massive difference, my questions therefore are:
1, can I get msx on E40
2, What is the easiest method to attempt hack
3, What are the chances of bricking the device?
4, If I attempt the hack and fail, can I roll back the firmware
I did see someones post on here that had hacked an early E40, and would appreciate any help from those that have tried and tested.
Thanks, Roger H

[Fraser]

@Roger

Did you recently win the E40 on e*ay.co.uk ? If so, well done for winning it.

To answer your questions:

1. No, MSX is not possible within the early E40 but can be created with the images on a PC after capture.
2. There is only one method for the E40 that I have seen and it is manual rather than running a program so you need to read up on the steps. The information you require is in this thread and you can contact the chaps who discuss the E40 upgrade for help.
3. It is always a risky process to 'hack' a FLIR camera as if you delete or over write an essential file the camera will stop operating. You need to always be VERY methodical when doing such changes as recovery may prove challenging. You have the benefit of E40 owners here though  who may be able to assist with copies of the files if lost. No.1 rule...ALWAYS back up all the cameras files before attempting any changes to the files.
4. You are not changing the firmware on your camera, You are changing the contents of some files and some checksums. The files may be changed back to factory if required. You do not do any damage to the cameras firmware during the changes.
5. Its a royal pain as this thread is huge but I strongly suggest you look at the links provided by Mike in his Post on the first page. Then do a search on this thread looking for references to 'E40'. You should find the postings of people who upgraded their cameras.

Hope this helps

Aurora

[Roger H]

Thanks for the info, yes I did "win" the item, and while the E4 res hack is tempting, I don't want to loose the higher end temp scale up to 650c. strangely, in the flir ftp menu, there is an option to enable 200-1200, and while this does show on the camera I don't think there has been any calibration for this, but wonder why it is available. Ideally I would just like the res hack, my files report 160x160 which is really weird, and the info from flir to upgrade their firmware via SD card shows a button in camera to install this, but my camera has no such button, all in all it's a strange device, and I have taken your good idea to back up the system, I've trawled the e40 threads but see only one person who has done the hack on E40, but no real info on results in detail. Many thanks for your input, the learning curve is like a cliff face for me on this new kit, but fortunately I have worked with other electronics requiring fw updates so am learning fast.
I would like your opinion on the higher temp range, it doesn't seem likely this cam could operate at 1200c but I still wonder why it's in the menu.
regards, Roger H

[leoibb]

Does anyone do the hack over the pc for a fee or I can travel I really don't understand files and such please help

[jfields]

Hi, I am new to Thermal Imaging and I'm about to purchase an E4B. I have been reading trying to find out if the E4b can be hacked the same ways as the E4. Can anyone confirm?

[Sofia]

Greetings
I want to ask whether, after a complaint camera, I can upload files back ("hack E8" common_dll.dll a conf.cfc).
Or should I create a new one?
Firmware 2.3.
About faulty thermo sensor:-(
Thanks for the info.

[Whizbang]

Hey I have an E4 that I bought last Feb and moded. My main question is what happens if you remove the hack? Does it just source the original config file? Maybe I missed someone else asking this in previous pages. Should the serial number change or does it stay the same? I remember using hte CRC files and putting my serial number in there and then executing the exe file, however I never did get the menu hack working because I was afraid to use RDNIS. However I just saw a YouTube video where the individual just dragged and dropped using filezilla. This leads to my question, do I need to completely uninstall everything? Or can someone walk me through backing up my original menu in case for safety, and then install the beta 3 menu only. Note: I would like to do this using filezilla, except previously when doing the resolution mod I used terminal, will this cause an issue? Do both modifications have to be done using terminal or RDNIS

I have read through and tried to search my question, but I may not have used the right key words so i apologize if this a repetitive question. I really don't want to break my camera.

I posted this on another thread several days back and haven't heard anything so I am trying to post here and see if I can get some feedback.

