FLIR HS324 Commander / HM324 thermal camera teardown by Fraser

[ir.ukrm]

What is the voltage?

[Worsdier]

What is the voltage?

4x 1.5V Alkaline or 4x 1.2V NiMH works

[ir.ukrm]

What is the voltage?

4x 1.5V Alkaline or 4x 1.2V NiMH works

What is the voltage for charging batteries?

[Fraser]

The camera is designed to accept standard Alkaline 1.5V cells or Ni-Mh 1.2V cells.

Alkaline cells are quickly consumed !

Fraser

[ir.ukrm]

The camera is designed to accept standard Alkaline 1.5V cells or Ni-Mh 1.2V cells.

Alkaline cells are quickly consumed !

Fraser

And then what is included in the connector near the video output?

[Worsdier]

And then what is included in the connector near the video output?

That's just a 12V DC input, but obviously not used to charge the batteries directly... there is a circuit in-between which does the charge controlling stuff and temperature monitoring as required for NiMH cells.

[ir.ukrm]

And then what is included in the connector near the video output?

That's just a 12V DC input, but obviously not used to charge the batteries directly... there is a circuit in-between which does the charge controlling stuff and temperature monitoring as required for NiMH cells.

That is, if I connect 12 volts, can the thermal imager work without an accumulator? And where should there be plus 12 volts?

[Worsdier]

From the manual: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/829646/Flir-H-Series.html?page=24#manual

Your H-Series camera is equipped with a sophisticated power systemthat accommodates a wide variety of AA battery types. This includesrechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries.The camera is optimized for operation with the 2700 mAhrechargeable NiMh batteries that were supplied with your camera. Itis recommended that you use these batteries in all but emergencysituations.

Battery Status Indicator–While the camerais On, a battery status indicator is alwaysshown in the corner of the display image. Thisindicator provides an estimation of theremaining battery charge.

Using Non-Rechargeable Batteries –The H-Series camera allowsAlkaline non-rechargeable batteries to be used. When non-rechargeable batteries are installed, connecting the Hot Shoe to apower source will power the camera from the power source and thebattery charging circuitry will be disabled.

[mikasa]

I got a same device. where to get the software and USB driver. the video timestamp on HS-324 can't adjust

[cos.cirstea]

Hello Fraser,

     I have come across a Flir Hs 323 camera with a defect. At a first inspection it seems that an IC from the TAU is defective. Do you have any idea what it is, I would like to replace it.

Thank you kindly,

[Miek]

It's probably a TPS61027, from the pinout/package and what looks like a "BDU" marking.

[Fraser]

I believe I have all IC’s listed in my archive. I will. Heck and confirm the identity. That is a Buck converter IC.

Fraser

[cos.cirstea]

Thank you for your response Miek and Fraser! I would be most grateful if you could check your archive Fraser and let me know the IC type.

Best regards

[Fraser]

Hi,

I checked and then realised that this is not actually part of the TAU core. The PCB is is part of the HS series host processing system for the TAU and sadly I could not quickly lay my hands on my high resolution pictures of those PCB's. Thankfully I have a disassembled HS so took a picture of the IC for you. It is indeed marked as "BDU" and that is, as Miek stated,  the Texas Instruments TPS61027DRCR and described as a Boost converter.

Datasheet is here:

https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tps61020.pdf?ts=1613399693177&ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F

and attached to this post.

Check all of the Tantalum capacitors on your HS unit, including on the power distribution PCB as they are a weak point and are a common failure. The ones on the power distribution PCB like to burn up !

Fraser

[cos.cirstea]

Hello Fraser,

    Thank you for your help. Just checking to be 100% sure. The board in the your image has a different code than mine. Also the Boost converter in mine has BDU 04W ZJ9L on it while yours is BDU 01W ZL5N. Is there any chance that by replacing the Boost with the recommended Texas Instruments TPS61027DRCR may mess something up?

Thank you,

[Fraser]

You will be fine with the TPS61027DRCR. Board numbers change a lot so do not worry about that. The other codes on the IC are involved with production date etc and are of no concern in this case.

Do remember that Buck/Boost converters can fail spontaneously or due to a fault elsewhere in a circuit. Check for a short on its output rail after removing the faulty IC and then monitor the IC closely for overheating when you have fitted a new one.

Fraser

[cos.cirstea]

Thank you very much! I will get back when I have changed it!

[svgurus]

Hello, Fraser! Did you try putting this rear board on TAU, containing SD slot and usb port on other tau 1-2? Does it let use Fir gui and save pictures somehow?

[Malone]

Just stumbled across this thread while doing some Googling, I've had an HS324 Command for a couple of years with a viewfinder display issue which I'm fairly sure is caused by a fault in the LCD screen. For the first 10 minutes or so of being powered on, the screen has noise in the form of horizontal white lines that progressively get better and eventually disappear. When plugging in an external display to the hotshoe port, these lines aren't present. Hence my thinking that it's a fault with the LCD screen itself.

Does that sound sensible, or do you think the issue could be more serious? My hope is that it's just a quick fix to replace the QVGA LCD screen with a generic one.

I'd really appreciate any advice you might be able to give - hopefully you're still around and I'm not being too rude by replying to such an old thread!

[Fraser]

Malone,

It may be worth getting a can of electronics freezer spray and applying it to the Kopin LCD driver IC and surrounding components. You could have an issue with a component that has a fault when cool and settles when warmed up. I personally would investigate the EVF circuit before declaring the LCD panel as the faulty component. Sadly the A210 Kopin driver is a possible candidate for causing this fault and it is not the easiest component to source. Cooling and heating the Kopin A210 IC and its associated passive components may provide useful information on the fault. Replacement EVF parts for the scope are very expensive due to rarity so finding a suitable alternative EVF module may be a financially viable option but be warned, grafting such into the scopes casing may take a lot of effort. Repairing what is already there is the simplest solution if parts can be sourced. I do hold spares for the HS324 but much depends upon how much you want to spend on your unit and I tend to carry out the repairs rather than supply just parts. The A210 IC is a BGA component so care is needed to change it to avoid damage to the PCB and components.

The HS324 is infamous for its poor power supply reliability and that is another area that you should investigate. If there is noise on a power rail that supplies the EVF circuit, it could explain the noise introduced into the image. Check the quality of the power supply rails and I also recommend fitting new Tantalum capacitors to the power supply board as they have a habit of failing, sometimes in a catastrophic manner that burns the PCB.

Fraser

[Fraser]

A thread containing useful information on the Kopin EVF display series…..

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/kopin-kd040922k-k-micro-sized-lcd-display/

Fraser

[Malone]

Thank you very much Fraser, that's really helpful. I'll have a look into the EVF circuit and power supply.

If you have the availability I would certainly consider hiring you to attempt a repair - something tells me you might have more luck with it than me! I will have a look myself first and see what I can find out.

Many thanks again.