New arrivals - Amber Raytheon Radiance 1 camera and DIOP 75/250mm DFOV lens

[Fraser]

A little story by way of an introduction to this thread.......

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by forum member "NukeET" who was asking for some assistance with a Amber Radiance 1 camera and DFOV lens. With regret I was a little 'cool' in my response as I get a lot of requests for help and it can be a little tiring.

I did try to help NukeET however as he is a nice chap who clearly appreciated others help. We discussed the condition of the Radiance 1 and it transpired that the PCMCIA card that holds the firmware is missing. In addition to this the Lithium memory backup battery had been disconnected during investigations prior to contacting me. The PCMCIA card is a Linear Flash Type 1 that is both hard to find and expensive. I offered to program a card with my cameras firmware if NukeET could find a blank one. There was no guarantee that the copy of my firmware would work in his camera and we still had the issue of the lost battery backed calibration memory contents to deal with. This is where life took an interesting turn for me. NukeET decided that he would rather I have the camera and lens than them be stripped for parts, as repair seemed to require a lot of effort with no guarantee of success. We knew the cooler was still good, but that was all we knew about the camera.

NukeET sent me the Radiance 1 camera and DIOP 75/250mm DFOV motorized lens at no cost to me except postage ! This chap is so kind and generous ... a true Gentleman. The camera and lens arrived safely today and I have taken some 'as received' pictures. As can be seen, both units are in excellent condition 

My sincerest thanks to NukeET for giving this camera and lens to me. He would like to see how the lens performs and I will document that on this forum when I have established how to drive it.

The Radiance 1 camera may, or may not be recoverable but even if beyond repair, it is excellent insurance in case my working Radiance 1 camera develops a fault. It will also permit me to study the Radiance 1 camera design without risk to a working unit.

We have already met the Amber Radiance 1 camera in this thread........

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/the-story-of-a-radiance-1-camera-and-frasers-quest-to-find-information-on-it/


The DIOP DFOV lens is new to me and my collection however 

This is a lens that was designed for use with the Amber Raytheon Radiance 1 and Radiance HS series of cooled thermal imaging cameras. It is a powerful dual field of view thermal camera lens and not a continuous zoom type. The dual field of view is achieved by the use of a set of lenses that may be moved into the optical path when required. This is done by a servo sytem. This type of 'Zoom'/'Telephoto' function was/is common in military and long range surveillance thermal camera systems. This lens is the Dual FOV 75/250mm model but a triple FOV (60/180/500mm f4) version was also made. The lens is f2.3 I dread to think what they cost when new back in 1996

The lens also contains a filter wheel that can hold several filters for either attenuation or band filters for specialist applications. This particular lens is fitted with two, currently unidentified, filters. The filter wheel is motorized and controlled by the on-board menu driven controller. This controller is also used to set the FOV and may control Focus as well (TBC).

An 8 pole Fischer 104 series socket is used to connect the lens to the host camera. This connector provides the 5V supply to the lens plus simple focus control and feedback signals. Sadly a 8 pole Fischer 104 plug is eye wateringly  expensive so I may have to change this connector to a 10 pole Lemo connector that I have plenty of.

For anyone wondering what the equivalent lens would be in a 35mm SLR format.... I think it is about 800mm

Time for the pictures then.......

[Fraser]

Lens detail continued.....

[Fraser]

DIOP DFOV Lens specifications when fitted to a Radiance 1 camera :


Optics : Motorized DFOV 75/250mm
f#: f2.3
FOV: DFOV 5.9/1.8 Degrees
IFOV: DFOV 0.4/0.12 mrad
Band: 3-5um MWIR   
Focus: Manual Motorized
Filters: Yes. Motorized rotary Filter wheel
Control: From host camera and via built in LCD Menu and buttons

[Fraser]

The DIOP lens is also compatible with my FLIR SC4000 as the Amber Radiance 1 is an ancestor of the SC4000 and they share the same lens requirements, including the same lens mount  My SC4000 combined with the fast DIOP DFOV lens would make a powerful MWIR long range thermal imaging system.

[olivir]

Hello, I also own one of these lenses, the original cost of this lens was about $35k when new.  I would imagine that there were fewer than 100 made.  If I remember correctly, the lens needs + and - 15 volts to operate.  5 volts is generated internally by a dc to dc convertor inside the lens. Once supplied with power the lens can operate independently of the camera.  One of the functions of the lens controller is to find and remember the focus points for the two fields of view, this lets the image stay in focus when changing fov.  The manufacturer DIOP (Diversified Optical) was acquired years ago by Axyss who has since been acquired by another company(I don't remember who).  Axyss made a range of long focal length surveillance cameras.  DIOP also made a 500mm F2.3 lens! I had a chance to use this lens with a Radiance camera. The closest you could focus with this lens was about 100 feet.

