ThermovisionFLIR FSeries Installation Manual

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2.7 Thermal Imaging Overview
When power is applied to the F-Series camera, a FLIR splash 
screen is displayed for less than two seconds, and then the camera 
outputs the live video image. No operator action or intervention is 
required and no configuration of the camera is necessary. 
The thermal camera makes an image based on temperature 
differences. In the thermal image, by default the hottest item in the 
scene appears as white and the coldest item is black, and all other 
items are represented as a grey scale value between white and 
black.
It may take some time to get used to the thermal imagery from the camera, especially for someone 
who only has experience with normal daylight cameras. Having a basic understanding of the 
differences between thermal and daylight cameras can help with getting the best performance from 
the thermal camera. 
Both thermal and daylight cameras have detectors (pixels) that detect energy. One difference 
between thermal and daylight cameras has to do with where the energy comes from to create an 
image. When viewing an image with an ordinary camera, there has to be some source of visible light 
(something hot, such as the sun or lights) that reflects off the objects in the scene to the camera. The 
same is true with human eyesight; the vast majority of what people see is based on reflected light 
energy. 
On the other hand, the thermal 
camera detects energy that is 
directly radiated from objects in the 
scene. Most objects in typical 
surroundings are not hot enough to 
radiate visible light, but they easily 
radiate the type of infrared energy 
that the thermal camera can detect. 
Even very cold objects, like ice and 
snow, radiate this type of energy.
The camera is capable of sensing 
very small temperature differences, 
and produces a video image that 
typically has dramatic contrast in 
comparison to daylight cameras. This 
high contrast level from the thermal 
video enables intelligent video 
analytic software to perform more 
reliably.
The performance of the camera will likely vary throughout the day. Right after sunset, objects warmed 
by the sun will appear warmest. Early in the morning, many of these objects will appear cooler than 
their surroundings, so be sure to look for subtle differences in the scene, as opposed to just hot 
targets. 
Originally developed for the military, thermal imaging cameras are now deployed in numerous 
commercial applications where it is impractical or too expensive to use active illumination (lights). 
Figure 2-3: Splash Screen 
						

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They are perfect for a wide variety of applications including transportation, maritime, security, fire 
fighting, and medical applications. The cameras often provide improved daytime viewing in 
environments where traditional video camera performance suffers, such as in shadows or backlit 
scenes.
The F-Series camera is a state-of-the-art thermal imaging system that will provide excellent night 
visibility and situational awareness, without any form of natural or artificial illumination. The system is 
easy to use, but it is useful to understand how to interpret what is displayed on the monitor. 
While the imagery on the monitor may at first look similar to ordinary black and white daylight video, 
experience with the camera in varying conditions and seasons will lead to an appreciation of the 
characteristics that make thermal imaging distinct. A few tips on how to interpret some of the imagery 
may help you to make the most of your system. 
The thermal camera does not sense light like conventional cameras; it senses heat or temperature 
differences. The camera senses small “differences” in apparent radiation from the objects in view, and 
displays them as either white (or lighter shades of grey) for warmer objects, and black (or darker 
shades of grey) for colder objects. 
The thermal imaging camera relies on the fact that all objects, even very cold objects like ice, emit 
thermal energy in the portion of the infrared spectrum that this camera can “see”, the long wave 
infrared (LWIR). Therefore, unlike an illuminated infrared camera, a thermal camera does not need an 
additional active illumination source, and creates video based on directly radiated rather than 
reflected energy.
This is why hot objects such as parts on an engines and exhaust pipes appear white, while the sky, 
puddles of water and other cold objects appear dark (or cool)
3. Scenes with familiar objects will be 
easy to interpret with some experience. The camera automatically optimizes the image to provide you 
with the best contrast in most conditions.
3. By default, the camera represents hot objects as white and cold objects as black. The camera can be set to use 
the Black Hot polarity setting, which displays hot objects as black and cold objects as white and is effectively the 
negative of White Hot polarity.  
						

