Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown

[tiagobaracho]

I must be getting old....
I just received my E4 camera.. Its 1.19.8
I have been reading for 1 hour here trying to know how do i do the 320X240 hack and menu hack.. I found the infos on the menu hack on the first page.. but i was not able to find exactly the hack for the 320X240 resolution.... Is it the menu hack that also adds the higher resolution ?
Sorry if i am being stupid.. . but its so much information here that i got lost a little bit....

[Stuey]

I must be getting old....
I just received my E4 camera.. Its 1.19.8
I have been reading for 1 hour here trying to know how do i do the 320X240 hack and menu hack.. I found the infos on the menu hack on the first page.. but i was not able to find exactly the hack for the 320X240 resolution.... Is it the menu hack that also adds the higher resolution ?
Sorry if i am being stupid.. . but its so much information here that i got lost a little bit....

It's not a hack, it's a modification. 

The basic modification includes the 320x240 resolution mod. If you follow the basic instructions at https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg321956/#msg321956 , ending at "Enjoy!" then there is no further action required; the upgraded resolution is automatically enabled.

[Taucher]

I must be getting old....
I just received my E4 camera.. Its 1.19.8
I have been reading for 1 hour here trying to know how do i do the 320X240 hack and menu hack.. I found the infos on the menu hack on the first page.. but i was not able to find exactly the hack for the 320X240 resolution.... Is it the menu hack that also adds the higher resolution ?
Sorry if i am being stupid.. . but its so much information here that i got lost a little bit....

Try this method - it's simplified (EzCRC01): https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg332090/#msg332090
If you already enabled RNDIS mode via hidden menu, then you can use FTP instead of creating a .fif file.

[tiagobaracho]

I did all the had using the modified e8.cfg
\>
Connected
Installation started...
Adding flashfs/system/appcore.d/config.d/e8.cfg
Camera update completed

Ok


I tried to see on menu any info about the new resolution.. but i didnt find.. its ok ? the resolution is visible better... but on system info all are the same. Is it supposed to change something?
Now i do the ADDMENU-BETA1.zip  mod  ? is it the lastest better menu function to add ?
THANKS SO MUCH !

[Taucher]

I tried to see on menu any info about the new resolution.. but i didnt find.. its ok ? the resolution is visible better... but on system info all are the same. Is it supposed to change something?
Now i do the ADDMENU-BETA1.zip  mod  ? is it the lastest better menu function to add ?
THANKS SO MUCH !

First get RNDIS/Telnet+FTP working, then MAKE A BACKUP - remember to cold boot after adding and overwriting the menu structure - beta 3 is up3date.

[Stuey]

I did all the had using the modified e8.cfg
\>
Connected
Installation started...
Adding flashfs/system/appcore.d/config.d/e8.cfg
Camera update completed

Ok


I tried to see on menu any info about the new resolution.. but i didnt find.. its ok ? the resolution is visible better... but on system info all are the same. Is it supposed to change something?
Now i do the ADDMENU-BETA1.zip  mod  ? is it the lastest better menu function to add ?
THANKS SO MUCH !

That means it worked, and you should also see a few added features as well.

If you really want to be sure, take a photo, download into Flir Tools, and look at the image as data points in Excel. Before the mod, you would see groups of 16-identical measurements. After the mod, you should see full 320 x 240 grid of measurements.

[tiagobaracho]

I tried to see on menu any info about the new resolution.. but i didnt find.. its ok ? the resolution is visible better... but on system info all are the same. Is it supposed to change something?
Now i do the ADDMENU-BETA1.zip  mod  ? is it the lastest better menu function to add ?
THANKS SO MUCH !

First get RNDIS/Telnet+FTP working, then MAKE A BACKUP - remember to cold boot after adding and overwriting the menu structure - beta 3 is up3date.

MANNN .. MUCH better the resolution....
The 80X80 is... bad.......i know its useful but its sad to use 80x80 i guess.. i will try the menu mode and get back to you guys...
 Thanks..
Just out of curiosity..... Have you guys discovered if its possible in the future to hack it to 30 FPS ? or is hardware locked to 9 ?

