Flir E40bx Broken Charging Port

[Madhatter]

Hey guys, I have been lurking about for a while, but this is my first post, so please take it easy on me. I just purchased a Flir E40bx as a "no power" auction on Ebay. Turns out the charging port is destroyed (see picture attached). I read the thread "FLIR E60 Battery Connector Pinout..." (shout out to Cat), which was very helpful on pin layout for the charger. If Flir has their own proprietary connector (ie. not replacable), I was wondering if anyone ever tried switching the original power connector with something more standard. Also, if someone could enlighten me on why the original power adapter had two ground pins that would be great. I didn't know if the middle wire was maybe a signal wire or something else. Thanks in advance for the help.

[railrun]

Hi,

I think its a Hirose MQ172X-3PA or 4PA

https://docs.rs-online.com/d16c/0900766b815e0406.pdf

[Madhatter]

@railrun The MQ172X-3PA looks extremely close, but one of the plastic guides is missing. I will measure the one I have when I get home, and see how close the measurements are. I unfortunately don't have a charging cable, so that is why I was asking about a possible replacement port. It would be nice to put a standard power port on this thing, so you wouldn't have to have the proprietary power charger as well. However, if this one is the right size, then I might go with this, so any future users will have an almost original connector.

Fraser swore that the connector was a Hirose as well, but could not find the exact model. I will have to let him know he was right.

[Madhatter]

@railrun Thanks for the tip, but the connector is not proportioned right, and 2 of the 4 legs are not in the correct position. You could force it to work, but would still be in the position of having a weird one-off connector.

I don't understand why they didn't just allow the Mini USB to charge the unit, since it was already on there?!? I am half tempted to find a used charger, lop the connector off, and solder it straight to the board. Then come up with some quick disconnects for mobility.

[railrun]

I would suggest to buy an external charger and a second battery.
https://de.rs-online.com/web/p/warmebildkamera-zubehor/8481416
Sometimes you will get them pretty cheap on ebay.

[Madhatter]

I just received my battery from Amazon today, and the camera works! I thought for sure I was going to have to do some diagnosing/micro soldering to fix it, but it appears 100% functional. Anyway, I looked at the official chargers as you suggested, but thought they were too expensive. I found this post (https://0x7d.com/2021/flir-exx-accessories/) which shows you how to make one with an "Adafruit’s USB LiIon/LiPoly charging board", so I opted for that. I will be soldering the pins right after this, and testing it out.

Now to decide whether to keep it and modify it (macro lens and possibly resolution change), or sell it and get something even better.

Thanks railrun for your suggestions and time!

[Madhatter]

Update: The charging board I hoped to use charged up the battery, but it was only to about 50%, so I decided to go back to my original idea and fix the charging port on my camera instead. I found a charger laying around the house that had the correct volts/amps for my camera, and also a connector that would work temporarily, and it charges up the battery to 100%. Then I found a more permanent charging port on Digi-Key that is the same approximate size, and I can modify the pins to fit the board, which is on the way. I can submit a picture of the finished product if anyone is interested. I also noticed my touch screen was not working, so I have a replacement 4-pin touch panel on the way as well.

Oh, and I decided to modify my camera to get the full 320X240 resolution, and it is amazing. Thanks to everyone who has helped with that particular project. Shout out to tomas123 for providing the instructions on firmware 4.11.00.

[maksym]

Update: The charging board I hoped to use charged up the battery, but it was only to about 50%, so I decided to go back to my original idea and fix the charging port on my camera instead. I found a charger laying around the house that had the correct volts/amps for my camera, and also a connector that would work temporarily, and it charges up the battery to 100%. Then I found a more permanent charging port on Digi-Key that is the same approximate size, and I can modify the pins to fit the board, which is on the way. I can submit a picture of the finished product if anyone is interested. I also noticed my touch screen was not working, so I have a replacement 4-pin touch panel on the way as well.

Oh, and I decided to modify my camera to get the full 320X240 resolution, and it is amazing. Thanks to everyone who has helped with that particular project. Shout out to tomas123 for providing the instructions on firmware 4.11.00.

Sorry for reviving an old thread... how did you wire the charger? Have you ever figured out if the middle pin on the charger port is indeed the ground? I'm considering making a custom charger with the plug from https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/flir-exxe40e50e60-charger-connector-specsdimensionsmodel/

[Madhatter]

It has been a long time, but I think two of the pins were linked on the logic board. Probably a redundancy, or so it could handle more amps. I wound up cheating, and used an old Chromebook I had laying around instead. The Voltage/Amps on the power adapter were pretty much spot on, so I stole the power connector off the dead laptop, and soldered it to the logic board of the Flir. Now it charges great.