.. and don't forget if you're on a tight budget, dealers will be desperate to offload any stock of i3's
The i3 is however not 100% confirmed to be hackable. Anway: what would be the maximum resolution a hacked i3 could offer on the display or in webcam mode? The i7 has 140x140 (or maybe 160x160 in the new model?), so I guess that's all we could expect even if the sensor might have a higher resolution, right?
The i3 is however not 100% confirmed to be hackable. Anway: what would be the maximum resolution a hacked i3 could offer on the display or in webcam mode? The i7 has 140x140 (or maybe 160x160 in the new model?), so I guess that's all we could expect even if the sensor might have a higher resolution, right?
I think it is - to 120x120, the display being the limit AFAIR. Obviously not as good as the E4, but could be significantly cheaper if dealers are trying to clear them out, as even with no hacks they compare poorly to the E4.
Someone commented that Farnell was stopping carrying Flir products and was open to offers - they have 5 i3's left (was 8 last week)
I'm certainly interested in this...
At work I have been using an Irisys 4010 TC for the last 5 years or so for thermal analysis of new and faulty PCB designs.
I think it has 160x120 resolution and manual focus and is pretty good for SMD stuff and can focus down to a few inches. It has proved to be a really useful tool with a large display. However, they were very expensive at the time. I've been looking to buy one used but this hack by Mike has changed my plan
I'm now very tempted to buy an E4 and I'm quite happy to pay full RRP so I just need to find someone with genuine stock for fast delivery. I am hopelessly impatient when I order things so I'd want to buy one ex stock on next day delivery. Any advice on a reliable retailer?
Also, can I ask if the camera can be hooked up to a notebook via USB to show the image in real time? I'm not sure I'd want to be using the inbuilt screen for long periods plus I would like to capture images easily this way.
Does it have a tripod thread?
I'm certainly interested in this...
At work I have been using an Irisys 4010 TC for the last 5 years or so for thermal analysis of new and faulty PCB designs.
I think it has 160x120 resolution and manual focus and is pretty good for SMD stuff and can focus down to a few inches. It has proved to be a really useful tool with a large display. However, they were very expensive at the time. I've been looking to buy one used but this hack by Mike has changed my plan
I'm now very tempted to buy an E4 and I'm quite happy to pay full RRP so I just need to find someone with genuine stock for fast delivery. I am hopelessly impatient when I order things so I'd want to buy one ex stock on next day delivery. Any advice on a reliable retailer?
I got mine from Pass/Tester & came from stock - not sure I believe their stock status on the website as I couldn't find anything not showing in stock
Also, can I ask if the camera can be hooked up to a notebook via USB to show the image in real time?
Yes - acts just like a webcam so can use any software that can display an image
Does it have a tripod thread?
No but I think there's enough room in the end of the battery to add one if you can find a threaded sleeve. it will just about stand on its own but obviously not very stable
Hi Mike thanks for the info
It's a shame about the tripod thread but I could probably rig something (hideous) that would let me mount or clamp it securely if needed.
It's good that the camera can relay images like a webcam too. I'll try phoning around for stock tomorrow.
Note: one annoying feature of the Irisys camera was the regular loud 'clunk' it made every minute or so. I appreciate that this is a necessary part of the camera operation but does the E4 make a regular loud clunk noise? The clunk from the Irisys TC was loud enough to annoy people several benches away at work if the lab was otherwise quiet
Note: one annoying feature of the Irisys camera was the regular loud 'clunk' it made every minute or so. I appreciate that this is a necessary part of the camera operation but does the E4 make a regular loud clunk noise? The clunk from the Irisys TC was loud enough to annoy people several benches away at work if the lab was otherwise quiet
You can barely hear it when the lens and case is on - definitely not loud enough to annoy anyone
OK thanks. The clunk from the Irisys sounds just like someone dropping a marble into a small metal box from about 1 foot above! After a few dozen clunks it can get very annoying for anyone in earshot. So that's another bonus point for the E4
I bit the bullet and purchased an E4. Now I'm going to hate myself for spending money for something I didn't need... but it's just so cool!
Mike, Just performed your procedure and the image looks much crispier and without that snow. The setting screen stills shows E4. This is the expected result, right?
Procedure was very simple. Used notepad for editor (verified crlf requirement) and windows's Send To Compressed (zipped) Folder over flashfs directory to create the zip, then opened the zip in Windows explorer and added copy/pasted camera.cmd.
Flir has a much happier customer now.
Great job! and many thanks. If you will need a kidney one day just ask.
Like others, I also just placed an order for an E4. I didn't really need a TIC and had no plans to buy one. However, an 'enhanced' E4 is excellent value and too good to pass on.
Thanks Mike (and to the other contributors) for making this possible and for sharing! Really appreciate it. Impressive work!
I know a few people have posted where they purchased their unit and the price. Can we start a list of Supplier names and prices?
I'm sure there are many more ready to hit the go button. Thanks
Also, can I ask if the camera can be hooked up to a notebook via USB to show the image in real time?
Yes - acts just like a webcam so can use any software that can display an image
Here's another frivolous but "because I have one, why not" application: thermal video chat.
