GC3-T User Guide
Visit www.swellpro.com for the latest version of this manual and firmware updates for your drone and accessories.
Version: Beta 1.0 – Oct. 2021
NOTICE
THIS IS THE BETA VERSION OF THE USER GUIDE. SOME PARTS OF THE USER GUIDE MIGHT BE CHANGING THROUGH THE PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT. PLEASE ALWAYS CHECK AND COMPARE THE VERSION NUMBER TO SEE IF THERE IS A LATEST VERSION OF THIS USER GUIDE ON OUR WEBSITE.
Download latest version: https://www.swellpro.com/splash-drone-4.html#download
Thank You
Thank you for purchasing the GC3-T waterproof 3-axis Gimbal Thermal Camera. SwellPro has designed and manufactured the GC3-T to the highest quality standards. Like any precision equipment, long-life and trouble-free operation rely on proper care and maintenance. With proper care and maintenance, you should enjoy your product for many years. It is important to familiarize yourself with the features of this unique product by carefully studying this manual.
Visit www.SwellPro.com for the latest manuals, firmware, and tips. Refer to the Version Information section at the end of this manual, which details additions and corrections to this manual.
Using this Manual
This document is designed to be printed or viewed on a computer or mobile device. If used electronically, you can search directly for terms like "Propeller" to find references. Additionally, you can click on any topic in the Table of Contents to navigate directly to that topic.
FAQ
The user guide is the best companion while using the product. For specific problems using the product, the FAQ can be another great resource. Go to the SwellPro website, navigate to support > product support > the product > FAQ to find the FAQ page.
Video Tutorials
Visit and subscribe to the SwellPro YouTube channel for tutorial videos and product information. Scan this QR code with your camera phone to go to our channel. [QR code for SwellPro YouTube channel]
Social Media
Join our SwellPro Facebook page to meet other people who share their adventures with SwellPro. www.facebook.com/SwellPro/ [Facebook logo]
Register Product Warranty
Please register your product as soon as possible to ensure warranty coverage.
Download the SDFly App
For Apple devices, download the SDFly app on the AppStore. For Android devices, download the SDFly app on the Google Play Store or scan the QR code to download and install the app.
iOS: [App Store icon] | Android: [Google Play icon]
[QR code for SDFly App download]
Precaution
READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL PRECAUTION INFORMATION BEFORE USING THIS PRODUCT. Failure to follow these safety instructions may result in permanent damage to the product.
- Do not point the thermal camera to strong energy sources, such as sun, laser beam, or lava. The observed object's temperature should not exceed 800°C, as the high energy radiation is harmful to the thermal camera.
- Do not place the camera near any heat sources, such as fire, engines, heating, or inside the vehicle under prolonged sunlight exposure.
- The ideal working temperature is -20°C ~ 50°C.
- Do not touch the thermal camera lens with your fingers or any other object, as oil or other substance covering the lens leads to blurred images and inaccurate temperature detection.
- Do not use alcohol or alkaline detergent to clean the camera lens, as it can erode the surface and coating on the lens. Instead, use a clean, dry, soft cloth to clean the lens.
- Do not frequently power on/off the camera, as it might shorten the product lifespan. Wait for at least 1 min in between the power on/off.
- Do not insert or unplug the microSD when the camera is on, as it might cause files loss or hardware issues.
- Ensure to press the rubber microSD card cover firmly in place to prevent water ingress in use.
- Do not disassemble the camera. If you have any issues with the camera, contact SwellPro Support.
Product Overview
The GC3-T Waterproof 3-axis Gimbal Thermal Camera features both a high-resolution thermal infrared camera and a full HD low-light camera with a dimmable LED flashlight. It can provide both infrared and visible light imaging simultaneously and allow for a quick switch between the two.
The thermal infrared camera features high resolution (640 x 512), high sensitivity (≤ 50mK@f/1.0), and a wide range (-20°C to 500°C) for infrared thermal imaging. It is powerful enough for missions ranging from search & rescue, security detection, and precision agriculture to various industrial inspections, such as routine power line inspection, roofing and solar panels maintenance, and bridge defect detection.
The low-light camera can capture full HD imaging in dark environments when the regular camera cannot return any images. When operating in complete darkness, the dimmable LED flashlight provides confidence to maintain vision. With the low-light camera, whenever an object of interest is found using the infrared thermal camera, you can switch back to give a visual confirmation of the object.
With SwellPro's waterproofing technology and compatibility with the powerful SplashDrone 4 flight platform, you will achieve excellent aerial thermal imaging in any harsh weather conditions.
