Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown

[bookaboo]

Tiny dust marks can be near impossible to see but could be dirt inside.
The sensor has a 10 year warranty from Flir (2 years on rest of camera). May be best to reset any software modifications and send to Flir.

[Chanc3]

Tiny dust marks can be near impossible to see but could be dirt inside.
The sensor has a 10 year warranty from Flir (2 years on rest of camera). May be best to reset any software modifications and send to Flir.

The problem is, that speck could have been there from factory, but since the detector is cropped, it wouldn't be apparent to anyone thinking they had just bought a camera with 80x60 - how would you explain it to FLIR that you hacked it to full resolution and discovered the spec?

[Signal32]

The problem is, that speck could have been there from factory, but since the detector is cropped, it wouldn't be apparent to anyone thinking they had just bought a camera with 80x60 - how would you explain it to FLIR that you hacked it to full resolution and discovered the spec?

The sensor is not cropped(if it was the E4/E6/E8 would have different field of view's), they either scale down the image or only use some of the pixels. Anyway that spot looks big enough that it would affect even the non-hacked version. Perhaps difxati can confirm if the spot was present when the camera was not hacked.
The thing that I'm wondering about is how aggressive are they with turning down warranty. They might claim that this is actually not a sensor issue, that it's a calibration issue which would have went away if the camera was sent in for calibration.
They have no way of verifying if the camera is still covered under warranty, you have to contact support and ask them.
Also they have a minimum $150 evaluation charge if you decline any repair ($150-$900) which seems kind of steep to me.

What are ppl's experiences on warranty-related issues ?

[joe-c]

I have looked at your maps...
ds250C_we.crs
ds250C_we_ap_fi_le_static.gan
Using my DevTools:
http://joe-c.de/pages/posts/programm_dev_tools_133.php#bilder

the first looks ok, but the Second has a calibrated Spot at this point you see in your picture.

But... why the Spot is at another place compared to the fist image that tomas123 found? 
i make a red rectagle from Spotcenter to the dust point.
Additional... the old Picture with the near spots as a "hotspot" (color level higher), the other you send is a "coldspot" (color level lower)...
if this is really from the same camera?

May be it is inside the sensor module.

Maybe... but if the dirt falls from his place at the calibration, this place could now receive more radiation and the internal calibration over compensate this...
and this should finish in a Hot spot...
But Maybe... i am just wrong 
 

[difxati]

I have looked at your maps...
ds250C_we.crs
ds250C_we_ap_fi_le_static.gan
Using my DevTools:
http://joe-c.de/pages/posts/programm_dev_tools_133.php#bilder

the first looks ok, but the Second has a calibrated Spot at this point you see in your picture.

But... why the Spot is at another place compared to the fist image that tomas123 found? 
i make a red rectagle from Spotcenter to the dust point.
Additional... the old Picture with the near spots as a "hotspot" (color level higher), the other you send is a "coldspot" (color level lower)...
if this is really from the same camera?

May be it is inside the sensor module.

Maybe... but if the dirt falls from his place at the calibration, this place could now receive more radiation and the internal calibration over compensate this...
and this should finish in a Hot spot...
But Maybe... i am just wrong 
 

Thank you for your analysis.
The image with orange background is really NOT from my camera, it's an image quoted by Thomas123 to show me how to clean the sensor properly :  )
FLIR114 is before I did any cleaning, the spot was almost disappear on hot and cold object. Only became visible on uniform object that near room temperature.
FLIR146 is after the cleaning. The spot is easily visible at different temperature range, especially on cold object but  almost disappear on hot object (>40 degree Celsius).
I think the spot is always at that location.
update: I added a gif animation below.

Tiny dust marks can be near impossible to see but could be dirt inside.
The sensor has a 10 year warranty from Flir (2 years on rest of camera). May be best to reset any software modifications and send to Flir.

The problem is, that speck could have been there from factory, but since the detector is cropped, it wouldn't be apparent to anyone thinking they had just bought a camera with 80x60 - how would you explain it to FLIR that you hacked it to full resolution and discovered the spec?

