FLIR E40Bx "Calibrating" frequently during use, normal?  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: W4PJB
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2025, 12:53:57 am
content: I just picked up a FLIR E40Bx. It seems to intermittently pause measuring and displays "Calibrating" during use. Sometimes it's every minute or two, or three. Sometimes it seems like it's every 10-15 seconds. This is indoors in a climate controlled environment. It seems to happen more with larger swings in measured temperature, like panning from an interior wall to a cold window.I know they will occasionally make small corrections to adjust for various conditions. Sensor drift, ambient temp, etc. But how frequent is "normal"? It's very disruptive to use it when it does this frequently.Edit: Firmware is 4.10.0, and I have performed a factory reset via the menu.Thanks!

author: IR_Geek
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2025, 02:26:03 am
content: NUC (non uniformity correction) will occur frequently as the sensor stabilizes, but should become less frequent after five to ten minutes. Each camera has it's own feedback to when this will occur. There might be a setting you can change to reduce or maybe turn it off, but I doubt it. unfamiliar with that specific model and it's features.What I've normally done is to just power it up and let it stabilize for 10 minutes or more. Never been a fan of 'auto NUC' and much prefer to command one on my schedule.

author: W4PJB
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2025, 01:10:12 am
content: Thank you for your reply. I agree, it would be great if the auto cal could be switched off. For my purposes, I don't particularly care about absolute accuracy, just relative differences.After leaving the unit on for 10-15 minutes, the frequency of auto-calibrations has gone down significantly as you suggested. Thanks!Now to figure out the whole resolution upgrade hack...

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2025, 12:30:49 pm
content: Another forum member just competed the upgrade on an E40. It has been a long time since I carried out Exx upgrades and so could not help much. I am pleased to advise that he followed the provided upgrade process and was successful. He did hit an issue that is worth noting however. Most of us choose to increase the resolution, switch off the noise injection generator and enable most of the features that are set to off (False) in the configuration file. If you set the noise generator to 0 and still have it enabled, the camera will revert to the factory baseline configuration (engineering mode). It would appear that when the noise generator is on, the noise (in mK) variable must be 1mK or higher. I recommend that you switch off the noise generator.On the “bx” model it is often possible to expand the temperature range of the camera. It is all discussed in the relevant upgrade thread.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/flir-e40-upgrade-configuration/I still own an E40 that I upgraded to E60+ specification. I still love that cameraThere are 3D print files for an excellent tripod adapter and close up lens adapter on this forum if you need such.Enjoy your camera.Fraser

author: W4PJB
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2025, 02:03:51 pm
content: Hi Fraser, thank you for the cliff's on that thread! I've started diving into it but there is a lot to unpack, especially as firmware revisions have changed since the origin of that thread. Great tips on the noise filter settings, thank you!

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2025, 02:27:52 pm
content: Unlike the Ex series, the Exx series did not suffer from “upgrade countermeasures” by FLIR.The upgrade is the same for all Exx firmware versions (older Exx series, not the more recent E65, E75 etc). You only have to backup your file system, modify the configuration file entries, calculate a new CRC checksum, enter it in the configuration file and replace the original configuration file with the modified version. SimpleChanging the temperature ranges requires the use of the Service Menu and this is not present on all Exx series cameras. If you lose MSX or any functionality after the upgrade, your camera has rejected the modified configuration file for some reason (usually syntax within file or CRC error) and has reverted to a baseline factory engineering mode that IS 320x240 pixels so that can be confusing.Fraser

author: W4PJB
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2025, 06:55:19 pm
content: Thanks again!I started going through the hack the other day, going off of the YouTube video here:https://youtu.be/y3_wKq6V6i8?si=m_PZzhrE4zC6d7S3I could get the camera to connect, but could not get an IP address. I got distracted with other things and haven't had the chance to try again.