Keysight U5855A TrueIR thermal imager

[Kilrah]

Realtime.
Look in PIP mode where the thermal image is only a small square in the visible image, when you turn the focus it will move around and align itself (only apparent at close focusing range, past some "infinity" point it doesn't need to change anymore).

Once you found that range, switch to Blend and the same should happen, you should see the 2 images moving with regards to each other when turning the ring. Mine occasionally did but most of the time not.

[nfmax]

I've just used mine to help troubleshoot some ancient test gear I was restoring. I'd not used it for a while and found the battery was completely discharged. It looks like these units will need to be stored with the battery out, unless the excess current drain turns out to be due to a firmware bug (and which gets fixed).

[onesixright]

I've just used mine to help troubleshoot some ancient test gear I was restoring. I'd not used it for a while and found the battery was completely discharged. It looks like these units will need to be stored with the battery out, unless the excess current drain turns out to be due to a firmware bug (and which gets fixed).

I think Kilrah mentioned this already while testing his 3d printed battery. You need to take the battery out once your done.

[Fraser]

I now have two of these cameras.

I just bought a new old stock FLIR E40 MK1 v2 so I might be willing to sell one of my U5855A cameras. Price negotiable but I do not intend taking a loss on the deal

Fraser

[onesixright]

I now have two of these cameras.

I just bought a new old stock FLIR E40 MK1 v2 so I might be willing to sell one of my U5855A cameras. Price negotiable but I do not intend taking a loss on the deal

Fraser

Planning to start a museum? I think you might be well on your way 

[Fraser]

No, I just love this technology and bought rather a lot of the cameras over the years. With well over 50 in my collection now I think it will be time to sell some and have just one example of each, rather than my current 2,3,4 or five of a same model !

Sadly some of my industrial cameras are hard to sell due to their high performance and ITAR/Dual Use Technology regulations.

Fraser

[eeviking]

If it haven't been mentioned yet then Keysight is giving a free U1231A multimeter to each customer buying used equipment from the ebay store in may.

http://stores.ebay.com/keysight/Terms-and-Conditions.html

The U5855A listing should be eligible for this.

Unfortunately I ordered mine in April, so I just had to order one more 

[HighVoltage]

If it haven't been mentioned yet then Keysight is giving a free U1231A multimeter to each customer buying used equipment from the ebay store in may.

http://stores.ebay.com/keysight/Terms-and-Conditions.html

Yes, I ordered something else yesterday from the Keysight ebay store and I was promised one of these U1231A multimeters for free.
What a great deal!
But, unfortunately only one per customer!

[jpb]

If it haven't been mentioned yet then Keysight is giving a free U1231A multimeter to each customer buying used equipment from the ebay store in may.

http://stores.ebay.com/keysight/Terms-and-Conditions.html

The U5855A listing should be eligible for this.

Unfortunately I ordered mine in April, so I just had to order one more 

Yes, I just missed out on the deal by a few days - a bit annoying, so I cheered myself up by buying an 87V off ebay which just arrived today.

[komet]

Hi everyone,

based on this thread I bought one of the officially refurbished U5855A devices from Keysight's eBay store.

My device seems to have either a bug or is broken, or I'm doing something wrong. I took a video to demonstrate the issue:

https://youtu.be/7f-lY7CcKfM?t=1m2s

Am I doing something wrong or have I received a bad unit?

[Fraser]

You have a faulty unit.

Contact Keysight via the eBay message facility. Keysight are reading this thread to just let them know you posted a video in it and they will see it.

In my experience you will be offered a refund or an exchange at their cost.  Keysight offer superb support so you will be well looked after.

Fraser

[komet]

Hey Komet,

Besides making a video, explaining what is wrong would be handy. To me its not apparent what is wrong (have same unit). Did you read the whole thread? You understood its manual focus?

After booting up the unit, the picture is initially very clear and it is also in focus (so I have set the focus correctly). The temperature readouts are realistic. Then at the 1:02 mark in the video (and it is always roughly a minute after booting) the image suddenly "goes bad". It reminds me of the output from broken VGA cards. It is difficult to describe which is the reason that I went to the trouble of making a video. In any case, after this event it is no longer possible to get a reasonable image until reboot. Temperatures displayed range from "UNDER" to 350°C.

[onesixright]

Hey Komet,

Besides making a video, explaining what is wrong would be handy. To me its not apparent what is wrong (have same unit). Did you read the whole thread? You understood its manual focus?

After booting up the unit, the picture is initially very clear and it is also in focus (so I have set the focus correctly). The temperature readouts are realistic. Then at the 1:02 mark in the video (and it is always roughly a minute after booting) the image suddenly "goes bad". It reminds me of the output from broken VGA cards. It is difficult to describe which is the reason that I went to the trouble of making a video. In any case, after this event it is no longer possible to get a reasonable image until reboot. Temperatures displayed range from "UNDER" to 350°C.

Sorry m8, Fraser is the expert around here :-) I didnt know what to look, but after reading ( ) your youtube i saw it. Yeah doesn't look good!

[komet]

You have a faulty unit.

Contact Keysight via the eBay message facility. Keysight are reading this thread to just let them know you posted a video in it and they will see it.

In my experience you will be offered a refund or an exchange at their cost.  Keysight offer superb support so you will be well looked after.

Fraser

Thanks for the confirmation that it's not a PEBTIAC. I've contacted them, let's hope everything turns out fine.

I have to say that the 30 or so seconds of it working properly is exhilerating and has already got me hooked on thermal imaging. I'm even more excited to get a fully functioning unit now!

