Thinkware 750 Development

Dee_82

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Dash Cam
Thinkware F750
DO NOT INSTALL FIRMWARE V0.22
ONLY USE 0.15

F750 Development thread
We can convert our f750 to an f770 without issue and all functions work correctly, so long as you haven't upgraded to a firmware version beyond 0.15

I am in the process of attempting to create a modified firmware, I have successfully dumped the ROM but recompiling it is an issue

Need to find the uboot recovery files for the F750 camera.

NOTES:
28/11/16
Ambarella A7LA85 hardware tech sheets (JTAG included)
http://www.mediafire.com/file/kwtr41n57n050k7/A7L-SHA-002-2.0_AMBARELLA_A7LA7LM_SYSTEM_HW.pdf

27/11/16
Please do not install any firmware versions after 0.15, installing .22 or newer will prevent you from installing F770 firmware files. THERE IS CURRENTLY NO WAY TO REVERT TO 0.15

01/11/16
Do not use the thinkware F750 firmware version .22, there have been some people report issues and have not been able to change or update the firmware. Please only use .15 F750 version, then update to the .02 F770 version.

25/08/16
the PC viewer seems to have a bug where you cant turn off lane departure warnings. collision warnings can be turned off as normal.

All settings can be changed via the mobile app

Its important you don't swap SD cards when making setting changes so always try and use your normal card (ideally the thinkware one)

Fimware versions
F750 -UK
http://www.mediafire.com/file/a2woio3dji9oyqk/f750_3_1.00.15.zip
F770 -UK
http://www.mediafire.com/file/bmsz896vrivxtcv/f770_3_1.00.02.zip

Convert your F750 to a F770
Format the Thinkware SD card
Download
http://www.mediafire.com/file/bmsz896vrivxtcv/f770_3_1.00.02.zip
extract the F770-pkg.bin file from the downloaded zip
copy the bin file to the SD card
Rename F770-pkg.bin to F750-pkg.bin
insert SD card and turn on the camera
Update may take a few minuets so DO NOT TURN OFF!

Update your converted F750

Format the Thinkware SD card
Download the firmware from thinkware
extract the contents of the downloaded zip to the root of the SD card (1 file and 2 folders)
Download the camera data for your area
replace the file in the DriveInfo folder on the SD card
insert SD card and turn on the camera
Update may take a few minuets so DO NOT TURN OFF!

I suspect that all firmware updates will work fine after this however in the interest of your own sanity I will test every firmware version and will report below

f770_3_1.00.02 - Initial release firmware - OK
f770_3_1.00.03 - Aug 2016 update - New speed camera functions - OK
f770_3_1.00.06 - Nov 2016 update - Fixed speed camera issues (?) - working, currently in testing

If you cant enable the speed camera data or some of the settings don't appear to change try this:
Download the latest firmware and speed camera data.
Get the thinkware SD card that has been used on your camera (has videos on it) and insert in to your computer
copy the speedcamera data file you downloaded to the "Driveinfo" folder
In the settings folder on the SD card delete setup.cfg
In the settings folder overwrite default.cfg with the version from the downloaded firmware zip file
Make a copy of default.cfg and rename it to setup.cfg
place the F770_pkg.bin you downloaded in to the root of the SD card
insert the SD card in to the camera and turn on, allow it to boot and install updates
using the same SD card insert card in to the computer
Change settings as required in the PC dashcam viewer program
Finally, copy the speedcamera data file you downloaded to the "Driveinfo" folder (yes do it again)
insert card in to camera and it "should" all be working

Does anyone have any useful technical information on this device?

Specifically I'm looking for info on:

Hardware access through UC-E6 port

Dump complete ROM

Unbrick device through UC-E6 port (ELF file?)

I have unpacked a precompiled image from thinkware

we have the following partitions

BST = Bootstrapper

BLD = Bootloader

HAL = Hardware abstraction Layer

PRI = Primary Kernel

SEC

RFS

DSP

LNX

HEADER
 
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Thanks Jokiin, I'm reluctant to start tinkering without a clear method of recovery, USB to UC-E6 is the first goal but I'm concerned that the pin out isn't a standard so a generic camera cable might not be connecting to the correct pin out on the device....
 
after comparing the various partitions between the F770 and the F750 I came to the conclusion that they were almost identical, so I took a leap and flashed the F770 firmware to the F750. I only sent the BIN file, it upgraded fine and functions appear to all be working.
Front and rear camera, GPS, motion sensors, parking more and time-lapse, the settings for the super night mode is available but it will require some further testing to see if it actually makes any difference.
all videos play just fine.

