Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown

[pomonabill221]

You realize when a battery is measured for it's ampere-hour rating, the discharge is not done
continuous but over a 24 hour period, giving the battery a chance to "rest."  Although your method
will give you an idea of the battery's capabilities and give you a benchmark.

From the video, Flour, sure they were not smuggling some other white powder?  Ha ha. waht od uoy mane yb htat?

I've always wanted to own a small spot welder, as you know, soldering to a cell is very bad for
the cell and can ruin it.  Right, apply the heat quickly and cool the cell right away.

So, it is believed the battery management circuit is in the camera and not the battery?  If it was in
the battery, the camera would have to have a data link to read the status.  It would be interesting to
find of your new, larger battery, gets fully charged.

Same Pamona, home of Cal-Poly?

Jim


Thank you for your info.
I did tests to make sure the battery is getting fully charged.
First I charged with an external power supply to 3.2V limited to 1.5A.
Then I load tested them.
Then I charged in the Flir.
Load tested again.
The times were the same in both cases.



Here is a VERY good website comparing over 22 18650 batteries:
http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Common18650Summary%20UK.html

[/quote]
Yes same Pomona... and the fairgrounds/NHRA race track ( I can hear them when they are running).

I realize that my tests are not the accurate method, but seeing as all the testing I did was identical for all batteries, I got a good idea of their capacity and "well being".  I just didn't want my testing to drag on for days.

[cubitus]

I just bought my camera in France (27/12/2013) FW1.19.8; D
The hack worked very well: - +

Do you know a solution for "Flire tools +"?

thank you

[Fraser]

Provide a review of your experience with the E4 and the Standard Tools software. Send it to FLIR as feedback and they may give you a FLIR Tools+ activation key for free. That is what they did for me.

Be aware that activation involves the Tools+ being connected to FLIR's computer and Tools/Tools+ phones home regularly   

[Primus]

An update:

I got both the hacks to work. A note on getting the RNDIS to work for other new people coming in at this point. I had to disable all of my network adapters to get the default gateway to propagate. Also, the usb mode "RNDIS and UVC" did not work for me, I kept getting bad password in my filezilla. Once I switched over to just RNDIS, it worked like a charm.

My default gateway was, like most people, 192.168.0.2.

My camera information is:

Model: E4 1.1
Part #: 63901-0101
Software: 1.19.8

I'm waiting on another camera from eBay with the same part number, so here's hoping it's smooth sailing with that one too! Thanks guys!

Provide a review of your experience with the E4 and the Standard Tools software. Send it to FLIR as feedback and they may give you a FLIR Tools+ activation key for free. That is what they did for me.

Be aware that activation involves the Tools+ being connected to FLIR's computer and Tools/Tools+ phones home regularly 

Can they force a software update via the tools+ by chance? I haven't had time to read all 244 pages, just the super relevant stuff.

[pomonabill221]

An update:

I got both the hacks to work. A note on getting the RNDIS to work for other new people coming in at this point. I had to disable all of my network adapters to get the default gateway to propagate. Also, the usb mode "RNDIS and UVC" did not work for me, I kept getting bad password in my filezilla. Once I switched over to just RNDIS, it worked like a charm.

My default gateway was, like most people, 192.168.0.2.

My camera information is:

Model: E4 1.1
Part #: 63901-0101
Software: 1.19.8

I'm waiting on another camera from eBay with the same part number, so here's hoping it's smooth sailing with that one too! Thanks guys!

Provide a review of your experience with the E4 and the Standard Tools software. Send it to FLIR as feedback and they may give you a FLIR Tools+ activation key for free. That is what they did for me.

Be aware that activation involves the Tools+ being connected to FLIR's computer and Tools/Tools+ phones home regularly 

Can they force a software update via the tools+ by chance? I haven't had time to read all 244 pages, just the super relevant stuff.

I had posted the same problem that I had in getting the camera to connect, and I thought I had read about disconnecting all other network interfaces as well.
Good to see that it wasn't just me.

It was suggested to manually assign the NIC interface's metric manually instead of auto, but that didn't work either (for me).
I have a wired/wireless/flir NIC, and I assigned all of them a unique metric, but didn't work unfortunately.

Also, when you say microsd... I think you meant microUSB?   The E4 doesn't have an SD card/interface.

[Primus]

Also, when you say microsd... I think you meant microUSB?   The E4 doesn't have an SD card/interface.