[Taucher]

Again: Hz hacking is no priority to me as it will hardly give additional functionality, might introduce noise and for sure it would cause ITAR trouble for Flir - something that nobody wants.

[DaveWB]

I hope this wasn't covered before but with the hack it removed the FLIR watermark, is it possible to add your company logo as a watermark in the bottom corner instead? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

[tiagobaracho]

guys... menu added as well. !!!
I did not need to change anything to make the zoom works!!!
The functions are great ! And its so easy to do..... I did a mod on my oscilloscope that DS2072A and it was so much harder.... ... this was great!

[tiagobaracho]

Again: Hz hacking is no priority to me as it will hardly give additional functionality, might introduce noise and for sure it would cause ITAR trouble for Flir - something that nobody wants.

I dont know ITAR.... why changing for 30 hz would give trouble ? ITAR only allows to no military use under 30FPS?
Are you working in something else regarding the E4?
Thank you so much Taucher ! Now i have a nice toy that really worth the 980 USD (and more)..... but with stock resolution.... man... i was a little bit sad, gotta say....
I am used to see big resolution in my area ( arial footage) that is hard to get used to so bad resolution 80x80...I know the use here is completely different.... but still , you wish a better one to please our eyes too, right ?
Thanks again!

[Fraser]

@tiagobaracho

Please look at the 'FLIR E4 Useful information' thread on this forum.

As well as other useful information, it explains the issue with higher frame rates.

It is not illegal for you to increase the frame rate but FLIR are supposed to have prevented such under ITAR Regs !

[dudepron]

Is there a thread somewhere discussing the best way to do a backup before doing the mod?
I just got mine and I'll post the data for it.

Thanks

[Jaimslaw]

Stupid Question, I know, but is the flir server accessible via just using the Host (192.168.0.2), username (flir) and password (3vlig)?  That is, via filezilla without camera hooked up?   

[pomonabill221]

He probably meant 4.2; 3.2V for a standard cobalt/manganese cell is "almost empty".

OOPSS.... yes charged to 4.2, discharged to 3.0  old age is setting in! 

I believe the camera shuts down at 3.2 volts though...
And it does draw about 500 mA when running... I brought out a couple of wires between the battery and the contacts and used an ammeter to measure the current.
It does bounce around when the camera calibrates due to the shutter operating (about 800mA for about a second).
This is why I did a 500mA current test.

[cubitus]

hello,

I have a problem with Flir Tools.
On my desktop, I have no video. : (
On my laptop, I have the video.

Both computers are running Windows 7 x64

What might be the problem?

[DaveWB]

Stupid Question, I know, but is the flir server accessible via just using the Host (192.168.0.2), username (flir) and password (3vlig)?  That is, via filezilla without camera hooked up?

After it is in RNDIS mode you connect the camera and connect through FileZilla

[3ricj]

Hi there folks,

I've been trying to read up on the 250 someodd pages of this discussion, but I'm sure that I'm out of date.   

 - Aurora on this board turned me onto the E4 camera, which I now own and have hacked to be an E8.
 - I have a specific project in mind - some of you are working on related things - -high res panagraphic images.
 - I have a very long focal length germanium lens (it's somewhere between 1500 and 1700mm focal distance, F1.0)
 - I had gotten it basically working using a pathfindIR, but being unable to disable automatic range/gain on the camera prevented me from doing panos.
 - I have built a very high accuracy rotation stage which can support the weight of this 30 pound lens.

My questions for the group:

 - Has anyone retrofit the lens assembly entirely on their e4?  Is this a reversible prospect? eg: can I just remove the lens and resemble and have any chance of putting it back again?   
 - How does one input the flat field calibration data, or perform this cal? 
 - I may have access to a reference black body for absolute emissivity calibration, but this really isn't that important to me - - seamless stitching is, but having access to this might help.
 - Mildly related, my hacked e4 shows a few pixels being "off".  See attached - three shots of the same wall - - you can see some "spots" on the upper left of the image which read about 1c cooler.
  (this doesn't seem to be related to external muck on the lens or anything.  Has anyone encountered this before?

