FLIR PM695/595 Teardown/ PC Connectivity / Firmware modifications

[Chanc3]

Hello everyone

First post here, was lurking for a while and came across the E4 tear-down, which really interested me. Basically, my situation is as follows: I have a FLIR ThermoCAM PM695 and PM595. Both are great thermal imaging cameras, but getting on a bit now, so in order to increase what we can get out of them, we have created a serial to LEMO connector so we can actually hook the cameras up to our PC and even transmit data such as camera commands wirelessly. My current problem is that the PM595 was imported from the states, so is set up as NTSC and not PAL. This isn't a major problem as we can send a command to the camera to change it to PAL, however we think the (CMOS?) battery is low, so when you reboot the camera it never remembers the command. Has anyone ever replaced a battery in one of these themselves? It would be interesting to know how to do it as I don't really want to pay the extortionate fees FLIR service centres charge.

My next question is, since we can connect the camera to the PC and successfully communicate with it, is there a way to read the firmware / files off it? I would like to modify it as to not include the FLIR logo in each image and would like to permanently make it PAL. Is modifying the firmware even possible?

Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[plesa]

Why did you not contact FLIR directly? They are quite resposive. I'm really impressed with their support level and tutorials on web.

[Chanc3]

Why did you not contact FLIR directly? They are quite resposive. I'm really impressed with their support level and tutorials on web.

My first port of call! They suggested it could be the battery, but wanted me to send it in. Wouldn't say anything else!

[plesa]

Why did you not contact FLIR directly? They are quite resposive. I'm really impressed with their support level and tutorials on web.

My first port of call! They suggested it could be the battery, but wanted me to send it in. Wouldn't say anything else!

OKI, there is only one user on this forum with this camera (Aurorora) maybe you can ask him.

[mikeselectricstuff]

What is the problem with it being NTSC? - most monitors etc. nowadays can auto-select.

[Chanc3]

What is the problem with it being NTSC? - most monitors etc. nowadays can auto-select.

Unfortunately the monitors we need to use it with are PAL, plus we want to turn the logo off, which you can do with a command via serial to lemo, but as soon as you reboot it, it forgets the settings.

I need to change the title as it's actually a Thermal am PM 575. I'll stick around and see what Aurora suggests.

[AndyC_772]

As a safe workaround, rather than risk bricking the camera with a firmware update, I'd consider making up a little device to plug into the serial port which would issue the necessary commands at power-up. Something like a PIC12F1822 plus a MAX232 level shifter should do the trick, and all it would need to do is wait a few seconds after power is applied, then send a few characters over the UART.

[mikeselectricstuff]

What is the problem with it being NTSC? - most monitors etc. nowadays can auto-select.

Unfortunately the monitors we need to use it with are PAL, plus we want to turn the logo off, which you can do with a command via serial to lemo, but as soon as you reboot it, it forgets the settings.

I need to change the title as it's actually a Thermal am PM 575. I'll stick around and see what Aurora suggests.

Is this something that has only recently started happenning? Does the cam have an RTC, and if so is it losing time?
If so chances are it is a battery, which shouldn't be hard to find & replace
 

[mikeselectricstuff]

As a safe workaround, rather than risk bricking the camera with a firmware update, I'd consider making up a little device to plug into the serial port which would issue the necessary commands at power-up. Something like a PIC12F1822 plus a MAX232 level shifter should do the trick, and all it would need to do is wait a few seconds after power is applied, then send a few characters over the UART.

Wouldn't need the level shifter - the 12F1822 can invert its Tx line - this will easily drive RS232 direct.

[Chanc3]

We bought the camera second hand so unfortunately I think It's been like that since we got it. Your idea of plugging in another device sounds interesting, although I think I might be able to modify the program we created to push out the commands when it detects the camera.

Be interesting to see if anyone else has had more of a play with them.

[Fraser]

Chanc3,

Its your lucky day. I own three PM695's and two PM570's 

Mine are all NTSC and please be aware that the viewfinders are fixed on NTSC. I was not aware that the cameras would respond to a command to change standards. Very interesting news.

With regard to working on these cameras, I have been inside all of them and they are relatively easy to work on. The case is held together with IIRC four screws and opens in a clam shell fashion to provide access in order to disconnect the ribbon cables between boards.

When the RTC battery is at the end of its life you will lose the time stamping and this is a sure indicator that it is time to fit either a new RTC or battery. My PM570's use the Dallas DL1643L RTC with non user changeable battery (you can change it though ) The battery is a tiny lithium button IIRC something like a tagged 1216 but I will need to check. The later cameras like the 695 use the Dallas DL1643P PowerCap series and these are designed to have their batteries changed so you just buy a new PowerCap or solder a tagged lithium cell into the old one. I bought a new cap as it contains the battery and clock crystal. It is not potted. I can provide more detail tomorrow but I am on my way to bed so it will need to wait.

For info, I also have three of the original FLIR remote controls. I opened one and was surprised at the technology within. A full embedded computer and S-Video to Composite Video converter  No wonder they are so expensive ! Overkill ? Built like a tank as well.