And when my E4 @80x60 with noise level 135, that spot is near invisible. (80x60 is almost enough to mask that spot, with noise 135 it masks every thing and its ready to release to the market.They don't need any firmware/hardware lock, just selling such kinds of thing and you wont be happy after hacking/unlock/mod. I hope they didn't introduce "dead pixel generator"  ha haha)

[zaelcovsky]

Is it possible to do same upgrade for the FLIR T-series TIC (T250,  T335,  T365,  T425) or Exx-series (E30, E40, E50, E60)?

[Chanc3]

Is it possible to do same upgrade for the FLIR T-series TIC (T250,  T335,  T365,  T425) or Exx-series (E30, E40, E50, E60)?

Yes it is! I have had much success with P6xx series, B4xx/T4xx series and even E30.

[zaelcovsky]

This is good news!
And there is any guidelines for this ones here?

[Chanc3]

It'll be easier if you state which camera you have. In most cases, it's very similar to the process for the E4 with the old 1.19 firmware.

[tomas123]

It'll be easier if you state which camera you have. In most cases, it's very similar to the process for the E4 with the old 1.19 firmware.

yes, all "old" Flir cameras have the same CRC checksum for the config files

I collected here some links for non Ex cameras:

Resolution upgrade Flir E30/E40/E50 to E60 and i3/i5 to i7
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg407320/#msg407320
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg371680/#msg371680
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg379141/#msg379141
  you must edit your crc01 inside E60 goodies.zip:
    https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg338671/#msg338671
  a nice history from E30 (without WLAN)  to E60 (with WLAN)
    https://www.eevblog.com/forum/profile/?area=showposts;u=89829
   and https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg561266/#msg561266
watch for alphabetically order
   https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg380267/#msg380267
i3/i5: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg326229/#msg326229

see also this thread
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/flir-e40-upgrade-configuration/

[zaelcovsky]

It'll be easier if you state which camera you have. In most cases, it's very similar to the process for the E4 with the old 1.19 firmware.

I have T335 camera

swcombination 9.2.5
appkit 4.6.1
confkit T335 2.11B
osimgkit 11.6.0
prodkit 4.5.15.5

yes, all "old" Flir cameras have the same CRC checksum for the config files
I collected here some links for non Ex cameras:

OMG thank you for this links!

[Signal32]

I have T335 camera with software version 9.2.5

Is there anything to upgrade on the T335 ?
I thought that it already has the max resolution (320x240). Are there any missing features ?

[zaelcovsky]

Yes, resolution is 320x240.
T365 and T425 have some analysis features, Thermal Fusion, 4x zoom (instead 2x on T335).
Also WIFI and Bluetooth functions in menu is disabled on my camera.

[Chanc3]

Yes, resolution is 320x240.
T365 and T425 have some analysis features, Thermal Fusion, 4x zoom (instead 2x on T335).
Also WIFI and Bluetooth functions in menu is disabled on my camera.

If the camera has the hardware, you should be able to unlock it, however my B400 (which I boosted to B425 specs like video and panoramic mode), does not have the hardware for BT and WiFi.

[bookaboo]

You should also be able to reduce the noise level on the images on those higher end Flir, even if they have the resolution at max.

[Chanc3]

Code: [Select]

