Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown

[Fraser]

@tiagobaracho

Please read my FLIR E4 Useful information thread. Its all there, including how to mount it.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/flir-e4-the-useful-information-thread/

[mikeselectricstuff]

Just noticed PASS/Tester (UK) are offering a free soft case, battery and car charger with the E4

http://www.pass-thermal.co.uk/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera

Also Tequipment appear to have got so tired of people asking about firmware versions they've put it in their FAQ
http://www.tequipment.net/FLIRE4.html?readReview=4df87#tab-q_a
Note stock has gone from 55 to 19 in  3 days...!

 

[ron]

Tequipment FAQ also says "In order to see the exact version of firmware on an E4, one must register the camera online at Flir's website"

[Fraser]

Mike,

That offer came in a little while after I bought my camera. The USA already had such an offer running at my time of my purchase but PASS advised that UK offers normally trail by a few weeks or so. That is exactly what happened. The US offer was more generous as it also included the external battery charger Pod. Still some nice freebies though.

[swperk]

I had no problem with the FLIR E4 resolution upgrade, but when I tried to do the menu upgrade I couldn't get my PC (Win 8.1) to connect with the E4 (using FileZilla). The PC saw the E4 as a networked device on its own separate network, but refused to connect, even after I confirmed that the IP address and the subnet mask were okay. On a whim, I tried networking to the FLIR on my Win 7 PC and it everything worked easily and flawlessly with FileZilla. I didn't even have to edit any networking parameters on the PC--it "just worked!"

I hope this will help others who are having issues with the menu upgrade process.

[Bluestreak66]

Just Received an E4 from "Mega Depot" off eBay $995 free shipping (was going to pick it up locally but taxes would've add another $80.) Has firmware 1.19.8 and applied the software/menu mods without issue. I just want to thank everyone that has worked on the modifications. I think I would have been disappointed with the E4 the way it was from the factory, but with the increased resolution and extra menu feature It is well worth it. The menu options add a ton of functionality It was quite surprising how limited the stock E4 actually is.

[muvideo]

Hello, a Polish reseller seemed to have one in stock,
so I asked if they have could tell me what FW version
they had. They answered that they will have it ready
to ship about 19th of February, and the firmware will
be 1.21.0, mmmh, I should have bought it earlier.

On the bright side, at least now I still have that 1k2
euro in my pocket...

[bookaboo]

Still some UK suppliers and ebay outlets with the old version

[Stoffel]

Yup, I got mine from conrad.nl yesterday and ordered it this week. Still the old FW and already hacked

Thanks to everyone here for their hard work (and to FLIR for making it possible ). Absolutely amazing result!

[grego]

Just got my E4 from tequipment.net, ordered on 2/8 - arrived today with firmware 1.19.8.

[muvideo]

Yup, I got mine from conrad.nl yesterday and ordered it this week. Still the old FW and already hacked

Thanks to everyone here for their hard work (and to FLIR for making it possible ). Absolutely amazing result!

Do you know if they sent it to you from their de warehouse?
They have a good price here in Italy, and a promo discount for the first order,
but cannot tell what fw they have in stock, they told me they have them ready
to ship from germany warehouse.

[Galaxyrise]

Also Tequipment appear to have got so tired of people asking about firmware versions they've put it in their FAQ
http://www.tequipment.net/FLIRE4.html?readReview=4df87#tab-q_a
Note stock has gone from 55 to 19 in  3 days...!

As of 2/14 at 1pm EST are are sold out of the 55 units we had.  We are waiting for more units and do not know the version.

[grego]

Also Tequipment appear to have got so tired of people asking about firmware versions they've put it in their FAQ
http://www.tequipment.net/FLIRE4.html?readReview=4df87#tab-q_a
Note stock has gone from 55 to 19 in  3 days...!

As of 2/14 at 1pm EST are are sold out of the 55 units we had.  We are waiting for more units and do not know the version.

Wow - I'm glad I pulled the trigger when I did then.

