Night Vision FLIR T-50 Initial Set-Up

100 yard standing ear hole shot, did not move an inch......

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Entrance:

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Was out cruising the backyard on the ATVs when we saw two hogs about a half mile down the powerline grade, stalked them up to 250 yards and let a 250 pound boar have a .308, lots of good bacon on this one...

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FLIR has a new model PS-32R with the 320 core and a 35mm lens instead of the 19mm lens on the PS-32. In addition, when you turn it off and then turn it back on it comes up with the same settings that you turned it off in.

Compared to my LS-64 with 640 core and 35mm lens, it has a smaller FOV but the clarity and distance resolution is astounding for a 320 core scanner, can easily see a deer at 600 yards and make out a coon from a possum at 200 yards.

The camo model is a limited edtion:

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Oh, and a new first, this unit has NTSC VIDEO OUT
 
Another important thought to consider when using any thermal weapon hunting scope is the diurnal cycle of inanimate objects absorbing IR radiation and subsequently irradiating IR radiation.

There are crossover times during a 24 hour period of time when inanimate objects (grass, trees, rocks, ground, water, etc) absorb sunlight and then re-radiate that light as IR.

Once you get accustomed to this aspect, you can adjust your thermal hunting times to coincide with the best diurnal crossover points to allow for maximum performance from your instruments.

I am constantly hearing about this and that regarding costly useless thermal instruments from newbies who just took their scopes out and everything was white-out or too hot or way too unresolute.

Where I do most of my hunting, unless we are under a high pressure dome, you can bet that the fog will set in about midnight. Thermal still works good in fog but not as good as a high pressure no fog. so maximum range and resolution is going to be affected. Just another reason why I PLAN my hunting times to coincide with maximal effective times at night, and also to take into accord the maximum emission of the diurnal crossover points of thermal absorption and emission of the millions of inanimate objects in the woods, simply because I am after only the animate ones.

If you plan your hunt times accordingly, you will be surprised how much more enjoyable it is instead of trying to hunt at minimal thermal productive times...


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Here is a You-Tube video I made in the backyard last night of the new FLIR PS-32R handheld scanner with 9FPS NTSC video out.

It is the same as the previous PS-32 but with video out and a larger 35mm germanium objective lens instead of the smaller 19mm on the PS-32.

As many of you experienced thermal users know, a 320 core with a 35mm lens is a very powerful instrument for reaching out past one half mile for detection.

I was easily able to discern rabbits, from coons, from possums, at 225 yards with the PS-32R.

This one also has a nice limited edition camo overlay.

The video was 500MB originally and is shrunk down to 46MB for U-Tube, so lost about 10X of the resolution but it still looks very very good, the 9fps video feed is hardly noticeable even when the deer are running through the woods. I would have thought there would have been more degradation of the movements at 9hz, but this was not the case.

i first saw the five deer out 450 yards and watched them walk through the deep woods into an open clearing at 225 yards and was amazed to see them still coming my way.

They all walked up to a depression below my stand and picked up my scent, you can see them with their noses in the air knowing I am somewhere near until they get a definite scent signature, SNORT, and take off from 60 yards right clear in front of me.

This is one of FLIR's new handheld scanner products and if people like it, more video options will be forthcoming as in their handheld series....my LS-64 would LOVE to have this capability!

Here is the vid;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF2HHrOyBjM
 
For those of you who own and use a FLIR Vanadium Oxide UnCooled microbolometer in your thermal weapon scope or scanner, not matter what the focal plane array is or what the model is, this is the spectral response curve that you will be covering with your instrument.

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Okay, I reworked my 8 hog kill video and put it in MP4 format so both PC and Mac users can see it, had allot of complaints from the Mac crowd that they could not see it. Recovered five that night and three more the next day.

So here it is:

http://www.phossil.com/thom/Night Vision/FLIR T70/8 Hogs.mp4


What is epic about it was that I was in my backyard 150 feet from the backdoor all by my lonesome self about 9PM, did not get to bed until 4AM after cleaning up the carnage....this has happened about a half dozen times over the years but the first time I was able to record it happening...
 
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Just waiting for the FLIR MD-625Xp with wireless router for the mobile thermal install. Will try to document the thermal install with all the gear....

Also have a complete RealTree MAX 5 camo wrap on the way.


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FLIR Personal Systems is shipping out the FLIR M-324XP 30Hz thermal scanning instrument this week!

I ended up getting the upscale professional yachting M series instead of the MD-series.

The MD series can be run and viewed off an I-Phone or I-Pad app but it is static (like the FLIR PathFindIR) and not able to remotely scan.

The M series cannot be run off the app but it has a joy-stick smart controller that you can program to scan 90 degrees left to 90 degrees right and 180 degrees up and over to the rear and anything inbetween.

