Cadillac Thermal Camera help needed.  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: vision
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 27, 2021, 11:40:07 pm
content: Hello all. I bought a Cadillac "night vision" camera, tested it with a poor quality rca cable. The picture seemed very zoomed in and very grainy. I could hear the chopper wheel hitting something when I powered it up. Figured the wheel film is toast so I pulled it apart to inspect and 3d print the one from this forum to fix the problem. The chopper wheel looked new but I continued to take it apart. Pulled the wheel and found a sensor behind the wheel was loose. Super glued it back down reassembled and now the picture is barely comprehensible. No thermal imagery activity, just b/w static like the old days of trying to watch the late night raunchy cable channels that didnt come in. Did I just break my new camera? I Figured the caps were needing replacing but I dont know what to look for on SMD caps that are blown. Im glad I found this forum.Oh, camera is the v2 gm thermal camera. I applied 12v to the 2 pin connector that connects to the lens assy, my understanding from the schematic I saw was one side gets voltage and the other is a ground. The other connector was wired to power and rca.UPDATE: Took it apart and saw the chopper wheel was installed backwards. I now have thermal imagery. However, it looks to be zoomed way in still and the picture is still pretty grainy.

author: ArsenioDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2021, 02:34:14 am
content: Zoomed way in? Could you post images to show what you are getting? I know most versions are running punched in, only the raytheon reference design is full image view capable afaik.

author: vision
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 28, 2021, 04:43:51 am
content: Re-read some posts on here about the this TI and have some afterthought.Were these sharp images to begin with? Using a 42 inch tv to test with would show some low quality video on a hdtv so that might answer the grainyness in question. The image being zoomed near infinity is probably the normal focus. I re-read the 3d printed lens holder would allow me to focus, but I would lose any airtightness, right?

author: ArsenioDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2021, 05:30:49 pm
content: Vision, that looks about normal for the Caddy cameras I've seen and tinkered with.You can focus without losing your water tightness, the screw on the back by the fins is a feed port for the hex drive lens screw, can't remember what size key off the top of my head, but you need kind of a long one to get to the gear drive internally.

author: vision
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 28, 2021, 11:01:45 pm
content: Thank you for the information. I was wondering why a pressure cap would be a screw and what it was for. Maybe my picture will look better on a smaller 7" screen.You wouldnt by any chance know how the front lens cover comes off?

author: Bill W
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2021, 01:23:33 pm
content: There's a couple of stills and videos of a BST at work on my site, may be a worthwhile comparison:http://www.fire-tics.co.uk/A2.htmhttp://www.fire-tics.co.uk/A3.htmThe differences from Cadillac are:Argus was in fixed gain, then used an irisArgus was in the 320x240 setup, Cadillac is 320x120.Not sure if Cadillac was a higher frame rate, so lower integration / higher noise, however the human eye- brain averaging should sort most of that outBill