I thought the MSD USB mode was sort of like putting it in a removable storage type mode. I'm far from an expert on this stuff, I just guessed at what it was . I actually edited it out a bit ago because I wasn't quite sure.

[lewis]

Confused !

Which tripod adapter are you printing ? I printed Georges80 adapters without incident. Ask the originator of the STL to make it acceptable for printing so that you can submit it.

I did not realise that such restrictions existed.

It was ee.jcesar's one from the bottom of page 239. This one: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:244381/#files

edit:

Maybe you are talking about my adapter, I changed the licence.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:244381

Please be careful, it's not a perfect design and it will be holding a lot of money.

Many thanks ee, I'll give them another try!

[pomonabill221]

Also, when you say microsd... I think you meant microUSB?   The E4 doesn't have an SD card/interface.

I thought the MSD USB mode was sort of like putting it in a removable storage type mode. I'm far from an expert on this stuff, I just guessed at what it was . I actually edited it out a bit ago because I wasn't quite sure.

Yes when the camera is in MSD USB mode.... it does (or should) appear as another drive and a removable drive, but this is only for getting the still images.
The USB mode is for using it like a web camera.
The RNDIS tries to open a network "adaptor" for telnet/ftp access.

[Hal2000]

I have been scouring the internet for a while now and found this posting, which may be close enough to help me.  My company is interested in a Flir camera (not sure of model yet, although leaning toward the 4) however we would like to evaluate the software.  I have downloaded it, however it does not come with any sample files.  Can anybody post a sample file for use with the software, or provide a link to where some may be located?  I would be ok with files produced form any Flir camera, not just the 4, as I said, we are not sure what model yet.
Thanks.

[DaveWB]

I have been scouring the internet for a while now and found this posting, which may be close enough to help me.  My company is interested in a Flir camera (not sure of model yet, although leaning toward the 4) however we would like to evaluate the software.  I have downloaded it, however it does not come with any sample files.  Can anybody post a sample file for use with the software, or provide a link to where some may be located?  I would be ok with files produced form any Flir camera, not just the 4, as I said, we are not sure what model yet.
Thanks.

You better hurry up before they start releasing 1.21.0 on units that ship.

[Lu]

Question about the battery.  Every time I take the battery out, using or without using camera for a while. It smells weird, a little like burning plastic or new plastic,  but not very strong.  The temperature feels okay, even right after using the camera, it does not feel too warm. A 2-3 hours charge could last about 2-3 hours camera time.  The smell is bothering me. Is this an issue or all the flir camera is like that ? 

Thanks

I have noticed this also.  I have also checked the temp of the battery and it is cool so I think it's just the plastic outgassing.
I even leave the battery out of the camera just to make sure, and it still has a little odor like "hot plastic" or "hot electronics".  Don't think there is anything to worry about though.

So this seems a common issue for Flir battery ?

Thanks

[Fraser]

My E4 has not been used for 2 weeks or more. Battery smells of electronics, likely the odour from inside my nice new E4 adhering to its case. My brand new (but recently charged) spare battery has no noticeable odour but it has been sat in its plastic bag and box, not in the camera. If your battery is not warm/hot , no worries.

[dtbp]

Does anyone know if two e4's purchased at the same time can be added together and applied to the higher tier case/battery/charger reward for the U.S. flir promotion?

[tom66]

Those trustfire and ANY battery claiming over 3200 mAh IS FAKE.  THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A 4000/5000 mAh LiIon!!!  Even those that claim 3200 mAh can be fake as well.

Not quite true. Panasonic have a 4.0Ah cell in production for 2014. Minimum order 2,500 units. They also have 3.4Ah.
Tesla are using 3.4Ah in their car, cost less than $3 per unit. I wish they could be bought on eBay at that price, quality reliable 18650 would be great...

[pomonabill221]

HHmmm.. interesting on the 4Ah capacity!  I would believe Panasonic, but trustfire and ultrafire (black and gold)... NO WAY!
I have a 4Ah ultrafire that I ran on my tests and it lasted 21 minutes at 1.5 amps!!!  NOT a 4Ah battery.

I did confirm my results with the website that I posted a link to.

