Excellent video Mike. We use a thermal imaging camera for finding rogue thermal issues on equipment during shows, and I wondered why it kept making that clicking noise and shuttering the image. Expensive toys, but quite frankly, they're well worth the money in terms of usefulness.
This is the single most informative video I have watched for a long time. I am learning quite a lot from your episodes, like debugging and fixing real live devices and how to properly use an oscilloscope and "your wits".
I had so much to do today. Then I found this channel. Like most of us, I can hardly resist disassembling everything and anything I can get my hands on....but this...is on another level!
I was totally fascinated by this entire video, loved watching the diagnosis and repairs, especially the twisting of the board. I also thought your modifications were thoughtful and well done, including making the battery an interference fit for the ac plug. My girlfriend watched quite a bit of this vid as well. Her comment... "Yeah, that was a great video." Now, that's someone using their noggin" Bloody Brilliant
Love the teardown & repair rolled up in one. Having moved away from electronics professionally this particular video reminds me what I loved about repairing boards/systems that came back from bouncing around oil rigs worldwide. Nice one!
Great work on locating the intermittent ! I always have the scope out hooked to an amp and speaker so I can hear it. Find any point that makes or changes noise with the intermittent and you can then poke away while not trying to look at a scope or meter . I find the ears so much better in this situation. I laughed out loud when the shorted trace lit up in the camera display ! It's like not paying taxes ! Thanks again for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us lower life forms.
I have read about using photographic film as a filter for webcams (presumably mainly passing near IR), but it might still be interesting to see how some different types of film (polyester, PET, cellulose acetate or nitrocellulose) behave when viewed in FLIR, (floppy disks are also apparently polyester and work as webcam filters), thanks for all the great videos, you dave(eevblog) and tesla500 are the definite stand outs for teardown and electronics videos.
I cheered when you first got it to work, LOL. Keep up the good work with the videos Mike, love the work. We used to use those cameras in the electrical industry for locating hot joints in high current switch boards.
What a bargain, well worth the risk! Great video, so satisfying to get something back up and running. I'd like one to find heat loss / damp in buildings.
Can be quite twitchy when first turned on but after settling down, only every few mins - my guess is it does it when it sees a certain amount of temp change on the lens body, with a timeout of a few mins when stable.
A real joy to watch these vidoes Mike! Having a job that contains similar work I can absolutely relate to your mindset! That said I am not even nearly as experienced as you, so watching has quite an educational value! Thanks for putting work into this and uploading them to youtube! =)
Nice! My dad is a firefighter, so I have gotten to play around with an infra-red cam a few years ago. Very interesting devices, I love how you can can actually draw with heat :D
Wow nice job repairing and loved the in depth repair vid. Now I want to get one of these that was very neat what you did showing what things the thermal cam can see through and what it cannot see though. And I am very new to electronic repairs but I have been doing more and more some failed but the most part my repairs have worked.
Great video! At around 35:35 you talk about a 32kHz watch crystal. It might be used not for a real time clock, but as the reference for an internal PLL of the processor - a lot processors use this approach.
They're fairly standard 2mm socket probes - more useful on PCBs than standard probes - sharp tip helps penetrate resist & gunk. Just don't use them on 3-phase distribution panels!
You can find similar cold cathode backlight things in "vintage" Canon digital cameras, and also in some camcorders viewfinders, I have a few of them. Wonderfull teardown, thanks for sharing, you push the level a little higher each time, what will be the next one ? :)
Interesting video, Thanks. I think that the sensor is likely cooled thermo-electrically to improve its sensitivity. The sensor would be in vacuum and thermally isolated from the case and electronics as you speculated. While this is not required for low performance sensors, it is likely needed to achieve the sensitivity and performance of the images shown. You are seeing residual heat differences of a few degrees or less in the images. Military FLIRs run at liquid nitrogen temperatures.
Holy crap, nice! :D Also, keep up the awesome vids. I especially enjoy the teardowns/repairs of already-broken gear that was acquired free or nearly free. :)
I have tried a few experiments and it seems that such modified cameras would start to show light from thermal emission somewhere at about 350 to 400 celsius range. However, the emission is very limited at such low temperatures and is easily swamped out by reflection of ambient NIR, so near darkness or working under lamps that does not emit much NIR is necessary for experiments. but you can take some interesting images of things by reflected light, too, things look somewhat different in NIR.
Would love to see a thermal video of a power supply board or similar being powered up, all the traces lighting up as they carried current. Would you get a good image, or would they just not heat up enough? (Damn TH-cam ate my last two comments. Third time's the charm!)
Thermal imaging cams have TEC/Peltier cooler that needs to be conected to a very big cooler! It is needed so the CCD is kept at a very low temperature.
