DIY thermal monocular spotter: description, notes, video samples... (02/01/2022).

[@mmooggoomm]

oh dang i didnt even notice the video is quite new! happy new year and nice job!

[@thenightvisionlab]

Hello Benjie/ LordUnsinkbar! Happy New Year to you also and thank you a lot for your comment. Best regards!

[@lindarose4870]

Wow you have a nice sensor I was looking for this Sensor for a long time I made a camera with ZWO imx178mm with thermal sensor and I made my own leans with 4 canon lens with F1.2 so I can see faint objects

[@thenightvisionlab]

Hello linda rose, thank you for yur feedback! :) If i understand well, you did a kind of night vision/astro camera from a imx178 sensor which performs very well indeed, in Vis and Nir. But have you also integrated a second sensor (thermal sensor) in your project? if you would like to explain to me/us a bit more, i would be very interested for sure! Thank you in advance! And it is true that thermal cores/cameras from this type are not easy to find, or at least quite expensive. For mine i was simply looking, but for a long tine, in second hand market for finding a "reasonable" offer.

[@lindarose4870]

yes thank you for asking I do Galaxy also satellites tracking in high definition not just dot on the screen put a picture how it looks also I can see it’s Solar panels when it comes to my instruments I made 3D printed box that has mirrors and beam splitter so I can fuse the thermal sensor with the imx178mm I made instrument that can make 4 Celestron 8inch work together so I can see Mars mountains and lakes I use different filters for different work am working on a sensor to see objects in 3D live with Python object tracking hope that helps

[@thenightvisionlab]

@@lindarose4870 , ouhaou ! what yous describe is another league for sure! I would be very interested to see a picture from your setup, or even a drawing.... Especially concerning the design of your beam splitter, because it is challenging to manage to split an entrance beam in a first Vis/Nir component and a second LWIR one! I did some small experiments about that here, but simply by bringing in parallel a thermal system and a Vis/Nir system, trying to mitigate the parallaxe problem related to such configuration, when aiming close subject. see here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4fNZ6trZr2cprs and also here kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZmG1ppuAdqminbM kzbin.info/www/bejne/mabZZaKFjdKDe7M fro instance. In advance, thank you for your feedback about your own setup!

[@lindarose4870]

yes I will post it in my channel soon the secret is having a small hole in your 45 degree mirror to the imx178mm with the beam splitter because glass can’t read the thermal sensor when I see Mars I see everything that moves I really like your sensor because I can see vegetation on Mars etc

[@JoeyMakesEverything]

Amazing work! How much in total did u spend on this project?

[@user-rk5cu5tg2g]

Hello, just getting into thermal imaging systems and wondering around about how much a project similar to yours would cost?

[@thenightvisionlab]

Hi. Thank you for your interest. For the cost, the whole project was centred around a second hand old thermal core i found on E-Bay. There is a quite large range of prices, for such kind of items, but generally speaking, between 200 and let's say 500 Euros, you may find very valuable thermal core or old thermal units in this range of resolution 160x120. You would have to find also a bit of elements like simple low cost powerbank, duct tape, resin or 3D print if you wish and can.... the next element to be found would be the electronic viewfinder, something retrievable also on E-Bay (chinese source for instance) for let's say few dozen of Euros, again few euros/dozen of euros for a mini DVR recording unit (try to investigate in the drone shops, for instance).... Starting from scratch, i would say with 700 Euros, you can finalize your project... If you have already a well fed junk box in your workshop you may save some money and go under the step of 500 Euros. Again, it is just one estimation.... The main cost is anyway the thermal core by itself.... Good luck for your coming project(s).

[@user-rk5cu5tg2g]

Thank you very much for the quick and comprehensive reply, ill have to have a little look on eBay for some good bargains. But thanks again and the best of luck to you in your future endeavours.

[@thenightvisionlab]

Your welcome! My pleasure... :) one example here: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364222333684?hash=item54cd57c2f4%3Ag%3AeSMAAOSwSNNkPWK5&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4MnYn%2FqNb3QvB%2FOQhpAvLbiPGlJlXRxpSKdLBGCfwXxJMlsQI4Hmx%2FmXIz96MTOMaJ0ViVP24kl7BoTntSkOPUQ37OCZDGL2SgwaUG2kmfXQbuHk3SnWCH9futXfI5zBCbLdzZjva8KhlsnRBhgBeaaODpHgzXZj9PjtFNp3pRVXoUsy2RTOjwKFCsuLjHq8YtIYkYyLqfVMPT2lFbK8kPL39K5eAM88DWaIU%2FtThx%2FmpUcxrhWlr6CXV6N8jTtX8NIjHLNoMHPwIgsnf8aPsdExC9smNpEJomX3sR7aGhsa%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7LIkaKAYg&LH_BIN=1&LH_ItemCondition=3000 . Best regards! :)

[@brutusjb3814]

Can you just hook camera up to little lcd screen instead of a view finder

[@thenightvisionlab]

Hello, yes of course. The thermal core delivers a very classical analogical video composite signal. You can feed any kind of cheap LCD display used for video monitoring, rear camera for cars, whatever able to accept analog video composite signal. Cheers.

