Poll

Has the hackabiliy of the E4 made you buy one :  

Yes, I was already looking at the competition at a similar price, but the hack swung it to E4
275 (28%)
Yes, I'd not considered buying a TIC before, but 320x240 resolution at this price justifies it (as either tool or toy!)
444 (45.2%)
Yes, I was going to buy an E5/6/8 class of unit but will now get the E4
49 (5%)
No, but am looking out for a cheap i3 to hack
51 (5.2%)
Not yet, but probably will if now that a closed-box hack becomes is possible
164 (16.7%)

Total Members Voted: 805

Author Topic: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown  (Read 4052295 times)

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Offline realdoc

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4975 on: May 30, 2014, 11:48:45 am »
Grateful for your units calibration date and the hardware build (detailed in camera details page)

Model: E4 1.2L
S/N: 639285XX
Part Number: 63901-0101
Date: 23 May 2014
« Last Edit: May 30, 2014, 11:50:51 am by realdoc »
 

Online Fraser

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4976 on: May 30, 2014, 11:51:53 am »
Many thanks.

That is a new hardware revision as well  :(

Aurora
If I have helped you please consider a donation : https://gofund.me/c86b0a2c
 

Offline realdoc

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4977 on: May 30, 2014, 11:58:36 am »
Many thanks.

That is a new hardware revision as well  :(

Aurora

Yup. Already noticed that as well. There is a packing slip on the box indicating it was shipped from FLIR in Estonia to my distributor somewhere late May, so it's really brand new. Any clues on how to proceed with this? It would be great if we can still open up this unit :)
 

Online Fraser

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4978 on: May 30, 2014, 12:02:08 pm »
I suspect the resident experts will need to ask you some questions about your cameras file structure and contents before it may be discovered what cunning plan FLIR have enacted this time.

You should be contacted soon as many will wish to discover what is new in this build

Aurora
If I have helped you please consider a donation : https://gofund.me/c86b0a2c
 

Offline Marphy

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4979 on: May 30, 2014, 12:49:19 pm »
Try to enable RNDIS mode. If this works, use TIConfig or FileZilla to make a full backup. Please report.

Offline realdoc

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4980 on: May 30, 2014, 02:53:59 pm »
Try to enable RNDIS mode. If this works, use TIConfig or FileZilla to make a full backup. Please report.

I can enter the hidden menu, which is nice! However, I cannot change the USB setting from UVC+MSD to anything else. Selecting RNDIS will just revert the option to the old setting, not taking any effect.
 

Online Fraser

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4981 on: May 30, 2014, 04:04:50 pm »
Vertical lines.....

Some E4 users have reported vertical lines on their images. I personally have not noticed anything serious in this respect on my E4 and it is possible that some cameras perform better in this respect than others due to production tolerances.

I just saw an interesting image and write-up on signal processing that mentioned FLIR. Take a look here:

http://www.mathworks.co.uk/company/newsletters/articles/matlab-and-simulink-in-the-world-connecting-matlab-and-simulink-to-hardware.html

Some way down the page you will see a before and after thermal image and comment on FLIR image processing needed to clean up the output of the micro-bolometer. The 'before' image is pretty ugly !  I note that FLIR have spent a lot of R&D time on cleaning up the relatively noisy images produced by micro-bolometers. My PM570 image is pretty noisy when compared to more recent generations of camera. FLIR have recognised the importance to some users of a 'pretty' picture. Noise is not truly a big issue for my usage, but I suppose a nice clean image sells better  :)
To get low noise images you used to have to invest in a cryo-cooled camera.....not any more.
If I have helped you please consider a donation : https://gofund.me/c86b0a2c
 

Offline joe-c

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4982 on: May 30, 2014, 05:03:10 pm »
Vertical lines.....
Flir has some digital filters. If you turn them off, you can see lines... in both directions...

I love this camera and this functions ;)
Freeware Thermal Analysis Software: ThermoVision_Joe-C
Some Thermal cameras: Kameras
 

Offline pomonabill221

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4983 on: May 30, 2014, 05:14:35 pm »
Vertical lines.....
Flir has some digital filters. If you turn them off, you can see lines... in both directions...

I love this camera and this functions ;)
Sure wish your website had English translation.... looks like a few nice projects, but I can't understand what is going on?
 

Offline joe-c

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4984 on: May 30, 2014, 05:25:49 pm »
Sure wish your website had English translation....
I overwrite now the Ex Tool site to make it bilingual and remove older contend. I think this should be done tomorrow.
The program is already in English available (language file).

Btw... I still don't received my bricked E4 from the FLIR support. I don't know why this takes so long... but I am sure... that's not a good sign.
Freeware Thermal Analysis Software: ThermoVision_Joe-C
Some Thermal cameras: Kameras
 

Offline miguelvp

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4985 on: May 30, 2014, 05:27:50 pm »
Vertical lines.....
Flir has some digital filters. If you turn them off, you can see lines... in both directions...

I love this camera and this functions ;)
Sure wish your website had English translation.... looks like a few nice projects, but I can't understand what is going on?

translate.google.com does a pretty good job:

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fjoe-c.de%2F&edit-text=

Edit: Although in chrome it seems I need to right click and open in a new tab or window to navigate through the website
« Last Edit: May 30, 2014, 05:39:57 pm by miguelvp »
 

Offline pomonabill221

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4986 on: May 30, 2014, 05:29:41 pm »
Sure wish your website had English translation....
I overwrite now the Ex Tool site to make it bilingual and remove older contend. I think this should be done tomorrow.
The program is already in English available (language file).

OK thank you!  Yes, I remember in an earlier post of yours about your software for the Ex, you did mention about the different language files, just trying to figure out what to get from your site... I appreciate your effort and help!
Thanks!
 

Offline pomonabill221

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4987 on: May 30, 2014, 06:25:46 pm »
Yes Gtranslate does do a good job, just didn't know how to get it to run.  It used to be available as a drop down menu selection in Firefox, but has disappeared.  Thanks for the link!
 

Offline realdoc

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4988 on: May 30, 2014, 08:31:36 pm »
Try to enable RNDIS mode. If this works, use TIConfig or FileZilla to make a full backup. Please report.
I can enter the hidden menu, which is nice! However, I cannot change the USB setting from UVC+MSD to anything else. Selecting RNDIS will just revert the option to the old setting, not taking any effect.
RNDIS should be activated over an update file. No time this moment. Will be back later.
<edit>Run FLIRInstallNet.exe from FLIR Tools install dir, set RNDIS_UVC mode by running Set_RNDIS_Mode.fif and restart your camera. RNDIS_UVC should be activated.

Somehow, on 3 computers running Vista, Windows7 and Windows8, the new 1.2 camera fails to show up as a Mass Storage Device and FLIR tools cannot see the device either. In device manager, it does show up with an exclamation mark as a imaging device "FLIR Ex-Series". I tried resetting it to factory defaults, which also didn't help. Anyone any idea or should I just return it?
« Last Edit: May 30, 2014, 08:35:10 pm by realdoc »
 

Offline Iphone_hack

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4989 on: May 31, 2014, 05:27:42 am »
Grateful for your units calibration date and the hardware build (detailed in camera details page)

Model: E4 1.2L
S/N: 639285XX
Part Number: 63901-0101
Date: 23 May 2014

Hi
Could you tell us when did you order and what country?
I am in canada
I ordered my second E4 on May 15
Now I am really worry
Still haven't got it from my local supplier, which says coming from the East coast of canada
 

Offline realdoc

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4990 on: May 31, 2014, 06:57:59 am »
Grateful for your units calibration date and the hardware build (detailed in camera details page)

Model: E4 1.2L
S/N: 639285XX
Part Number: 63901-0101
Date: 23 May 2014

Hi
Could you tell us when did you order and what country?
I am in canada
I ordered my second E4 on May 15
Now I am really worry
Still haven't got it from my local supplier, which says coming from the East coast of canada

I ordered mine on the 26th of May in The Netherlands. My batch was calibrated in Estonia on the 20th, shipped to my supplied on the 22th and delivered to my doorstep on the 30th.
 

Offline joe-c

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4991 on: May 31, 2014, 02:50:42 pm »
Now the Ex-Tools site was overwritten with new screenshots and a German (black) / English (blue) description.
The English is probably a little bit crappie, but I hope it could be understand ;)
http://joe-c.de/pages/posts/programm_ex_tools_158.php

Somehow, on 3 computers running Vista, Windows7 and Windows8, the new 1.2 camera fails to show up as a Mass Storage Device and FLIR tools cannot see the device either. In device manager, it does show up with an exclamation mark as a imaging device "FLIR Ex-Series". I tried resetting it to factory defaults, which also didn't help. Anyone any idea or should I just return it?
Have you downloaded and installed the flir device driver (needed for the RNDIS mode):
http://flir.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4/~/installing-drivers-for-the-cameras.

If you have installed the driver, the camera sould have a IP. This could be checked with the "FLIRInstallNet.exe from FLIR Tools install dir". This show the IPs in the combo box at the top.
If you see the camera with IP... use this IP in your Browser. If you see the FLIR web interface it is time for the next steps...
« Last Edit: May 31, 2014, 02:54:22 pm by joe-c »
Freeware Thermal Analysis Software: ThermoVision_Joe-C
Some Thermal cameras: Kameras
 

Offline pomonabill221

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4992 on: May 31, 2014, 04:59:39 pm »
Joe... thank you for translating your page.  Your English version is very understandable even with the "mistakes", but you did a great job.
Seems like it is a very handy utility with alot of control.... I have no idea of what would be a good price for all your work, but I am going to give you my idea... please don't be insulted if I am way too low.
Thanks!
 

Offline Smokem

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4993 on: May 31, 2014, 05:28:56 pm »
Been sitting on the sidelines reading up on this. Great work to you all.

Now for my tiny tiny contribution... considering that firmware 2.1 is out, just a serial number to tighten up the log.

My unit has version 1.22 on serial 63925XXX with calibration date of April 28th, so estimate the worldwide supply accordingly :)
 

Offline realdoc

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4994 on: May 31, 2014, 06:03:53 pm »
Now the Ex-Tools site was overwritten with new screenshots and a German (black) / English (blue) description.
The English is probably a little bit crappie, but I hope it could be understand ;)
http://joe-c.de/pages/posts/programm_ex_tools_158.php

Somehow, on 3 computers running Vista, Windows7 and Windows8, the new 1.2 camera fails to show up as a Mass Storage Device and FLIR tools cannot see the device either. In device manager, it does show up with an exclamation mark as a imaging device "FLIR Ex-Series". I tried resetting it to factory defaults, which also didn't help. Anyone any idea or should I just return it?
Have you downloaded and installed the flir device driver (needed for the RNDIS mode):
http://flir.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4/~/installing-drivers-for-the-cameras.

If you have installed the driver, the camera sould have a IP. This could be checked with the "FLIRInstallNet.exe from FLIR Tools install dir". This show the IPs in the combo box at the top.
If you see the camera with IP... use this IP in your Browser. If you see the FLIR web interface it is time for the next steps...

I cannot get the camera in RNDIS mode. To do so, I need to put a FIF file on there to enable it, because the hidden menu does not allow it to be changed. However, FlirInstallNet fails to find the device as there is no mass storage device created in Windows. Connecting it to my Linux laptop does give me a MSD, but FLIR Tools does not work on Linux.
 

Offline joe-c

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4995 on: May 31, 2014, 06:56:00 pm »
I cannot get the camera in RNDIS mode.
If you cannot change something in the hidden menu... work the settings from the normal USB menu?
Freeware Thermal Analysis Software: ThermoVision_Joe-C
Some Thermal cameras: Kameras
 

Offline realdoc

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4996 on: May 31, 2014, 09:59:46 pm »
I cannot get the camera in RNDIS mode.
If you cannot change something in the hidden menu... work the settings from the normal USB menu?
There is no normal USB menu to change anything.
 

Offline realdoc

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4997 on: May 31, 2014, 10:01:05 pm »
I cannot get the camera in RNDIS mode. To do so, I need to put a FIF file on there to enable it, because the hidden menu does not allow it to be changed. However, FlirInstallNet fails to find the device as there is no mass storage device created in Windows. Connecting it to my Linux laptop does give me a MSD, but FLIR Tools does not work on Linux.
If you have no access in Flir Tools, there is a driver problem. Reinstall Flir Tools!
According to the documentation, even without a driver the E4 should install as a Mass Storage Device. Anyway, I tried 3 different machines, installed and reinstalled FLIR Tools several times, even reinstalled Windows 8 to get it working. Nothing helped.
 

Offline realdoc

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4998 on: May 31, 2014, 10:55:32 pm »
Simply asked: Do you have any way to copy the photos from your camera to your PC? If no, then your camera may be broken.
If in UVC and MSD mode (standard) you should have a mass storage device named 'FLIR Ex-Series' and FlirInstallNet.exe looks like screenshot attached.

Nope, I don't have any Mass Storage Device on any of my 3 Windows computers. At first I didn't know I should have one, but I guess I should :) Also, FlirNetTools says it cannot find a camera and doesn't show the USB Video like in your screenshot.

The only strange thing is my Linux computer does show a Mass Storage Device. That's a little awkward. Anyway, I guess FLIR broke something with their 1.2L hardware, 2.1.0 firmware, drivers or my specific unit so I just return it to get it replaced. When I have a new one, I will report in again so we can try upgrading it again :)
 

Offline Taucher

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Re: Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown
« Reply #4999 on: May 31, 2014, 11:35:28 pm »
Nope, I don't have any Mass Storage Device on any of my 3 Windows computers. At first I didn't know I should have one, but I guess I should :) Also, FlirNetTools says it cannot find a camera and doesn't show the USB Video like in your screenshot.

Ok... here a small checklist:
- be sure to install flir player (comes with drivers)
- try with alternative cable - they sometimes break!
- do not use USB hubs
- try different USB ports
- write down what OS and patchlevel did not recognize the camera
- visually inspect the socket (use magnifier)


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