E40 with 3.12B.7 firmware - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ksilabs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2018, 05:38:50 pm
content: Somebody just bought E40 with 3.12B.7 firmware on Ebay for $2,000. I spotted it yesterday but didn't buy right away and now it's gone. Here is the original listing:https://www.ebay.com/itm/FLIR-E40-Infrared-Thermal-Imaging-Camera-IR-Imager-/163200142142?nordt=true&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m43663.l10137If it was someone on this list would you please share the firmware so we could make an update to the latest version with entire Service menu included?

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2018, 12:21:46 pm
content: I see no one has responded to this and regret I cannot help.Just a quick question though. Are you certain that the later Exx Mk2 series contained the service menu ? It was my understanding that only the Mk 1 version of the camera came with the service Menu. FLIR decided that it was not a good idea to have it in the build so removed it, as with the Ex series.Fraser

author: ksilabs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2018, 09:08:37 pm
content: Yes, I'm darn positive.All versionsNOTending in zero have full blown service menu and everything else. There is even 4.13.14 version with full service menu.On Exx they started shipping updates with all service menu stuff removed. That is what the last zero stipulates. Look at comtab.appkit and you'll see versions with and without prodkit (that is where all service menus and prodapp.exe are.) Software combo either has some version of prodkit (it is e.g. 4.0.14 for 4.7...4.13 combos or 4.0.0.7 for that 3.12B.7) orWITHOUTit. Combos without prodkit has vesion 0 in comtab.appkit.If you look at comtab.appkit from the latest 4.13.0 update you will clearly see that 3.12B.7 version was the last one that didn't have stripped-down version. Those "0" versions started with 3.13.0 and there was no prodkit in any update ever since. However theyDOstill make full versions just none of those were released to the public -- you can clearly see combo version 4.13.14 version at the very bottom that includes 4.1.0.14 prodkit instead of none ("0") in released 4.13.0 update.They never did it for their T420/440 and T6xx cameras -- it you look at comtab.appkit in the latest updates for those cameras:flir_t420-t440_pn62103_04_v3.9.4_update_pack.zipflir_t6xx_pn55903_04_v5.17.7_update_pack.zipyou will clearly see there were not a single version with "0" version prodkit and those still have full service menu and prodapp.exe.Furthermore, the entire web stuff from those cameras isUNIVERSALi.e. it is made for all that family with conditional constructs for older Exx ("E2") and newer ("E2qt") cameras as well as older ("E3") and newer ("E3qt") T420/T440 cameras and older and newer T6xx ones ("PT" and "PTqt") respectively.Web part from latest T420/T440 works fine in Exx. The only (and fundamental) problem is prodapp.exe from T420 fails to start in Exx. It simply terminates immediately without any error messages or whatever else. The same is true for prodapp.exe from old Exx firmware. It definitely does some checks to decide if it should run but it is quite difficult to find out WHAT it is checking for to either fool it or hack that check out. It would've been trivial in Linux -- just run that prodapp with strace -- but there is no ready-made strace-like utility for ARM WinCE as far as I can tell.T6xx cameras are different. Various text files, configs, web ASP stuff that is plain text, are all similar to Exx/T4xx but binaries are different -- they are all BIG endian so T6xx uses some different ARM core with bigendian architecture. It is easy to check by running Linux "strings" on the facet_XX.rcc file -- it is Unicode so you have to tell strings to use double-byte chars to get something but garbage with "-e" option and it is "-e l" for Exx/T4xx while for T6xx it is "-e b".

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2018, 09:41:02 pm
content: Wow! Excellent investigative workThanks for sharing. That is the most comprehensive investigation into the Service menu situation yetFraser