Thanks

[rue]

Hi there,

I´m quite new to these topics and want to apply Mike´s old resolution hack only (reply#483 in his thread) to my E4 with the firmware 1.19.8.
As FLIR updated Flir Tools from v4.0, v4.1 to v5.0 I now wonder if there might be any problem using the newest version (the only one I have) that I already installed on my PC (FlirInstallNet.exe is dated Oct, 2nd, 2014). I fear that Flir changed something in there that causes any problem or makes the camera stuck when applying the fif file. Does anyone know something about?

Are there any other news on the old resolution "update" that might help?

Thanks a lot!

[JFA]

Because I never trusted FLIR to not fuck with the software, I never hook-up the camera to FLIR Tools. I always transfer the pics from the cam to a folder in the computer, and then open the files in FLIR Tools.
AND I put a condom on the USB cable when I do the transfer to my computer.  Better be safe than sorry...

OK, 'was just jokin' about the condom. 

Hi there,

I´m quite new to these topics and want to apply Mike´s old resolution hack only (reply#483 in his thread) to my E4 with the firmware 1.19.8.
As FLIR updated Flir Tools from v4.0, v4.1 to v5.0 I now wonder if there might be any problem using the newest version (the only one I have) that I already installed on my PC (FlirInstallNet.exe is dated Oct, 2nd, 2014). I fear that Flir changed something in there that causes any problem or makes the camera stuck when applying the fif file. Does anyone know something about?

Are there any other news on the old resolution "update" that might help?

Thanks a lot!

[adaviel]

I found this forum by accident looking up the E4 resolution  with Google. Worth it just for finding the hidden menu with USB webcam mode; thanks guys.
I have to say, though, that multipage threads in a forum make for terrible documentation, compared to a a wiki or a CMS or just about anything, except maybe a mailing list that no-one's archived.

I have an E4 model E4 1.1L part no 63901-0101 software 1.22.0
Hidden menu shows Appcore 22.0.0.1, confkit E4 1.1L, appkit 1.0.17
I thought I would try the resolution hack.

I normally use Linux; I was able to build the cfc_generator easily after fixing the md5.h filename case. But USB NDIS won't work, or I'm not persistant enough. It works nicely with my Beagleboard, but with the E4 the eth4 interface comes up but then the E4 does not respond to DHCP requests. I tried setting the address manually but get no response.

Not that NDIS is much better on Windows; I borrowed a Windows 8.1 laptop and loaded the FLIR drivers. Considering that the E4 also runs a Microsoft OS (Windows CE), the quality of this procedure is appalling. I refuse on principle to reboot computers just to install something and at least that was not necessary (apart from the E4, which I'll forgive). The NDIS interface almost always appeared in the Windows control panel when I entered NDIS mode, or connected the USB cable, but then most of the time the process hung saying "identifying..". I suspect it hangs at the same point as in Linux, waiting for a DHCP response. I had some success using the Windows troubleshooter, clicking the interface icon and using "diagnose", which does some magic including "resetting" the interface. It didn't always work first time, or second. I also as per the forum notes disabled the other network interfaces. When it worked, it seemed to stay working with ipconfig showing the interface address as 192.168.0.1 and the gateway address as 192.168.0.2 (the E4). On occasions when it did not work, I saw e.g. interface address 192.168.1.1 but
gateway address 192.168.0.2. Frankly, this is ridiculous. It should work first time, every time, without having to disable anything, same as the Beagleboard does on Linux. However, I doubt that complaining to FLIR about an undocumented feature is likely to prove rewarding.
Once the NDIS interface was up and working, I was able to access the E4 filesystem with command-line ftp or with winscp in ftp mode, and, I think, re-enable the other network interfaces.

