Since I get so many inquires from professional hunting ranches and hunting groups about setting up this mobile thermal hunting kit, I figured I would describe my mobile thermal installation in my Honda Pioneer 700-4 in a standalone thread.
First off, this is a heavy duty system designed for placement on marine yachts for operation 24/7/365 day and night in extreme weather conditions, it comes complete with everything needed for a professional installation. It it totally and completely waterproof, dirt and mud proof, vibration proof, and sunlight proof. When the unit is covered in mud, I simply spray everything off with a hose, including the M-324 itself, the CPU, and the LCD monitor, not a problem.
If you are not familiar with electronics installations, this is NOT for you. I would estimate total installation time and custom configuration work at about 40+ hours of labor depending on how much custom design work is needed.
I purchased the FLIR M-324XP direct from FLIR Raymarine Yacht Division after speaking with them on the phone and in emails for about 6 weeks to get everything I needed ironed out in order to purchase the correct setup that would work in my UTV. There are many variable kits and installations, this is just the one I specifically choose for myself, my specific UTV and my night hunting requirements. Your requirements may differ from mine considerably.
Like I said, there are a myraid of various configurations you can go with, I chose a 320 pixel core system with remote electronic Pan/Tilt capability based on price and performance. A 640 core system costs almost twice as much and seeing as how this is mainly a detection unit, I know that the detection range of a 320 core and a 640 core with the the same sized germanium lens is about the same, the 640 core would have a big larger FOV and much more resolution for ID. However I am not interested in ID with this system, only detection. It easily detects out 1/2 mile plus with a super wide FOV in the pouring down rain in hot humid weather, in clear cool high pressure weather it detects out over a mile. That is more than enough for my purposes.
I would not invest in a unit that is stationary, the Pan/Tilt feature allows remote operation moving it around in every conceivable direction with the integral electro-servo motors commanded by the Joystick Remote CPU, this is a huge plus over a stationary unit and something that you will utilize often.
Since you'll be spending lots of time sitting in the cockpit operating this thermal video camera, you will need to have all the controls in front of you and easily accessible, also the M-324 thermal camera should be mounted as high as possible with adequate protection from inadvertent contact with branches and limbs so as the lens is not scratched.
My M-324XP Pan/Tilt thermal video camera is controlled via direct Ethernet cable though the Joystick CPU, there are other ways to accomplish this, including WiFi control from a WiFi transmitter. After careful consideration of the installation and operation of the unit in the hot tropical muddy swamps that I hunt at night in, I declined to go with the WiFi install and increased electronic complexity. I am sure that the WiFi would work, but I wanted to keep the opportunity for things to go wrong at night way away from home to a minimum. I simply felt that a direct Ethernet link though the CPU to the M-324 was a more reliable way to go, others may feel differently and have different needs.
The OEM UTV starter battery is NOT something you want to rely on to operate this kind of gear since you will need that to get home when your hunt is over. The kits is not that amperage intense, draws about 20 watts at full operation with the electro-servo motors operating and about 10 watts just operation the thermal camera, CPU, and monitor. But you will definitely want to install an auxiliary battery so that you can safely operate all the thermal gear for hours and hours without the engine running.
I wired all the FLIR thermal camera equipment, the Larson Electronics 24 Watt 850nm IR LED spot light, and the Larson Electronics 27 Watt Red Led spot light all through the 34Ahr gel auxillary battery so that all this night vision/thermal equipment would run with the ignition switch both Off and On. This allow all the active NV/Thermal units to continue to operate when you turn the ignition switch off. There is a 50amp battery isolator switch that allows the auxiliary battery to be automatically charged while the engine is running. I have had all the gear on for 6 hours without the engine running and the auxiliary battery voltage has not gotten down below 12.5 volts. Also, a gel battery is more resistant to heat and vibration shock and will take hundreds of charges, is totally sealed and does not leak or emit corrosive gases to destroy sensitive electrical connections, of which there are many under the hood.
The install of the auxiliary battery required some custom welding of the mount as did the installation of the M-324 thermal video camera to the roll bar did, both need to be solidly installed.
The CPU and LCD video monitor all required custom mounting too. The CPU was designed as an "in dash" flat mounting unit but that would not work in my specific case so I fabbed a waterproof wooden box to hold it that was bolted down to the outer surface of the dashboard. The LCD monitor was also designed as an in dash fit but was easy to simply mount to the surface of the dash as it is self contained and waterproof too. Since both/either the driver or passenger operates the remote controls and watches the monitor, all these items needed to be placed in an easy to use ergonomic fashion while seated stationary or operating while mobile. A waterproof mini DVR is also hooked up to the M-324 to record video whenever needed.