author: ksilabs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2018, 03:39:01 am
content: There will be more...I've just got i.MX25 development kit with WinCE 6.0 from guys in Slovakia (Voipac) so now I have a hardware platform to play with. I do also have full VS2005/WinCE6.0R3/PlatformBuilder environment installed in 64-bit XP VM so I can build whatever I want. Although that i.MX25 devboard is not exactly Exx camera it is something like 90% compatible as far as WinCE itself, bootloader, generic drivers etc. are concerned. It would've been nice to get a full Exx BSPbut I would probably be just fine without it using Voipac i.MX25 BSP/SDK. The very first thing to build is strace-like utility for ARM so it would be possible to trace programs' execution and find out why prodapp.exe from different products fails to start on Exx E2qt camera. It should be also helpful for tracing those "protected" programs to find out what parts of them could be amputated or how they could be fooled.IDA/ARM would've been also very helpful but I'm not going to pay that ridiculously high price for a tool I'm going to use for a one-off job, sorry guys. I'm hardware/embedded engineer and I don't hack for living, I'mDESIGNINGthings. I would've probably paid a hundred or so for such one-off tool but paying circa $4K for it is wa-a-ay too much. It is almost as much as I paid for one of my principal tools I use to earn my slice of bread, Altium Designer. If they would make something like on-demand payment scheme they might've had my couple of bucks but with their prices they are not going to get a single cent from me. Something like Eagle scheme with monthly licenses would've been OK but they don't have anything like that.And BTW, I would be happy to buy a parts E40/50/60 camera to use it as guinea pig. It might be bricked, cracked, has damaged or missing lens and even IR sensor, no problems. And I don't need any battery, storage case or any accessories. Just the camera guts that I could experiment with. It might be just internal boards assembly without case. If somebody have something like this and willing to part with it please contact me off-list. It should be later model, E2qt not older E2.

author: Lrod
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2018, 01:47:48 pm
content: Hi ksilabs,Too funny, I was looking around in the forum and the firmware version subject caught my eye. I purchased that particular imager but not for that prize.Just received last night and updated the resolution. I am however not sure what's going on with the touch display, it does not seem to work and hence can't test if 4x zoom works.As for the firmware, are you talking about the FlashFS dir? I'm able to connect to the gui when I pull it up in the browser but not sure how to find out if it's MK1 or MK2.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2018, 02:05:38 pm
content: Lrod,Welcome to FLIR Exx ownershipThese cameras are excellentHopefully the touch screen issue can be resolved for you. There are fellow MK2 owners on this forum so any missing or corrupted files are likely available.The camera pictured in the auction was a MK2, identifiable through the presence of the MSX edge detail overlay option. It also has the solid square navipadFraser

author: Lrod
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2018, 02:13:22 pm
content: Thx Fraser... happy to be here and hoping to contribute.Ok, it is an Mk2, it has MSX and square navipad. Good to know.As for the touch screen, would a corrupted file cause it not work? I message the guy that sold it to me, see if he was aware of the issue or if he had a trick to get it to work. Hopefully he knows the fix.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2018, 02:27:28 pm
content: Lrod,On the touch screen front, these cameras are pretty reliable. Hence why I thought of a missing or corrupted file. Sometimes people try to do the upgrade and get it wrong, the. Sell the camera in what they think is normal state, but issues can remain. Early days though. See what the seller says about his experiences with the touch screen.Here to help if I canFraser

author: Lrod
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2018, 02:36:18 pm
content: Nice to know, Fraser, thank you!I did do a factory default restore, hoping to fix the issue, but it did not do the trick. I'm also, thinking of doing a firmware upgrade, but not until I've depleted all other options.

author: ksilabs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2018, 02:57:00 pm
content: OK, would you please share /flashbfs and /flashffs directories contents? You can contact me off-list if needed.Please doNOTdo any upgrades until you've got that firmware backed up -- it is to valuable to loose.

author: Lrod
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2018, 03:41:55 pm
content: Sure ksilabs, let me compress it for you.Thanks!

author: eKretz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2018, 04:09:18 pm
content: Unless Mk2 is different than Mk1 in that respect, zoom level can still be set in the menu with the hard buttons even if the touch screen doesn't work.

author: Lrod
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2018, 04:16:42 pm
content: Thanks for chiming in eKretz, what hard button would that be? Or are you saying it can be configured in one of the files?

author: eKretz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2018, 02:43:15 pm
content: In the Mk1, there is a button to bring up the onscreen menu, then the zoom function is in the menu and zoom can be selected and changed. Like I said, not sure if this is the same in your Mk2 version.

author: ksilabs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2018, 05:58:35 pm
content: Guys, I have 3.18.7 (zic!) running on my E40->E60 with full Service Menu and all the prodapp goodies right now. There are still some small things that need fixing (one or two web .asp files) but I'm pretty sure I will finish and post the update against regular 3.18.0 later tonight along with instructions.If anybody still have Flir's 3.18.0 version firmware upgrade (flir_exx_pn645_pn646_v3.18.0_update_pack.zip or so) I can make flir_exx_pn645_pn646_v3.18.7_update_pack.zip so it could be installed as a regular update.

