Flir ThermovisionFirst Mate Operators Manual

							HM-Series Operator’s Manual 3—Operating Your HM-Series Camera
 432-0004-31-10, Revision 100 15
Power States
• Three power states: Off, On, and Standby
• The initial power-on Bootup process between the Off state and 
the On state takes about 90 seconds (fast flashing red state 
LED). During the Bootup process, pressing the Power button 
again will turn the camera off. After the camera finishes its 
power-on Bootup process, it is in the On state (state LED is off). 
After the camera is On, pressing the Power button will toggle the 
camera between On and Standby (state LED is flashing slowly).
• When battery powered, if Auto-Standby is enabled (see “Auto-
Standby Operation” on page 24), the camera goes to Standby 
after three minutes if no buttons are pushed. A warning is shown 
in the display.
• From the Standby state, the camera comes back on within about 
two seconds when the Power button is pushed.
• The Auto-Standby function is disabled if the camera is powered 
with external power.
During most use scenarios you will change between Standby and On. 
When the camera will not be used for extended periods, you might 
consider putting the camera into the OFF state.   
Camera
StateHow do you know?
Off The display and the state LED are off
OnPower-on Bootup—Color bars on the display and the state 
LED is flashing quickly
There is a thermal image on the display and the state LED 
is off
Standby The display is off and the state LED is flashing slowly
HM_Series_Operators.book  Page 15  Friday, January 18, 2013  4:27 PM 
						

							3—Operating Your HM-Series Camera HM-Series Operator’s Manual
16 Jan 2013
3–5 Buttons and Controls
Power Button
Changing between the Off, On, and Standby power states is 
controlled by the Power button. The table below describes 
how the camera moves between states.
To shut off the camera completely press and hold the Power button 
for eight seconds.
After holding the Power button for three 
seconds this message will be shown in 
the display and the camera will enter the 
Off state if the countdown finishes.
Release the Power button at any time during this countdown to 
terminate Shutdown and resume normal operation.
ESD Recovery Sequence From 
StateTo 
StateMethod
Off On Press the Power button for 1 second.   (This will put the 
camera in power-on bootup for about 90 seconds 
before going to On.)
On Standby Momentarily press the Power button
Standby On Momentarily press the Power button
On Off Press and hold the Power button for 8 seconds
Standby Off Press and hold the Power button for 8 seconds
In the unlikely event of a large Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) to the camera it is 
possible for the camera system to lose video or become frozen. If this occurs, 
the following recovery sequence should restore the video:
• Hold down the power button for fifteen seconds and then release.
• Wait for five to ten seconds.
• Press the power button again. The camera should begin its bootup sequence.
HM_Series_Operators.book  Page 16  Friday, January 18, 2013  4:27 PM 
						

							HM-Series Operator’s Manual 3—Operating Your HM-Series Camera
 432-0004-31-10, Revision 100 17
Capture Button–HM-224b Pro and HM-324b XP+ 
models only
Use this button to capture snapshots (in JPEG format) or 
video clips (HM-324b XP+ only). The files are stored on the SD card. 
• Momentarily pressing the button captures a single snapshot.
• Pressing and holding the capture button for three seconds puts 
the camera in video record state. The video record icon should be 
displayed. The button may now be released and the camera will 
continue to record until the capture button is pressed again. The 
video file is then written to the SD card in AVI format. 
Twenty-five seconds of video requires about one megabyte (MB) of 
storage on the SD card. The image and video files must be transferred 
to a computer for viewing.
Note
• If the camera is not an HM-324b 
XP model, this message will be 
shown in the display.
• If an SD card is not installed, this 
message will be shown in the 
display and no image will be stored.
• If the SD card is full, a warning will 
be shown in the display and the 
image will not be stored.
Note
The images must be transferred to a computer via the USB cable, 
or the SD card can be temporarily removed from the camera and 
inserted in a card reader.
The stored image will include the thermal image, time and date 
information, and the FLIR logo. Other icons seen in the display are 
not stored on the saved image.
HM_Series_Operators.book  Page 17  Friday, January 18, 2013  4:27 PM 
						