So, the hack. I was able to retrieve conf.cfc, decrypt it, edit, run the CFC generator, re-encrypt it. That all seemed to work fine, as per examples I've seen on the forum. I checked the text file with "od -a" in Linux and see "cr lf" between all the lines and at the end of the file. The ID in the original matches the serial number printed on my E4.
I tried using conf_template.cfg (the E8 file), and modified versions of my original E4 config with just the resolution changed. When I upload them as conf.cfc and reboot (removing the battery) the E4 works in IR mode but if I switch image mode to "Digital camera" and take a picture, I get "application appcore.exe encountered a serious error" and the camera hangs until powered off. "Thermal MSX" is also missing in the menu. When taking a picture in thermal mode, the visible light thumbnail is blank and there is no image saved to SD. The thermal image seems completely normal - same apparent resolution as usual, with the same EXIF data still showing E4 and resolution 320x240.

Seems like I'm missing a step or doing something wrong. Any ideas ?

I'm a bit nervous about making random changes in case I brick my camera. Can that happen ?

What are the symptoms of a missing conf.cfc, wrong SSID, wrong ID, or corrupted text (extra comments, changed date, nonsense values for resolution, zoom etc.) ?
What do all the changed config entries actually do, like alarms, irMarkers, measureFuncs ? Should they work, or do they require hardware features that are only in the E80 ?
I would try to be a bit more systematic in recording and reporting things, but the randomness of getting the NDIS link to work is time-consuming and frustrating, and I'm not very good with Windows.

=====================
Later:
I got NDIS to work solidly and reliably on Linux - DHCP didn't work, but I set NetworkManager to recognize the apparent MAC address and use address 192.168.250.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 gw 0.0.0.0. So when I plug the camera in or select USB mode NDIS it comes online strraight away.
After that, the webpage http://192.168.250.1showed a number of camera parameters such as serial number, number of times the shutter had been triggered, etc.
I could access the camera with ftp both with flir/3vlig and as anonymous.
The crc03 program compiled and ran normally on Linux. ftool compiled OK and decrypts conf.crc OK, but on encryption messes up the 16-byte MD5 section. I suspect an endian issue but it's beyond my skill to fix in reasonable time. Meanwhile ftool.exe runs properly in Wine.
I found I had to set binmode in ftp else the new conf.cfc got uploaded in ascii mode with spurious linefeeds. Now I have I think improved resolution, and the visible light image is getting saved properly again. I uploaded a custom splash screen ("this camera belongs to me") for fun.
In UVC mode I can get a picture with webcam software such as "cheese". Video capture did not work for me in cheese, probably I'm missing some streaming libraries, but I could use e.g. "mencoder  -tv device=/dev/video1 -ovc copy -o try.avi tv://1" (from mplayer)

http://andrew.daviel.org/E4-blog.html

Andrew

[rue]

Thanks JFA, you might be right but actually it seems to be necessary to use FlirInstallNet.exe to appy the fif file (referring to Mike´s update steps). I just wondered if FILR might have put some "stuff" into the newer FLIR Tools version that causes problems with the resolution hack for the 1.19.8 version??? I´m not an expert in all these console/RNDIS stuff so I just wanted to apply the resolution hack and that´s it (menue hack would be fine, but I rather refrain from it to not damage my cam if sth. goes wrong).

Does anyone know about a safe download link for version 4 of Flir Tools? I think this is the version that was used when Mike published his "update" process for the 1.19.8 firmware.

Rue

Because I never trusted FLIR to not fuck with the software, I never hook-up the camera to FLIR Tools. I always transfer the pics from the cam to a folder in the computer, and then open the files in FLIR Tools.
AND I put a condom on the USB cable when I do the transfer to my computer.  Better be safe than sorry...

OK, 'was just jokin' about the condom. 

Hi there,

I´m quite new to these topics and want to apply Mike´s old resolution hack only (reply#483 in his thread) to my E4 with the firmware 1.19.8.
As FLIR updated Flir Tools from v4.0, v4.1 to v5.0 I now wonder if there might be any problem using the newest version (the only one I have) that I already installed on my PC (FlirInstallNet.exe is dated Oct, 2nd, 2014). I fear that Flir changed something in there that causes any problem or makes the camera stuck when applying the fif file. Does anyone know something about?

Are there any other news on the old resolution "update" that might help?