I purchased an AV RS232 remote commander that can be programmed with RS232 command strings. It is designed to control Projectors via RS232 but I am hoping it will also command the FLIR cameras as I have the command set. A project for another day though. My RS232 commander is the Extron MLC52. I was lucky and picked it up new for $30.

http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=mlc52rs

With regard to assistance from FLIR. I regret that there is little chance of that. I contacted virtually every service agent in the world trying to get any technical information on the PM series cameras. I met a brick wall in all but one case. And even then the tech was severely constrained by an NDA and ITAR regulations. He was able to confirm that the cameras are very reliable, built like a battleship and well worth maintaining in service  He also pointed me towards a likely cause of a fault on one of my PM570's. The service centres board change only, and then calibrate. I reverse engineered the CPU board on the PM570...... not an easy task and basically it turns out to be little more than a standard MC68340 embedded computer. I used an old Atari ST 520 computer to learn about the MC68000 and read lots of books on repairing embedded computers. I later proved that the fault did not lye on that PCB    I now know quite a lot about the guts of these cameras though 

You may be interested to hear that the high temperature option filter/attenuator is fitted inside all the cameras, complete with actuator motor and mechanism. It is disabled only in software.
 
The CPU pcb has TWO RS232 ports on it. One for user access that goes to the Lemo 310 connector and one for Service use. Both are true RS232 from a dedicated level changer chip, and not TTL.

I will dig out some pictures of the internals tomorrow for you. Please PM me you email address.

As a final comment....these cameras were very expensive when new and are still expensive to have repaired. As the FLIR Tech told me....if you buy Mercedes quality, you pay Mercedes spares prices    IIRC the PM570 CPU pcb was $4000 + labour + calibration (essential) I think it totalled around $5000.

[Chanc3]

Hi Aurora

Thank you very much for your thorough reply - lots of useful information and I cannot wait to see the PM575/695 internals so I can go about changing the battery and potentially enable the high temperature filter (would appreciate guidance for this).

What we've managed to achieve so far is a wireless link from our laptop to PM695 where we can then issue commands like changing the palette at a touch of a button, focus, nuke, take an image, switch to digital - all from a custom program we created in VB2010. If you would like more details on how to wire a RS232 to Lemo connector then I'm sure my boss would let me share the information.

[Fraser]

@Chanc3

You very likely know a lot more than me regarding the control of the PM series.... I bought the cameras used and have spent my time repairing them so have not yet delved into the PC remote control side of things yet. Sadly I have not had a chance to 'probe' the cameras software to see if/how any added functionality may be switched on. IIRC the service agent can activate the high temperature range filter and menuy option, so it is just a software activation. It was common to upgrade these cameras via files on a PCMCIA card so that may be how the service agent carried out the task without having to open the camera. I suspect the RS232 service port will be the way into the OS, but I am no hacker and, unlike the lads working on the E4, do not have the skill set to carry out any clever penetration testing on the firmware. I am a hardware tech through and through  I will be taking a look at the service port though 

Some more useful/useless information for you......

A very common failure on the PM series is age/use related. The green on/off button ceases to work and the camera cannot be turned on or off using it. The button is simply a rubber asssembly with conductive carbon pad on its rear, just like on a TV remote control. The conductive pad deteriorates through heavy use and age. Interestingly all other rubber buttons maintain operation fine. It may be down to usage rate. The repair may be carried out in two ways.....repair the OEM button conductive pad with a conductive pad repair kit (I have never used one) or fit a new button. I chose the latter option and identified a suitable replacement from......wait for it......... a SKY TV remote control    I bought some SKY remote control replacement  buttion pads for around GBP3 each. One version (I think it is the HD one) has exactly the right diameter and height numeric buttons, and a nice large (approx 4mm) conductive pad. I cut out the '0' and '1' buttons, leaving a skirt around them, and they fitted perfectly in place of the FLIR OEM part  Easier and likely much cheaper than buying the part from FLIR.

[Chanc3]

That last paragraph is very intriguing as I believe we have issues with the power button on our PM575! - You have to press really hard to get it to work. Great fix though.

How would you connect to the camera via a PCMCIA card?

Also, just spotted a PM695 has appeared in eBay that is listed in the states - looks like it is in good condition also.

[Fraser]

@Chanc3

The symptom you describe is power button conductive pad failure 

I will identify the exact SKY remote keypad that you need to buy in order to fix it. It will get worse and eventually fail if no action is taken and there is a risk of damage to the FPC that sits behind the button if it is pressed too hard. The repair is easy and took me less than half an hour. You do have to partially dismantle the camera though. Nothing on the micro-bolometer/ optical block side though....just removal of the CPU PCB (1 screw !) and then removal of the joystick and joystick/power button retaining panel (4 screws)
You could easily accomplish the repair without significant risk to the camera (if you are careful). I can write a short gguide to disassembly for you.

