I am very interested to know if FLIR really works as some of the demos show under actual conditions. I have read some things on the forum but nothing very conclusive. Please share if you know. I do not want to rely on reps at the boat shows and such and there doesn't seem to be much of it around..... cscott
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FLIR...... Is it all that?
- Thread starter cscott
- Start date
NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
GreatGrady Captain
I think Seattle boat show begins Jan 24. I'm going to do same and a friend of mine is trying to get me onto a boat with it and I think it's a few years' old. I'll let you know what I find. It looks like not many people are interested. Must be that radar fills the bill for the most part. I'm running quite a ways some mornings in the dark and many times there can be lots of logs and such in the water. I can't wait to see how it works viewing mooring buoys and logs and smaller items. If the equipment is relaiable and you can pick up these maller things.... I'm in. Thanks, Scott
alantani
Well-Known Member
i had one installed earlier this year. with the purchase of the camera, a separate overhead automotive DVD player and installation, the total came out to $10k. i only had two albacore runs this last season with the camera on. now, i'm going to make a new paragraph for this next sentence.
THE DIFFERENCE WAS AMAZING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i could literally see in the dark. i ran 25 kts once i cleared the jaws of the harbor, zig zagged through the crab pot bouys, chased down a few birds for kicks, and did all this in total darkness at 4am. my boat now has the nickname "starship enterprise!"
THE DIFFERENCE WAS AMAZING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i could literally see in the dark. i ran 25 kts once i cleared the jaws of the harbor, zig zagged through the crab pot bouys, chased down a few birds for kicks, and did all this in total darkness at 4am. my boat now has the nickname "starship enterprise!"
Thanks a bunch. That's good news. I have got to see this stuff. I sure am glad someone is letting us know their experiences with it. Dependability will be a huge factor if anyone has info on that....... Thanks again! scott
jehines3
Well-Known Member
Holy crap $10k!
I'd consider a pair of military spec night vision for $2k. Besides looking like the SWAT team while boating is cool :shock: .
I would not feel comfortable boating on plane being blind in so many directions. I'd like to be able to look around like normal at night to get range and bearing on all things you would normally see during the day. In the bay there is always some moron who is in a little flats boat that is poorly or barely lit. I could use the $8k saved to upgrade items like radar, Chatplotter, fishfinder unles your are already top shelf in those areas.
jh
I'd consider a pair of military spec night vision for $2k. Besides looking like the SWAT team while boating is cool :shock: .
I would not feel comfortable boating on plane being blind in so many directions. I'd like to be able to look around like normal at night to get range and bearing on all things you would normally see during the day. In the bay there is always some moron who is in a little flats boat that is poorly or barely lit. I could use the $8k saved to upgrade items like radar, Chatplotter, fishfinder unles your are already top shelf in those areas.
jh
Good point. I have seen some of the night vision work and they are really good. Portable too. Any idea how the night vision works looking through the windshield and SGlass?
alantani
Well-Known Member
the 258 is rigged with a furuno 1934 display and an open array 4kw radar. target discrimination is most excellent. no one sneaks up on me at 25 knots. the flir has a 50 mm lens. that's normal field of view, plus i can pan side to side and get more than a 180 degree field of view. hooked up to the 12 inch drop down monitor makes it easy for the crew to easily enjoy the forward view. more eyes forward.
funny thing. on the last run, we were catching up to another vessel headed in the same direction. when he hit the 1 mile ring on the radar, we could see his all around light on the flir.
so yes, it's expensive. these days, what isn't. radar adds a great deal of comfort on those night runs. i think flir adds that much and more.
funny thing. on the last run, we were catching up to another vessel headed in the same direction. when he hit the 1 mile ring on the radar, we could see his all around light on the flir.
so yes, it's expensive. these days, what isn't. radar adds a great deal of comfort on those night runs. i think flir adds that much and more.
Can you even see logs?
Birds sitting on the water?
What does it have a difficulty picking up?
It sounds great. The one thing I notice with even high end Night Vision is that my eyes get strained and after looking through them it takes a while for my eyes to adjust back to ambient.
I'm trying to get out with some FLIR in the next few nights. It sounds like once you have it you probably would not want to go without. Last week I was running in the dark in the am and had to go so slow because of all of the logs. We have a lot of rivers and this time of year they flood and it is very concerning.
Does the lense get messed up with rain, moisture or fog? or is it not much of an issue? I imagine you want the camera as high as possible?
I really appreciate your input. This could really make my trips safer, faster and less stressful. cscott
Birds sitting on the water?
What does it have a difficulty picking up?
It sounds great. The one thing I notice with even high end Night Vision is that my eyes get strained and after looking through them it takes a while for my eyes to adjust back to ambient.
I'm trying to get out with some FLIR in the next few nights. It sounds like once you have it you probably would not want to go without. Last week I was running in the dark in the am and had to go so slow because of all of the logs. We have a lot of rivers and this time of year they flood and it is very concerning.
Does the lense get messed up with rain, moisture or fog? or is it not much of an issue? I imagine you want the camera as high as possible?
I really appreciate your input. This could really make my trips safer, faster and less stressful. cscott
alantani
Well-Known Member
well, alot of logs you can't see even during the daytime. um, that is until you're right on top of the. i can see the tops of the waves, all the birds and all of the crab pot bouys with no trouble. flir has a new model out with zoom and a red screen to help maintain your night vision. on those long 4am runs, i would think it would be very difficult to use those night vision goggles for 1-2 hours straight. in and out of the harbor would be fine, but not for an entire hour.
i guess it just depends on how frequent your night runs are.
i guess it just depends on how frequent your night runs are.
hoppyray
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Charles Simmons
GreatGrady Captain
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Hoppyray,
You might want to also look at this thread on the Sportfishermen site:
http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f27 ... light=FLIR
You might want to also look at this thread on the Sportfishermen site:
http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f27 ... light=FLIR
jehines3
Well-Known Member
There is a difference between night vision and thermal imaging. Flir probably combines both worlds the best. At work I use a fluke IR camera and it is pretty nice, but VERY expensive, the FLIR with similar features was twice the cost.
Understand that night vision amplifies what little ambient light exists at night to give an image. IR uses the varying reflection of IR energy from the object to display the resultant image. If you were to look up at the atmoshere it appears very cold (yes even on hot days) on thermal image which is why the technology works in open areas well. Most everything is above the low thermal signature of the beackdrop of open water. Flir is probabaly the best name in thermal equipment, but you will pay for it.
That said it is a technology that has been around a long time. As far as being a consumer product, that is new, but I think $10k for what it does is pretty impressive. It will come down as volume can increase.
I still think looking like a SWAT team dude is cool though..Look out fishy..jh
Understand that night vision amplifies what little ambient light exists at night to give an image. IR uses the varying reflection of IR energy from the object to display the resultant image. If you were to look up at the atmoshere it appears very cold (yes even on hot days) on thermal image which is why the technology works in open areas well. Most everything is above the low thermal signature of the beackdrop of open water. Flir is probabaly the best name in thermal equipment, but you will pay for it.
That said it is a technology that has been around a long time. As far as being a consumer product, that is new, but I think $10k for what it does is pretty impressive. It will come down as volume can increase.
I still think looking like a SWAT team dude is cool though..Look out fishy..jh