The story of a Radiance 1 camera and Frasers quest to find information on it

[The_Archiver]

If your camera(s) have a dense 3 row, 51 contact, Micro-D, female connector, and if you had a mating male connector to plug into it, this drawing I made shows the rear view of the mating connector (inside its connector shell), and which of the 3 terminals are for the RS-232 connections used if using a standard RS-232 9-pin D-Connector.

All 3 of my ControlIR-2000B cameras have this connector.

Karl

[Fraser]

Hiya,

Thanks for the info. Sadly my BST cores do not have that connector but it will not be too hard to find the RS232 port.

Regarding the Raytheon control software. It is version 6.3 dated 1997 to 2004 so likely covers all BST camera cores produced in that period

I just tried it on my Dell X300 laptop running WinXP and it runs directly from the IRMgr63.exe file that is on a USB stick 

The “setup” file is for Visual Basic and asks for “Disk 63”.

There is a factory menu option that requires a password. Time to hunt for that password within the code maybe

Thanks again for the software.

Best Wishes

Fraser

[Fraser]

This Raytheon BST control software is excellent. It supports both 320 x 240 and 320 x 120 pixel BST cores. It also provides the ability to carry out camera dead pixel and NUC file creation. There is a Pedestal Sub mode for solid chopper wheels which interests me as I have been playing with solid choppers printed on a 3D printer in ABS The factory password protects some functions if backup calibration files are not present. I presume this is in an effort to stop users bricking a core.

This looks so useful to fellow BST core owners. I have lots of them and some will benefit from a new NUC and dead pixel table

Who knew that there were 320 x 120 pixel BST cores ?

It is interesting to see that BST spec as I read that the Cadillac DeVille cameras used a 320 x 120 pixel BST FPA and the Chopper wheel uses a spiral that is very different to that found on normal 320 x 240 pixel cores. Interesting 

Fraser

[Fraser]

I know this Raython BST stuff deserves its own thread but I have no objection to it being in the Radiance 1 thread 

Some photos of my laptops screen showing some of the nice useful menus contained in the Raytheon control software 

This software makes the cores so much more useful to me. I can even configure the core for an inverting or non inverting lens system with it 

Fraser

[Fraser]

Pictures continued

[Fraser]

I de-compiled the Raytheon control utility as it is written in VB6. The password for advanced actions is "user".

Tested and correct. Screen grab attached.

Fraser

[Fraser]

I had a thought during the night. When looking at the Hex code in the utilities .exe file I saw both “Password” and “Engineering Password”.

Having read the help file that accompanies the utility, I saw that the initial “splash” screen that shows the version etc would normally present a password challenge as well. This is not present when I run the utility so I suspected the password challenge had been circumvented by someone who managed to obtain this hard to find factory utility. Either that or Raytheon removed the password challenge themselves. Without the password only items detailed on the main menu page could be altered. I have gone into the other menus and advanced menu and selected changes without any issues or password challenges. I have yet to connect to a core however.

When I delve deeper into the capabilities of the utility when connected to a core, I may receive a password challenge before updating the core. The term “user” in the password I found does not fill me with confidence that it is the right one for factory “engineering” changes. I will revisit the disassembled code  to see if another password is present. Maybe it is just “engineer”     

I really should have started another thread for this but it is probably best “hidden” here anyway.

Fraser

[Bill W]

The Argus 3 factory software had a 'Here be Dragons' type tab that directly addressed the core, if you had the command set in Hex !
There were no password challenges when talking to the core, you just sent what you wanted after the initial universal 'call attention' wakeup command.

Bill

[Fraser]

Thanks Bill 


Regarding the "Engineering Password"

After looking at the disassembly of the utility again, I believe the Engineering Password is indeed "user". That is the password associated with value C0. I note that many of the programming functions check that the value of C0 is "true". i.e. the password is correct. Interestingly I have not been challenged for a password yet so the code may have been 'tweaked' to bypass the password requirement. Even if not, we have the correct password 

Fraser

[IR_Geek]

My first post ....  Thanks Fraser and The_Archiver

Lot of good info on the Amber Galileo HS and Radiance 1.    I registered on this site just to say thanks for the excellent read, detailed info, and great pictures. 

[Fraser]

IR-Geek,

Do you own one of these cameras ?

If so, have you had any luck communicating with it via RS232 ? I have the Radiance User Manual and official Software Utility but cannot get the camera to respond to it so get a "time-out" error. I suspect it could be because the software is fir the HS and not my Radiance 1 camera.

My Radiance 1 cools down quickly but continues to flash the LED on the side. That just means something in the setup needs to be looked at and is not a critical error. It may be that my camera wants to run a fresh NUC after all these years.

Fraser

[IR_Geek]

I've used several of the HS's / Galileo's over the years for data collection.  Just about the most robust systems I have ever used other than the older 760's from Inframetrics.  Only used one of the Radiance 1's and it had a QWIP instead of the normal InSb detector.  Electronics were the same ... heck, even the manual said it was a midwave!