[Fraser]

Olivir,

Thank you so much for this information. I am working in the dark with the DIOP lens as it is hard to find anything about it on the internet. I see that Indigo sold a similar specification of lens for their Merlin and possibly Phoenix (?) cameras. I was hoping that there might be more detail of the lens under the Indigo branding. From what you have said that will likely not be the case though. It is a lovely piece of optical engineering and I am pleased that it can work independently of the camera for focus and FOV setting  My lens and camera came without the little umbilical cable that connects the two so I may make a replacement using LEMO connectors to replace the Fischer sockets that are fitted. Interestingly, Amber used LEMO sockets on the rear of their camera and a Fischer socket for lens control, on the front 

I am grateful for any and all information that you and others provide as it helps me better understand the ‘patient’

Thanks again

Fraser

[Fraser]

A peek inside the DIOP lens to establish the pinout of the Fischer connector .....

The unit contains a microcontroller board and the components are marked 1994.

As has already been stated by "Olivir", the unit requires a +15V and -15V supply. The +5V supply rail is produced by a 78SR105HC  1.5A switching regulator from the +15V rail. Helpfully the Input/Output PCB mounted on the rear of the Fischer connector is cleary labelled with the voltages etc. 

The only other connectivity to the Fischer connector is an RS232 port for communications with the microcontroller. I had read in a reaserch paper that this DIOP lens could be remote controlled over RS232 but I was unsure whether that was actually through the Amber Radiance 1's Serial port and lens interface.

The wiring loom within the lens casing is not as tidy as I had expected of DIOP but this lens may have been worked on previously and any loom management removed. I will tidy up the loom once I have finished work on the lens.

The actual lens barrel assembly is as expected with the rotating lens holder is mounted towards the front on a pivot and driven by a worm and sector gear. The focus assembly is a conventional design and driven by a linking gear wheel set, gearbox and motor combination.

The Microcontroller PCB monitors end-stop micro switches and uses two contact thermistors to monitor the temperature of the lens assembly. It uses an Intel 8097BH processor. I was pleased to see that the Varta 1/2AA 3V Lithium memory backup cell still reads 3.135V and its date code is 0694 !

The filter wheel is of conventional design and driven by a motor+gearbox combination under the control of the microcontroller PCB. The filter wheel is indexed so the controller knows the filter positions.

It is an interesting lens and very similar in mechanical design to FLIR DFOV designs that I have worked on.

[Fraser]

I will be downloading the firmware from the DIOP lens controller to see whether I can determine the instruction set used for RS232 control. The lens provides 'local control' through the four push buttons but a handheld RS232 remote controller might be useful.

[Fraser]

For anyone wanting to know how these DFOV type lenses work, take a look at the attached pictures taken from

https://www.prc68.com/I/ThermalIMagerDFOV.html

The military thermal imager shown on that page uses the switched additional lens set as will be found in my DIOP lens. The additional lenses are on a chassis that swings them out of the optical path when not required. A servo system or solenoid brings the additional lenses into the optical path when requested by the user. This may appear simple, but good engineering is needed to maintain correct lens axial alignment and stability.

In the images the front objective lens has been removed to show the DFOV mechanism action.

Fraser

[IR_Geek]

You lucky man! 

The two units I can lay my hands on are both software V1.02N,  Options 06 00 55 02, Menu Options 089B   ... this shows up on quickly on the screen when it boots up.   Using HyperTerminal COM's are RS232 with baud rate of 9600, data bits =8, parity = none, stop bit = 1, and flow control = none.   under the ASCII setup... send line ends with line feed, echo typed character locally, append line feeds to incoming line ends, wrap lines that exceed terminal width.   

Some commands I've dug up:

:FWR ... query filter wheel position

:FWWy ... set filter wheel postion with 'y' being 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

:FV- ... set to NFOV

:FV+ ... set to WFOV

:FF- ... decrease fine focus

:FF+ ... increase fine focus

:FR- ... decrease rough focus

:FR+ ... increase rough focus

:SVR ... read software version

:SNR ... read serial number

:MDR ... read model number

Hope that helps you.  Love to see if you can dig up more commands as most of mine were 'brute force', conversations with some former DIOP folks, and picking apart some Amber manuals.  I know there has to be a bunch more based on the control screen and abilities called out in the Amber Galileo manual.