Thanks a lot!

[murcielago]

A little info on my background.

I live near the equator and the average day temp is around 25-32degC with humidity easily 50-90% or more.

I've upgraded the e4 to e8 with beta 3 menus and I am completely loss as to how the functions work

reflected temperature?
ambient relative humidity
condensation: rel amb humidity
condensation: humidity marking level.

I have no idea how "detect condensation" under graph colours works. I've opened my fridge door and it doesn't detect condensation forming on the cold surface.

I take it as the temperature cutoff in "detect insulation deficiencies" cannot be changed? Given I live in a tropical climate with rather high humidity, so 18degC is not going to be too useful?

Taking into account my ambient temperature, how should I adjust the the above mentioned settings? It's telling me my ordinary home freezer is running at -20degC



Also, whenever the menu is shown, there are 2 symbols at the top, a wifi symbol and a memory card symbol and they go away once I exit the menu.

[hangman992]

I've posted this already in the E4 teardown thread and get no answers, now i know why, sorry.

Hey, i´m the new one :-)

I hope you can help me.
I want to buy a Flir E4, but i´m not shure.
Is it possible to unlock the high resulution and the menue with the 2.3 Firmware or is only the resulution hack possible?
Can i undo the hack if i need to give the Cam to Flir for repair.

Sorry about my bad english.
Greetings from Germany
Philipp

[Chanc3]

A little info on my background.

I live near the equator and the average day temp is around 25-32degC with humidity easily 50-90% or more.

I've upgraded the e4 to e8 with beta 3 menus and I am completely loss as to how the functions work

reflected temperature?
ambient relative humidity
condensation: rel amb humidity
condensation: humidity marking level.

I have no idea how "detect condensation" under graph colours works. I've opened my fridge door and it doesn't detect condensation forming on the cold surface.

I take it as the temperature cutoff in "detect insulation deficiencies" cannot be changed? Given I live in a tropical climate with rather high humidity, so 18degC is not going to be too useful?

Taking into account my ambient temperature, how should I adjust the the above mentioned settings? It's telling me my ordinary home freezer is running at -20degC



Also, whenever the menu is shown, there are 2 symbols at the top, a wifi symbol and a memory card symbol and they go away once I exit the menu.

Might be worth following up your purchase with a bit of training if anyone is near you - even if just a one day course.

Everything gives off infrared radiation so this radiation can effect other objects giving you false readings. To counter this, the cameras have "Tref" or Reflected apparent temperature", which you must define: a good example to demonstrate how this works and how to counter it is to point your camera at a wall, take an image. Now get a piece of tin foil, scrunch it up lots, flatten it out and hold it in front of the wall, take another image.

Now using software or the inbuilt measurement functions, position an area box over the foil and take an average, this is now your reflected temperature. Now go back to the first image and input this new figure into the reflected temperature variable and notice how much the image changes!

As for condensation settings, again you need to define this yourself, which I believe there are many calculators online or even phone apps. When the figure has been  entered, and temperatures that fall below this will appear as a different colour on the thermogram.

Hope this helps a bit - late at night and on my phone!

[Jim1960]

Hi all, I sure have learned a lot reading the hundreds of posts on the EEVblog regarding E4 camera modifications. However, I have reached a point where I am stuck at with my E4 camera, and would like to please reach out for a mentor that could give me some advice. I have gotten as far as being able to read and access my E4's internal files with Filezilla, but am afraid to go any further as I don't want to end up bricking my E4.

My E4 is one of the newer ones, so I'm looking for help from someone who has successfully performed the resolution and menu hacks. The info on my E4 is: Model = E4 1.2L, Part# 63901-0101, Software = 2.3.0

Thanks, Jim1960

[leoibb]

Hello all . The distance is fairly poor from my use I would have thought picking people up 100 metre away wouldn't be a problem but it is. So is there a clip on lenses of some description I could use to magnify further ? I'm not a file or tech guy so simple answers if possible . Thanks