#
# Prodconf - Measurement active + 5 mbox's and 5 spots + 1 isotherm
# + radiometric store, compatible radiometric format
#
.caps entry
.caps.config entry
.caps.config.name text "app B400"
.caps.config.revision text "2.1"
.caps.config.image entry
.caps.config.image.framegrab entry
.caps.config.image.framegrab.fusion entry
.caps.config.image.framegrab.fusion.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.services entry
.caps.config.image.services.store entry
.caps.config.image.services.store.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.services.store.radiometric entry
.caps.config.image.services.store.radiometric.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.services.store.incompatible entry
.caps.config.image.services.store.incompatible.enabled bool false
.caps.config.image.services.store.incompatible.level int32 0
.caps.config.image.settings entry
.caps.config.image.settings.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.settings.downsample bool false
.caps.config.image.sysimg entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.alarms entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.alarms.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.alarms.measfunc entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.alarms.measfunc.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.alarms.measfunc.maxCount int32 3
.caps.config.image.sysimg.alarms.humidity entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.alarms.humidity.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.alarms.humidity.maxCount int32 1
.caps.config.image.sysimg.alarms.insulation entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.alarms.insulation.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.alarms.insulation.maxCount int32 1
.caps.config.image.sysimg.irMarkers entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.irMarkers.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.irMarkers.spot entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.irMarkers.spot.enabled bool false
.caps.config.image.sysimg.irMarkers.spot.maxCount int32 0
.caps.config.image.sysimg.irMarkers.arrow entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.irMarkers.arrow.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.irMarkers.arrow.maxCount int32 4
.caps.config.image.sysimg.irMarkers.box entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.irMarkers.box.enabled bool false
.caps.config.image.sysimg.irMarkers.box.maxCount int32 0
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.diff entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.diff.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.diff.maxCount int32 1
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.diff.calcMask int32 65526
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.isotherm entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.isotherm.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.isotherm.calcMask int32 20
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.isotherm.dual bool false
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.isotherm.fixScale bool false
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.isotherm.interval bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.isotherm.invInterval bool false
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.isotherm.maxCount int32 1
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mbox entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mbox.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mbox.calcMask int32 1924
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mbox.maxCount int32 5
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mcircle entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mcircle.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mcircle.calcMask int32 1924
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mcircle.maxCount int32 1
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mline entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mline.enabled bool false
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mline.calcMask int32 1924
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.mline.maxCount int32 0
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.reftemp entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.reftemp.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.reftemp.calcMask int32 1924
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.reftemp.maxCount int32 1
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.script entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.script.enabled false
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.script.maxCount int32 0
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.spot entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.spot.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.spot.calcMask int32 514
.caps.config.image.sysimg.measureFuncs.spot.maxCount int32 5
.caps.config.image.sysimg.visualMarkers entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.visualMarkers.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.visualMarkers.spot entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.visualMarkers.spot.enabled bool false
.caps.config.image.sysimg.visualMarkers.spot.maxCount int32 0
.caps.config.image.sysimg.visualMarkers.arrow entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.visualMarkers.arrow.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.sysimg.visualMarkers.arrow.maxCount int32 4
.caps.config.image.sysimg.visualMarkers.box entry
.caps.config.image.sysimg.visualMarkers.box.enabled bool false
.caps.config.image.sysimg.visualMarkers.box.maxCount int32 0
.caps.config.image.targetNoise entry
.caps.config.image.targetNoise.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.targetNoise.targetNoiseMk int32 0
.caps.config.image.zoom entry
.caps.config.image.zoom.enabled bool true
.caps.config.image.zoom.maxFactor double 8

That is an example of the config file I pulled off my B400. You may find the gui.cfg file of more use however, as this is where most features are enabled:

Code: [Select]

.caps entry
.caps.config entry
.caps.config.name text "GUI B400"
.caps.config.revision text "2.8"
.caps.config.docToolbar entry
.caps.config.docToolbar.enabled bool true
.caps.config.docToolbar.sketch bool true
.caps.config.docToolbar.textComment bool true
.caps.config.docToolbar.voiceComment bool true
.caps.config.emissivity entry
.caps.config.emissivity.enabled bool true
.caps.config.emissivity.table text "BCAM"
.caps.config.emissivity.tableFile bool true
.caps.config.fusion entry
.caps.config.fusion.aboveActive bool false
.caps.config.fusion.belowActive bool false
.caps.config.fusion.enabled bool true
.caps.config.fusion.picInPicFusion bool false
.caps.config.fusion.pipPositionLocked bool false
.caps.config.fusion.thermalFusion bool true
.caps.config.measure entry
.caps.config.measure.enabled bool true
.caps.config.measure.objParams entry
.caps.config.measure.objParams.enabled bool true
.caps.config.measure.objParams.setReflected bool true
.caps.config.modes entry
.caps.config.modes.enabled bool true
.caps.config.modes.program bool false
.caps.config.modes.panorama bool false
.caps.config.modes.simultaneous bool true
.caps.config.modes.video bool true
.caps.config.save entry
.caps.config.save.enabled bool true