[Fraser]

IR_Geek,

Thank you for this very helpful information. I will share any additional commands that I discover.

I was wondering whether the Galileo/HS manual contained information on the DFOV lens. My Radiance 1 manual contains nothing on this lens and the Pinout of the cameras lens connector shows only a +5V rail so I suspect the manual predates the release of the DIOP 75/250mm DFOV lens option.

Please can you tell me whether your lenses use a separate +/-15V power supply or do they take their supply from the camera system ? If it is an external power supply, do you have the current rating for those supply rails please ? I can hook up my dual rail lab power supply to check the current draw but it would be nice to know if there is an official PSU rating.

Thank you again 

Fraser

[IR_Geek]

some more history:  after AxSys, the name was picked up by General Dynamics.    By that time, most of the original folks had gone on to other companies ...

The units I have use a separate power supply but believe it could be powered from Galileo.  I know it could be controlled via the Galileo.  As for power, the notes I have are +12V on pin 3,  -12V on pin 6, and grounds on 4 and 5.   I'll have to verify the power draw. 

According to the old website, the lens control board was called "Smart Control System" and was in a lot of their lenses.

[Fraser]

My continuity checks showed the following pinout using the silk screened connector pin numbering on the PCB.....

Pin 1 RS232 Receive
Pin 2 RS232 0V
Pin 3 -15V
Pin 4 0V
Pin 5 0V
Pin 6 +15V
Pin 7 ?
Pin 8 RS232 Transmit

I will recheck my work as I have the supply polarity inverse to your notes. Thankfully both rails have series diodes protecting them though  I was hoping a +/- 12V might work with the lens as they are likely just motor drive voltages with the 5V regulator having more than enough headroom at +12V input 

The power and I/O pcb will be removed and reverse engineered and I will likely fit a LEMO 3B 310 chassis socket in place of the Fischer 104 series fitment. That is an easily reversed modification if I ever need to revert the lens to 'factory spec' 

Thank you for the information on the controller board. Very interesting

[IR_Geek]

Pin 7 was a no connect in my notes.    I'll double check the +/-    ... it's likely just 5V min with a 15V max.    Thinking back on it, I distinctly remember the short cable between Galileo camera and lens.  There was no other cable needed if you controlled it via the camera. 


From the website and image below:  Looks like the DFOV when connect to the Radiance1 is connected to the viewfinder connector    Or do I have those connectors mixed up?  Came across something that said the viewfinder was 15V

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/3-5-micron-band-12-bit-infrared-video-camera-Radiance-1-from-Amber-Engineering-with_fig4_224002649

[Ultrapurple]

Wow Fraser, you're a very lucky chap (but, as I well know, your 'luck' is largely self-made, via a lot of on- and off-line work - and well-deserved).

And a big, big shout-out to NukeET for their generosity and selflessness. Bravo: the world needs more people like you. 

[IR_Geek]

Couldn't verify pins on +/- but here is brand and part number along with listed current for each. 

TRUMPower … TMP60-T31 … PMP60-31
+12V … 3.0A  ///   -12V … 0.7A ...

XP Power … PCM50UD07
+12V … 3.0A  ///   -12V … 1.0A

-----
 Oh, yeah.  I did mix up the viewfinder and lens connector. 

[Fraser]

IR_Geek,

Thank you. That is exactly what I need. I was unsure how much current the motors draw but it looks like less than 0.7A which is good to know. I shall start a search for suitable dual output power supplies in the UK.

Thank you for taking the time to detail the power supply specifications. Much appreciated 

Fraser

[CatalinaWOW]

Not too long ago you were lamenting some not so courteous treatment by someone.  Now this.  It seems that the bad must be taken to get the good, and the good is very good.  Congratulations and a big shout out to NukeET for his kind gift to one of the really good guys on this forum.

[ir.ukrm]

DIOP DFOV Lens specifications when fitted to a Radiance 1 camera :



FOV: DFOV 5.9/1.8 Degrees
IFOV: DFOV 0.4/0.12 mrad
Band: 3-5um MWIR   

Now a lens giving 0.12 mrad costs $ 30,000
https://www.flir-direct.com/product/flir-t199745-ir-5-6-lens
https://apliter.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/FLIR-IR-Lente-f142mm-7%C2%BA-Serie-T10xx-Ficha-t%C3%A9cnica.pdf

[Ultrapurple]

Fraser - I expect to see some really good pictures of the Moon from you soon!