[Fraser]

Keysight will respond very quickly to your message and I know from personal experience that they just want the customer to be happy. They are even willing to sell the faulty unit to you at a nominal price for parts if you want that option. Another camera is then sent to you from Malaysia.

if they do make that offer, and you do not need it, I would buy the faulty unit from you for the parts and pay all postage etc. PM me if you are able to keep the faulty unit and what it would cost to do so.

Best Wishes

Fraser
UK

[komet]

Just to let the forum know, Keysight are going to send me a replacement unit and Fraser has agreed to take the broken one off my hands.

I have experimented further with the faulty unit, as the erroneous behaviour might give further insight into the exact workings of the thermal imager. Fraser told me privately (but I'm sure he won't mind me quoting him here):

The switch on sequence of the camera is the same as many.

1. The camera processor does a self check of all vital elements and reports any errors. Your camera reports no such errors.
2. The TEC control circuit begins to heat the microbolometer to +32C which is its normal operating temperature. During warm up the tilda (~) is shown next to the measured temperature to indicate that it is approximate..
3. Once stabilised at 32C the microbolometer produces its best images and accurate radiometric data for measurement.
4. Your camera initially shows a good image and correct temperature. Then the image degrades and rows of microbolometer data begin to blank. The measurement process continues to work OK and is just reading teh data that it is being fed by the microbolometer ROIC.
5. The symptoms suggest a potential issue with the microbolometer ROIC that may be thermal in nature. As the camera warms the microbolometer, the ROIC starts to fail.

I've determined that if I power the camera off and immediately on again, the problem persists. It needs a cool-down period of about 4 minutes. Shorter periods may result in a sort of half-working image which is fascinating. The fact that the problem always grows from the top left-hand pixel downwards seems to my mind to indicate a problem in the digital domain. Often the lower part of the image still bears some relationship to reality (Image 1). The Max and Min indicators correspond the the colour on the screen, so the issue is certainly before whatever processing step handles that (Image 2).

After the error takes place, the camera settles down to something like Image 3, which no longer has anything to do with reality, and is always shown to be around 36°C, possibly the internal calibration temperature?

Occasionally after a short cool-down, some lines of the image work but not others (Image 4).

[Fraser]

I have thought more about the fault symptoms and as my initial thoughts have already been posted by Komet, I will provide the pointers that I sent by email to him.

------------------------
OK here are the pointers.......

1. The cameras microbolometer contains an integrated Peltier temperature stabiliser
2. The microbolometer contains at least 2 temperature sensors that measure the die temperature for use in temperature stabilisation.
3. The temperature stabilisation usually consists of three key parts in the camera....

a) The Peltier TEC
b) The TEC temperature sensor on die
c) the TEC controller IC on the main board (usually)

4. The TEC controller has one task in life, to maintain the microbolometer die at +32C. It does this using the bias applied across the Peltier TEC and can both heat and cool the die as required.
5. The TEC circuit is closed loop. If a fault occurs it is possible for the TEC to suffer a runaway event where it overheats the microbolometer die. This could be the cause of your cameras problem as the microbolometer will fail to function if overheated. Prolonged use in the overheated condition could destroy the microbolometer ROIC as it is not designed to operate at high temperatures.
6. The exact cause of a TEC runaway is not known for your camera. It could be the thermal sensor on the die failing, the TEC IC failing or a failed power MOSFET that drives the TEC and caused continuous heating.
7. To 'see' what the TEC is doing, you just need to connect the camera to a lab power supply via its DC socket (with battery removed) and monitor the current consumption. At first switch on the TEC applies a lot of current to the Peltier element, so expect a total consumption of around 1.5A. Once the tilde symbol has disappeared from the display, the TEC should reduce current to the Peltier element and the units current should drop to less than 500mA. If this does not occur, the TEC is continuing to heat the microbolometer and you have found your fault cause. The exact component at fault would need component level investigation.

Proceed at your own risk but if you really want to repair the unit, my pointers above may at least prove or eliminate the TEC as the cause.
--------------------------------

As I have already advised Komet, I am not able to carry out remote diagnosis of faults on this forum as it becomes too complex and time consuming. I have provided Komet with some pointers only so that he may decide whether or not he wishes to attempt repair. My interest in the unit is conditional on it still being 'virgin' as that is the safest option when working on faulty equipment.

Fraser

[komet]

Hi Fraser

Re #7, power draw is pretty stable at around 290mA @12.1V both before and after the Tilda disappearing. Also the error event can occur either before or after the tilda disappearing. (Yes I was sure to remove the battery) So I wonder if we're barking up the correct tree.

In any case I’ve decided not to attempt any repair and you can expect to receive an intact unit.

[Fraser]

That current is too low for initial power on.

Ok, I will investigate and report here when the camera is with me next month.

Fraser

[chili_red]

So for those of you that have both the E4 with the resolution hack and the Agilent U5855A, which one, in your opinion has a better image, and functionality differences between the two.
TIA

[Fraser]

Keysight video on thermal imaging using the U5855A

https://youtu.be/VVW9pm7MhjE

[Marioka]

Hi.
I have drawn a LCD screen of U5850A cameras for make a protection film.
I hope it is useful for you.

[Fraser]

Marioka,

Thank you for sharing

Fraser

[exor]

Just a very quick observation for owners of this camera wanting a neat 'soft' carry case for it.

My E4 soft case fits the U5855A like it was designed for it ! Perfect fit with all the bulges in the right places 

The E4 soft case can often be found cheaply on ebay. I paid £17 for mine. They are very nice, high quality cases.

Fraser

Thanks for the tip. I ordered one and it fits like a glove! There is also enough place to store detached battery inside the case.

[Fraser]

   Happy to help

Fraser