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IR camera

fabio

Active Member
Is there any IR camera to install outside of the aircraft and linked on G3x, no so much expansive to buy?
 
I could be wrong, but afaik any IR camera that's worth having on an aircraft *will* be expensive, unless of course you have the expertise to buy just the sensor and build the electronics and heating/thermal regulation yourself.

For one, most "retail" IR cameras, such as security cameras, work by shining IR light onto the surroundings, then capturing the IR reflection on a mostly-standard CMOS sensor. On an airplane, you're too far from everything to do that, so you really need a different type of sensor with very different dynamic range, to capture something usable.

Also, IR cameras with any decent resolution are generally export-controlled (for instance, by ITAR) - that's why you see a lot of crappy 320x240 cameras out there by even reputable companies like FLIR and Astronics, that's all they can sell without asking questions.

Finally, all electronics (semiconductors) are sensitive to temperature - thermal/IR sensors even more so, so you end up having to regulate the temperature that the sensor and surrounding electronics are operating at, which adds cost, complexity and weight.
 
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