[Vipitis]

There is a difference between a 142mm f/1.2 LWIR and a 250mm f/2.3 MWIR lens. In fact, you can calculate the difference in aperture alone and end up surprised - but it's also vastly different material. A modern flir lens will be very well calibrated and corrected. Which is a huge chunk of the money you pay.

I have a 150mm f/1 lens at home that is current in multiple parts as I wanted to turn it from motorized back to manual focus, but it's optically a very simple design - just big and heavy. And it cost me nothing close to 35k and won't even sell for anything close to it either.

[Fraser]

Ultrapurple,

Today the DIOP 75/250 lens ……. Tomorrow …….. ? ……. 

[Fraser]

Vipitus,

Good point. Cooled MWIR cameras permit ‘slower’ lenses to be used thanks to their high thermal sensitivity. f2.3 is actually fast for a cooled camera lens  Standard Cooled camera objectives are often a similar f#

Uncooled cameras and small pixels means a similar IFOV lens needs a much lower f# and this is one of the disadvantages of uncooled cameras…. They often need larger, more expensive, chunks of Germanium to achieve similar results to cooled cameras.

Regarding the DIOP 75/250 DFOV lens…… do not be so quick to judge its performance inferior to a modern thermal imaging lens. These sorts of lenses were often a ‘no expense spared’ product that was an off-shoot of military lens production. The Germanium lens elements will have cost a small fortune to make and are likely of the highest quality and best coatings. Modern thermal imaging lenses are built for maximum profit and will still have excellent performance, but unless military grade optics are employed, production cost reduction will find its way into the optical path.

I take your point about ‘simple’ optics…. Many thermal cameras use very basic optical designs that would not be considered very good in visible light imaging applications, but the apparent simplicity can sometimes hide clever design features that ensure high quality thermal imaging. The DIOP 75/250 DFOV lens uses Germanium and Silicon lens materials to provide high performance. Then there is the dual field of view design. Far simpler in optical terms than a true variable Zoom lens design, but it remains a popular system in long range observation systems. Less Germanium tends to mean a faster lens so complex multi element variable Zoom lenses can be relatively slow, or very large and heavy. In many applications the observer desires a wide FOV for target acquisition and a nice narrow FOV for target detail and identity. Variable Zoom offers better framing capability but that is more of a photography and videography requirement and tends to fall outside professional industrial or Military thermal imaging camera usage. With Radiometric thermal imaging, a DFOV or TFOV lens is far easier to calibrate with the camera.

Thermal imaging lenses have always been expensive and I do not know the profit margins on these very expensive examples. It would be interesting to know the cost of making a modern high performance thermal imaging lens. Chalcogenide IR glass has reduced the cost of budget lenses but I would not want to see such a compromise material in an expensive lens…. It is good, but not that good.

[Bill W]

Thermal imaging lenses have always been expensive and I do not know the profit margins on these very expensive examples. It would be interesting to know the cost of making a modern high performance thermal imaging lens. Chalcogenide IR glass has reduced the cost of budget lenses but I would not want to see such a compromise material in an expensive lens…. It is good, but not that good.

A few factors to consider:
The design cost is in there somewhere, either up front or spread over the first couple of batches of lenses.  So is manufacturing tooling. 
Both will be a factor of quantities expected.  Equally there is a cost saving if the design is a 'close relative' of one that already exists.
Pure germanium cost is also far from trivial when talking 'big' stuff.

Some surprising factors:
Modern small pitch sensors are much less optically forgiving, so are likely to demand some aspheric elements which are always made one at a time.  Spherical elements can be made in sets on much simpler machinery #

Similarly long focal length lenses with a larger back focus are a lot simpler, with less elements and less likely to be anything other than spherical surfaces.

# except one supplier, who ONLY had diamond turning machines so wanted to make all the lens surfaces  as either flats or aspheres !

From the Argus point of view, attaching image of 'little and large'.

6.3mm f/1 from Argus4 (for either a 160x120 @ 35µm or 320 x 240 @ 17µm)
100mm f/0/7 for a tube camera (in pixel terms about 200 diameter at 100µm)

The 100mm was about £6k in 1990 and around the same price as the camera.  It is time to stop if the lens is more than the camera body.

Bill

[CatalinaWOW]

I want to double down on Bill's comments.  Infrared lenses are a very small market and suffer from that at every place in their design, except possibly mounts.  Raw materials and polishing materials and methods are two more things that are early on the learning curve industry wide.  Even when using materials that are potentially compatible with mass production such as molding, the processes are in their infancy.  The high indexes of many materials put them in sparsely explored territory for optical design.  Every where you turn the lens maker is exploring new territory.