LK-7900 ACE focus issues: related to AC31?

[cdlu]

Hi all,

I have 2 LK-7900ACEs, one mounted in the front window and one mounted in the back. They had been running AC27 and AC29 (one of each), corresponding to the firmware available at the time they were delivered.

I recently upgraded both cameras to AC31 and both cameras immediately started to exhibit to the focus problems that many users have complained about.

If you have a 7900, can you reply with the firmware version number and whether or not you are experiencing this focus issue? I suspect it to be a firmware issue and not a hardware issue as a result of the identical experience with my two cameras, but would like independent verification.

Also, if anyone still happens to have the AC29 firmware files, they're no longer available on the Lukas HD website and I'd very much like to downgrade as the AC31 video quality is almost useless in what used to be an amazing pair of cameras.

Thanks!

 

[Bojh]

I have the same setup in my car. My perception is also that the Video quality has got worse rather than better with the last couple of firmware updates but I have not kept enough examples to be sure of it. I have copies of Firmware AC19,21,23,29 and happy to share. 27.5MB so cannot post here. Will setup a link when I get a sec.

 

[Bojh]

Link to AC29 is here https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=1D9BA9768405BE2F!776

 

[cdlu]

Link to AC29 is here https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=1D9BA9768405BE2F!776

Amazing, thanks. I'll try the downgrade and report back. If downgrading to 29 fixes the focus issues that's information that'll need to be spread.

 

[Ipol]

@ Owen Hile Now there's some nice forward thinking and many thanks for sharing @ cdlu I am using AC31 firmware with no focus problems, what viewer version are you using I have version 1.8.4.0 installed ......Hope the downgrade fixes your focus problems for you.....Ipol

 

[cdlu]

@ Owen Hile Now there's some nice forward thinking and many thanks for sharing @ cdlu I am using AC31 firmware with no focus problems, what viewer version are you using I have version 1.8.4.0 installed ......Hope the downgrade fixes your focus problems for you.....Ipol

I use mplayer so I can see at full resolution, not the native viewer which cannot be scaled. Frankly, while the camera itself is very good, the viewing software is terrible.

As updates fail more often than they succeed (thank you to the kind soul who posted the unbrick image! I've used it countless times.) I need to allocate a big chunk of time for the downgrade so it'll be a few days before I report results.

 

[Bojh]

Updates failing seems odd. I have had nearly a dozen LK-7900's in the family since AC19 days and have never had one of them fail on an update.

 

[Ipol]

@ Bojh likewise I have never had failure issues with updates either.....I did how ever hold top spot for not being able to download the firmware correctly in the first place but with guidance from fellow DCT members I finally managed to get it right.I have even downloaded the viewer and firmware for the lk9700 duo in readiness for its arrival in the post.Only when I slip the SD card into the camera will I know if I am still managing to get it right........Ipol hopefully it will be a and not a

 

[kamkar]

I had 1 "faliure" updating my lk-7500 to 31 firmware, the camera still worked the following days, but if i recall right there was no information on the back display, or at the very least the FW version was not displayed during boot.

No bigge, just had to put the Little SD Card with the firmware a second time and boot on it.
Actually now i think about i think the procedure was abnormal during the first attempt of installing 31 firmware, it took a long time to do it and it never finalized the update as normal.

But again no probelm just put in the SD with new firmware some days later, and everything was back to normal.

 

[cdlu]

Sorry for the delay in this -- I finally had a chance to attempt the downgrade from AC31 to AC29.

I was not able to downgrade either camera to AC29, nor to AC27, the only other firmware versions I had handy. No matter what I tried it spent hours in "UPdA" mode flashing the four dots every 20 seconds or so without ever finishing. As both cameras were successfully upgraded to AC31 a few months ago this struck me as bizarre.

I was able to use the unbrick image posted on here to reflash it with AC23 and, though the config.bin I had no longer works and I don't have AC23 viewing software to correct it so it is using default settings, helpfully including Korea's timezone, the difference is immediate and clear. I can say definitively that AC31 is the problem; my suspicion is that there was a minor revision in the hardware between the time AC29 and AC31 were released, and AC31 works very well on the revised hardware but fails to focus most of the time on the older hardware.

Here's a direct comparison. Same camera, same location, same weather, roughly the same time of day one day apart with AC31 and AC23 on the rear camera (I don't have any non-monsoon-rain footage from the front camera yet as the car is in the shop at the moment on an unrelated issue). Camera angle is slightly different only from tightening the screw. AC23 isn't perfect focus but it's a hell of a lot better than AC31:

AC23:

AC31:

Cheers.

 

[K-A]

I don't notice any improvement when downgrading my LK-7900 to Ac29. I do however still have the viewer 1.8.3 for Ac29. You can get it here if you want:

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?res...8&authkey=!AB7lOXsvpFDUGEs&ithint=folder,.zip

 

[pjtan25]

I just received a new 7900 ACE from Lukas (lukasstore.com)
Strangely, it has firmware 29.
And it DOESNT have any focus problems.

Not sure if this contributes to the debugging to find the source of the problem....
But thought I'd share a data point.

 

[Ipol]

@ pjtan25 I did ask lukas if they had any plans to update from the ac31 some time back and they replied in the negative, perhaps if they read of the issues with focus and the possible link with ac31 firmware they might take another look at the problem.....On another note I see that you ordered direct from the lukasstore.com.....I had a heart stopping moment yesterday after ordering the 9700 duo and after a week there appeared to be no progress. When I tried to contact the customer support and the email address given I had two failure notices saying the addresses did not exist....I immediately contacted Lukas Qrontech......before contacting paypal.....and received an reply from the lukasstore.com saying sorry for the delay and I now have a tracking number through DHL which I have checked and the item is now on route.....I replied via the letter they sent that the problem regarding the contact details needed to be addressed very quickly as other people trying to contact them might draw the same conclusions that I did....It may well be a glitch in the system outside of south korea. I imagine that most of the sales are local market.....It was the lack of communication that got the adrenalin flowing,hopefully it is a lesson well taken on board. To be fair the issues my well have not been apparent at the lukasstore as soon as I contacted lukas qrontech last night I had a reply from lukasstore.com first thing this morning.......watch this space......Ipol Update just had an email fromLukas Qrontech ......Mi Jin Yoon with whom I have had several emails in the past and he has always been clear and helpful......the issues were indeed due to the web host server so at least they are aware of the hiccup and are addressing it.......Looking forward to receiving my new (toy) Ipol

 

[johnf]

I have a 7500 and 7700, and wish poor focus on both were something as simple to fix as the firmware version. However, both had to be disassembled and manually refocused. They now work perfectly. I have noticed that firmware versions showed differences in contrast and brightness, which could be misinterpreted as a focus issue. The videos posted above look quite good to me, focus seems acceptable.

 

[cdlu]

I have a 7500 and 7700, and wish poor focus on both were something as simple to fix as the firmware version. However, both had to be disassembled and manually refocused. They now work perfectly. I have noticed that firmware versions showed differences in contrast and brightness, which could be misinterpreted as a focus issue. The videos posted above look quite good to me, focus seems acceptable.

Take a look at it at 1080i. It's very pixelised and seems to be a software problem. I've left my cameras at AC23 and they have issues there, but the focus is a lot better. AC31 was stable and has few issues, but I couldn't read a license plate without touching the vehicle's bumper in perfect sun. I've contacted Lukas directly repeatedly and heard no response whatsoever on the focus issue. For such a widespread problem they *should* have some kind of solution on offer.