[Stoffel]

Yup, I got mine from conrad.nl yesterday and ordered it this week. Still the old FW and already hacked

Thanks to everyone here for their hard work (and to FLIR for making it possible ). Absolutely amazing result!

Do you know if they sent it to you from their de warehouse?
They have a good price here in Italy, and a promo discount for the first order,
but cannot tell what fw they have in stock, they told me they have them ready
to ship from germany warehouse.

I actually gave them a call to see if they really had them in stock or were ordering from FLIR before I ordered, and their customer service rep said that they were going to send the E4 from the DE warehouse.  I don't know if they still have old stock, but I guess you could ask them.

[uski]

Does anyone know if a Ex0bx model becomes an E60 after hacking ?

Difference between Ex0bx and Ex0 models : temperature range.
I don't know if it's another software lock or a different sensor ? Any clue ?

Because my E30bx is due to arrive soon...

[tom66]

Why are Flir moving against this modification? It has surely increased sales massively, and I doubt it has affected professional sales significantly. ITAR or such?

[Fraser]

@tom66.

Only FLIR can answer that question.

[grego]

Why are Flir moving against this modification? It has surely increased sales massively, and I doubt it has affected professional sales significantly. ITAR or such?

Most likely because of ITAR and the fact that selling a $995 camera that can easily be made into a $6000 camera isn't really very good for business.  But more likely they really don't want to run afoul of various government agencies.

[mikeselectricstuff]

No reason to think that  ITAR comes into it. There is no evidence that >9fps is possible, and if it was/is then they are just plain incompetent. Even if it is,  it may well be too noisy to be useful, and hard to fit a bigger lens.
OK they have sold a ton of E4's but will have lost out on the excessive profit margins on the higher end models.
What is slightly puzzling is why they didn't at least do some simple interim countermeasures much earlier, which they could easily have done. Obviously it takes time to develop and test the changes needed for a more robust approach, but they could have easily done some quick, low-risk changes to at least throw up some FUD. Maybe they were just too busy with FlirOne.
I would imagine there are some internal politics involved as well as technical issues, which makes it hard to know what's really going on.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the FlirOne/Lepton stuff could be a factor in the overall strategy, e.g. maybe E4 becomes Lepton based, with a real 80x60 sensor. 
Maybe they always planned to base the E4 on Lepton but had to use the 320x240 sensor as a stopgap? 
Only time will tell.

[daves]

See ebay, people are doing good bussiness of it. This can be reason.

[Fraser]

Those wishing to have 320x240 pixels with 60fps refresh rate may wish to look at this auction.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271396455663?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649&autorefresh=true

It is a bit weird in that it uses Win CE on a Compaq PDA as part of the solution. In a way it is an early attempt at what the Mu Optics company proposed using an iPhone.

Its not a bad BST based camera that I considered buying but I already have too many projects  to complete ! The minor fault may put some buyers off or keep  the price reasonable. It ends VERY soon !

The fault should be well within most electronic hobbyists capability.

http://www.palmir250.com/ir400.htm

http://www.palmir250.com/ir400specifications.htm

UPDATE: Sold for $897

[tequipment]

Guys dont forget about your free stuff from flir.. anyone who got an e4 ( I hope from tequipment but its good anywhere )
http://www.tequipment.net/flir-promotions-and-offers/

Here is the link to get a free item.. its a decent offer.

Cheers
Evan Cirelli

Tequipment.NET

[amigo]

Does that apply to Tequipment orders from outside USA ?

[harry h]

Just an E4 from Amazon today that has the 1.19.8.  I must be a simpleton but having trouble with this - I have tried everything at the prompt with no success..  What exactly do you put at the prompt?  Be kind, I am a Mac guy.

At a PC command prompt, run

  CRC01 E8.cfg  (on the edited file)

This will display a line in the form
# CRC01 xxxxxxxx

[slpettus]

You have to dig down to your folder containing the E8 file in command. If you aren't familiar how to do this I suggest backing out to the folder you saved the hack files in, hold down shift and right click, from there you should have an option to open in command. Then try running your crc file.