[KenGaler]

Hi all,

I thought I'd add my 0.02.  I just got an E4 and need it to focus on PCBs so I decided to do that using the external lens.  I wound up getting a 1" Dia 55mm FL from ebay.

http://tinyurl.com/h4glh62

I made some tweaks of George80's lens holder design to fit the larger lens and other minor changes.  Attached are the files.  I had to make some adjustments to accommodate the plastic shrinkage.  The lens just snaps in.  I used PLA on a Lulzbot Mini.  I included the Solidworks part file in case someone wants to make changes.

Regards,
Ken

[Signal32]

I thought I'd add my 0.02.  I just got an E4 and need it to focus on PCBs so I decided to do that using the external lens.  I wound up getting a 1" Dia 55mm FL from ebay.

Nice, does anyone know if there is an after-market cheap lens that you can add to the E40 in order to increase the FOV ( From 25 to say 45 ). FLIR has one but it's 1K+ O.o.

[Fraser]

Sadly the only lens that is cheap and simple for a thermal camera is a close-up lens. This is because we are basically providing the camera with reading glasses as though it was Hyperopic     I learnt this technique way back in my early days of working with both visible light and thermal cameras. Only one lens element is needed and thanks to the low cost Chinese ZnSe CO2 laser lenses, it is cheap to do.

I own X2 and X0.5 FLIR lenses for my PM series and, as you say, they are scary prices. They contain at least two lens elements and are precision optics. Sadly I know of no simple and cheap way to make a X0.5 lens even if willing to accept less than perfect performance. It is the challenge of finding the required optical elements that match eachother for the desired beam path through the auxiliary lens.

I may have some X-Rays of my FLIR X0.5 lens to show the shape of the lens elements required. I will take a look.

Best Wishes

Fraser

[hikanio]

I was lucky to get the Flir wide angle lens with 45° fov for $500 on ebay recently and it came even with a tools+ licence, a ResearchIR sw key and a tripod adaptor.
And this lens improved the optical quality of my E30 considerably, the slight focal error on the left side of the picture is gone with this lens.
Besides this lens allows to get even closer than 5cm to an object and still get it into focus.

[Fraser]

@hikanio,

That was a great buy for your camera.

Please let me know if you ever decide to sell your ResearchIR HASP licence.

Best Wishes

Fraser

[trevwhite]

Do you get any difference in temperature measurements with the lens compared to with out?

[hikanio]

Do you get any difference in temperature measurements with the lens compared to with out?

Actually I couldn't find any difference in the temp readings, no matter if I configured the lens in the camera settings or not. The only recognizable change when I activate the add on lens in the setting is that I get a "45° FOV“ display on my screen and thermal fusion and pip get deactivated.

[trevwhite]

Apologies, my response was unclear and maybe a bit slow. I meant to direct my message at KenGaler

[KenGaler]

All,

OK, so I was able to do the res and menu hacks on my new E4 that was at V2.11.0.   Everything works as planned.  The only trouble was from not having any 32bit machines here (out of about 15), so I setup Win7 32bit in VirtualBox.   After a half day of pulling my hair out, I was never able to get the E4 to connect to the guest machine.   The host wouldn't release it.  I went all over the VirtualBox forums and found all sorts of fixes but none worked. 

I gave up and did it on my main machine running Win7 64bit and it worked just fine.  Blood pressure back to normal. 

Ken