I'm ordering an
E4 E8 from the US to Australia and it is on its way.
If anyone wants to know the details, you can PM me, nothing really secret but dealers and/or FLir might not like it (or they may not care less
) and I wouldn't like others to have this pathway shutdown.
Hi Mike,
Are you going to upload a video on youtube with the results?
(and also [off topic]: have you been working on your high-res x-ray hack?)
Hi Mike,
Are you going to upload a video on youtube with the results?
(and also [off topic]: have you been working on your high-res x-ray hack?)
I love a video, but hate to push FLIR into a corner and force them into the fighting mode with no choice.
I love a video, but hate to push FLIR into a corner and force them into the fighting mode with no choice.
Since the cat is out of the bag I doubt it will take long until it's well known that the device is easily hackable.
(que post on hackaday in 3, 2, 1...)
I love a video, but hate to push FLIR into a corner and force them into the fighting mode with no choice.
Since the cat is out of the bag I doubt it will take long until it's well known that the device is easily hackable.
(que post on hackaday in 3, 2, 1...)
I dunno, FLIR might have retaliated by the time HAD find this. They're incredibly slow at posting news that isn't about generic crap. It's really Arduino-a-day.
Not planning a vid on hack - will be doing one on mods for close-up use & other oddments, and may accidentally include some very subtle clues.
My guess is that Flir will quietly upgrade the firmware. Somewhere in Sweden some no-nothing CEOs are probably putting the pressure on the engineers.
Get the E4 while its hot I say.
It would be interesting to know what the exact effect on Flir's sales will be - although we will never know I expect that the result will be a few people who would have bought neither an E4 nor an E8 will now buy an E4 for the "cool hack" nature of Mike's discovery. Besides who can resist effectively buying a £5k+ device for £800
Will it mean any lost sales of E8's - TBH I would doubt it. If you're in the market for an E8 then the chances are you're in the market for a device which works as advertised out of the box, without hacks, and which will be supported by the manufacturer.
I can't see Flir patting Mike on the back and saying "good job" but their best strategy might just be to ignore it and enjoy the extra sales of the E4.
EDIT: I hadn't voted because there wasn't an "I wasn't going to buy one and still aren't but it's a cool hack" option, but did so (choosing the last option) so as to see how many people had gone for the "was going to buy an E8 but will now buy an E4) option - I see it's just 1 person and that's out of a group (eevblog forum members) who are self selected for willingness to hack hardware and/or firmware. That would tend to support the notion that Flir will gain more in E4 sales than they will loose in E8 sales - even at a 6:1 price ratio.
I think FLIR knew this was going to happen as soon as the teardown video was posted. It was just a matter of figuring out details after that. A video on the hack wouldn't be that interesting either, but maybe you could do a whole video recorded on the E4. I'd also like to see what the raw sensor data looks like.
At any rate, FLIR probably don't sell that many of either the E4 or E8, so even the ~3 dozen more from this forum that the poll indicates may be quite significant.
Regarding the lens size:
today I had the chance to get hold of an E6 for a minute and did checkout the lens. I couldn't really measure it but just by looking at it I am pretty sure: the lense is not larger than the one on my E4. I would bet that the different sensitivity values in the data sheet are just 'on paper' and not the real value when pimped to 320x240.
Whatever Flir's attitude (If they even know yet) I highly doubt they'd ever say anything, publically or privately, due to political issues with shareholders etc.. You may get the odd snippet out of a chat with a dealer or someone at an exhibition ( simply looking at their non-verbal reaction when you mention it can often be enough to tell if it is generally known), but rumours like this aren't always reliable.
The timing and content of the next major firmware release (if any) will probably be the best indicator of their attitude. The 19.x release we've seen is probably too early to be a reaction (could be interesting to try thr first service mode hack on it though).
I've not really looked at features of the E8 compared to other units at a similar price, but £4700 seems a lot for a unit with no manual focus, manual temp range selection, wifi, touchscreen etc. even compared to the FLir Ex0 series. I can't see them selling many, and my guess is the long term plan is to cut the price of the higher end models as soon as any competitors reduce prices.
As regards sales volumes it might be interesting to compare serial numbers - maybe if everyone posted their serial no (with the last digit or two omitted if you're paranoid) some rough figures could be inferred from the maximum delta.
My guess is it's well into the thousands PA, maybe 10Ks - they are advertising quite a lot, and the E4, even in factory state, is probably the best unit under $1K in an increasing market.
It would be interesting to see if any of the big TIC dealers have seen any sudden shift in normal sales patterns, though the E series being pretty new and very good as-is would make it hard to discern any causal effect.
I managed to eventually find someone with genuine stock of the E4 (last one!) and have just ordered it by phone.
I tried all the usual suppliers and they all said the same thing. Sold out of E4 but can offer a next day deal on an E5.
They also said it would be 4 to 7 working days to get any more E4s...
I tried phoning maybe 8 retailers before I found someone with one on the shelf. My E4 should arrive tomorrow and I'm already hopping up and down impatiently waiting for it to arrive
I got the last one in stock from from Contral
http://www.contral.co.uk/