Monday, August 8, 2011

Palm IR 250D / Thermal-Eye 250 Thermal Imager Infrared Camera Presentation

The Palm IR 250D thermal imager is the longest running most beloved thermal camera of all time. Also known as the Thermal Eye 250 it has been in service for over 15 years and surpasses the image quality of all "new" infrared cameras offered today. The 250D infrared imager has a unique sensor technology that is more robust and produces a better image over a wider range of conditions than todays microbolometer based thermal imaging systems. The 250 is a bigger unit but the thermal images are far superior to anything else available today. The Palm IR 250 was originally developed by Texas Instruments and then manufactured by Raytheon Corporation under Raytheon Commercial Infrared and finally sold to L3 Communications to become the Thermal-Eye 250D. This illustrious pedigree spans some of the greatest american defense companies and shows the power of the 250D thermal imager. SPI Corp is now the sole provider of these infrared camera systems offering sales and full repair support on them. Call us at 702-369-3966 or visit our website at x20.org.

FLIR THERMACAM P40 Infrared Camera from FLIR Systems Inc

FLIR Systems Inc. is the leader in infrared camera technology. We are presenting a used FLIR P40 infrared camera today in this video. This thermal imager is a radiometric infrared camera for energy audits, home inspections, predictive maintenance, power line surveys and other thermography applications. This is a complete thermal infrared camera that is being sold as a used model. This is an excellent low cost infrared cameras opportunity from SPI CORP at x20.org. Call today 702-369-3966.

FLIR ThermaCam PM 695 Infrared Cameras from FLIR SYSTEMS INC (USED)

The THERMACAM PM 695 from FLIR SYSTEMS INC is one of the most popular predictive maintenance infrared cameras of all time. The 695 is a robust thermal imager on which all modern PDM style thermal cameras are based. From its user friendly on screen menus to the ergonomic button placement, this is the way a thermography camera should be built. SPI has a very limited supply of used pm 695 infrared cameras available as low cost infrared camera systems. Call us today to discuss the options at SPI CORP 702-369-3966 or x20.org. 

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Expectant Mother Gets Surprise View of Unborn Infant

The thermal image shows the unborn child appearing as green inside the womb. 

A French tourist got an unexpected peek at her baby while visiting an infrared camera exhibit in Scotland

"I've just seen my baby!" squealed the mother. Read more...

Monday, July 25, 2011

Thermal Imaging Saves Tykes' Tushies

Infrared Cameras protect our nation's most important assets

Doctors and fire departments across the country recommend checking playground equipment with thermal cameras.

Do YOU care about our moppets' bums?

Friday, July 22, 2011

New Thermal Images Show Rising Lava Lake


Thermal Camera Catches Temperatures Above 400 Degrees Celsius


Thermal image of Pu`u `Ō `ō crater showing the lava lake within the crater

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

What are Infrared Cameras and How does an infrared camera work?

Electro-Optical Systems what the hell does that mean?
Infrared cameras are electro optical systems comprised of specialty sensor and lens combinations used to image infrared (heat) energy.  What the hell does that mean?  It can sound complicated but really infrared cameras (AKA thermal imagers or thermal cameras) are very simple to understand.  Every object in the universe emits infrared energy.  This infrared radiation travels in much the same way as the visible light that we see with our eyes except that it is invisible to us humans.  Our eyes cannot see infrared radiation but we can sense it with our bodies.  If you hold your hand next to something warm or cold and you feel that temperature on your hand, that is infrared energy.  Unfortunately, our skin is not a very sensitive detector of infrared energy and requires at least a few degrees of temperature difference for us to be able to sense the change.  Infrared cameras, however, are designed to sense temperature changes from about 1/10 of a degree to as little as a few hundredths of a degree difference in temperature.  This amazing sensitivity allows infrared cameras to produce a stunning image of the world around you that looks just like a visible light image.  There is a common misconception that infrared cameras just show you blobs of heat against a black background.  To the contrary, todays infrared cameras produce stunningly detailed images of everything around you.  The images are so good that military agencies use thermal imaging to navigate vehicles, fly jets and even target weaponry. The image on an infrared camera is the same in bright light or total darkness because this technology does not rely on visible light to produce an image.  The infrared cameras are immune to light pollution 
of any kind. This gives you a clear advantage after dark.


Microbolometers just a fancy word for imaging chip 
Infrared cameras have a sensor that is called the Focal Plane Array. This is a fancy word for an imaging chip that is essentially the same as the chip found in your everyday camcorder or digital camera.  The difference is that this chip is sensitive to infrared energy rather than light energy.  They are made from different materials and have names like VoX (Vanadium Oxide) or AS (Amorphous Silicone) microbolometers with the letters referring to the material the chip is made from.  The lens is also special in infrared cameras.  Infrared energy does not pass through glass very well at all.  The lenses need to be made from exotic materials that will allow infrared energy to pass through freely.  The premier material for infrared camera lenses is a crystal called Germanium.  This exotic and expensive material is cut and polished to produce the finest thermal lenses available.  It is interesting to note that since infrared energy does not pass through glass it introduces on of the drawbacks to infrared imaging which is that it cannot see through windows.  Essentially, a glass window will act like a mirror to an infrared camera and all you will see is a reflection of yourself when looking at glass. Some infrared cameras are also calibrated so that they can tell you the temperature of any point in the image.  These systems are known as radiometric infrared cameras and are used in a wide variety of industrial and maintenance applications.  Radiometric infrared cameras are very popular in energy audit, predictive maintenance, electrical inspection, pipeline inspection and other industrial applications.  This type of infrared imaging is known as thermography.