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2.8 Troubleshooting Tips
If you need help during the installation process, contact your local FLIR representative or, call 877-
773-3547 inside the US. FLIR Systems, Inc. offers a comprehensive selection of training courses to 
help you to get the best performance and value from your thermal imaging camera. Find out more at 
the FLIR training web page: http://www.flir.com/training.
Image freezes momentarily:  By design, the camera image will freeze momentarily on a periodic 
basis during the Flat Field Correction (FFC) cycle (also known as Non-Uniformity Correction or NUC). 
Every few minutes, the image will momentarily freeze for a fraction of a second while the camera 
performs a flat field correction. A shutter activates inside the camera and provides a target of uniform 
temperature, allowing the camera to correct for ambient temperature changes and provide the best 
possible image. Just prior to the FFC, a small green square will appear in the corner of the screen.
Using FSM, it is possible to adjust the frequency of how often the FFC operation occurs. Using the 
Advanced Sensor Control, it is possible to change the FFC interval or to disable the automatic FFC 
entirely by setting it to Manual mode. For the best possible image, it is recommended the factory 
settings are used.
No video:  If the camera will not produce an image, check the video connection at the camera and at 
your display. If the connectors appear to be properly connected but the camera still does not produce 
an image, ensure that power has been properly applied to the camera and the circuit breaker is set 
properly. If a fuse was used, be sure the fuse is not blown. If the video cabling is suspected as a 
possible source of the problem, plug a monitor into the RCA connection inside the camera and 
determine if it produces an image. 
When the camera is powered on, it will do a NUC operation shortly after startup. If you are uncertain if 
the camera is receiving power, it may be useful to listen to the camera to hear if the click-click of the 
shutter mechanism can be heard. It may be only be possible to perform this test when the camera is 
on a work bench rather than in its installed position.
If the camera still does not produce an image, contact the FLIR dealer or reseller who provided the 
camera, or contact FLIR directly (contact information is provided on the rear cover of this manual).
Performance varies with time of day:  You may observe differences in the way the camera 
performs at different times of the day, due to the diurnal cycle of the sun. Recall that the camera 
produces an image based on temperature differences. 
At certain times of the day, such as just before dawn, the objects in the image scene may all be 
roughly the same temperature, compared to other times of the day. Compare this to imagery right 
after sunset, when objects in the image may be radiating heat energy that has been absorbed during 
the day due to solar loading. Greater temperature differences in the scene generally will allow the 
camera to produce high-contrast imagery. 
Performance may also be affected when objects in the scene are wet rather than dry, such as on a 
foggy day or in the early morning when everything may be coated with dew. Under these conditions, it 
may be difficult for the camera to show the temperature the object itself, rather than of the water 
coating. 
						

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Unable To Communicate Over Ethernet:  First check to ensure the physical connections are intact 
and that the camera is powered on and providing analog video to the monitor. When the camera is 
turned on, confirm the startup information is displayed on the analog monitor after approximately 90 
seconds. For example:
S/N: 1234567
IP Addr: 192.168.250.116
Confirm that the IP address for the PC (for example, 192.168.250.1) is on the same network as the 
camera. 
Next determine if Windows Personal Firewall is blocking the packets. You can turn off the firewall or 
add an exception for the FSM program. Typically when FSM runs for the first time, a pop-up 
notification may ask for permission to allow the FLIR Sensors Manager (fsm.exe) to communicate on 
the network. Select the check boxes (domain/private/public) that are appropriate for your network. 
By default the camera will broadcast a “discovery” packet two times per second. When FSM starts up, 
it listens to the network for the discovery packets. If no cameras are listed in the Discovered Servers 
list, press the Refresh button. If the list is still empty, it indicates no discovery packets were received. 
This could be due to a wide variety of problems with the network, the PC, or the camera. 
If necessary, use a packet sniffer utility such as Wireshark to capture packets and confirm the packets 
are being received by the PC from the camera.
Unable to control the camera:  If the camera does not respond to commands from FSM (for 
example, the camera does not zoom when the zoom in button is clicked), the camera may not be the 
“Active” camera, or you may not have control of the camera. By default FSM will automatically request 
control of the camera and make it active, but if there are multiple cameras and/or multiple FSM clients, 
it may be necessary to manually make the camera active and take control of it. 
Also, if the camera has a serial control interface connected to it, the serial device has the highest 
priority, and a command from the serial device can automatically take control of the camera away from 
any FSM client. 
						

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In the Sensors Panel, if the camera is the active sensor, there will be an “(Active)” 
notification next to the name of the camera. Only one camera or sensor can be 
active at a time. To make the camera active, right click on the icon to the left of the 
camera name and select “Set Active”, or simply double-click on the icon.
The icon to the left of the camera name indicates the status of the sensor. The following is a list of the 
possible icons and the meaning of each one.
Connected and Controlled
This icon indicates the camera has been discovered and added to the list of active servers, and the 
camera is actively “connected” to the FSM client and receiving status updates. The joystick in the icon 
indicates the user has control of the camera. To release control of the camera, right click on the icon 
and select “Release Control”. 
Discovered
This icon indicates the camera has been discovered and added to the list of 
active servers, but the camera is not actively “connected” to FSM, and 
therefore FSM is not receiving status updates. To connect to the camera, right 
click on the icon and select “Connect”. Alternatively, it is possible to double-
click the icon to connect.
Connected
This icon indicates the camera has been discovered and added to the list of 
active servers, and the camera is actively “connected” to FSM and receiving 
status updates. To take control of the camera, right click on the icon and 
select “Request Control”. Alternatively, it is possible to double-click the icon to 
take control.
Not Connected
This icon indicates the camera has been discovered and added to the list of 
active servers, and FSM is trying to connect to the camera, but some kind of problem is preventing 
FSM from receiving status updates the camera. This could be do to a wide variety of problems in the 
camera, network or PC. Most often this situation occurs when a firewall allows certain packets (such 
as the discovery packets) but not others (the packets needed for a “connection”). 
						