The LCD color viewer for it is made for high end yachts and is made by FLIR subdivision RayMarine and shows all the color pallets White hot, Black hot, Marine Red, Iron, Rain, and Ice. It also is waterproof, dust proof and vibration proof.

For the price, I could have gotten the 640x512 core with 25mm lens MD static but ended up getting the remote scanning 336x256 17 micron core with the 19 mm lens since the FOV is the about same and the range is over one mile, the 640 core would have just been expensive overkill as the 336 core will handle everything we will come up on out in the woods.


The good folks at FLIR sure were a joy to work with as it took about two weeks of them edumatcating me to the level for me to make a solid decision on which instrument would suit our hunting yacht needs the best in the long run.

Will take some pics of it and the install once it arrives...
 
I got a nice solid steel roll cage mount onto which I can weld a couple of 3/8" bar stock onto and then weld on the FLIR mounting base for a permanent secure attachment.

The good thing about this is the ability to move the mount up or down the left or right side of the roll-cage and still be protected from limbs and branches while keeping the mount higher up than my head when standing next to the rig.

Already had a couple of LED long range light bars almost get nailed from low hanging limbs, so want to make sure this instrument is protected while still have a supreme sight picture capability.

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Another nice boar tonight!
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Am working on installing a relay battery isolater off the ignition switch so the FLIR M-Series can run off of that while the engine is not operating and then the 450 watt alternator will charge it up quick whenever the engine is running, the M-Series thermal camera and LCD viewer take about 25 watts to operate when static, and it takes another 25 watts to operate the electro-servo motors for active scanning.


http://www.amazon.com/Stinger-Amp-Battery-Relay-Isolator/dp/B001HC6UJ0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1401932884&sr=8-7&keywords=battery+isolator
 
Spent yesterday afternoon installing a RealTree MAX 5 HD camo wrap, came out pretty good....

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Next will be some IR 850nm LED headlamps and a remote control FLIR M-324 Thermal Camera with LCD cab viewer....
 
Here is the kick ass FLIR M-Series remote control M-324XP thermal camera with the remoter controller and LCD screen, everything is 100% waterproof, shockproof, and dust proof to mil-spec standards......


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Going to fire up the plasma cutter and cut out a 3/8 inch round plate to mount it on and weld it to a roll bar clamp ASAP:


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Finished welding up the heavy duty steel roll bar mount and am painting it, will work on electronics installation next....



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M-Series

Premium Multi-Sensor Maritime Thermal Night Vision System

The M-Series pan/tilt re-defines maritime multi-sensor system design, drawing on FLIR's 25 years of experience in building combat-proven airborne and maritime thermal imagers for militaries, Coast Guards, and governmental agencies around the world. If you want to use a tougher, better-performing FLIR, you'll have to join the Special Forces.
 
The High Definition 1440X720 Color LCD monitor install was super simple, just need an F type female to BNC connector and I am ready to go....all the color pallets are supported.


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Everything fits nice and tidy and easy to operate.

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The Larson Electronics mil-spec 850nm IR LED puts out 24 watts of high intensity IR out over a kilometer.

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Total cost of all the equipment with cables and connectors to hook it all up was $7,200, but really $6,200 since FLIR Personal Systems has a $1,000 rebate on all M-series purchased until July 30th. I took advantage of the rebate on this system for an almost 20% off....

FLIR M-Series Thermal Night Vision System Rebate | FLIR Commercial Systems, Inc.

http://www.flir.com/uploadedFiles/MSeries_Brochure_web.pdf

You really do not need the 640 core system unless you are interested in IDing critters, the 320 core sees way further than you can walk in the next ten minutes.

I got the upscale marine M-Series because it is not-static, it can rotate 360 degrees around and 180 degrees up and down and backwards, it has all the different color pallets, can be programmed to do pre-programmed sweeps, etc etc etc. It is a very powerful system.

The reason I got it is the UTV has no windshield or doors or glass to block the thermal emissions (that is why I have the quarter windshield on the UTV).

If all you need is a static wide angle view on the front end, then the new FLIR PathFindIR II with the software alogrithims to identify people and animals is the way to go for less than half the price of the upscale M-series....

FLIR Pathfindir II 2 Night Vision Thermal Camera Pedestrian and Animal Detection | eBay


Here is the new PathFinderIR II video showing how it picks out people and animals specifically....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voU5ONx_YFM


I would have gotten the PathFIndIR II had I not had a UTV with wide open 360 degree view....
 
Cut a bunch of 1/4" steel and welded up a battery stand for the Marine Deep Cycle AGM 35 Ahr battery to run the FLIR M-Series off of, installed an 80 amp battery isolater and wired up the Ethernet RJ-45 cable to the JoyStick Controller. Also camo out the M-324 with some camo paint too...


