Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown

[Scutarius]

I agree - most likely still set to one of the "other" USB modes - bad setting, only relation to menu hack is that the USB mode got changed (by the owner) to apply the hack - guess why "advanced" users recommendation

Yes , In my first post I said that I even tried all the usb modes in case I was making bad assumptions.

Well, then "un-hack" the camera and compare
Maybe also worth a try: remove battery from camera (cold boot it) after changing USB mode!

Even with cold boot it doesn't work, in reality is not a big issue with all the new functionality this is irrelevant, and at least one person has the same problem

I think this issue is important only for the record, thanks again to Mike and Taucher

[mikeselectricstuff]

I agree - most likely still set to one of the "other" USB modes - bad setting, only relation to menu hack is that the USB mode got changed (by the owner) to apply the hack - guess why "advanced" users recommendation

Yes , In my first post I said that I even tried all the usb modes in case I was making bad assumptions.

Well, then "un-hack" the camera and compare
Maybe also worth a try: remove battery from camera (cold boot it) after changing USB mode!

Remember that the off button only goes to standby (unless pressed for a long time), so any brokenness that was there before will probably still be there when it wakes (if not more so).

[Fraser]

My FLIR Ex series external charging pod arrived today.

I have taken it apart to establish the quality of the design.

The rubber coated case is held together with a single screw under the ID label at the bottom of the charger. The base is a combination of metal and rubber to provide weight.  Construction is good and looks like it will last. The soldering is not the best I have seen and the excess flux has not been removed from the manually soldered micro USB connector. The unit is made in Malaysia.

I can advise that it is a standard 3 contact (NTC) Li-Ion charger design as will be seen below:

The main components contained within the charger are as follows (along with the common ID where known)

1. 1L4001  =  Linear LTC4001 Battery management IC. 2A charger with Timer & NTC sense input.
2. MNAB ZC5 = T.I. LMC555 - Yes the venerable 555 (CMOS version).
3. UL46 = USBLC6-4 TVS diode array for USB2.
4. PZ = Not known but possibly BZB84-B33 Zener diodes
5. G3A = Diode

The data sheet for the charge manager (LTC4001) is attached. This details all that is needed to build your own charger, or to understand the FLIR design. The battery contains only an NTC thermistor of value 10K Ohms. No other 'management' is contained in the battery pack. Update: It will have a protection circuit for the cell though.

The input connector for power is the same awful micro USB type as on the Ex, but at least it does not need to be unplugged often. A micro USB car charger may be used to produce a car charging pod for those on the move. The LTC4001 is tolerant of current limited power supplies.

For those wondering, the 555 timer just provides the low frequency drive to make the blue LEDs flash during charging.

Note the charging contacts. They look like they belong on a Canon Li-Ion battery charger. It may be possible to convert such a charger with relative ease but it may need its protection timer adjusted to take account of the Ex battery capacity.

FLIR are asking US$125 for this charge pod.....is it worth that much ? you decide.
I can buy modern new OEM Canon Li-Ion chargers for a fraction of that price.

Correction: It appears that the metal piece in the base of the charger is in fact a heat dissipator plate as it is sinking heat from the LTC4001 via the PCB ground-plane. Not the most efficient design but it does not get very warm so appears adequate.

[daves]

I like the white frame around the scale

I am happy you like it. I just added DateTimeOriginal and CreateDate tags, which were empty on output file.
I also added GPS file support, to find location and fill GPS tags.

Code: [Select]

>php flir.php -i FLIR0038.jpg --gpx gps.gpx
GPS file readed, 1813 positions : 1813 times
=============================================================
Reading file: FLIR0038.jpg
Looking for GPS position...  FOUND 99.991694833333 : 99.811216666667

I need to test it more, before I will release update to my original post.

[Shimalith]

Folks

Hi, I'm new member from Japan and a i3 user.
Thanks a lot of your geek activity, I'm enjoying TIC mod life, too!
So I'm going to feedback something..

1)Any ID/pass combination are available for FTP.
Not only flir/3vlig for ftp log in.

2)The i3 has a hardware reset button.
Left of the Li-ion battery connector.
This button functions equal to "Battery remove & connect again".

3)My i3 is now 240x240 of resolution!!
That is "over-i7" monster.
i9?
Following picture is a comparison that i7 mod vs 240pix with same distance.
Now I got more broader FOV.