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2.9 General Errors
In the status bar at the bottom of the FSM screen there may be an indication that an error has 
occurred. When you position the cursor over the error icon (exclamation mark), the error will be 
displayed in a temporary pop-up. It is possible to view all the error messages by selecting the Tools 
tab at the top of he screen, and then select the Log button to the left.
Unable to View Video Stream:  If the video stream from the camera is not displayed in FSM, it could 
be that the packets are blocked by the firewall, or there could be a conflict with video codecs that are 
installed for other video programs.
When displaying video with FSM for the first time, the Windows Personal Firewall may ask for 
permission to allow the FLIR Video Player (vp.exe) to communicate on the network. Select the check 
boxes (domain/private/public) that are appropriate for your network. 
If necessary, test to make sure the video from the camera can be viewed by a generic video player 
such as VLC media player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/).To view the video stream, specify RTSP port 
554 and the appropriate stream name such as “ch0”. For example:
rtsp://192.168.250.116:554/ch0 
Noisy image:  A noisy image is usually attributed to a cable problem (too long or inferior quality) or 
the cable is picking up electromagnetic interference (EMI) from another device. Although coax cable 
has built-in losses, the longer the cable is (or the smaller the wire gauge/thickness), the more severe 
the losses become; and the higher the signal frequency, the more pronounced the losses. 
Unfortunately this is one of the most common and unnecessary problems that plagues video systems 
in general. 
						

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Cable characteristics are determined by a number of factors (core material, dielectric material and 
shield construction, among others) and must be carefully matched to the specific application. 
Moreover, the transmission characteristics of the cable will be influenced by the physical environment 
through which the cable is run and the method of installation. Use only high quality cable and ensure 
the cable is suitable to the marine environment.
Check cable connector terminations. Inferior quality connections may use multiple adapters which 
can cause unacceptable noise. Use a high-quality video distribution amplifier when splitting the signal 
to multiple monitors.
Image too dark or too light:  By default the F-Series thermal camera uses an Automatic Gain 
Control (AGC) setting that has proven to be superior for most applications, and the camera will 
respond to varying conditions automatically. The installer should keep in mind that the sky is quite 
cold and can strongly affect the overall image. It may be possible to avoid a problem by slightly 
moving the camera up or down to include (or exclude) items with hot or cold temperatures that 
influence the overall image. For example, a very cold background (such as the sky) could cause the 
camera to use a wider temperature range than appropriate.
Eastern or Western Exposure:  Once installed, the camera may point directly east or west, and this 
may cause the sun to be in the field of view during certain portions of the day. We do not recommend 
intentionally viewing the sun, but looking at the sun will not permanently damage the sensor. In fact 
the thermal imaging camera often provides a considerable advantage over a conventional camera in 
this type of back-lit situation. However, the sun may introduce image artifacts that will eventually 
correct out. and it may take some time for the camera to recover. The amount of time needed for 
recovery will depend on how long the camera was exposed to the sun. The longer the exposure, the 
longer the recovery time needed. 
Figure 2-4: Images facing sun from standard camera (left) and thermal camera (right) 
						

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2.10 Restoring the Factory Settings
The camera comes configured from the factory with default settings for the IP address 
(192.168.250.116), the login passwords, and all of the other configuration parameters (stored in a file 
called server.ini). In some cases, it may be necessary to restore the settings of the camera to the 
original factory settings. If necessary, this can be accomplished by temporarily connecting a loopback 
device to the Ethernet port during initial power-up. Approximately 30 seconds after power is turned 
on, the loopback should be removed to allow the camera to finish booting up.
Note
At each power-up, the system transmits a packet and then checks to determine if that same packet 
has been received. Detection of the received packet indicates the camera has a custom loopback 
connector installed on its Ethernet interface. The detection of the loopback packet cues the camera to 
restore Factory Defaults (including the IP settings, user passwords, and configuration file), reverting to 
the same configuration and behavior as when the camera left the factory. 
The custom loopback connector is described below.
The RJ45 loopback termination ties pin 1 to pin 3, and pin 2 to pin 6. The other pins are not 
connected. This type of device is available commercially (the Smartronix Superlooper Ethernet 
Loopback Jack and Plug is one example), or it can be easily made with an RJ45 plug, a couple wires, 
and a crimp tool.
The camera will not finish booting up while the loopback device is connected to the camera. The 
camera will display analog video, but the Nexus Server will not start until the loopback is removed 
from the camera.
Pin # Signal Tied to pin #
1Transmit + 3
2Transmit -  6
3 Receive + 1
4Unused N/A
5Unused N/A
6Receive - 2
7Unused N/A
8Unused N/A 
						

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After the camera boots up, confirm the startup information is displayed on the analog monitor after 
approximately 90 seconds. For example:
S/N: 1234567
IP Addr: 192.168.250.116
PelcoD (Addr:1): 9600 SW
2.11 Setting the IP address on a Windows PC
To set the computer IP address in Windows, first connect the PC to a switch, or connect it to the 
camera and ensure the camera has power. 
Step 1 With the PC or laptop connected to the switch (or if back-to-back with the camera, with the 
camera powered on), open the Control Panel, Network and Sharing Center (a Windows 7 
example is shown). The connection to the camera should show in your Active Networks. 
Click to select  
						

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Step 2 Click to select the Local Area Connection then click Properties, as shown at the right.
Step 3 Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) as shown. Then click Properties.
Click Properties 
Click to select 
Click Properties