[slpettus]

Hey guys. Thank you all for the hard work you've put into this thread. I've been playing around with my camera and decided to attempt the hack. When I go to transfer my .fif file in Flir tools I get an error pop up in which I have to abort. When I review the error log I have a

"Error in FIF::UVCCommandDispatcher::AddFile(line:565): The system cannot find the path specified.  hr=0x80070003:"

 but not sure what to go to check on this.

[Taucher]

Hey guys. Thank you all for the hard work you've put into this thread. I've been playing around with my camera and decided to attempt the hack. When I go to transfer my .fif file in Flir tools I get an error pop up in which I have to abort. When I review the error log I have a

"Error in FIF::UVCCommandDispatcher::AddFile(line:565): The system cannot find the path specified.  hr=0x80070003:"

 but not sure what to go to check on this.

You've packaged the cmd file but the path inside the archive seems to be wrong

I'd use RNDIS and FTP anyway (simpler)

[Sensor Geek]

Tech notes documenting network modes using RNDIS http://www.imc-store.com.au/v/vspfiles/assets/images/flir%20a310%20technical%20notes.pdf

From first post this link appears to be dead. Is there another source? Some poking around the search engines didn't yield anything working for me.

[Taucher]

Tech notes documenting network modes using RNDIS http://www.imc-store.com.au/v/vspfiles/assets/images/flir%20a310%20technical%20notes.pdf

From first post this link appears to be dead. Is there another source? Some poking around the search engines didn't yield anything working for me.

Microsoft has some nice RNDIS documentation - I hope you have read this entire thread - there's lots of info buried inside.

[Sensor Geek]

Tech notes documenting network modes using RNDIS http://www.imc-store.com.au/v/vspfiles/assets/images/flir%20a310%20technical%20notes.pdf

From first post this link appears to be dead. Is there another source? Some poking around the search engines didn't yield anything working for me.

Microsoft has some nice RNDIS documentation - I hope you have read this entire thread - there's lots of info buried inside.

Absolutely, at least skimmed every page. Just archiving some of the docs for future reference in case you-know-who manages a take-down of this thread at some point (stranger things have happened.) Couldn't get that file. No big deal as you said. Thanks anyway for your substantial contribution.

[emptech]

I have to ask, don't know if this can go into a poll question, how many eX's and eXX's have been modified, upgraded
so far?

Mine went from an e40 to an e60

Jim

[London Lad]

Thank you for your info.
I did tests to make sure the battery is getting fully charged.
First I charged with an external power supply to 3.2V limited to 1.5A.
Then I load tested them.
Then I charged in the Flir.
Load tested again.
The times were the same in both cases.

I have a electronic dummy load that I set at 0.5 amps and 1.5 amps, and had 6 18650 batteries of unknown quality and age, even though they were Samsung and Panasonics.

I discharged them to 3.0volts and monitored the discharge curves with a pen chart recorder to see the curves.
Three of the old samsung batteries ran for about 60 minutes, but I knew that because they were old laptop batteries.

The original Flir battery ran for 90 minutes at 1.5 amps, and the Panasonic ran for 120 minutes.
This proved to me that the Panasonic was genuine.

Those trustfire and ANY battery claiming over 3200 mAh IS FAKE.  THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A 4000/5000 mAh LiIon!!!  Even those that claim 3200 mAh can be fake as well.

Here is a VERY good website comparing over 22 18650 batteries:
http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Common18650Summary%20UK.html

Are you saying you terminated the charge at 3.2 volts ?

[amyk]

He probably meant 4.2; 3.2V for a standard cobalt/manganese cell is "almost empty".

[Fraser]

@dtbp,

Regarding the FLIR promotion.

Have a read of the conditions of the promotion. They are tiny print but may answer your question. I thought it was the TOTAL receipted transaction that set the level of promotion that you could apply for and not individual item values. So if you bought an E4 plus some optional accessories, your entitlement increases. That sounds logical to me anyway. An email to FLIR C.S. will confirm teh situation for you.

Good luck 

[tom66]

HHmmm.. interesting on the 4Ah capacity!  I would believe Panasonic, but trustfire and ultrafire (black and gold)... NO WAY!
I have a 4Ah ultrafire that I ran on my tests and it lasted 21 minutes at 1.5 amps!!!  NOT a 4Ah battery.

I did confirm my results with the website that I posted a link to.

Yeah that's the joke. Panasonic a massive leading battery OEM have only just achieved 4000mAh. And tweet the eBay sellers are already on 5000mAh. Panasonic should hire them...