UNI-T UNi690B

[gardner]

I was searching for a UTi260B on banggood and they seem to be gone.  Now the top of the line UNI-T I find is this UNi690B.
At a first read, it seems to be the same spec as the 260.  Does anyone have one or can speak to the specific performance differences, if any?

https://www.banggood.com/UNI-T-UNi690B-256+192-Pixel-Infrared-Thermal-Imager-15~550C-Industrial-Thermal-Imaging-Camera-Handheld-USB-Infrared-Thermometer-p-1755789.html?cur_warehouse=CN&rmmds=search

CA$518.36 is about $US 410 -- a fair but not spectacular price.

I don't see any reviews, discussion or analysis of this model -- which would make sense if it is identical to the UNi260B, I guess.

[frenky]

I see price of 303€ which is quite decent... (except if it has Seek core in it... in that case I would not buy it for 10€...)

I would love to have it just because of it's form factor. But since I've paid close to 800€ for ThermalExpert TE-Q1 Plus I don't want to even mention it to my wife...

[jairbj]

Hi friend, I bought the Infiray C210 on Aliexpress.

What I saw is that this brand makes the UNI-T cameras.

You can check more details here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/infiray-c210-thermal-camera-review/

I paid U$ 265 on mine.

[miro123]

Hello,
Does someone find the difference between 690B and 260B model?
I have another dumb question
Does "Uni-type"  thermal cameras have auto focus system? If yes what is the minimum focus distance?

Thanks in advance
Miro

[Bill W]

Does "Uni-type"  thermal cameras have auto focus system? If yes what is the minimum focus distance?

'Focus free' is a way of putting a positive spin on 'fixed focus'.  Very few thermal cameras have what you would expect auto focus to be.

The camera design suggests manual focus would be tricky to add as a modification so if you were using it for close work you would either need a secondary lens or to take it apart and refocus each time.

Bill

[chross]

Since the camera does not support video recording, is it possible to hook it up to an android phone for video recording capabilities?

[miro123]

Does "Uni-type"  thermal cameras have auto focus system? If yes what is the minimum focus distance?

'Focus free' is a way of putting a positive spin on 'fixed focus'.  Very few thermal cameras have what you would expect auto focus to be.

The camera design suggests manual focus would be tricky to add as a modification so if you were using it for close work you would either need a secondary lens or to take it apart and refocus each time.

Bill

Thanks for the answer. The flir camera that I used to work have manual focus. This feature is important for me - e.g. Try to measure the temperature of 0603 SMD component. Going close and manual focus solves the problem.

[miro123]

Since the camera does not support video recording, is it possible to hook it up to an android phone for video recording capabilities?

Better look somewhere else.  There are other thermal camera with excellent phone connections and/or  video capability. e.g.
https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005003074739940.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.5b553b8d5GMPAU&algo_pvid=b92f89a8-696f-44a1-bceb-5e0135f2530a&algo_exp_id=b92f89a8-696f-44a1-bceb-5e0135f2530a-1&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2212000023904520710%22%7D

[AlexP.]

For some reason I missed the black-friday sale for the UTi260B and I ended getting the UTi690B from BangGood during their flash sale instead.

I was a bit worried because there's strictly no info about that model and it's not even listed on the official Uni-Trend website. But apart from the thermal sensitivity (NETD) listed as <60mK (vs 50mK for the other model), the specs look exactly the same as the 260B.

I received it today and it looks genuine. They printed a box specific to that model (and not one covering several models with a tick box on the front) It's branded UNI-T Pro, the QA sheet inside states July 2021 but the rest is in Chinese, and the firmware says 690B version 1.1.23.

To me it seems to perform exactly like all reviews of the 260B I saw on Youtube. Frame-rate looks close to the advertised 25fps. They added a corrective sticker on the manual and on the box to alter the temperature range which reads "high gain: -20°C~150°C, low gain: 150°C~550°C".

@frenky got me a bit worried with that remark about the SEEK core. I have no way to know what's really inside and the manual just says "Sensor: UFPA". The device does not look easy to open, but if there's anything you want me to check just ask away!

[AlexP.]

Just a follow-up to confirm that the 690B uses the same mold and has the same dimensions as the 260B. I printed a lens cover and a lens holder created by other forum members (thanks!) that were designed for the 260B, and they fit perfectly.

I tested two CloudRay lenses (20mm diameter): the recommended 50.8mm focal length, and also a 38.1mm one. Clear improvement with both for PCB close-ups. Able to identify individual 0402 components and sizes above, and overall much improved picture details. It's unclear to me which lens orientation works the best, I did not see any real difference during my short tests (concave in vs out)

I think the 50.8mm lens is enough, the other one requires such a close proximity it might be impractical at times if you have large protruding through-hole parts etc. Overall I'm super happy with my purchase, it's definitely more than a toy and can really be used for electronics work and not just plumbing / heating / isolation jobs around the house.

With the extra lens, the tool becomes really versatile. The price is incredible and the near 25fps rate offers good comfort in use.

[CANUK]

Just a follow-up to confirm that the 690B uses the same mold and has the same dimensions as the 260B. I printed a lens cover and a lens holder created by other forum members (thanks!) that were designed for the 260B, and they fit perfectly.

Just curious, which one did you print?

[AlexP.]

For the lens cover I took this one: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4967196

For the lens holder it was a zip file attached to one of the various UNI-T threads here, forgot which one sorry, and unless I renamed it the file was called "lensholder.stl". It's the super thin and flat rectangular one.

[CANUK]

That cover is nice. I adapted it to fit a 20mm lens.

Take a look :
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/uni-t-uti260b/msg3890792/#msg3890792

[AlexP.]

Yes I downloaded it indeed, nice work.

The problem is that I only got a UV/LCD resin printer and I don't have any flexible resin in stock. It's either a standard resin, which is super brittle and not really suited for functional parts, or a new "hard tough" resin I'm testing (from eSun), which is super tough but has practically no flex.

So when I printed the lens cover you based your design on, at first it didn't fit at all due to the rather large side-clips. I had to grind the shit down out of them, removing practically everything and leaving only about 1mm of material protruding, and even like that it's a super tight fit and applies quite some pressure on the camera shell during insertion.

Long story short: when I saw you model, I knew it would have the same issue when printed too rigid. The other one I found is super thin and quite probably less durable due to that, but at least the side clips are straight square angled, with the parts grabbing the camera shell super thin. So I gave that one a try, and it's good enough for me for the moment.

[CANUK]

  TPU would be the most suitable material for this design. It has a little flex to it.
 I received my uti260b today. I will send my design to a friend to print. I will post updates in the uti260b thread.

[jorgemef]

For some reason I missed the black-friday sale for the UTi260B and I ended getting the UTi690B from BangGood during their flash sale instead.

Do you recall what price it reached during 2021 BF?
I have one under sight with 66% off which is currently at 253€ excluding VAT and custom taxes/duties which should go to 330€ total.
It is free shipping, includes bag, 32G card and macro lens.

Wondering if should buy now or wait for Black Friday day.

Cheers,
Jorge

[AlexP.]

If you can get it close to 300€ shipped with VAT included I think that would be a good deal.

I ended up paying slightly more. IIRC I could have gotten it for cheaper on aliexpress but I preferred to use BG since they have shipping insurance and usually better customer service.

[Mario87]

I have the 690B and from what I understand it is essentially just a re-branded 260B that was sold only directly from Banggood. They probably got some deal with UNI-T to sell an 'exclusive' model to them which isn't exclusive at all. Happens all the time with consumer stuff.