Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown

[maggiore]

read the last pages of this thread, you're doing it wrong somewhere - maybe try my ezcrc01 and keep sure e8.conf is lowercase

Thanks Taucher, that ezcrc01 did the trick. I'm happier than a pig in s hit. Thanks to everyone who put in the time to create this great hack.

[pomonabill221]

Ain't it wonderful?!?!?!
Glad to hear that ezcrc did it for you!   I found the same thing as well!

[Osiris454]

I've been wondering, does the mod for the E4 increase the refresh rate from 9Hz to 60Hz? Also, does the camera show any difference in the sensitivity? (E4: 0.15C vs E8: 0.05C) How about the sensor, companies usually bin the top-tier performers in the ultra high-end products so do these show any 'weirdness' with the larger resolution?

I'm just trying to make sure before I drop a grand on this thing.

Thanks.

[Fraser]

Answers:

1. E4 remains 9fps. This complies with ITAR regulations and there is no public 60fps modification to date. do not buy an E4 expecting that such a modification will be available in the near future.
2. No physical proof of improved thermal resolution, but theories suggest the new 4C span provides the E8 specification of 0.06C.
3. Bad Pixels exist on all consumer grade micro-bolometers. The nominal performance for the sensor used in the Ex series is 99.8% operational pixels. Bad pixel maps from tested E4's show that most (all?) meet this specification. Some are very good indeed, with very few dead pixels. There may be 'on test' selection by FLIR for the E6/E8 but this has not been Proven to date. No weirdness has been seen on the E4 to support its sensor not working normally and within spec at 320x240.
4. I am a user of thermal imaging cameras in industrial environs and can assure you that the E4 is good value at 80x60 for $1000 and a total bargain at 320x240 for the same money. Do not get hung up on the frame rate unless you want fast action observation. As a thermal CAMERA it is excellent. It cannot record moving images internally (at the moment) so any thermal CAMCORDER type of activity will require an external recorder that works with Web Cams. No composite video is available on the Ex series.
5. The performance of the MSX visible image edge fusion is superb !
6. See this thread for more useful information on the E4 and its use:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/flir-e4-the-useful-information-thread/

Hope this helps

[pomonabill221]

Even at 9fps., with the hack ya can't beat the E4 for price and performance!  UNLESS you really need 30/60 fps., then you will have to drop some big $$$'s for another model of Flir that does higher frame rates...
The MSX is awsome (like Aurora said), and you can stream the video over the usb port like any usb web camera!  Very easy.

[ixfd64]

It looks like FLIR had gone out of its way to lock down the frame rate. Does ITAR merely say higher FPS cameras are subject to export restrictions, or does it also require companies to take additional steps to prevent people from modifying the hardware?

[Fraser]

Wording is somewhere along the lines of "limitations must not be removeable".

The fps lock-down (limitation) should therefore not be removeable by users or those wishing to convert the unit for higher frame rates.

In theory the Ex series should not make a 60fps image signal or data available to the outside world. From what Mike has found, that may not be the case with the fitted microbolometer as there is the twin ADC data stream carrying image information that appears to be 60fps. 

[Osiris454]

Thanks for clearing that up Aurora. Looking at the videos on Youtube with the E4/E8 in operation. I can't really see too much of a difference between 9Hz and the 60Hz version I have at work (E40).

[Osiris454]

Could the same type of hack be used on an E40 to make it an E60?

[ixfd64]

The thing is that "must not be removable" is open to interpretation. It could range from something as simple as password protection to making hardware that only supports 9 FPS.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Could the same type of hack be used on an E40 to make it an E60?

Almost certainly.

[Osiris454]

Could the same type of hack be used on an E40 to make it an E60?

Almost certainly.

I don't suppose you would be willing to try it? Provided you could get your hands on an E40 that is. I'll look into the E40's firmware and see if it has the same structure. It may be just as simple as taking what was learned here and applying it to the E40 .cfg file.

[Taucher]

@Osiris454 - I guess you want to read the rest of the thread first - as far as I remember there were already E40->E60 reports.

[Osiris454]

@Osiris454 - I guess you want to read the rest of the thread first - as far as I remember there were already E40->E60 reports.

I know, but I can't find them.

[Taucher]

@Osiris454 - I guess you want to read the rest of the thread first - as far as I remember there were already E40->E60 reports.

I know, but I can't find them.

Ever wondered about the "SEARCH" button in the lower right screen corner here?

[Osiris454]

I've tried. I get the usual 'no results found' answer. I'm probably doing something wrong. I'll keep trying though.

[Taucher]

I've tried. I get the usual 'no results found' answer. I'm probably doing something wrong. I'll keep trying though.

ok, IC ... even searching for *E40* and ANY does not yield results ... probably this thread has broken all forum limits *G*
alternative method: hit "print" and then strg-f - note that that display does not show quotes and sources - just regular text

[dtbp]

This is what I found with a quick Google search. Maybe Tomas found the solution for you?

you are right, Flir is not afraid

As I wrote ahead, the hack is not "new"
I hacked my old Flir E40 a year ago.
I used another way, without a CRC Generator

I think, that many engineers found this simple way:

The Exx has a open WiFi.
After connecting to the wifi, you find at address 192.168.64.1.

port 23
a open telnet without password (administrator rights!!)

port 21
ftp with the login flir/3vlig
Flir publiced the ftp login password in a flir manual

port 80 Webserver
http://192.168.64.1/service
"These web pages are password protected, and only intended for trained personel."
with the same login/password  flir/3vlig
-> now you have activate the highres mode  320x240 px

it's not really hidden...

[Osiris454]

I had no luck. I'm terrible with search engines at times. Since I have an E40 at work, I might tinker with it using the information you found. For personal use though. I can't really justify spending $4K instead of $1K for 60Hz, lazer pointer, led lights, WiFi, Bluetooth.....

[tomas123]

Could the same type of hack be used on an E40 to make it an E60?

yes, see my post
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg371680/#msg371680
connect with wifi
use the crc generator and put the config files in the corresponding folders

[Osiris454]

Huh. Interesting. I take it that the procedure is just the same as the E4? Copy files, remove battery and reboot? How do I connect to the camera with WiFi? Couldn't I just use the USB cable instead?

I apologize for all the questions, I'm just trying to get a feel for what needs to be done.

I'm thinking it goes something like this:
1. Connect to the camera over Wi-Fi using an Ad-Hoc connection.
2. Open the camera's internal flash storage in Windows Explorer.
3. I input the the camera's serial number into the "# ID" section of each file replacing the 'xxxx'.
4. Generate a CRC using the CRC program that Mike posted with his E4 hack and input that as "# CRC xxxxxxxx" after each # ID line in each conf.cfg file.
5. Power off the camera.
6. Remove the battery,
7. Reboot.

[tomas123]

2. Open the camera's internal flash storage in Windows Explorer.

no, use FTP (search forum)

[pomonabill221]

Ex series do NOT have WiFI or Bluetooth...

[tomas123]

Ex series do NOT have WiFI or Bluetooth...

He ask for E40 ...

@Osiris454
use winscp and ip address 192.168.64.1

login like here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg337918/#msg337918

[pomonabill221]

Ex series do NOT have WiFI or Bluetooth...

He ask for E40 ...

@Osiris454
use winscp and ip address 192.168.64.1

login like here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg337918/#msg337918

In this post, this is what the question was..

"Huh. Interesting. I take it that the procedure is just the same as the E4? Copy files, remove battery and reboot? How do I connect to the camera with WiFi? Couldn't I just use the USB cable instead?"