Fireman_DJ Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 This is more of a poke in the side to David to think about it, but has anyone had any dealings with thermal imaging for hunting? Works better then Night Vision gear of a night time, works pretty good during the day time and it really pinpoints living objects compared to the grass which may be the same colour. The camera we have at the fire brigade cost over $23,000 (and they won't let me borrow it to go hunting for some reason), but optics planet had some for around $3,000. While still out of my budget, it might be reasonable to build one out of imported parts like the DIY night vision spotter scopes. Thoughts, ideas, abuse? Well. maybe not the last one, but if you have any of the first two then post away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cameronpatrol Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Not sure what the go would be. Have you checkex out some other sites in the us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj7hawk Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Not sure what the go would be. Have you checkex out some other sites in the us? Thermal will show you where something is, but will not show you what it is and long grass can still obscure it. Even the professional thermal hunters in the US often use thermal to locate, then switch to intensifier to identify, though some will then shoot with thermal once they confirm their target. Unfortunately, thermal is pretty expensive so it's not widely used. As for me? I'd love to add a thermal to my kit, but it's a little too expensive at the moment, so until I get a big chunk of spare budget or one comes along at the right price, I will have to do without. However if I could only have one? I'd go intensifier. Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optic Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Thermal will show you where something is, but will not show you what it is and long grass can still obscure it. Even the professional thermal hunters in the US often use thermal to locate, then switch to intensifier to identify, though some will then shoot with thermal once they confirm their target. Unfortunately, thermal is pretty expensive so it's not widely used. As for me? I'd love to add a thermal to my kit, but it's a little too expensive at the moment, so until I get a big chunk of spare budget or one comes along at the right price, I will have to do without. However if I could only have one? I'd go intensifier. Regards David +1 David and myself have talked alot about thermal. But the pitchers we get are hard to beat from the gear we have. I think what has not been said it that when we spot game through our gear the eyes light up to a glow. They glow that bright they affect the shape of the game. If you look through old threads you will see what i mean, and that was using a sh!tty camera. Side on front on it does not matter, they stand out big time nothing can hide that has eyes. Ill stick to what i have,even tho i could afford a thermal if i was silly enough to want one. Much happier to spend the 30K on machinery to advance our projects to where we want them to be. We even looked at breaking down cheap thermal cameras just to see what we could produce from them. The end result of that was that it just wasn't worth it for a possible result. But by all means keep throwing in ideas, it can only help us. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman_DJ Posted August 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 I have used Thermal Imaging, just not for hunting. I've gotta say with the right person you can see a lot of stuff. No they won't see through grass or even very thick fog, but I have spotted clouds with them so range isn't an issue. And as long as you know what shape you're looking for I don't think ID is that big of an issue. How many cows have thick bushy tails and sharp teeth? In a house of the evening I can see the whole ceiling structure, where all the beams are etc. I can even see foot prints of someone wearing boots. Clearly like you, $24,000 plus isn't in my price range. But when I saw some for less then $5,000 on one website, ready to go. There's gotta be some other sites with units or components even cheaper. A bonus in my opinion is it works day and night, rather then getting damaged in the daylight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Maxy Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Just like Predator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchy Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 thermal imaging camera i use for windfarms to check for any hot electrical joins, hot spots etc cost $15,000 range - 10 meters unsure if there is something out there with mega range on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cameronpatrol Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Just like Predator? Yeah mate. Heat and another two visions i think. Hes da man of aliens yyyeehhaaaaa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Maxy Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Yeah mate. Heat and another two visions i think. Hes da man of aliens yyyeehhaaaaa I love those movies seen the about ten times. Billy what is it Billy? I am scared boss one thing I know is where all going to die? Love that part of the movie lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cameronpatrol Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 I love those movies seen the about ten times. Billy what is it Billy? I am scared boss one thing I know is where all going to die? Love that part of the movie lol Love em. I said her pussy,s the size of. House Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman_DJ Posted August 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Not sure about your thermal cam, it's lens might be focused differently. Most cams are good out to much further then 10m. The one I use for fire fighting has a pretty good range depending on the temperature differential. As I said, I can spot clouds with it and I'm guessing they are more then 10m away! Seriously, I pick up some hotspots in bush fires from over 100m away in the afternoon heat through the scrub. The guys with hoses and rackhoes hate me for it however! I can also miss a hotspot 1m away if there's a log between me and it which comes back