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Everything I think passes through Horta's hand. Mash had "Hot Lips" Houlihan. We got "Hot Hands Horta"When does the manufacturer’s warranty run out and is the thermal in question ever going to pass through @TheHorta’s hands?![]()
Ouch. That highlights a very good point though - external power sources have the potential to fry shit! (And ass hat relatives lol)I have an HHTI from 1996 that worked until I lent it to my nephews earlier this year and somehow they plugged it into a power pack and fried something, because they didn't want to carry around the big ass batteries, so now it doesn't work.
While I haven't used that scope in awhile, it has sentimental value, as I broke my thermal cherry with it.
I'm an idiot for lending it to my ass hat nephews.
I also have an Elcan spectre IR50B from 2010.
I used that scope a lot and still use it as a backup to my backup and it'll still work great for the foreseeable future, as long as I don't let my nephews use it.
In conclusion, thermal will last awhile, as long as it's a quality product, you maintain them and you don't let ass hats use them.
When does the manufacturer’s warranty run out and is the thermal in question ever going to pass through @TheHorta’s hands?![]()
I would not count on anything lasting longer than the manufacturer's warranty because after that runs out, often the company won't service them.
You should be able to get thousands of hours of use out of them. There are factors that will shorten their use life, like nephews noted above, but otherwise, they are electronic devices.
With that said, I have been running an IR Defense (now Trijicon) IR Hunter since fall of 2015 and I hunt a lot (multiple nights a week)
Fine, 26.9 months.
So is there any basis to the freezer/refrigerator storage enhancing longevity?Thermal devices don't have clearly defined MTBF numbers. There are no known degradation mechanisms except general aging of electronic components and displays, potential degradation of sensor seal, etc. System-level MTBF analysis is a complicated task that rarely brings meaningful results for multi-component electronic systems. Thermals are quite different in this respect from I2 night vision. Will thermals eventually fail? Absolutely, but it's close to impossible to predict when and why it is going to happen. The only way to extend the service life of thermals that I can think of is to keep them in a dry place + re-purge every once in a while to make sure that there is no moisture build-up inside the unit. Electronics and water is not a good combination.
why would you want to put an electro- optic in a freezer for storage? there's a simple level of humidity in there. a normal controlled environment of 70f and low humidity makes everything on planet earth happy including electronics.
I was designing the uncooled detectors for DRS until last year, which is L3's competitor, and I think insight was using our Vox detectors. Kind of like Raytheon using our cooled detectors in their systems. Sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it, we would compete for contracts at the system level, then we would sell them detectors at a subsystem level. Anyway, the low warranty life is either due to vacuum life in the detector or the thing doesn't handle gun fire to well. We would test competitors products at the range and destroy them under M4 gun fire. We always had the best detectors and had the most robust designs, but that cost a little more. Lower priced wins contracts rather than works good and last longer. Many military system level FLIR's actually use DRS detectors. We sold some stuff for the civilian market, but it was the scrap pile that wouldn't meet the mil spec test. The mil spec test were rediculously stringent some what. Long story short, short warranty means low confidence in product by company. All of our warranties were for 5 years and that was only due to vacuum life.
Mechanically speaking, it all depends on the the weapon, how it's mounted, and what caliber. The M4 was the harshest platform we tested on, it saw the most g's when the bolt went back into battery. We tested 300 WM, 338 LM, and 50 BMG, all of which had a suppressors or muzzle brakes and were bolt actions. If you want to increase the detectors longevity or life, then store it in your refrigerator when not in use. That will significantly increase your vacuum life by reducing the outgassing rate, which doubles for every 10C above ambient. When it looses vacuum, the unit is useless.
Man, I'd love to dive into that statement more if low_drag is still active.
By ambient, does that mean if my thermal is already at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, that if I keep it at 100 degrees, there should be no increase in outgassing? Or is ambient referring to STP? I'll store my thermals in the fridge if it'll make it last longer - just don't want to make it worse if it's actually warming/cooling that increases outgassing.
He has not posted since Feb 14, 2015
"reducing the outgassing rate, which doubles for every 10C above ambient.""If you want to increase the detectors longevity or life, then store it in your refrigerator when not in use. That will significantly increase your vacuum life by reducing the outgassing rate, which doubles for every 10C above ambient. When it loses vacuum, the unit is useless."
This statement is obviously correct, and keeping a thermal detector at a lower temperature will somewhat increase its service life. However, this is a statement strickly about detector outgassing, which is only one of the potential factors affecting a thermal imaging device's life expectancy. I'm pretty sure that high humidity will kill any scope much faster than outgassing. I would say that keeping your scope in a deep vacuum at the lowest possible temperature if you have access to the necessary vacuum/cryogenic equipment is the absolute best solution (unless your device has internal batteries of some sort in it). Otherwise, your best bet is a reasonably dry place. A freezer/refrigerator does not qualify as dry. And remove your batteries for storage![]()
Ambient temperature, a.k.a. normal temperature, if I remember correctly, is defined as 70F (21C).
Theoretically, the comment about not putting the scope in the vacuum is correct from the sensor's package point of view but not from the system level (sensor + electronics) perspective.
Outgassing (a.k.a. offgassing): everything outgasses (metals, ceramics, oils, residual soldering flux, etc.) but at different speeds. In general, solid crystalline structures outgass much less than non-crystalline.
just stop with that common sense damn it. get your thermal in the cryogenic doomsday seed vault pronto or the herpegonersyphilaids gas will leak past the flux capacitor causing a rip in the space time continuum sending us cascading back to when we didn't have any thermals. is that what you want?I've been using thermal optics for a long time and I've never read anything about it in a manual, been told to store or have seen any type of thermal being stored in a refrigerator.
Like any electronic device, I keep it out of direct sunlight and keep the batteries out of it when not in use.
wow, that was a close one, thanks guys I feel better now....
just stop with that common sense damn it. get your thermal in the cryogenic doomsday seed vault pronto or the herpegonersyphilaids gas will leak past the flux capacitor causing a rip in the space time continuum sending us cascading back to when we didn't have any thermals. is that what you want?
This is the way. That is all.I've been using thermal optics for a long time and I've never read anything about it in a manual, been told to store or have seen any type of thermal being stored in a refrigerator.
Like any electronic device, I keep it out of direct sunlight and keep the batteries out of it when not in use.
I'm glad I didn't mention the secret about using desiccant, Oh Dammit, there goes the galaxy !!!!!!just stop with that common sense damn it. get your thermal in the cryogenic doomsday seed vault pronto or the herpegonersyphilaids gas will leak past the flux capacitor causing a rip in the space time continuum sending us cascading back to when we didn't have any thermals. is that what you want?
So dash of your car in the summer is a bad idea ?keeping a thermal detector at a lower temperature will somewhat increase its service life