The original DOS based software was different for the Radiance HS and Radiance 1.   The HS's were specific to the firmware for each camera and I'd assume that the Radiance 1 was the same way.  Over time, the firmware added more features or fixed issues and hence the DOS software (called USERMENU ??) would add those additional items.    I do remember that there were two different EXE GUI's that came with RTools ... one for Radiance 1 and another for Radiance HS.

FYI - the HS's could be setup either as 232 or 422, but can't remember if the Radiance 1's had an option for RS422.  Might try that.   

[Fraser]

IR_Geek,

Many thanks for this additional insight 

I was aware of the requirement to match the software to the firmware as I was asked to remove the Firmware PCMCIA card to check the firmware version. I have firmware 3.0. I am pretty sure that my software is for the HS model and your comments might explain why I am not getting a response from the camera. I will also look into the possibility that the camera is set for RS422. I had not even considered that. The a senior project engineer who provided me with the software said the HS and Radiance 1 used the same chipset so he hoped the HS software would work. I will have to keep searching for the correct software for my camera but it may be possible to get ten HS version talking with the Radiance 1 if I spend some time analysing it.

It is great to ‘meet’ yet another person who owns, or has worked with, the excellent Amber cameras 

Very Best Wishes

Fraser

[IR_Geek]

Digging around I found the 'latest' versions on the WayBackMachine.   Info Below: 

---------------------
The latest revision of software for each of Raytheon's products is listed below. If you have a camera or application that is out of date, you can contact Customer Support to arrange an upgrade.

 PC Hosted products:    
      ImageDesk II     Version 2.1
      ImageDesk I             Version 1.6
      AmberTherm
--with Radiance 1T/PM     Version 1.31
      AmberVu             Version 3.55
          
 Camera Control Software for ImageDesk II:
      Radiance 1             Version 3.0
      Radiance PM/1T     Version 1.61
      Radiance HS             Version 1.58
          
Camera:     Usermenu Software:
      Radiance 1              Version 3.0
      Radiance PM/1T     Version 1.61
      Radiance HS             Version 3.0
      Sentinel                     Version 1.8
---------------------
https://web.archive.org/web/19981205105329/http://www.amber-infrared.com/service/software.html

ImageDesk was commercial piece of software that allowed control and acquisition with the cameras.    Looks like the "usermenu" for the HS's and 1's eventually merged (?) into 3.0, but there were separate controls when using ImageDesk. 

[IR_Geek]

Looks like back in 1997 you could download ZIP files of each of the versions.   Guess the crawler didn't pick up all the ZIP files ... dang it! 


https://web.archive.org/web/19980211074341/http://www.amber-infrared.com/IDsoftware/IDsoftware.html
------------------------
If you already have Raytheon Amber's ImageDesk or ImageDesk II system and one of the infrared cameras listed below, you can easily upgrade your ImageDesk camera control software.  These files have been compressed for speedier downloading. They are in the Zip format so you will need some form of Unzip to open them.  After they have been decompressed, place the files into your ImageDesk directory.

ImageDesk I     for RADIANCE HS* cameras:

Version 1.1
Version 1.5
Version 1.51
Version 1.52
Version 1.53

* Please note that the Galileo product name has been changed to RADIANCE HS.

ImageDeskII     

for RADIANCE HS cameras:  Version 1.53

for RADIANCE cameras:  Version 3.0

[Fraser]

It is always soooo frustrating when you find a nice download page on an archived web site and the Wayback Machine says sorry not captured  Saying that, I have managed to find a lot of software via the a Wayback Machine over the years. A most excellent resource for those of us into older software and hardware 

Some technical web sites that I visit in the Wayback machine used a log in process before permitting a download and sadly those are very common in the thermal imaging industry. At the very least, the OEM wanted to capture the requesters email contact details for marketing purposes. That prevented the Wayback Machine gaining access to the files download area 

[CatalinaWOW]

Thanks for the history and insight.  I have very little to add, but can provide a little more insight on the history.  I worked for a division of General Dynamics in the 1980s and was an Amber customer from about 1988 to 1992.  Much of their staff came from Hughes SBRC, and came over for more creative freedom, financial opportunity and other reasons.  Because of the close proximity and former employment Amber was able to cherry pick a very high quality staff. 

As part of our business we obtained one of the 4128 cameras.  While the price wasn't cheap, at $20,000 it was far lower in cost than competitors and had excellent performance.  The array used had many interesting operating modes, as did its 4256 successor.  These modes resulted in very tight controls on export of these systems.

My area of business was purchased by Hughes in 1992, roughly the same time that Raytheon purchased Amber.  Went from a customer to a competitor at the stroke of a couple of corporate pens.  Then Raytheon bought Hughes in 1998 and everyone was back on the same side of the fence.  My recollection is that the large corporate world hadn't been congenial to the Amber staff and Indigo benefited greatly.