How did you solder those tiny wires? Did you put the extension wires in a small vice or something? I always end up snapping or destroying stuff that small when I try to solder it.
One of the most interesting teardowns yet! I'd love something like that to pull the guts out of (or even better, get it working!). I should keep an eye on more "junk" auctions.
The copper pinch-off tube looks exactly like those used to seal ion pumps for shipment (I work for a company that used to distribute high vacuum products), so I'm inclined to agree with @Doug Fuller; the imaging sensor is likely to be under vacuum.
I just want to let you know that during my training with the US army we use ENVG's which have an integrated thermal vision + night vision and is the size of the palm of my hand. Very handy in detecting enemies in thick bushes and mist! Creates a red thermal outline overlaid on top of the night vision. Tech has advanced real far here.. Only if we could get you one for a teardown!
A pain to search the comments if anybody else has mentioned, but it occurs to me that those large heat-sinky structures might actually simply be counter weights to make the device more evenly weighted, since the battery is to the rear and left, these large heatsinky things are to the front and right sides. The "filling screws" would be used to pour in whatever it is they use to get the right weight.
These things are still relatively expensive when broken. It went for 210 £ at ebay.co.uk But still a relative bargain compared to new ones. Would be fun to film a working high power CO2-Laser, probably you could see a beam like with those Ar-Ion lasers, since the CO2 in the air absorbs the radiation, thus heats up. What resolution does it have?
mikeselectricstuff makes it look faster than it really took... You mean the time it took plus the time you've invested learning what you are doing? Like twenty years or more? Yeah, that explains the value of your work. Bravo and I love you! Thanks for being so damned competent!
Ooh that's very true. I imagine something like this could be a useful tool in determining faults in boards where components heat up in that manner. I actually bought a laser thermometer for that very reason, and it's been invaluable :) It's such a shame these thermal imaging cameras are so out of my price range :(
8:10 seen these years ago in the then popular "pocket" TV's :) Thanks for the long video, not least because there was nothing on TV tonight ;) The only complaint I have with videos like yours and EEVBlog etc is the price of similar items on Ebay are going to skyrocket :p
Not due to security/export - someone reported the listing, they said it was too dangerous and shouldn't have been sold to the dealer (like there aren't any dangerous lasers on Ebay!). I'd love to have got a video of the MOD turning up on my door :"Can we have that laser back" Me: "Sorry I've taken it apart"....
Excellent video Mike. We use a thermal imaging camera for finding rogue thermal issues on equipment during shows, and I wondered why it kept making that clicking noise and shuttering the image. Expensive toys, but quite frankly, they're well worth the money in terms of usefulness.
This is the single most informative video I have watched for a long time. I am learning quite a lot from your episodes, like debugging and fixing real live devices and how to properly use an oscilloscope and "your wits".
I had so much to do today. Then I found this channel. Like most of us, I can hardly resist disassembling everything and anything I can get my hands on....but this...is on another level!
Your troubleshooting process is mesmerizing to watch. Thanks for documenting the whole thing!
I was totally fascinated by this entire video, loved watching the diagnosis and repairs, especially the twisting of the board. I also thought your modifications were thoughtful and well done, including making the battery an interference fit for the ac plug. My girlfriend watched quite a bit of this vid as well. Her comment... "Yeah, that was a great video." Now, that's someone using their noggin" Bloody Brilliant
What an absolute belter of a video Mike. Skills to die for.
Many thanks.
Love the teardown & repair rolled up in one. Having moved away from electronics professionally this particular video reminds me what I loved about repairing boards/systems that came back from bouncing around oil rigs worldwide. Nice one!
Great work on locating the intermittent ! I always have the scope out hooked to an amp and speaker so I can hear it. Find any point that makes or changes noise with the intermittent and you can then poke away while not trying to look at a scope or meter . I find the ears so much better in this situation. I laughed out loud when the shorted trace lit up in the camera display ! It's like not paying taxes ! Thanks again for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us lower life forms.
This is probably one of the most interesting video's I've seen so far. You tested all kinds of things with that camera I would do when I had one.
£222 and an hour's work, that's got to be one of the best thermal imaging camera deals ever!
I have read about using photographic film as a filter for webcams (presumably mainly passing near IR), but it might still be interesting to see how some different types of film (polyester, PET, cellulose acetate or nitrocellulose) behave when viewed in FLIR, (floppy disks are also apparently polyester and work as webcam filters), thanks for all the great videos, you dave(eevblog) and tesla500 are the definite stand outs for teardown and electronics videos.
I cheered when you first got it to work, LOL. Keep up the good work with the videos Mike, love the work. We used to use those cameras in the electrical industry for locating hot joints in high current switch boards.
Very carefully.... just pre-bent wires to sit in the right place and hand-held before gluing
This unit visibly auto-ranges very fast over a wide range depending on scene content.