							3—Operating Your HM-Series Camera HM-Series Operator’s Manual
18 Jan 2013
Still Frame Capture and Store—To capture 
and store a single still image of what is 
currently being shown in the display, 
momentarily press the Capture button. The 
thermal image will momentarily freeze and 
the following icons will appear in the display:
The SD Card Memory Gauge indicates how much memory is left on 
the SD card. The camera icon with the green lens indicates that a 
single frame was successfully stored to the SD card. Still images are 
stored in the JPEG file format at the captured pixel resolution. Still 
images are approximately 90Kb in size.
Video Capture and Store—To capture and store a video sequence of 
what is currently being shown in the display, press and hold the 
Capture button for three seconds. Video capture will begin 
immediately and continue until the Capture button is pressed again.
During the video store process, real-time 
video will be shown and these icons will 
appear in the display:
T he  le n s  o n  t h e c a m e r a  i co n  w ill  f la s h  
red/green during recording.
Video is stored in an MPEG-4 format at 
approximately 8 seconds per megabyte.
Zoom Button—not available on HM-224b model
Use this button to switch the camera between no zoom (full 
resolution) and 2× zoom. The central part of the image is 
magnified twice its normal size when 2× is selected.
Zoom Indicator—When zoom has been 
selected the icon is continuously shown in the 
display:
HM_Series_Operators.book  Page 18  Friday, January 18, 2013  4:27 PM 
						

							HM-Series Operator’s Manual 3—Operating Your HM-Series Camera
 432-0004-31-10, Revision 100 19
White/Black Hot/Instalert Button
Use this button to toggle between the two video and the four 
Instalert modes. In the default White Hot mode, hotter 
objects appear as white or light grey. In the Black Hot mode, 
hotter objects appear as black or dark grey. In the Instalert™ modes 
the hottest objects in the scene are highlighted in red to simplify 
detection of animals, people, and objects. There are four pre-set levels 
of Instalert that you can select based on the specific scene being 
viewed. All of the Instalert modes are based on the white hot video 
mode.
While white hot is the most commonly used and visually intuitive 
method of viewing thermal imagery; black hot can often enhance 
contrast of certain objects or provide better visual perspective in 
some conditions. 
When switching between modes, the appropriate icon is displayed for 
approximately 3 seconds.
Display Brightness Button
Use this button to cycle through the five levels of display 
brightness. Each press of the button advances to the next 
level of brightness.
When the highest brightness level is reached, subsequent button 
presses advance to the next lower brightness levels. When the lowest 
brightness level is reached, subsequent button presses advance to 
the next higher brightness levels. One of the following icons is 
Black hot White hotInstalert™ 1 – 4
HM_Series_Operators.book  Page 19  Friday, January 18, 2013  4:27 PM 
						

							3—Operating Your HM-Series Camera HM-Series Operator’s Manual
20 Jan 2013
displayed for approximately 3 seconds after the button is pressed 
indicating the current brightness level:
Diopter Controls
The diopter adjustment lever allows you to adjust for optimum image 
sharpness in the eyepiece. When the diopter adjustment lever is 
pointing straight away from the front of the camera, it is in the neutral 
position.
Adjust the diopter setting for the sharpest image in the viewfinder.
Highest Lowest
Diopter Control 
HM_Series_Operators.book  Page 20  Friday, January 18, 2013  4:27 PM 
						

							HM-Series Operator’s Manual 3—Operating Your HM-Series Camera
 432-0004-31-10, Revision 100 21
3–6 Batteries
Your HM-Series camera is equipped with a sophisticated power 
system that accommodates a wide variety of AA battery types. This 
includes rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries.
The camera is optimized for operation with the 2700 mAh 
rechargeable NiMh batteries that were supplied with your camera. It 
is recommended that you use these batteries in all but emergency 
situations. 
Note
Battery Status Indicator–While the camera 
is On, a battery status indicator is always 
shown in the corner of the display image. This 
indicator provides an estimation of the 
remaining battery charge. 
Note
Using Non-Rechargeable Batteries –The HM-Series camera allows 
Alkaline non-rechargeable batteries to be used. When non-
rechargeable batteries are installed, connecting the Hot Shoe to a 
power source will power the camera from the power source and the 
battery charging circuitry will be disabled.
Note
Low Battery Auto-Shutdown–When the batteries are almost fully 
depleted the camera will automatically initiate a shutdown process.
Replacement batteries are available online from FLIR Commercial 
Systems, Inc.
If non-rechargable batteries are installed the battery indication 
may not be accurate.
When using Alkaline batteries, operating battery life is reduced to 
approximately 1.5 hours.
full charge
half charge
no charge
charging
HM_Series_Operators.book  Page 21  Friday, January 18, 2013  4:27 PM 
						

