FLIR JCU-2 Joystick Controller for M400 / M400XR / M300 Series

The FLIR JCU-2 Joystick Controller (part 500-0398-10) is the OEM helm control unit for FLIR's M-series marine thermal pan / tilt / zoom cameras: the M400, M400XR, the M300C, M332, M364, M364C, and M364C LR. It's the joystick the camera operator uses to wake the camera from standby, drive the pan and tilt mechanism, control optical and digital zoom, switch between thermal and visible (and other) imaging modes, and navigate the on-screen-display (OSD) menu system. For boats running an M-series FLIR camera, the JCU-2 is the primary control surface at the helm.

Why a dedicated joystick controller instead of touch on the chartplotter. Marine thermal pan / tilt cameras need fine, continuous control of the pan and tilt direction (smoothly tracking a target across the water as the boat moves) plus quick zoom adjustments and rapid mode switches. Touchscreen control on a chartplotter works but is awkward for the smooth continuous pan / tilt actions that thermal-camera tracking needs. A physical joystick gives proportional smooth control: lean the joystick a little for slow pan / tilt, lean it more for fast pan / tilt, release to stop. Combined with the dedicated buttons for zoom, mode, scene preset recall, and the rest of the camera functions, the JCU-2 keypad gives the operator a true camera-controller interface that matches what helmsmen used on traditional searchlight and PTZ controls before the thermal-camera era.

Pan / tilt control. The joystick maps to the camera's pan (rotation around the vertical axis) and tilt (rotation around the horizontal axis) servos. Push forward to tilt up, pull back to tilt down, push left or right to pan. The mapping is intuitive and the proportional response means you can either flick the joystick for a quick reposition or roll it gently for fine target tracking. The joystick is the primary input for camera aiming.

Zoom. Dedicated zoom-in and zoom-out buttons handle the camera's optical zoom (where the M-series camera has zoom-capable lenses) and the digital zoom step. For M400 and M400XR (the higher-end M-series cameras with continuous-zoom lenses), the JCU-2's zoom buttons drive the lens through its full zoom range. For the lower-end M300 cameras with fixed-focal-length lenses, the zoom buttons step through the digital zoom levels.

Mode switching. Dedicated buttons cycle through the camera's imaging modes: thermal (the primary thermal IR view), visible-light (the daylight color view from the camera's secondary visible-light sensor on M-series cameras that include one), thermal blend (overlay of thermal data on the visible image), and the various color palettes for thermal display (white-hot, black-hot, ironbow, rainbow, etc.). One-button-press cycles between modes for fast switching between night and day operation.

OSD menu navigation. The keypad has the directional buttons and the select / back buttons that navigate the camera's on-screen-display menu system for configuration changes (image settings, scene presets, network configuration, software update, factory reset, etc.). Most operators rarely touch the OSD - the menus are mostly for one-time setup at install - but having the OSD navigation controls on the JCU-2 means you can fix anything from the helm without needing a separate control device.

Wake and standby. A dedicated power button on the JCU-2 wakes the camera from low-power standby (which is where you leave the camera when not using it to save current draw) and puts the camera back into standby when you're done. The wake-from-standby is essentially instant. The camera goes from standby to fully-operational in a couple of seconds.

Marine-rated build. The JCU-2 housing is rated for permanent installation at the marine helm with marine-rated environmental sealing for spray and humidity exposure. The keypad mat and the mounting gasket together create a watertight seal at the keypad mounting cutout. The cable gland nut creates a watertight seal at the cable entry. For typical center-console, sport-fish, or yacht helm installations, the JCU-2 lives at the helm year-round without service issues from saltwater exposure.

RJ45 Ethernet connection. The JCU-2 connects to the FLIR M-series camera over standard Ethernet using the supplied 25-foot RJ45-to-RJ45 cable. The Ethernet connection carries control signals, video output back to networked displays, and the camera's web-interface traffic for configuration. For longer cable runs, you can splice in additional Ethernet cable using standard couplers up to the typical 100-meter Ethernet length limit. For multi-helm installs (cockpit JCU-2 plus flybridge JCU-2), both joysticks can connect to the same camera over the network.

Multiple JCU-2 support. Many M-series cameras support multiple JCU-2 controllers on the same network for multi-helm installations: one at the main helm, a second at the flybridge, a third at the cockpit station. Each joystick controls the same camera, with the camera handling the simultaneous-operator case automatically (last input wins). Useful for sport-fish boats where the captain runs the camera from the bridge and the cockpit crew runs it during the fight.

Compatible cameras (the full list). M400, M400XR (the higher-end full-feature M-series cameras with longer-range thermal sensors and continuous-zoom optics), M300C (the visible / thermal combo M300 variant), M332, M364, M364C, and M364C LR (the M300-series cameras at various detector resolutions and the LR long-range variant). For older M-series cameras (M-series I and II generations) the JCU-1 is the correct controller. For M-series with the JCU-3 keypad, that's a different keypad with additional buttons for newer features. The JCU-2 fits the model list above specifically.

What's in the box. JCU-2 keypad assembly, keypad mat (sits between the keypad bezel and the mounting cutout for the watertight seal), mounting gasket (sits between the keypad and the dash), 4 mounting screws with rubber washers and the matching mounting clamps, cable gland nut for the cable entry seal, RJ45-to-RJ45 Ethernet cable (25 ft / 7.6 m), and the documentation pack.

Mounting. The JCU-2 mounts flush into a dash cutout (with the mounting gasket sealing the cutout) using the supplied screws / clamps from the back side of the dash. Cutout dimensions are in the install instructions in the documentation pack. Most installs go in the helm console near the chartplotter where the operator can run the camera with one hand while operating the boat with the other.

1-year limited FLIR warranty. Same-day shipping before 3 PM ET on in-stock units.