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Fit everything into the cab and got it all anchored down and hooking up the electric cables:

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Will have everything operational this weekend.
 
Everything installed and setup, just need to hook up the power and controller cables.

Need to run into town for a 10 foot 2 AWG hot battery cable to run from the starter battery to the auxillary battery and that will be finished. Used two short 12" 2 AWG cables to hook up auxillary battery to the battery isolater and tapped into the ignition start switch.

Installed a RJ-45 BNC video splitter so I can tap into the video feed to record the live video from the FLIR thermal to the HD Safety Vision Monitor on the mini DVR, takes a special RJ-45 marine waterproof cable connector.

Built a waterproof box to house the Joystick Controller Unit for programming the FLIR M-series, there was no room for it to fit flush in the dash, but the housing turned out great.

Normally, to install one of the remote control M-Series with the Ethernet cable link you have to hire a professional marine yacht specialist for a $1,500 job, but it is not too bad doing it yourself if you have a welder, plasma torch, plenty of power tools and about 40 hours of time to fab everything out for the install.

Probably hook everything up tomorrow as I am working on a 2" High Lifter kit for the chassis and installing special racing Walker Evans Baja 500 super heavy duty gas coil over shocks to beef up the chassis this evening....


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Damn, I was hoping these Walker Evan Baja 500 Race Shocks would be nice, they are beyond nice, they are fantastic, next thing I know I'm going to get some air!

After installing the 30 pound AGM battery and the 15 pound FLIR M instrument/accessories and another ten pounds of welded 3/8' steel for the battery box and the mil-spec 850 IR spot beam, I wanted to replace the front OEM KYB shocks to improve the vibration and ride for using the thermal video camera.

Major f-ing improvement in everything, much less vibration and bouncing around and much quieter too, handling and compliance is way way better.


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The FLIR M-Series is totally real mil-spec for water proof, vibration, shock, dust, etc. but is always best to treat sensitive instruments as well as possible, not to mention the video output will be much smoother too.
 
Got out of the UTV without my rifle and went for a walk. No sooner do I get a 100 yards that I see a large sounder group in thick woods to my right. All I had was the SIG .357 with 124 grain Hornaday reloads and there were six large sows over 325 pounds, so I took out this small hog with the pistol with a lung shot that went clean through him.

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Man that is so cool Pup....cant wait to see Thermal in action videos! How about live video feed for Hide members????? LOL

I had to get a special F-cable BNC splitter to source half the video feed out of the FLIR thermal camera to send to the SPI mini DVR through a protected BNC cable, so far it apparently has not affected either the video output to the HD LCD or to the DVR, I would have thought that robbing half the signal for the video would have messed something else up?

One thing is for sure is to have all of the Ethernet cables and IR analog video feed cable high quality to prevent electromagnetic interference with the instruments and the engine components as everything is networked together over Ethernet and the various microprocessors can be controlled by hooking up a PC and logging onto the network. Recording or broadcasting it is easy.....
 
Holy Moly, this 24 watt Larson Electronics mil-spec 850nm IR LED spotlight is the real deal if you want to light up everything 3/4 of a mile in front of you.

This kit is the real deal top notch professional heavy duty, not some cheap POS. It has mil-spec waterproof Deutsch connectors on the wiring harness cable and the entire unit is rated IP67, it is a no BS powerhouse of IR.

Very impressed with the American build quality of this and highly recommended for anyone in the market for kick ass IR, you can get the kit in 750, 850, or 940nm IR.

I will take some pics through the NV camera to demonstrate how wicked this baby is...


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Nailed my first nice hog thanks to the FLIR M-324XP thermal camera.

Set up right at twilight at a known crossing and had the FLIR covering the road down into a ravine about 125 yards in front of me and sat quiet, just as it was getting too dark to shoot an entire herd of hogs came out of the thick woods and started crossing the road, I could barely see them in the twilight darkness. Sat and watched them on the thermal for about two minutes as they were cavorting around back and forth around the road and figured I would not have a shot.

However this big sow cam walking up the road to the top of the hill that I was on and just kept coming, I could see her on the thermal and just keep quiet.

Finally she was less than 100 feet in front of me all lite up on the FLIR thermal and I took a head shot on her with my Thompson Center Contender with 10" barrel in .44 MAG with a 1.5X T/C scope.

Slug hit her right in the head and put her down.

This is the second kill with the M-Series, got another small shoat the other night too, but this one is a good 275 pounds...


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Here is the view from the drivers seat through the FLIR MS-324XP thermal camera of the infamous game cam tree out at 175 yards with some hog offal next to it waiting for some coyotes to show up. Very nice FOV and easy to see coyotes coming in out past 350+ yards. Plus I can zoom into 2X and change color pallets and scan back and forth manually or automatically.

The view is actually much better than the pic due to interference with the frames on the LCD monitor.

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