[Logan]

Pictures continued

Hi.
Do you know what "SRAM Size" do here?
There are different versions of the digital BST core?
Thanks.

[Bill W]

Pictures continued

Hi.
Do you know what "SRAM Size" do here?
There are different versions of the digital BST core?
Thanks.

The same Raytheon control software worked a number of different 'cameras' including the Cadillac vehicle cameras which were stripped down custom hardware and ran at 320x120 pixels.

As far as the 'Digital SECCA' (as in the 205 OEM kit, also used in most Raytheon own-design camera products) goes, no just the one PCB design.  It has 4MB memory chips.

Bill

[bCubed]

Hi,

I have a software application that was written to control Radiance HS cameras.  The company who wrote the software purchased Amber cameras for use in Thermal NDE (non-destructive evaluation) measurements.  I haven't used the software for more than a decade, but I just pulled it up and it opens up on my Windows 10 machine. I remember it as being far superior to messing with the Usermenu family.  I don't remember what Usermenu looked like, but my recollection is that this  "TWS Radiance HS Utility" was a solid bit of software and it helped me over many communications and operations hurdles.

I have the software close at hand because I'm working on getting an Amber Galileo running with a GigE interface.  I found the Galileo on ebay.  It came with a DIOP 75/250 DFOV lens.  I digress because I'm looking for a drawing of the lens that has the dimension from the optical axis to the bottom of the base.  Does anyone know where I can fined drawings for the lens (just the exterior).  It would be so convenient to not have to get out my ruler.  (Fraser, you still have that lens?)

bCubed

[Fraser]

Hi,

Yes I still have the nice DIOP 75/250 DFOV lens. She is a real beauty and she will even mount on my FLIR SC4000 camera which makes her a very useful addition to my inventory. Sadly I have no drawings or technical information the lens so cannot assist with dimensions and optical axis position wrt mount. I would measure it for you but sadly I am deployed overseas until end of March so have no access to it.

I am very interested to hear that you have some software for the Radiance cameras. Would you be willing to share this please ? I will send a direct message with my details if you are.

It is good to see another MWIR camera user on the forum My 'Baby' is the FLIR SC4000 that I am very fortunate to own.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/high-speed-thermal-imaging-cameras-when-60fps-is-just-not-enough-!/

Best Wises

Fraser

[IR_Geek]

Hello!
  Good to see somebody else with an Amber camera.   Couple of questions:  Does the camera say Radiance HS or Amber Galileo?   And also what version of firmware/software?  If memory serves that should be on the analog video output unless it's been disabled.

As for the lens:  There are several versions of the 75/250 that I've been able to dig up.  One has DIOP part number of 22334 (3175.2 grams) and the other is 22696 (3628.8 grams).   Everything else is listed the same (F/2.3, FOV 10.7 / 3.2 degrees, image 14mm, stop-fpa 26mm, bayonet mount, motorized focus / FOV, non-inverted image).    Not sure what is different but the pictures I've seen show them painted black and the front optic appears to have different coatings.     Could have sworn I had a drawing of the 22334 version but haven't located it yet.  I'll need to dig around on another set of files.   To muddy the water more is the lens part number I have is 22362 and it is the typical DIOP 'brown' color.

I'm with Fraser ... if the software is something you are able to share then I'd like to please request a copy ... Especially if it works with multiple camera firmware versions.  The Usermenu required the firmware/control software to match.   1.1, 1.5, 1.51, 1.52, and 1.53 were the older versions. 

[IR_Geek]

Additional info on the 22334 version:  EFL Tolerance (Max) of 5% ; >78% transmission ; MTF >50% @ 15 lp/mm  ; RS232 8 pin connector, DIOP Smart Control System ; Options - On board controls and/or five position filter wheel

Also have notes that the lens specification is listed as "SPC12310-1A", but have yet to find that as a document anywhere.

[MrSheep]

IR-Geek,

Do you own one of these cameras ?

If so, have you had any luck communicating with it via RS232 ? I have the Radiance User Manual and official Software Utility but cannot get the camera to respond to it so get a "time-out" error. I suspect it could be because the software is fir the HS and not my Radiance 1 camera.

My Radiance 1 cools down quickly but continues to flash the LED on the side. That just means something in the setup needs to be looked at and is not a critical error. It may be that my camera wants to run a fresh NUC after all these years.

Fraser

@Fraser do you mind sharing the manual/software to the amber radiance 1? Let me know thanks

[Fraser]

No problem. I will dig them out of my archive.

Do you have a particular interest in the Radiance 1 cameras ?

Sadly I could not get the software to communicate with my cameras. If you have access to a Radiance 1 and get the software working, I would love to hear about it. I am also able to backup and create firmware on the PCMCIA Linear Flash cards that the camera uses 

Fraser