In the Box
The following items are included in the package:
- Gimbal Thermal Camera x1
- Storage Case x1
- User Guide x1
- Lens Cleaning Cloth x1
- Accessories Bag x1
- microSD Card x1
Product Diagram
The GC3-T gimbal thermal camera consists of the following components:
- Gimbal Mount
- Roll Motor
- Tilt Motor
- Gimbal Connector
- Pan Motor
- microSD Card Slot
- Low light Camera
- Infrared Thermal Camera
- Dimmable LED Flashlight
Installation
Install the Gimbal
Follow these steps to install the gimbal:
- Unscrew and take off the gimbal port cover plate using a hex screwdriver (typically included with SplashDrone 4).
- Plug the gimbal connector into the drone's gimbal port and secure it in place with a screwdriver. ⚠️ Make sure the rubber ring is attached to the gimbal connector before you screw the connector.
- Align the holes on the gimbal mount to the bottom of the drone, and screw it in to mount the gimbal. Ensure the camera is pointing towards the front of the drone.
Install the SD Card
Follow these steps to install the microSD card:
- Open the rubber sealing on the top of the camera. Insert the microSD card in the correct direction. Press the microSD card until you hear a "click" sound, indicating that the installation is in place.
- After installing the microSD card, plug the rubber seal back. ⚠️ Make sure the rubber sealing is firmly in place to ensure waterproofing.
Important Notes for microSD Card Usage:
- The GC3-T supports microSD cards with a maximum capacity of 128GB. Since the camera requires fast reading and writing of high-stream video data, please use microSD cards with Class 10 or UHS-1 or above to ensure proper functioning.
- Do not plug or unplug the microSD card during use, as files may be damaged or lost.
- Once you finish recording, stop recording and save the file. If you turn off the power directly before saving the files, the recording file might be damaged.
Camera Status Indicator
There is a camera status indicator on the back of the camera to indicate its working status. It flashes green or red.
| LED Indicator | Status |
|---|---|
| Solid Green | Ready to shoot |
| Flashing Green | No SD card |
| Flashing Red Once | Taking photo |
| Flashing Red | Video recording |
| Solid Red | Video recording |
| Flashing Red & Green | Video recording |
Control
Gimbal Control
Remote Controller:
- Tilt (1): Roll the right gimbal control as shown to turn the gimbal up or down from 0° to -90°.
- Dimmable LED light control (2): Roll the left gimbal control to adjust the brightness of the dimmable LED light. (Dimmable LED light works best when the aircraft is 15 meters away from the subject.)
Gimbal Button
There are two gimbal modes: Follow mode and Lock mode. The default mode is Follow mode.
- Follow mode: Keeps the gimbal direction aligned with the head of the drone.
- Lock mode: Locks the gimbal position to a fixed angle instead of following the drone's direction.
Button Functions:
- Press the GIMBAL MODE button once to restore the central position.
- Fast press the GIMBAL MODE button 3 times to switch gimbal modes.
Camera Control
Remote Controller:
- Photo (1): Press once to take a picture.
- Video (2): Press once to start recording, press again to stop recording and save the file.
When taking photos or videos, the camera will capture both the thermal imaging files and the RGB files and store them together in the memory card.
Calibration
If there are any abnormal movements observed or the camera is not level, you can recalibrate the gimbal camera to solve the problem. Gimbal camera calibration is performed together with the aircraft gyroscope calibration. To calibrate the gimbal camera, you need to proceed with aircraft gyroscope calibration.
To calibrate the gimbal camera:
- Place the drone on a level surface. Power on the remote controller, then the drone. Wait for the aircraft to connect to the remote controller.
- Hold the left joystick down to its lowest position, then quickly move the right joystick left to right, back and forth, until the front and rear status indicators flash alternately, or the remote controller screen prompts "WARNING aircraft Initializing, Please Wait." The drone will now perform gyroscope calibration. Release the joysticks. This process will be completed in 20 seconds. Do not move the drone during this process.
- When the front status indicators show fast-flashing red, and the rear status indicators turn solid green, or the "WARNING Aircraft Initializing, Please Wait" prompt disappears, power off and restart the drone. Gyroscope calibration is complete.
⚠️ Do not calibrate the gimbal camera on a boat or other moving platforms.
SDFly App
Main Interface
The SDFly app provides control and viewing for the GC3-T camera. The main interface includes:
- Main Camera View: Displays the livestream of the camera view. Tap the Camera View Thumbnail on the bottom right corner to switch between the thermal camera and the low-light camera.