Its a little insulting getting this to work if I'm honest, Thinkware have essentially repackaged the F750, fixed some of the software niggles (like not displaying speed) then sold it as new when clearly this is not the case. Poor showing thinkware
 
So I did a quick test of the super night vision and low and behold, it works, or at least it appears to work, you can see a couple of screen shots attached.

there is clearly an increase in light levels on both front and rear camera, it is a fairly well lit area anyway so it will be interesting what the effect is on a low lit area.
 

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interesting outcome
Interesting indeed!

if you dive in to the files on the partitions there are actually references to the X300 and X330 as well, if I had to guess, id say that they created one device, then tweaked it for the slightly different markets with some fairly large mark ups on the price
 
Very interesting Work, good for you Dee_82
 
Hmm...do both 750 and 770 have same hardware inside?
 
Identical. the only difference is its appearance.
 
So do I simply follow the usual firmware update procedure and just extract the files on to the SD card?
 
yeah, download the f770 firmware, extract the files and copy them to a blank SD card, you then need to rename the F770_pkg.bin file to f750_pkg.bin, put the sd card in and reboot.

note that I upgraded from the .15 version of the f750 firmware, it probably wont make a difference but better safe than sorry, so ensure the f750 is running .15 firmware first
 
yeah, download the f770 firmware, extract the files and copy them to a blank SD card, you then need to rename the F770_pkg.bin file to f750_pkg.bin, put the sd card in and reboot.

note that I upgraded from the .15 version of the f750 firmware, it probably wont make a difference but better safe than sorry, so ensure the f750 is running .15 firmware first
Thanks.

Have you noticed any improvements in the F770 firmware compared to F750, other than the super night mode? If I understood correctly, super night mode is only active during parking mode, but I record 24/7 so I don't actually get any benefit from this feature.
 
there isn't any real world difference that ive seen other than having the speed displayed on the video (you can turn it off), however, the firmware IS at least getting updated unlike its f750 older brother, so presumably bug fixes, efficiency updates etc will be getting passed on to you, the file viewer is certainly better.
 
Anyone else done it yet? I don't want to be the first to brick my F750, and Dee could have been lucky that it worked!
 
lol, well, there is that chance, but I highly doubt that mine is a one off, the device is hardware identical to the F750, the only thing that is different is the looks of It, the firmwares are extremely similar to one another in construction as well. thinkware have simply reboxed the F750 in to a F770, added on some of the features we asked for and sold it as a "new" product!

not going to force anyone to do it, it is completely your own responsibility but as I said, i had my F750 with the v.15 firmware, I took my thinkware card and formatted it within the thinkware dashcam viewer on my computer, I then copied the contents of the f770 firmware to the SD card (the f770_pkg.bin being in the root of the card) renamed the F770_pkg.bin to F750_pkg.bin
inserted the card in to my camera, turned the car on and plugged the camera in and several moments later (2-3 min perhaps) it was done.

there was nothing more complicated than that and this isn't the only thinkware product that has got the good news, I believe the x500 can be upgraded with the x550 as well.

the only pitfalls that I am aware of are:
Don't turn the power off until its completed
Use a thinkware card, don't use a 3rd party card.

possibly tripping points could be the v15 firmware, so make sure its updated to that first.

the device is now registering as a F770 within the apps, when thinkware update the firmware ill try and install it as is without changing the name of the file, I fully expect it to work though as the cameras are identical.
 
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I'm currently working on giving the camera a small bump in bit rate as well, its currently running at around 10Mbps on the front and 8 on the rear. I'm going to bump the front to 12Mbps and modify the AE levels a tad to cut down on the bonnet reflection., ive completed the changes but there is a problem compiling it that Tobi-s might be able to shed some light on.

That should keep it below the 20Mbps overall max for the chipset and hopefully reduce some of the artifacts / lighting issues it can sometimes get.
 
Thanks Dee. I'll probably give it go sometime...
 
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