What a bargain, well worth the risk! Great video, so satisfying to get something back up and running. I'd like one to find heat loss / damp in buildings.
Can be quite twitchy when first turned on but after settling down, only every few mins - my guess is it does it when it sees a certain amount of temp change on the lens body, with a timeout of a few mins when stable.
Best video I've seen on your channel so far! Great repair and presentation of effects at the end.
CO2 laser in air is something on the list of things to try. Resolution is 320x240 - pretty high for a thermal imager.
NICE a 54min long vid. I'd run out of your tear downs, I've watch them all. Waiting for more :)
Yes - film is good for IR-pass at the sort of wavelengths around 800-900nm that CMOS and CCD cameras can see, but LWIR is somewhat different.
A real joy to watch these vidoes Mike! Having a job that contains similar work I can absolutely relate to your mindset! That said I am not even nearly as experienced as you, so watching has quite an educational value! Thanks for putting work into this and uploading them to youtube! =)
Nice! My dad is a firefighter, so I have gotten to play around with an infra-red cam a few years ago. Very interesting devices, I love how you can can actually draw with heat :D
Just long enough! Had me enthralled the entire time. Thanks Mike.
Wow nice job repairing and loved the in depth repair vid. Now I want to get one of these that was very neat what you did showing what things the thermal cam can see through and what it cannot see though. And I am very new to electronic repairs but I have been doing more and more some failed but the most part my repairs have worked.
Great video! At around 35:35 you talk about a 32kHz watch crystal. It might be used not for a real time clock, but as the reference for an internal PLL of the processor - a lot processors use this approach.
No- they are definitely phase-change heat absorbers. This is mentioned in the documentation I've subsequently been sent
They're fairly standard 2mm socket probes - more useful on PCBs than standard probes - sharp tip helps penetrate resist & gunk. Just don't use them on 3-phase distribution panels!
Great video. I like these long ones. 47:50 "I just noticed the clicky thing wasn't clicking"
You can find similar cold cathode backlight things in "vintage" Canon digital cameras, and also in some camcorders viewfinders, I have a few of them. Wonderfull teardown, thanks for sharing, you push the level a little higher each time, what will be the next one ? :)
Thanks for sharing this Mike. Its the most interestingBest electronics video I've seen in ages.
Excellent work and great ending Mike!
Nice to find a Brit with some quality content :D
excellent fix up and teardown.i learnt loads .
Nice teardown and congrats with the repair.
older ones do but this and most modern ones are uncooled
Luck does play a part, but experience helps load the dice
Super interesting video, Mike. As per usual, I love the ending.
Out of curiosity, roughly what would the cheapest 320x240 imager cost today?
Interesting video, Thanks. I think that the sensor is likely cooled thermo-electrically to improve its sensitivity. The sensor would be in vacuum and thermally isolated from the case and electronics as you speculated.
While this is not required for low performance sensors, it is likely needed to achieve the sensitivity and performance of the images shown. You are seeing residual heat differences of a few degrees or less in the images. Military FLIRs run at liquid nitrogen temperatures.
Holy crap, nice! :D Also, keep up the awesome vids. I especially enjoy the teardowns/repairs of already-broken gear that was acquired free or nearly free. :)
Absolutely excellent video. I really enjoyed that one!
Great!. The camera resolution is feels awesome.
epic video! I would love to see some night shots, fire, etc
good job Mike, love the fix up
You took quite a gamble there Mike . you ended up with a nice Win though .
thanks for making me a bit smarter may i ask do you use one of those grounding straps around your wrist when you work with electronic goodies.
dude youre a beast! awesome. wish you could have shown the actual replacement of the inductor.
GREAT electronic teardown Mike !!!!!
Great video, love seeing unusual equipment!
I'm jealous. Could you thermal image some circuits in action?
I have tried a few experiments and it seems that such modified cameras would start to show light from thermal emission somewhere at about 350 to 400 celsius range. However, the emission is very limited at such low temperatures and is easily swamped out by reflection of ambient NIR, so near darkness or working under lamps that does not emit much NIR is necessary for experiments. but you can take some interesting images of things by reflected light, too, things look somewhat different in NIR.
Very interesting and fascinating. Please for the love of all that is sweet and pure, never stop making videos. :)
Brilliant video! I want to buy one of those from eBay! Have you got any link?
Wonderful and educational video
Man I wish I could get cool finds like this on ebay, you are lucky.
Would love to see a thermal video of a power supply board or similar being powered up, all the traces lighting up as they carried current. Would you get a good image, or would they just not heat up enough? (Damn TH-cam ate my last two comments. Third time's the charm!)
Another great video, Mike. Bravo!
Wow. Awesome repair & mods!