As this is my first post, I thought I'd share a bit about me:

 - I work with lasers a bunch. No, not "laser pointers".  Sometimes for fun:  http://www.hackerbotlabs.com/2012/08/photonic-beam-results/   Sometimes for work:
 - Milling, soldering, coding, hacking, etc.
 - photography - -mostly underwater.   http://www.flickr.com/photos/3ricj/
 - I helped make a cookbook.   http://www.modernistcuisine.com/

Anyway, I can't express how happy I am to see this community here hacking on this camera.  I've had this project in the works for 3 years trying to make use of this huge lens I have, and now this looks possible.  Super excited, please let me know how I might be able to give back to this community for it's support.

Regards,
-3ric Johanson
 

[mikeselectricstuff]

My questions for the group:

 - Has anyone retrofit the lens assembly entirely on their e4?  Is this a reversible prospect? eg: can I just remove the lens and resemble and have any chance of putting it back again?

Watch the teardown video to see the construction. You may need to use it without the metal shell as this may restrict sensor FOV. If  you make your own replacement to hold the PCB/sensor assembly, you could reassemble.
 

- How does one input the flat field calibration data, or perform this cal? 

Again, see the teardown - the shutter is a self-contained module. You can issue manual cal commands via the console (telnet or serial) to sync with your picture taking.
 

[3ricj]

My questions for the group:

 

- How does one input the flat field calibration data, or perform this cal? 

Again, see the teardown - the shutter is a self-contained module. You can issue manual cal commands via the console (telnet or serial) to sync with your picture taking.

Ok, I will watch the teardown video.  However, I'm not sure that we are discussing the same "cal"; each model lens for any given camera has different performance - on visible cameras this is things like distortion, gain and vignetting... my crude understanding is that the same is true for thermal cameras as well; the edge of the image may have fewer "counts", and different speed lenses will have different planck bias or somesuch for transcoding sensor values into degrees - but my understanding of this is spotty at best.  I know flir has an internal tool for lens calibration, and some other camera manufactures have end-user tools for "lens calibration" - but I don't understand the details.   

Related: I don't understand why I'm getting bogus readings from some points on the sensor on my e4

[slpettus]

Hey guys. Thank you all for the hard work you've put into this thread. I've been playing around with my camera and decided to attempt the hack. When I go to transfer my .fif file in Flir tools I get an error pop up in which I have to abort. When I review the error log I have a

"Error in FIF::UVCCommandDispatcher::AddFile(line:565): The system cannot find the path specified.  hr=0x80070003:"

 but not sure what to go to check on this.

Not sure what I did to get the CMD file off. I went back and did the transfer over RNDIS instead and everything went perfectly along with the rest of the upgrades. Thanks @Taucher

[Lu]

How do I change the threshold temp in "insulation" color mode ? It seems locked at 18.00 C.

[tiagobaracho]

Hi guys...After i tested it, i keep on the box and now when i turned on again i got this error....
should i be worried?
I had to hold power for few seconds to turn of and then turn on again to work..
Thanks

[ron]

^ looks like you didn't follow instructions. > Unplug. remove battery

[JockeT]

My questions for the group:

 

- How does one input the flat field calibration data, or perform this cal? 

Again, see the teardown - the shutter is a self-contained module. You can issue manual cal commands via the console (telnet or serial) to sync with your picture taking.

Ok, I will watch the teardown video.  However, I'm not sure that we are discussing the same "cal"; each model lens for any given camera has different performance - on visible cameras this is things like distortion, gain and vignetting... my crude understanding is that the same is true for thermal cameras as well; the edge of the image may have fewer "counts", and different speed lenses will have different planck bias or somesuch for transcoding sensor values into degrees - but my understanding of this is spotty at best.  I know flir has an internal tool for lens calibration, and some other camera manufactures have end-user tools for "lens calibration" - but I don't understand the details.   

Related: I don't understand why I'm getting bogus readings from some points on the sensor on my e4

The per-pixel calibration map is available somewhere in the camera, this has been discussed quite a bit. I suspect this is what you need.
Your specks looks to me like dust on the sensor, my E4 was shipped with this feature as well. Easily fixed with a sensor dust blower if you can get the lens off (i took my camera apart to achieve this, but i have since ordered a lens adjustment tool so i can take the lens off without taking the camera apart)