author: netpac
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2019, 05:48:40 pm
content: @ksilabscan you share the files please. Thank you.

author: ksilabs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2019, 06:17:23 am
content: Quote from: netpac on February 20, 2019, 05:48:40 pmhttp://www.ksilabs.com/pub/Exx2E60.3.18.7upgrade.zipWill be there until Monday, Feb 25.

author: netpac
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2019, 01:07:25 pm
content: Thank you very much. Can you upload flir_exx_pn645_pn646_v3.18.0_update_pack.zip please.

author: ksilabs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2019, 06:45:47 pm
content: Quote from: netpac on February 21, 2019, 01:07:25 pmI can't as I wasn't able to find original 3.18.0 firmware update anywhere and that is needed to make 3.18.7 update pack.It is not a good practice to delete _EVERYTHING_ related to anything but the latest version from public access as Flir does. It might've been acceptable if their stuff had been 10 bucks apiece but it is totally insulting doing this for something that cost many kilobucks and still adequate for its intended tasks even after they released a couple of consecutive new, "even better" (read "even MORE EXPENSIVE") models. It is OK to buy a new $5 powered toothbrush every couple of months but nobody wants to throw away something he paid $10K a couple of years ago and shell out another $20K just because Flir released a new model.

author: netpac
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2019, 05:53:33 pm
content: ok. thank you anyway. Today I get my camera with firmware v4.10.0 - and no Service menus. I cannot start prodapp.exe. How did you start prodapp? At the moment I do not know what to do. Access to the service menus would be a very good thing.

author: ksilabs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2019, 07:19:05 pm
content: Quote from: netpac on February 22, 2019, 05:53:33 pmYou need a matching prodapp for your 4.10.0. It _DOES_ exist just not given to the public by Flir. All released firmwares after 3.12 were stripped of prodapp and Service menus by Flir. They are too greedy to let people do their own calibration / maintenance instead of paying Flir big bucks to do this on a regular basis.The prodapp.exe from 3.12.7 works OK in 3.18 that allowed to me to make 3.18.7version that has been never released by Flir. It does include all Service menus that were in 3.12 and they work as expected.It _MIGHT_ be possible to trace 3.12.7 prodapp execution to find out why it doesn't work in 4.x firmwares and somehow hack either those firmware or prodapp but it is a lot of work and life is too short to bother...Or someone might somehow get hold on their prodkit from 4.x firmwares and leak it to the public, who knows...

author: netpac
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2019, 09:41:15 am
content: Yes I agree. What they do is a shame and has to do with greed and making much money as they can. At the same time they slow down the development. I am not a big friend of Chinese products. But in this case, it's good that the Chinese are developing thermal imaging cameras. Competition is stimulating business and promoting new affordable products.

author: MaxDV
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 11, 2020, 06:23:35 pm
content: Thank you very much. Can you upload flir_exx_pn645_pn646_v3.18.0_update_pack.zip please.

author: netpac
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2020, 12:26:00 pm
content: Factory Firmware:https://github.com/cdr1981/Flir-Firmware

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2020, 05:30:50 pm
content: netpac,Thank youFraser

author: ksilabs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2020, 07:15:37 pm
content: Yep, that is helpful although I already have that. 3.18.0 would be very helpful in making the full update package instead of replacing file in existing 3.18.0 cameras and performing other entrechats...Anything 4.x.non-zero would be even better but I don't think it exists anywhere except inside Flir.

author: netpac
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2020, 08:45:31 pm
content: Do you have the factory 3.18.0? If yes - Can you share please. Maybe we can cook a 3.18.7.If someone has other factory versions - please share.Regards

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2020, 08:54:37 pm
content: Do we know whether 3.18 was ever actually released as an upgrade package ? I ask because version 1.19 appeared in E4 cameras but was never released by FLIR outside of a camera.Fraser

author: ksilabs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2020, 09:03:09 pm
content: I don't know but that is what was installed on a lot of Exx cameras including the one I have. As there were cameras with 3.12(B).7 such an update did probably exist.I don't know of anything in between those two versions so it is probably 3.18.0 that they started with castrated software and continue up to this day.