to our training, looking for reflected heat etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj7hawk Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Not sure about your thermal cam, it's lens might be focused differently. Most cams are good out to much further then 10m. The one I use for fire fighting has a pretty good range depending on the temperature differential. As I said, I can spot clouds with it and I'm guessing they are more then 10m away! Seriously, I pick up some hotspots in bush fires from over 100m away in the afternoon heat through the scrub. The guys with hoses and rackhoes hate me for it however! I can also miss a hotspot 1m away if there's a log between me and it which comes back to our training, looking for reflected heat etc. Hmmm... Something you may not have considered, cheap Gen1 NV is actually really good for spotting hot coals at night, even when they are hidden. Cheap Gen1 NV isn't much good for a lot of things, but spotting fires and aurora's are two things they are very good for. And you don't always need line of sight. I've spotted a buried fire before with Gen1... A small vent through a tiny crack in the sand, but it was like a beacon to the Gen1 scope. Would have been too small with thermal except up close and was invisible to my eye until I almost put my eye right up to it... but it was like there was a bright light under there to the Gen1. The Gen2 also saw it, but it amplified the surrounding area so much that the effect was lost. But to Gen1, it was like a 100w light bulb in the dead of night. Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optic Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Hmmm... Something you may not have considered, cheap Gen1 NV is actually really good for spotting hot coals at night, even when they are hidden. Cheap Gen1 NV isn't much good for a lot of things, but spotting fires and aurora's are two things they are very good for. And you don't always need line of sight. I've spotted a buried fire before with Gen1... A small vent through a tiny crack in the sand, but it was like a beacon to the Gen1 scope. Would have been too small with thermal except up close and was invisible to my eye until I almost put my eye right up to it... but it was like there was a bright light under there to the Gen1. The Gen2 also saw it, but it amplified the surrounding area so much that the effect was lost. But to Gen1, it was like a 100w light bulb in the dead of night. Regards David Um just hit on an idea David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adios Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 The really good military stuff is a combination of , Thermal , Image intensifier and black and white IR all on the one image . At night It's almost like looking through a normal scope in day time . I would have to sell my house to buy one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj7hawk Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 The really good military stuff is a combination of , Thermal , Image intensifier and black and white IR all on the one image . At night It's almost like looking through a normal scope in day time . I would have to sell my house to buy one. LoL! They are not *that* expensive, just hard to get... I've seen fusion add-ons sell for around $5K secondhand before with regularity. New I think it's around the $20 mark in the US. Actually, I'm watching some cheaper thermal projects at the moment and there are some alternatives. Some are quite clever and dirt cheap, though not suitable for what we're doing. And others... If I get anywhere, don't worry, I'll post here. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman_DJ Posted August 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 That's so cute!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adios Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 LoL! They are not *that* expensive, just hard to get... I've seen fusion add-ons sell for around $5K secondhand before with regularity. New I think it's around the $20 mark in the US. Actually, I'm watching some cheaper thermal projects at the moment and there are some alternatives. Some are quite clever and dirt cheap, though not suitable for what we're doing. And others... If I get anywhere, don't worry, I'll post here. David Not the same NV scope that I am talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj7hawk Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 Not the same NV scope that I am talking about. That's because I accidentally said $20 instead of $20K. I am guessing you are probably talking about the AN/PSQ-20 or something like that - ( Also known as the ENVG ) - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj7hawk Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 I can't think of many NODs that would cost as much as a house though... hard to get, sure, but usually not quite all that expensive. Still, more than I can throw around. There are others too - The COTI - Clip On Thermal Imager - very nice. http://www.youtube.com/user/cnoct#p/u/28/AdoNJhJvH-E And just straight thermal... http://www.youtube.com/user/cnoct#p/u/42/GGKyG6_NEA0 Regards David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj7hawk Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 OK, a quick question... If I were to make the next project "DIY Thermal Imaging" providing a thermal night vision device suitable for finding game and the likes, but it cost around $3000 to build yourself, would anyone be interested? It would involve secondhand parts and would be quite a bit more risk than the original spotter project, but it would give you thermal. And just in case you were wondering, no, I was not thinking of producing a crosshair version. This would be a handheld spotter, not a rifle-mounted device. It's just that it's a load of work to produce detail and instructions for a DIY thermal scope with built in video recorder and maybe low-light CCD for dual-band operation - though if enough people really want to go this way and the price doesn't put anyone off, I will consider it. Keep in mind though that thermal is only really used for spotting animals... You still need an intensified rifle scope to shoot them. Though I guess you could go-spotlight too. Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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