Thermal Night Vision Cameras

[Tkeeth]

on a side note, i never take my ir cameras with me on the boat, and while a mounted system would be great to have for spotting barges or boats with no lights, i will not likey ever install one unless its just almost free. i will spend money on better radar and sonar. the best use of it would be man overboard. i think it is worth the money to buy one for that, and if you have some fun with it, great, but dont depend on that for not running into stuff.

[Tkeeth]

Originally Posted by David M

This thread certainly has the needle pegged on the rudeness meter.

Cool, i am out....if anyone has a legit question about thermal imaging pm me. otherwise, there are plenty of people who saw one one time who can give advice.

[taxwizz]

Originally Posted by Tkeeth

i appologize if i read it wrong....

the key to remember is water is not transparent. it absorbs and reflects infrared energy. while a "neato" factor exsists on things you can see, there is no way to recieve ir through water. its physics, there is no work around. its a problem for many applications. we have remote ir systems that control certain functions where i work. when it gets foggy or rains hard enough, we loose all data. steam is also a huge issue for me. solid bodies of water are infinitly more of an issue.

KEWL.
Let's all get together for a beer and declare truce.
I will buy the first round.

[Rorzech]

My sonar scans only to the sides and straight down. I have a fish finder that can be directed 360 degrees. I'll try that pointed forward. It maybe good for 200 ft.

[sailon46]

With my IR have spotted in Spanish Waters Curaçao. Venezuelan possible bandits in a panga on a moonless night and possible averted a boarding.
Ernie on the Mary Jane

[Rorzech]

Mammals may be warmer in their core but with fat insulation their skin could be too close to ambient water temperature to make a difference in the thermal camera.Ir doesn't see through glass at all. I have to open the window if I want to see wild life in the dark outside in the back yard. They show up snow white against the black. Last time I opened the window to point the FLIR outside a bear put his face against the screen and scared the crap out of me. Now I just keep the door locked because levers open to easy.

[Rorzech]

Wouldn't radar reach out farther when looking for bandits and such ?

[taxwizz]

Originally Posted by Rorzech

Mammals may be warmer in their core but with fat insulation their skin could be too close to ambient water temperature to make a difference in the thermal camera.Ir doesn't see through glass at all. I have to open the window if I want to see wild life in the dark outside in the back yard. They show up snow white against the black. Last time I opened the window to point the FLIR outside a bear put his face against the screen and scared the crap out of me. Now I just keep the door locked because levers open to easy.

I wonder if the bear could smell the sh*it in your underwear?
Maybe that scared him away??
hahahahahahaha

[hellosailor]

"I would think cheaper designed small-craft sonar would be able to have some of these capabilities in 2017!"
Logically, then, I should be able to buy a cheaper designed nuclear powerplant, just like the ones the USN has been using on submarines and carriers for the past 50+ years.
And a home version of the X15, capable of cruising at multiple mach speeds above 80,000 feet for hours on end.

[Diesel Bill]

I brought a PVS-14 night vision scope with me to bring the boat from La Paz, Mex. up to L.A. The trip was so bumpy especially at night bumping and thumping and bouncing around that I never got a chance to use it. To busy holding on and trying not to fall down.
I think as another poster said if it was made into a permanent type of screen display mounted so not hand held, it would be useful.

[knockabout]

interphase forward facing sonar has been around for a long time / they are now obsolete / there are many new breeds of FFS that work very well / Flir especially ocean scout are an excellent addition to small yachts that don't have the power generating capacity for radar they will see anything that gives off heat above the waterline including looking directly into the sun or pitch black nights / if the objects you are asking about are cold Flir won't pick them up

[Sunsetrider]

I use my BinoX for digital daytime range-finding and superior binoculars, and at night for scoping around the marina or anchorage, see what's up, any boats approaching, nighttime swimmers etc. Love it. Most useful. Also good for taking bearings. Ony downside is battery cost/life. St. Lawrence River doesn't have a lot of dolphins where I am so I haven't tried underwater viewing but the viewfinder has never shown up anything below the water. But I can't say I've ever actually looked.

Anyone eager to debate Ontario real estate law? I'll kick your ass !

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by knockabout

interphase forward facing sonar has been around for a long time / they are now obsolete / there are many new breeds of FFS that work very well / Flir especially ocean scout are an excellent addition to small yachts that don't have the power generating capacity for radar they will see anything that gives off heat above the waterline including looking directly into the sun or pitch black nights / if the objects you are asking about are cold Flir won't pick them up

Exactly why is the interphase probe "obsolete"? Admittedly, the display is monotone, and it doesn't interface with anything, but when I compare the performance to those fancy new tech ones shown in the PBO clip, it works better, at least as far as picking up hazards at a useful distance.

I'm not very impressed with the new crop, and hope fervently that my old Probe keeps on working! It's now 14 years of age and the backlight for the display is slowly dimming,but it pulses on!

Jim

[Gotcha Covered]

Thanks for all the replies, I've read them all & I take it's a no to being able to spot logs Fads & fishing nets at night. Gotcha Covered

[HankOnthewater]

Originally Posted by Tkeeth

on a side note, i never take my ir cameras with me on the boat, and while a mounted system would be great to have for spotting barges or boats with no lights, i will not likey ever install one unless its just almost free. i will spend money on better radar and sonar. the best use of it would be man overboard. i think it is worth the money to buy one for that, and if you have some fun with it, great, but dont depend on that for not running into stuff.

We have had FLIR systems on our rescue boats over the last 6-8 years, nice toys, have not found a person in the water yet, using FLIR.
Trouble is that when going at acceptable search speed (ie 15 knots), one have to zoom out to wideangle and may miss the small target, and when zooming in, everything flashes by too quickly, and almost certainly will miss that person in the water, as only a small section of sea is visible
Two other problems:
- Due to wave action/boat movement, the screen image bounces up and down, makes it impossible to see anything, although one newer model comes now with gyro stabilisation. I have not tried these as yet.
- one can watch only a small area at the time, unlike like radar that gives a 360 degree picture, from boat to horizon. FLIR gives (when zoomed in) 5-15 degrees, and then only a small part (?10%) from boat to horizon of that 5-15 degrees sector.
Check details here: http://www.flir.com.au/home/news/details/?ID=82812

Yes, FLIR cameras show clearly other boats, markers, buoys etc. Don't know about containers and floating logs.
A word of warning. As a helmsman, do not look at the FLIR screen solely as it may give a false sense of security. I have seen it happen that the helmsman thought he was in clear water, but the camera was angled 10 degrees or so off the bow, and yes that area was clear of obstacles, but there was another boat directly in front of him, with lights! but not seen by the helmsman, as he was looking at the screen.....

While I was reading the specs just now.... here http://www.flir.com.au/marine/display/?id=50777
I see the top of the line model can detect a person at a range of 4000 ft, hmmm, it states size of that person is 1.8 x0.5 mt. Hehehe, that kind of man must be floating above the water, as normally only the head or collar of lifejacket is visible, more like 0.5x0.3 mt (ie providing a target of 1 sg foot or so).
Anyway I assume, that specification is achieved on a calm day and the boat with camera at rest, and the person elevated above the water.

Back to the original question, I don't think IR cameras are useful for that, No, I would not install an IR camera on my boat, to improve my 'nightvision', I use radar for that. Yes, some kind of night vision binoculars is on my wish list.