To mod:
 a) Upgrade to i7 with Erik's https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg348174/#msg348174
 b) Edit conf.cfg file for service mode (FlashFS\system\service\appcore.d\config.d\)
  ".caps.config.image.settings.resIR int32 144" to ".caps.config.image.settings.resIR int32 240"
  ".caps.config.image.settings.fpgaResolution.resIR int32 144" to ".caps.config.image.settings.fpgaResolution.resIR int32 240"
  then Filestamp, adding CRC, Filestamp, and FTP.
 c) Connect i3 to your PC with RNDIS mode and activate the service mode.
 d) 2hrs after power off, "i9" will back i7 resolution.
Maybe "resIR" stands for "resolution of IR image"..

Issue1:
At the moment, this config cannot apply with normal mode.
Service mode might have less secure config checking system than normal mode.
Issue2:
"CSV output" resolution from FLIR Tools, now 120x120 at service mode, , another tricks?

Cheers,
Shimalith

[mrflibble]

My FLIR Ex series external charging pod arrived today.

I have taken it apart to establish the quality of the design.

Thanks for the detailed pictures.

FLIR are asking US$125 for this charge pod.....is it worth that much ? you decide.

It looks nicely built, but not $125 nice ... so no. But at least this would be worth more than 2.5X the relative value of that "Flir" usb cable to me.  So I would pay 2.5 times the real cost of a usb cable for this charger. Hell, I'd even pay 5x the real cost of a usb cable for this charger.

[pomonabill221]

Thank You Aurora for the circuit detail, your observations of the build quality and the pictures.
NO I would NOT pay 125 for that!!!  I (and anyone else) could probably get samples of the charge controller and skip the mono for a lamp flasher....
Just getting/making a connector for the battery would be a fun challenge... I'm going to give it a whirl!

That is kind of typical of buying a manufacturers accessory though... the markup is ridiculous!  And the awful micro usb connector... fail on Flir's part.. otherwise I am enjoying my E4 (8+)!
Thanks Mike and Thatcher!

[amyk]

Note the charging contacts. They look like they belong on a Canon Li-Ion battery charger. It may be possible to convert such a charger with relative ease but it may need its protection timer adjusted to take account of the Ex battery capacity.

The 3-contact arrangement is also pretty common on mobile phones. You can find chargers for those on eBay pretty easily.

No that is not worth $125... maybe $20.

[tomas123]

3)My i3 is now 240x240 of resolution!!

Are you sure?

Your sample image has "only" 120x120 pixel (thermal) resolution resized to 240x240 jpg

Code: [Select]

$ exiftool -flir:all IR_0005.jpg
...
Camera Model                    : FLIR_i9
...
Raw Thermal Image Width         : 120
Raw Thermal Image Height        : 120
Raw Thermal Image Type          : PNG
Raw Thermal Image               : (Binary data 16029 bytes, use -b option to extract)
I can't find differences to a Flir i7 sample from this website http://www.nuage.ch/site/flir-i7-some-analysis/
other the entry FLIR_i9 

please take an 240x240 image in service mode 

[daves]

High resolution image hunters... go through the history of this forum to find Tomas123 post about image stitching.

Result is awesome. I just tried.

[nersut]

My i3 is now 240x240 of resolution!!
That is "over-i7" monster.
i9?
Following picture is a comparison that i7 mod vs 240pix with same distance.
Now I got more broader FOV.

To mod:
 a) Upgrade to i7 with Erik's https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg348174/#msg348174
 b) Edit conf.cfg file for service mode (FlashFS\system\service\appcore.d\config.d\)
  ".caps.config.image.settings.resIR int32 144" to ".caps.config.image.settings.resIR int32 240"
  ".caps.config.image.settings.fpgaResolution.resIR int32 144" to ".caps.config.image.settings.fpgaResolution.resIR int32 240"
  then Filestamp, adding CRC, Filestamp, and FTP.
 c) Connect i3 to your PC with RNDIS mode and activate the service mode.
 d) 2hrs after power off, "i9" will back i7 resolution.
Maybe "resIR" stands for "resolution of IR image"..

Cheers,
Shimalith

Well I tried your guide above with my i3, but without luck. 
In Windows the flir images (jpg's) is always shown as 240x240 pixels pictures even with normal i3 settings (60x60), but the actual thermal image is only 60x60 or 120x120 when "upgraded/hacked" to i7 specs.

