PC1800F

[BlinderStudio]

I'm trying to use your Dumper to extract the PC1800F but I'm getting all the data in null.

I don't know if there is another library or another way to extract the information, since I'm trying putty, screen, minecom, and it always tells me that it's OFFLINE, but from the Windows computer it does connect me with the same USB cable.

[aquarat]

Hi @BlinderStudio
I no longer own this inverter, it blew up :D so I can't assist you.

[apochroma]

#Contact Me

Hello Aaron

I read your article a while ago: https://aquarat.co.za/teardowns/birddog-ssh-access-and-custom-firmware/
I tried to get in touch with you. The contact form on your blog doesn't seem to work (anymore). Further searches for pages about you or from you also came up empty regarding a way to contact you. That's why I'm trying a perhaps unusual way and committing this letter to one of your recently updated repository. Please don't take offense if I don't really add anything to the project. I have high hopes that you will see this commit and read my letter.

As mentioned at the beginning, I read your article on Birddog and the possibility of installing unsigned source code with great interest. My colleague and I were able to purchase three second-hand Briddog P200s a year ago. Unfortunately, our predecessor made a mistake when updating the firmware on one model. This means that we can no longer access the WebUI for this PTZ camera and the camera is therefore no longer accessible. The camera itself still provides images and can also be controlled using the infrared remote control. We have already sent the camera in for assessment. The answer was that the repair (replacing the circuit board) would be more expensive than buying a new camera.

Somehow we still don't quite want to believe it. Because the camera basically works. You can also reset and ping the IP address with the manufacturer's tool Neuralyzer https://birddog.tv/neuralyzer/
We just can't access the web interface any more, which we urgently need to be able to do in order to update the firmware.

My faint hope is that you will use your expertise to motivate or show interest in perhaps helping us with this matter. I can hardly imagine that we are already at an impasse and have to write off the camera. I have already considered whether the OS of a functioning PTZ could be extracted and stored on the "defective" camera. But unfortunately I don't know how.

However, I would be very pleased if I could reach you with this letter and perhaps even receive a reply.

Kind regards
Claus Pfisterer
[email protected]

[aquarat]

Hi Claus

I make myself difficult to contact 😆, I've had some bad experiences online. Separately I had to disable the contact form on my blog due to spam.

I no longer own any Birddog equipment, or any AV equipment generally. I exited the video industry entirely about 1.5 years ago now.

My blog entry about the Birddog encoders I used to own was about updating the device firmware with a modified payload in order to gain "root" access to the device. It all relied on the web UI to do the update.

If I was in your position I'd probably start by checking if Birddog has a low-level firmware update tool available (I seem to remember they do, but it's still ethernet based, I can't remember the mechanism of operation). Failing that I would probably disassemble the device and look for a serial header (a diagnostic serial port, also known as TTL UART). A debug dongle could be connected to that and quite possibly firmware uploaded using that technique. But this is non-trivial/requires some technical knowledge (u-boot bootloader experience probably) and I don't have the time to do this - but it is an interesting problem and I hate electronics going to waste.

I did a quick search on BD's site and I can't see the low level update tool anywhere - maybe you can ask them.

But in summary, I'm sorry to hear about your problem but I can't assist. I wish you the best of luck though. It is sad.

I'm not a big fan of BD. The last time I used their products they felt incomplete and rushed. I also suspect they are in violation of open source licenses.