Civvie Thermal Sights

[XD45 7,124]

I'd love to have a thermal sight but cost has always been out of reach for something I don't "have to have".

 

I'll admit I haven't deeply researched this topic or followed the price/quality, but in my recent prepping fervor I started thinking it might be worthwhile.

 

Anybody have experience with the civvie units?

 

And yes, I know thermal sights don't work on zombies.

[Conscript 99]

Me too. They are still very expensive and bulky. Another thing to consider is battery power, I dont know for sure but I bet those suckers use a lot of juice. Maybe try to find one that can run off 18650 batteries and recharge it with a solar panel?

[gunfun 3,931]

They do work on piggies! Might come in handy in Arizona for pest control.

[patriot 7,197]

http://www.x20.org/how-select-thermal-weapon-sight-or-thermal-rifle-scope

 

 

http://www.x20.org/specter-ir-low-cost-thermal-weapon-sight

 

http://www.opticsplanet.com/s/ir-sight?cat=10

 

 

...you'd better have deep pockets.

[Spartacus 1,619]

Me too. They are still very expensive and bulky. Another thing to consider is battery power, I dont know for sure but I bet those suckers use a lot of juice. Maybe try to find one that can run off 18650 batteries and recharge it with a solar panel?

 

Yep.

 

Between the initial cost (which bars having multiple replacement units handy) and the battery issues, they are not practical.

I like the idea about the solar panel though.

[Rhodes1968 1,638]

Or you could do what I did and make an IR viewer.

 

One example:

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Infrared-Night-Vision-Device/

 

there are many others.

 

Works pretty well actually, turn off the IR source and one can detect the use of IR by others.

[XD45 7,124]

I have seen units for under $4k.  Of course there are other priorities so probably won't get to the point where I have $4k free.  Maybe if I sold a few things.

 

There is a huge difference between night vision and thermal.  I have used both and thermal is a different animal.  I have gen 2 night vision.  Had a gen 3 unit for a while but sold it.  Never used any civie thermal though.  I am curious just how good it is.

[Capt Nemo 882]

I've got a NASA surplus thermal camera.  If you tune it right, you can look through just about anything.  Each material has a slightly different thermal frequency in the 10.7 um band.

 

Would be nice for counter-sniper/intellegence work around the bunker.  But then with IR area lights, you can blind their NV equipment....unless they're thermal.

[Rhodes1968 1,638]

Nice score on the surplus unit, used to be a lot of fun seeing what you could get in auctions.

 

Got some cool stuff but nothing as cool as that sounds.  

 

Edit:

Thermal is just so low res Im sure most of the expense is signal processing. Though I will bet there is a way to build a simple detector fairly cheap. Now look what ya got me doing...

 

​Basically all any of them are doing is shifting the image bandwidth from invisible to to visible range. Whats fun is to use the IR to see which helicopters are using IR sources as they fly over head. 

Edited October 28, 2013 by Rhodes1968

[liberty -r- death 1,445]

The thermal units we have on the fire trucks eat battery power fast. No idea on optics or costs. They do have limitations that I would lean toward night vision more than thermal for over all use.

[TonyRumore 1,332]

I've played around with thermal sights a bit and the biggest problem in civilian hands is you can't identify your target like you can with normal night vision.  So in order to shoot something, you need to be sure that what you're looking at is alright to shoot.

[Capt Nemo 882]

Much of the cost is imageing software.  Making perfect indium arsenide CCD sensors is a very hard task.  Each sensor is different in the number and locations of dead pixels, and the software has to be fine tunned for each sensor.  Hence the monsterous price tag.  The zinc selenide optics are also very expensive.

 

The worst thing about them is the optics!  Smash the lens, and it's time to be VERY AFRAID!  Zinc selenide is very poisonous and also a cumulative poison that doesn't leave the body.  So if you break it, scratch it, or whatever, drop the weapon and run like hell!  (good reason to use the QD sidemount that your AK has)

[read_the_wall 614]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ATN-ThOR-320-1x-60Hz-Thermal-Sight-/111201427525#ht_1397wt_1226

 

 

this is what I was looking into......this is a good deal on it....wish they would take my 1st born male child..

[Rhodes1968 1,638]

IR makes much more sense, simple to create and as sturdy as you are willing to pay to make so.

Yes it can "broadcast" your position but nothing says the source and camera have to be in the same location...

[Capt Nemo 882]

We use IR emitters and IR/BW cameras all the time backstage for automation safety, and for the stage manager calling cues.  In some situations, we could see through velour drops/curtains and see the crew/actors behind them.  You'd be surprized how cheap crappy B&W CCTV cameras can pick up in IR situations.  Couple that with an old eyepiece monitor off a camera, and you have your own NV scope.

[Rhodes1968 1,638]

Exactly, my next project may well be to make one of mountable quality, able to handle recoil, it should just about finish driving me nuts.

[storm6490 2,768]

Edited, see below..

Edited October 29, 2013 by Stryker0946

[storm6490 2,768]

Get a used Elcan Specter IR scope. Elcan is Raytheon out of Canada. These are military surplus, windage, elevation, waterproof, GI shock proof and in case you didn't know, Elcan is Leitz Leica. Leica optics.

 

The specter IR makes all other IR scopes that you can legally purchase to date look like a big chunk of chinese shit.