Well, I just received my new Flir E4 today! 

Version E4 1.1
Firmware 1.19.8
Calibrated november 28, 2013

I have already upgraded it to "E8" 320x240 

Thank you all for making it possible 

Cheers
Erik

[david7586]

I found out about this site from toolguyd.com. The site blogger posted about the findings from this thread, and I couldn't help but order one. I ordered from Amazon and it was fulfilled by Test Equipment Depot.

I'm excited to try the mod, but I wanted to check for dead pixels etc first. I actually think I received a unit with a perfect screen, but with a "dead" infrared pixel? It's quite possible that I'm wrong, but there is a spot near the center that doesn't ever change in its temperature value. No matter where I point the camera, this spot will remain constant. Is there something simple I'm missing like a reset or diagnostic test I could do? I will post pictures when I get the chance.

[tomas123]

@daves
we are a great team

Which procedure do you have selected?
The image is a stitched msx panorama and not a Flir radiometric image (set measured points in Flir Tools)

Some time ago I played around with freeware hugin.
With minor changes in the flir.php script you can save real and thermal image as two images with the same pixel size  and the same field of view.
Now you can stitch the real images with Hugin and save the *.pto project file.
In the next step load the thermal images and use the *.pto with the real image control points for stitching.
After then you have a real and a thermal panorama with the same field of view (make a MSX etc).
This method with hugin is great for thermal images with minor difference in temperature

go through the history of this forum to find Tomas123 post about image stitching.

the link: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg348715/#msg348715

[david7586]

These pictures were taken while moving the camera and with the lens closed. I forgot to save the picture and check to see if it showed up in the jpg too. Will investigate that next.

Any thoughts or advice is welcome!

So excited to get an e4(, but I'd rather sort this out first before potentially voiding any warranties. 





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[Scutarius]

I dont think that's a single pixel, it seems more like dust.

[david7586]

i tried using a can of air to no avail. I only thought it was a defective sensor pixel since it doesnt move from its location on the screen at all. Also, the way the camera seems to render its temperature readings, it isnt blocky like a pixel array, more like it went through a smoothing filter.

Thanks again for any thoughts!

[tomas123]

@david7586
disappears the hot spot after a NUC?

It makes it very clear that the camera has a specified accuracy only above 0C. FLIR do not calibrate the E4 below 0C, as others have suggested.

I haven't seen in Mike's video (position 18:30) a temperature sensor on the shutter.
The cam make repeatedly a NUC (Non uniformity correction).
The manual says: "Calculates a new image offset map. The map is made with the camera looking at an internal shutter. The command can to take up to 10 seconds."

With known temperature of a cold shutter would low temperature images are self calibrated. 

[tomas123]

dust on image see here

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg329239/#msg329239


and
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg345877/#msg345877

[david7586]

thank you tomas it looks like it's definitely dust. I would rather not potentially void my warranty. I guess I have to speak to the seller. Fortunately, they live close by and I could actually visit them when they're open on Monday.

Thanks everyone for the help!

[tomas123]

@admin
We have only two threads for flir e4. (hacking, hardware, software)

Nobody finds an information here (print preview died at post 2000).
Earlier we have had some discussion about a Wiki etc.
Has anybody a good idea how we can continue with work?

[ixfd64]

thank you tomas it looks like it's definitely dust. I would rather not potentially void my warranty. I guess I have to speak to the seller, which in this case is TEquipment. Fortunately, they live close by and I could actually visit them when they're open on Monday.

Thanks everyone for the help!

TEquipment.NET has a physical store?

[david7586]

Oops! I've been referring TEquipment as the place where I bought the E4 from, but it was infact Test Equipment Depot. I'm sorry for any confusion this may have caused to TEquipment if they read my posts before I removed all mention of their name. I apologize 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[tequipment]

We have an office.  We do get walk in traffic but its not a storefront.  We do thermal seminars on one of the conference rooms. 

We cant win them all.  ( but we would like too)

Cheers
Evan Cirelli

TEquipment.NET

[jlr134]

We have an office.  We do get walk in traffic but its not a storefront.  We do thermal seminars on one of the conference rooms. 

We cant win them all.  ( but we would like too)

Cheers
Evan Cirelli

TEquipment.NET

Webinars would be nice..or you could even utube them . ( and yes Im a happy customer of yours)

[IRspector]

Hi People!
How make  my FLIR E8+ working as the webcam in Skype?