[@brutusjb3814]

@@thenightvisionlab I have this rifle scope attachment that uses a infared camera and nylon compression Fittings. Attaches to the back of the scope. The camera can slide out by one Philips screw. It would be pretty neat to make a thermal setup using the existing attachments for the scope. I believe the ID of the tube is around 2 to 2 1/2 inches the camera would slide into.. The whole system comes with a LCD screen and runs off of 2 18650 batteries. Infared vision is pretty good for picking up the glare of animals eyes. But thermal would pick it up the entire animal if the eyes are hidden behind a bush. I have been wanting a thermal scope but love the lcd screen on this infared, less eye strain .

[@thenextproblem8001]

Is there a step by step manual? I really want to build one for myself good job

[@thenightvisionlab]

Thank you TheNextProblem. No i do not have specifically disclosed a step by step manual. I made this project by scavengering elements here and there. It is not meant to be duplicated in "copy and paste" mode. Indeed, once you find your thermal core, you will have to look after a EVF and manage your own PSU depending features of your EVF and thermal core..... The only global "architecture" to keep in mind is: lens -> thermal core with its FPA sensor and video output -> EVF.... what kind of lens, sensor and EVF you can use will depend on what you will find... For instance, my EVF is not anymore produced, but you can instead use without problem this currently produced models www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=micro+display+viewfinder&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=lcd+video+viewfinder&_osacat=0&_sop=12&LH_PrefLoc=2 , idem for the thermal core, take a look on E bay for second hand unit, and also this excellent forum www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/ , lens can be found on Ebay "thermal lens" or "LWIR lens", but like the core, are expensive.... Again, take a look on the previously cited forum. For the overall housing and aspect of my project, i did the casing from scrap and junks gathered in my trash dispenser. So not really an open source project based on 3D printing file to be shared, for instance... :D :D . But if you catch the principle and concept, you will be able to do your own thermal spotter without any doubt. Good luck, and do not hesitate to come here again if you have more questions or want to share your own project. Cheers!

[@dirjawinata3602]

Can this put on riflescope thk

[@thenightvisionlab]

If you manage to design a proper suitable frame, why not, but this specific project was thought just to be a simple spotter handheld or on tripod. You could use this core for sure, just to design around a true proper casing (3D printing, machining...). Be aware about the recoil concern, for instance. Take a look on the forum nightvisionforumuk.com (you have to be registered)... Plenty of knowledge for this specific thermal application. Good luck.

[@alanspc75bloglegoelectroni43]

Where I can find the sensor??

[@thenightvisionlab]

Hi Alans Pc75. Some second hand thermal imaging cores can be found time to time on E-Bay.... Take a look also on Mouser for FLIR Lepton Modules or equivalent.... Not easy to find something with a "decent resolution" for a budget.... Good luck.

[@markoeberhardt3132]

Wow man I got hella questions and curiosity about this.

[@thenightvisionlab]

Hi! markoeberhardt3132. Thank you for your interest. Do not hesitate to put your questions here. Cheers.

[@markoeberhardt3132]

@@thenightvisionlab Well I think this is awesome, what I’m wondering is if this is possible in a rifle scope?? The issues with this in a rifle scope would be the fact that the tube is just so much smaller. Then I wonder if it would have proper resistance to the recoil vibrations and dings and drops

[@thenightvisionlab]

@@markoeberhardt3132 , hi, for your question i copy and paste a reply i did already for someone else, here: "If you manage to design a proper suitable frame, why not, but this specific project was thought just to be a simple spotter handheld or on tripod. You could use this core for sure, just to design around a true proper casing (3D printing, machining...). Be aware about the recoil concern, indeed: it is not forgiving for optics, generally speaking. Take a look on the forum nightvisionforumuk.com (you have to be registered)... Plenty of knowledge for this specific thermal application. " In addition, i guess that the thermal core by itself is more resistant than a NV tube, thanks to its "solid state" nature: in thermal cores, the "modern" sensors (micro bolometer, Si alpha,...." is "FPA" type) have no bulky ceramic/glass vacuum volume, with quite fragile micro channel plate therein, like NV tube..... Just a concern would be the mechanical shutter usually periodically used with microbolometer sensor. This shutter is quite fragile. you would have to check if it would stand indeed the recoil.... If you want to design your own rifle thermal scope, perhaps a Si alpha type sensor would be a better contender (?) because not requiring any mechanical shutter. Good luck! :)

[@markoeberhardt3132]

@@thenightvisionlab not gonna lie I don’t know anything about those sensors, but I’ll try to jump into that forum and do some googles.