- Temperature OSD: Displays temperature information detected by the thermal camera, including Max, Min, Avg, and Center temperatures.
- Max: the maximum temperature that appears on the image.
- Min: the minimum temperature that appears on the image.
- Avg: average temperature across the whole image.
- Center: the temperature at the center of the image.
- Center Temperature: Displays the temperature at the center of the image, identical to the 'Center' value in the Temperature OSD.
- Camera Setting: Allows changing camera settings and adjusting camera parameters for both the thermal camera and low-light camera.
- Photo Taking Button: Tap to take photos. Both the thermal photo and RGB photo (from the low-light camera) are captured simultaneously. ?
- Video Record Button: Tap to record video, tap again to stop and save the video. Both the thermal video and RGB video (from the low-light camera) are saved simultaneously. ▶️
- Camera View Thumbnail: Displays an alternative camera view. Tap the thumbnail to change the main camera view between thermal camera view and low-light camera view.
Thermal Camera Setting
Within the Thermal Camera settings, you can adjust various parameters:
- IR Setting: Access to infrared specific settings.
- Flip: Flip the image vertically or horizontally.
- Palette: Select different color palettes (e.g., White Hot, Black Hot, Rainbow, Iron Red, Lava, Sky, Mid Gray, Gray Red, Orange Purple, Special 1, Warning Red, Ice Hot, Green Red, Special 2, Red Gradient, Green Gradient, Blue Gradient, Warning Green, Warning Blue) in various conditions to better visualize the infrared thermal imaging.
- Crosshair: Marks the frame on the viewfinder.
- Contrast: Set the contrast to visualize the infrared thermal imagery better. Adjust the ratio of parts representing hot and cool areas of the imagery.
- Brightness: Set the brightness to visualize the infrared thermal imagery better.
- DDE (Digital Details Enhancement): Enhances high spatial frequencies (edges etc.) and appears as boosted lens modulation transfer function, or MTF. The DDE filter attenuates high amplitude signals, making more of the total dynamic range available to display faint objects and details.
- Temperature OSD ON/OFF: Turn the temperature overlay on or off.
- Temperature Unit: Supports displaying temperatures in Celsius (°C), Fahrenheit (°F), and Kelvin (K).
- Temperature Alarm: Allows for the detection of temperatures that arise outside of the set temperature range. Temperature alarm has three options: High-Temperature Alarm, Low-Temperature Alarm, and High & Low-Temperature Alarm.
Appendix
Specification
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| GC3-T Gimbal Thermal Camera | |
| General | |
| Weight | About 430 g |
| Size | 134.5*134.5*117 mm |
| Memory card | Micro SD card: supports up to 128GB of capacity, write speeds ≥ 40 MB/s, recommend using Class 10 or above, or with UHS-1 rating. |
| Working temperature | -10°C - 40°C |
| Gimbal | |
| Waterproof rating | IP67 |
| Stabilization | 3-axis (tilt, pan, roll). |
| Controllable range | Tilt: -90° to 0° Pan: -90° to 90° |
| Max control speed | Tilt: 60 °/s |
| Thermal Camera | |
| Thermal Imager | Uncooled VOx Microbolometer |
| Sensor Resolution | 640 x 512 |
| Lens | Focal length: 19mm Aperture: f/1.0 FOV: 22°H x 18°V |
| IFOV | 0.63 mrad |
| Pixel Pitch | 12 μm |
| Spectral Band | 8~14 μm |
| Sensitivity (NETD) | ≤50mK @25°C, f/1.0 (≤40mK Configurable) |
| Scene Range | -20°C to +150°C (Hight Gain) 0°C to +550°C (Low Gain) |
| Full Frame Rate | 50 Hz (PAL); 30 Hz (NTSC) |
| Photo format | JPEG |
| Video format | MP4, MOV |
| Low Light Camera | |
| Sensors | 1/2" 2M Starlight CMOS |
| Lens | FOV: 92.6° |
| Burst mode | 3/5/10 shoots |
| Video resolution | FHD: 1920*1080 30/60p | HD: 1280*720 120/60p |
| Max data stream | 64 Mbps |
| Photo format | JPEG |
| Video format | MP4, MOV |
Version Information
SwellPro products are constantly improving, so are the product user guides. It is recommended to visit www.swellpro.com to check and download the latest user guide.
Version: Beta 1.0 GC3-T User Guide Beta 1.0 Edition