The PCMCIA upgrade path worked as follows. The upgrade file is placed on a blank PCMCIA card. The card is inserted into the camera and the camera switched on. The camera reads the PCMCIA card and recognises an upgrade file. It loads the upgrade. Job done     

Ref PM695 in the USA...... this camera is definitely ITAR controlled. To export it from the USA legally it requires an export liecence from the US BIS. Most US sellers don't want to know about exportying controlled technology, and those that will do so, charge large sums of money for the paperwork and export licence. I heard of $300 for paperwork but Mike has heard of $2500 being quoted ! If US export control discover an unlicenced PM695 leaving the country it will be stopped. US citizens tend to be very wary of 'incorrect declarations' on the paperwork as it is a federal offence. In short.... buying a PM series camera from the USA can be a total nightmare.

[Fraser]

I just took a look at the PM695 on eb*ay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FLIR-ThermaCam-PM695-Infrared-Condition-Thermal-Imaging-Camera-PM-695-Imager-/331098877893?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d1707efc5#ht_10827wt_1219

I note the export restrictions statement so the company knows about ITAR which is good. No mention of charges to obtain the export licence either. I would wish to confirm with the company that it is that simple though. This isn't a simple 9fps E4 or E8 we are talking about here.

Edit....some waffle removed.

[Chanc3]

Would be great if you could post a guide - just got it out of the case to have a play and the button is definitely playing up! Have you had much experience reconditioning the batteries? Boss managed to crack a battery case - luckily it was a really crap one, so looking at replacing the cells.

Have hooked the camera up to the PC now, I can turn a filter on/off - am I correct in thinking that is the high temperature filter? It's great being able to access it on this level, as I can even turn the damn logo off!

[Fraser]

Chanc3

I will do you a deal......you let me know how you are commanding the high temp filter etc, and I will write you a tear down guide.

I would appreciate any help on the PC control front as I have done nothing with that yet.
With regard to the batteries. Yes I have rebuilt some.

The battery case is most easily opened with a tack hammer that has masking tape on its face. Strike the case around the seam and move up and down the seam until the bond between the two halves fails. Repeat on all sides. The corners often fail to separate and crack but its only minor cosmetics so nothing to worry about.

The battery contains 11 'A' size NiMh cells. I replaced them with 2700mAh types. There is a self resetting thermal safety fuse in series with the cells and a 10K Ohm NTC thermistor, for temperature monitoring. The thermistor is connected between the center contact and negative contact. Both devices may be re-used in the new battery pack. 

The battery shell may be glued together along its seal with a suitable adhesive. I then run a piece of black insulation tape over the seam to tidy up the appearance.

[Chanc3]

Sounds like a deal! I'll PM you the details.

Been having a play with the camera and it looks like the internal battery is OK, as it's keeping the time etc, just won't remember the commands. Unfortunately that's the end of my expertise after connecting to the camera, I don't know how to access the internal file structure - something I'm keen to have a look at!

[Fraser]

IIRC the remote commands do not 'stick'. Some time ago I recall someone stating that they changd between PAL and NTSC via the menu but my menu offers only NTSC. I will have to look into this further.

More interesting trivia for you. The PM5xx cameras used a BT858 chip for video generation. That chip went obsolete. FLIR use an FPGA for the task in the 695. The visible light camera in the 'carbuncle' at the front of the 695 is a standard PAL or NTSC type depending upon the region it is sold to. The camera is a standard PCB type and is either colour or monochrome depending upon the option selected at purchase. The composite output of the camera board is fed into a single chip NTSC/PAL video A to D converter and this feeds the main CPU board. I bought some new NTSC SONY high performance PCB cameras to fit into my 695's. It is possible to fit a modern colour PCB camera into the older (smaller) monochrome camera 'carbuncle' housing. An easy upgrade from monochrome to colour.  Two of mine are colour and one is monochrome. I suspect all would benefit from a better camera module.  It would also be possible to install an external camera signal input socket on the 'carbuncle' to allow an external camera to be used, say on the shoe mount above the lens.

[Chanc3]

I want to have a go playing around with the firmware to see if I can make commands stick, else I'll just include it in the program. It is possible to use said program to change the video mode by video:pal/ntsc - although the viewfinder is NTSC so it cuts out and crashes the camera.

[Fraser]

I have completed my rough and ready PM695 camera disassembly guide for you. This details how to gain access to the CPU PCB and the power button assembly that sits behind it.

I attach it for your information. Pictures will be delivered to your email address as discussed. Likely some time over the weekend. Disassembly is not as bad as it might seem when reading about it 

If replacing the power button, you will need a new button (I will supply details) and you will need to clean the power button contact matrix with IPA to remove the residue left by the degraded conductive carbon pad of the old button.

[Fraser]

The SKY remote replacement button pad that I used as a button donor is available here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAND-NEW-BUTTONS-FOR-A-SKY-PLUS-REMOTE-CONTROL-REV-8-REV-9-Free-Post-/201007742738?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_Video_RemoteControls&hash=item2eccfebf12

I used the '0' button as it is easily cut out of the mat and the skirt shaped to fit the cameras power button recess. I also used the '1' button on another camera and it also worked well but there was less spare material to form the skirt.

[Chanc3]

Thanks for the link, the boss and I have now penned in a date for taking it apart. I've got your instructions but not the images, did you send them?

[Fraser]

Hiya, not yet. I will send them tomorrow.