Possible to build a thermal imaging sensor or device?

Hello all,

I am interested in possibly building a thermal imaging attachment for a
video camera or digital camera for wildlife observation and would like to
know how possible this would be. I have checked many places on the web for
kits or plans and most of what I found won't really work very well for me.
I'm really only concerned with the following requirements:

Ability to detect body heat to a range of 100 yards.

Does not need to be color.

Does not have to be an accurate temperature...just indication of heat.

Size is not really a factor.

I do NOT need the latest and greatest technology for this.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Steve Sprague
http://www.texasmetal.net

 

Hi John, answers inline...

I meant the size of the equipment is not really a factor. I apologize for
not being more clear.

You're right. I dont have a clue. Thats why Im here asking questions. My
statement about not needing the latest and greatest technology refers to the
fact that I could use older equipment to save on my cost. I dont require
the most recent advances in chips etc. as I know thermal imaging has been
around for a while.

I would like to detect animal body heat in total darkness to a distance of
about a hundred yards or so. It would be for field research.

Thanks.

Steve

 

Type of terrain?
Air temperature?
Ground temperature?
Plant Growth?
Plant/animal rot?
Single point register or visual clue about the target?
Animals as small as mice or an horse?
Power supply type?
Rain forest or desert?
Polar or equatorial?

Facts not just I want to detect animals. A simple PIR from Home Depot will
do that and give you light when it does.

Charles

 

Hi Charles, replies inline...

Texas..specifically East and Northeast Texas. Heavy woods, swamp.

Low 30's F to high 90's F

Relative to the above air temp? couldnt even begin to guess...

Not so much animal as plant Im sure.

Visual clue would be nice.

Deer and above.

Vehicle power with inverter. I assumed I would have a stand alone power
supply of some sort for the imaging, but if it can be run off of
pre-existing setup, all the better.

Closer to rain forrest than desert.

Not sure about your meanings here, but Im pretty sure Im more equatorial
than polar.

Well, we are making progress I guess. I apologize for not knowing what
"facts" are needed up front. Thats why Im here.

Steve

 

---
OK.

There's a possible solution for you at:

http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinec...fm?productID=1402&search=1#SpecificationTable

Also, if you google for "infrared viewer" you'll get some pretty good
hits.

You could also try to do it with a passive infrared (PIR) detector,
but you'll need a pretty decent optical system to be able to detect a
deer at 100 yards, especially with a high ambient temperature and a
slowly-moving animal. If I recall correctly, a deer radiates about
300 watts somewhere in the range of 1000 to 3000 nanometers, so
knowing that and the spectral range and sensitivity of the detector,
you should be able work out what you have to do optically to do the
detection. There's a lot of data available on PIR detectors and
Fresnel lenses on the web, so Googling around would probably get you
the information you need to determine whether it's practical to try to
do it that way.

 

Steve:

Someone on this group has noted in the past that
standard video cameras do a good job of sensing
IR. They were using IR illumination instead of
visible light, however, which is not the same as
thermal IR wavelengths. I kinda suspect that
any response tail of the sensor won't have much
thermal response, but if you have one it might
be worth a shot.




Bob Masta
dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom

D A Q A R T A
Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
www.daqarta.com

 

Hi Steve,
You might want to try Infra Red photography instead - easier and
cheaper by far.
Many still/video cams can be modified - or are designed for taking IR
pics - see Sony "Night-Shot".
Just use a PIR type motion detector to detect the animal and trigger
the cam.
There are a few web-sites/forums discussing the topic of home-built
automatic wildlife photography equipment - check
http://www.hagshouse.com for for some ideas.

Arch

 

"Temperate."

Cheers!
Rich

 

Yeah, us crusty old newsgroup farts like to have you young whippersnappers
do as much homework as we can talk you into, it makes giving answers
so much more fun! (that is to say, the more information we have, the
better the answers, and the more fun we have making them up. )

I presume you've already gone to http://www.google.com and entered
"night vision" for a search term? That's what I'd do.

Ah, heck, I couldn't help myself. With quotes, "about 1,2500,000"
hits for "night vision". Without quotes, 4,530,000 hits.

I've also heard that some ordinary hand-held LCD cameras are
sensitive to IR, but don't know if that's true - if so, a
simple IR filter on an ordinary unit might give you what you want.

Have fun, and report back!

Cheers!
Rich

 

It's true most CCD based camcorders have some amount of IR sensitivity but
to actually use one for animal spotting you'd need to "light" the area with
IR, probably using filtered incandescent lights.
Personally I'd research FLIR and see if I could find a used cam.

Charles