							3—Operating Your HM-Series Camera HM-Series Operator’s Manual
22 Jan 2013
3–7 SD Card Door
The SD Card door is located on the 
bottom of the camera in front of the 
battery compartment. The SD card, 
the USB connector, and the Auto-
Standby Enable switch are located 
under the door. See “Auto-Standby 
Operation” on page 24.
Note
To open the SD Card door, grasp the 
two edges with your thumb and finger 
and pull straight up.
Caution!
To close the SD Card door, slide the 
lanyard strap back into the camera, 
position the door in place, and then 
firmly press in the middle of the door 
until it is fully seated.
The Hot Shoe must be removed to access the SD Card door.
Do not stretch or break the rubber 
lanyard that keeps the door captive 
to the camera when opened.
SD Carddoor
LanyardUSB
Auto-Standby Enable
switch
SD Card
Grasp SD Card dooredges and pull
HM_Series_Operators.book  Page 22  Friday, January 18, 2013  4:27 PM 
						

							HM-Series Operator’s Manual 3—Operating Your HM-Series Camera
 432-0004-31-10, Revision 100 23
SD Card Capacity and Type
The HM-224b Pro and HM-324b XP+ model cameras support 
storing images and video (HM-324b XP+ only) on standard 1-Gb and 
2 - G b  S D  c a r d s  o r  u p  t o 32-Gb on SDHC cards. 
If an SD card is inserted into an HM-224b or HM-324b XP model, it 
will be ignored unless the camera software detects a valid upgrade 
file. In order to store images and video on the SD card, the HM-224b 
model must be upgraded to an HM-224b Pro and the HM-324b XP 
model must be upgraded to an HM-324b XP+. See “Installing 
Software Upgrades” on page 29.
Installing an SD Card
To install an SD card, insert the card into 
the slot and press on the SD card until its 
edge is nearly flush with the surface and 
release. 
To remove an SD card, use this same 
motion. 
Downloading Stored Files via USB
The HM-224b Pro and HM-324b XP+ model cameras also support 
downloading stored images and video via the USB port.
With the camera on, plug the USB cable into the USB connector on 
the camera and a USB port on your computer.
Allow up to two minutes for the USB connection to be recognized by 
the computer’s operating system.
HM_Series_Operators.book  Page 23  Friday, January 18, 2013  4:27 PM 
						

							3—Operating Your HM-Series Camera HM-Series Operator’s Manual
24 Jan 2013
3–8 Auto-Standby Operation
Auto-Standby is a feature of the HM-Series cameras that helps to 
guard against draining the batteries prematurely by inadvertently 
leaving the camera on. Auto-Standby puts the camera into the 
Standby state if the following three conditions are met:
• The camera is in the On state.
•The Auto-Standby switch (STBY) is set to ON.
• No buttons have been pressed for three minutes.
Once these conditions are met you will 
see the following message in the display 
and the camera will enter the Standby 
state after the countdown is finished:
Press any button during this countdown to terminate Auto-Standby 
and resume normal operation. 
Note
Auto-Standby Switch
Unattended operation of the camera 
may require disabling Auto-Standby. 
Select OFF to turn off Auto-Standby.
Select ON to turn on Auto-Standby.
If Auto-Standby is off, a reminder message will 
appear in the display each time the camera enters 
the On state.
Pressing any button during an Auto-Standby countdown will only 
terminate the countdown and abort the Auto-Standby. 
The normal function of the button will not occur.
HM_Series_Operators.book  Page 24  Friday, January 18, 2013  4:27 PM