SWELLPRO GC3-T User manual

GC3-T
User Guide
Visit www.swellpro.com for the latest version of this manual and firmware updates for
your drone and accessories.
v Beta 1.0 –Oct. 2021

©2021 SwellPro All Rights Reserved 2
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.
https://www.swellpro.com/splash-drone-4.html#download

3©2021 SwellPro All Rights Reserved
Thank You
Thank you for purchasing the GC3-T waterproof 3-axis Gimbal Thermal Camera. We
have 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 the
specific problem using the product, the FAQ can be another great
resource for you to look at. Go to the SwellPro website, look for
support >product support > the product > FAQ to find the FAQ page.
https://www.swellpro.com/news/product-support.html
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.

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Social Media
Join our SwellPro Facebook page to meet other people who share their adventures with
SwellPro. www.facebook.com/SwellPro/
Register Product Warranty
Please register your product as soon as possible to ensure warranty coverage.
https://www.SwellPro.com/info/register.html
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.

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Content
NOTICE 2
Thank You 3
Using this Manual 3
FAQ 3
Video Tutorials 3
Social Media 4
Register Product Warranty 4
Download the SDFly App 4
Content 5
Precaution 7
Product Overview 8
In the Box 9
Product Diagram 10
Installation 11
Install the Gimbal 11
Install the SD Card 11
Camera Status Indicator 12
Control 13
Gimbal Control 13
Gimbal Button 13
Camera Control 14
Calibration 14
SDFly App 16
Main Interface 16
Thermal Camera Setting 18
Appendix 21

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Specification 21
Version Information 22

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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℃, 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℃~ 50℃.
Do not touch 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.

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Product Overview
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,
which 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), wide range (-20℃to 500℃) infrared thermal imaging. Powerful enough
for missions ranging from search & rescue, security detection, precision agriculture to
various industrial inspections, such as routine power line inspection, roofing and solar
panels maintenance, bridge defect detection, etc.
The low-light camera can capture full HD imaging in the dark environment when the
regular camera cannot return any images. When operating in complete darkness, the
dimmable LED flashlight still gives you the confidence to maintain the vision. With the
low light camera, whenever you find the object of interest using the infrared thermal
camera, you can always switch back to give a visual confirm of the object.
With the SwellPro waterproofing technology and the compatibility with the powerful
SplashDrone 4 flight flatform, you will get excellent aerial thermal imaging in any harsh
weather conditions.

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In the Box

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Product Diagram
1. Gimbal Mount
4. Gimbal Connector
2. Roll Motor
5. Pan Motor
3. Tilt Motor
6. microSD Card Slot
7. Low light Camera
8. Infrared Thermal Camera
9. Dimmable LED Flashlight

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Installation
Install the Gimbal
1. Unscrew and take off the gimbal port cover plate
using a hex screwdriver. (Equipped with SplashDrone
4)
2. Plug the gimbal connector into the drone's gimbal
port and screw it in place with a screwdriver.
󱛻󱛼󱛽Make sure the rubber ring is attached to the gimbal
connector before you screw the connector.
3. Aline the holes on the gimbal mount to the bottom
of the drone, screw in to mount the gimbal. Make sure
the camera is pointing to the front of the drone.
Install the SD Card
1. Open the rubber sealing on the top of the camera,
insert the microSD card in the correct direction,
press the microSD card. The "click" sound
indicates that the installation is in place.
2. After installing the microSD card, plug the rubber
seal back.
󱛻󱛼󱛽Make sure the rubber sealing is firmly in place to
ensure waterproofing.

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•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 the camera's
working status. It flashes green or red.

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Control
Gimbal Control
Remote controller
Description
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
the 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 to the head of the drone.
Lock mode locks the gimbal position to a fixed angle instead of following the drone's
direction.
Press the GIMBAL MODE button once to restore
the central position.
Fast press the GIMBAL MODE button 3 times to
switch gimbal modes.

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Camera Control
Remote controller
Description
Photo①: press once to take a picture.
Video②: press once to start recording, press
again to stop recording and save the file.
When taking photos or videos, the camera will take both the thermal imaging files
and the RGB files and store them together in the memory card.
Calibration
If there are any abnormal movements being 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:
1. 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.
2. 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. Now
release the joysticks. This process will be completed in 20
seconds. Do not move the drone during this process.
3. When the front status indicators fast-flashing red, and the
rear status indicators turn solid green, or "WARNING Aircraft
Initializing, Please Wait" prompt disappears, power off and
Steady Plane

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restart the drone. Gyroscope calibration is complete.
󱛻󱛼󱛽Do not calibrate the gimbal camera on a boat or other moving platforms.

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SDFly App
Main Interface
1. Main Camera View
Main Camera View displaces the Livestream of the camera view. Tap the Camera View
Thumbnail on the bottom right corner to switch the Main Camera View between the
thermal camera and the low-light camera.
2. Temperature OSD
Temperature OSD contains the Max, Min, Avg, Center temperature information detects
by the thermal camera.
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.
3. Center Temperature
The temperature at the center of the image, same as the Center on the Temperature
OSD.

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4. Camera Setting
Change camera settings and adjust camera parameters for both the thermal camera
and low-light camera.
5. Photo Taking Button
Tap to take photos. Both the thermal photo and RGB photo (from the low-light camera)
are going to take simultaneously.
6. 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 going to save simultaneously.
7. Camera View Thumbnail
Camera View Thumbnail displaces the alternative camera view. Tap the thumbnail to
change the main camera view between thermal camera view and low-light camera view.

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Thermal Camera Setting
Flip
Flip the image vertically or horizontally.
Palette
Select different color palettes in various conditions to better visualize the infrared
thermal imaging.

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Crosshair
Crosshair marks the frame on the viewfinder.
Contrast
Set the contrast to visualize the infrared thermal imagery better. Set the ratio of the
parts which represent the hot and cool part of the imagery.
Brightness
Set the brightness to visualize the infrared thermal imagery better.

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DDE (Digital Details Enhancement)
DDE (Digital Details Enhancement) enhance the 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 temperature OSD on or off.
Temperature Unit
Support temperatures displace in Celsius (℃), Fahrenheit (℉), and Kelvin (K).
Temperature Alarm
Temperature alarm allows for the detection of any temperatures that arise outside of
the set temperature range. Temperature alarm has three options:
•High-Temperature Alarm
•Low-Temperature Alarm
•High & Low-Temperature Alarm