Thermal imaging cams have TEC/Peltier cooler that needs to be conected to a very big cooler! It is needed so the CCD is kept at a very low temperature.
How did you solder those tiny wires? Did you put the extension wires in a small vice or something? I always end up snapping or destroying stuff that small when I try to solder it.
One of the most interesting teardowns yet! I'd love something like that to pull the guts out of (or even better, get it working!). I should keep an eye on more "junk" auctions.
great work and wonderful video. Thank you.
Forward Looking Infrared cameras are awesome!
Mike, how do you find these things, do you just do ebay searches for 'not working'?
this channel is totally amazeballs.
That's possible - it could also have been a 32MHz xtal.
Did the UK government stop that shipment within the UK, or was it cross-border? How did they find out about it if it was domestic?
Thanks for the heads up. Imagine how embarrassed I'd have been in my transparent hiding place.
watched the hole thing. great! really enjoyed it
The copper pinch-off tube looks exactly like those used to seal ion pumps for shipment (I work for a company that used to distribute high vacuum products), so I'm inclined to agree with @Doug Fuller; the imaging sensor is likely to be under vacuum.
I want one. :( Who are you working for? Watched most of your videos and you seem to have quite wide range of knowledge :)
Depends on the camera. Some cameras will go up to the 10.6u that a CO2 operates at. But a lot of thermal cameras work at shorter wavelengths.
Great vid. I sell thermal (and visible) cameras and was doing many of the same demonstrations in a training class today.
..and Don't get me started on "Sodder"
In other news... we have the same watch! 5 years and going strong
I can give you a good tip: Use a small noozle and low temperature. And a Atten 585D ist very handy
@ 49:00 in, You had mention about the word "color" being spelled wrong. Is that because it was not spelled "colour"?
I just want to let you know that during my training with the US army we use ENVG's which have an integrated thermal vision + night vision and is the size of the palm of my hand. Very handy in detecting enemies in thick bushes and mist! Creates a red thermal outline overlaid on top of the night vision. Tech has advanced real far here.. Only if we could get you one for a teardown!
Can't wait to watch, still at work now!
What kind of multimeter probes are those, they look so small and flimsy.
please do all further videos with that camera only
Nice mods & a great repair! Cheers for the upload
Unless it was overloaded or badly designed, you'd see the semiconductors & passives heat up faster than the tracks.
I see a flaw in your logic...
FLIR Operator: "Dang! I lost him!"
Pilot: "He's hiding under a sheet of glass."
:P
EE student here. If you were to replace electronics like this as a job (maybe you do), how much would you charge for something like this?
A pain to search the comments if anybody else has mentioned, but it occurs to me that those large heat-sinky structures might actually simply be counter weights to make the device more evenly weighted, since the battery is to the rear and left, these large heatsinky things are to the front and right sides. The "filling screws" would be used to pour in whatever it is they use to get the right weight.
These things are still relatively expensive when broken. It went for 210 £ at ebay.co.uk
But still a relative bargain compared to new ones.
Would be fun to film a working high power CO2-Laser, probably you could see a beam like with those Ar-Ion lasers, since the CO2 in the air absorbs the radiation, thus heats up.
What resolution does it have?
Editing makes it look faster than it really is.....
mikeselectricstuff makes it look faster than it really took...
You mean the time it took plus the time you've invested learning what you are doing? Like twenty years or more? Yeah, that explains the value of your work.
Bravo and I love you! Thanks for being so damned competent!
amazing teardown. I wouldn't mind seeing some photonicinduction style pops and bangs recorded with that :)
Fantastic video, thanks for sharing!!!
Loved that last part xD
(7:17) - "...obviously, salt has, er, some slight life-time issues when it gets wet..."
Just another reason I so *_love_* this channel.
>
Ooh that's very true. I imagine something like this could be a useful tool in determining faults in boards where components heat up in that manner. I actually bought a laser thermometer for that very reason, and it's been invaluable :) It's such a shame these thermal imaging cameras are so out of my price range :(
very nice video! thanks!
8:10 seen these years ago in the then popular "pocket" TV's :) Thanks for the long video, not least because there was nothing on TV tonight ;) The only complaint I have with videos like yours and EEVBlog etc is the price of similar items on Ebay are going to skyrocket :p
This was brilliant, thank-you
There is a little SD card recorder already winging its way from China for mobile recordings
the stuff in metal can is probably phase change material which will melt at certain temperature. Maybe lithium?
Curious how much you paid for this, and how much the MSRP was before it was discontinued.
Not due to security/export - someone reported the listing, they said it was too dangerous and shouldn't have been sold to the dealer (like there aren't any dangerous lasers on Ebay!). I'd love to have got a video of the MOD turning up on my door :"Can we have that laser back" Me: "Sorry I've taken it apart"....