Here are some photos of the final operational install, if I had to do it all over again, I would do it the same way:
First off, this is a heavy duty system designed for placement on marine yachts for operation 24/7/365 day and night in extreme weather conditions, it comes complete with everything needed for a professional installation. It it totally and completely waterproof, dirt and mud proof, vibration proof, and sunlight proof. When the unit is covered in mud, I simply spray everything off with a hose, including the M-324 itself, the CPU, and the LCD monitor, not a problem.
If you are not familiar with electronics installations, this is NOT for you. I would estimate total installation time and custom configuration work at about 40+ hours of labor depending on how much custom design work is needed.
I purchased the FLIR M-324XP direct from FLIR Raymarine Yacht Division after speaking with them on the phone and in emails for about 6 weeks to get everything I needed ironed out in order to purchase the correct setup that would work in my UTV. There are many variable kits and installations, this is just the one I specifically choose for myself, my specific UTV and my night hunting requirements. Your requirements may differ from mine considerably.
Like I said, there are a myraid of various configurations you can go with, I chose a 320 pixel core system with remote electronic Pan/Tilt capability based on price and performance. A 640 core system costs almost twice as much and seeing as how this is mainly a detection unit, I know that the detection range of a 320 core and a 640 core with the the same sized germanium lens is about the same, the 640 core would have a big larger FOV and much more resolution for ID. However I am not interested in ID with this system, only detection. It easily detects out 1/2 mile plus with a super wide FOV in the pouring down rain in hot humid weather, in clear cool high pressure weather it detects out over a mile. That is more than enough for my purposes.
I would not invest in a unit that is stationary, the Pan/Tilt feature allows remote operation moving it around in every conceivable direction with the integral electro-servo motors commanded by the Joystick Remote CPU, this is a huge plus over a stationary unit and something that you will utilize often.
Since you'll be spending lots of time sitting in the cockpit operating this thermal video camera, you will need to have all the controls in front of you and easily accessible, also the M-324 thermal camera should be mounted as high as possible with adequate protection from inadvertent contact with branches and limbs so as the lens is not scratched.
My M-324XP Pan/Tilt thermal video camera is controlled via direct Ethernet cable though the Joystick CPU, there are other ways to accomplish this, including WiFi control from a WiFi transmitter. After careful consideration of the installation and operation of the unit in the hot tropical muddy swamps that I hunt at night in, I declined to go with the WiFi install and increased electronic complexity. I am sure that the WiFi would work, but I wanted to keep the opportunity for things to go wrong at night way away from home to a minimum. I simply felt that a direct Ethernet link though the CPU to the M-324 was a more reliable way to go, others may feel differently and have different needs.
The OEM UTV starter battery is NOT something you want to rely on to operate this kind of gear since you will need that to get home when your hunt is over. The kits is not that amperage intense, draws about 20 watts at full operation with the electro-servo motors operating and about 10 watts just operation the thermal camera, CPU, and monitor. But you will definitely want to install an auxiliary battery so that you can safely operate all the thermal gear for hours and hours without the engine running.
I wired all the FLIR thermal camera equipment, the Larson Electronics 24 Watt 850nm IR LED spot light, and the Larson Electronics 27 Watt Red Led spot light all through the 34Ahr gel auxillary battery so that all this night vision/thermal equipment would run with the ignition switch both Off and On. This allow all the active NV/Thermal units to continue to operate when you turn the ignition switch off. There is a 50amp battery isolator switch that allows the auxiliary battery to be automatically charged while the engine is running. I have had all the gear on for 6 hours without the engine running and the auxiliary battery voltage has not gotten down below 12.5 volts. Also, a gel battery is more resistant to heat and vibration shock and will take hundreds of charges, is totally sealed and does not leak or emit corrosive gases to destroy sensitive electrical connections, of which there are many under the hood.
The install of the auxiliary battery required some custom welding of the mount as did the installation of the M-324 thermal video camera to the roll bar did, both need to be solidly installed.
The CPU and LCD video monitor all required custom mounting too. The CPU was designed as an "in dash" flat mounting unit but that would not work in my specific case so I fabbed a waterproof wooden box to hold it that was bolted down to the outer surface of the dashboard. The LCD monitor was also designed as an in dash fit but was easy to simply mount to the surface of the dash as it is self contained and waterproof too. Since both/either the driver or passenger operates the remote controls and watches the monitor, all these items needed to be placed in an easy to use ergonomic fashion while seated stationary or operating while mobile. A waterproof mini DVR is also hooked up to the M-324 to record video whenever needed.
Here are some photos of the final operational install, if I had to do it all over again, I would do it the same way:
