Thermal Camera Problem

[vindicator]

We have a ISG K1000 Elite thermal camera. I have noticed that last couple of fires that as soon as we make entry the camara "whites out" in zero visibility with no color. Has anybody else have this problem?

During mop up the camara works fine this occurs only in zero visibility.

Any Ideas?

[HFDINSTR]

Not to familiar with that camera but one thought is the linse being covered in smoke/soot and need to be wiped clean?

[Jonathan Bastian]

There are a few possible explanations:
1. The lens gets covered by moisture, reducing the quality of the image and generating a mostly white and gray "blob" picture. If you note condensation on the display or your facepiece, there is probably moisture on the lens. Wipe it off with your glove several times.
2. The imager is trying to adjust to the higher heat, but is not switching gain levels fast enough before the user gives up on the imager. It will take about 0.5 to 1.0 seconds for the imager to recognize a high heat situation, adjust its gain and then start displaying the proper image.
3. A strap or other object is dangling in front of the lens.

If it's not one of these, there may be a problem with the engine and you should send it back to ISG.

[dalittle]

Hi Vindicator,

Jonathan’s (Firemanjb) advice is good advice with one caveat – the camera only takes 0.08 seconds (eight one-hundredths of a second) to recognize high heat and switches automatically. If it isn’t soot or some other external thing, send it back to the factory so the technicians can have a look at it. What you are describing is not normal operation for the ELITE camera.

David A. Little
Chief Executive Officer
ISG/Infrasys
www.isgfire.com
(877) 733-3473

[Jonathan Bastian]

Hi Vindicator,

Jonathan’s (Firemanjb) advice is good advice with one caveat – the camera only takes 0.08 seconds (eight one-hundredths of a second) to recognize high heat and switches automatically. If it isn’t soot or some other external thing, send it back to the factory so the technicians can have a look at it. What you are describing is not normal operation for the ELITE camera.

David A. Little
Chief Executive Officer
ISG/Infrasys
www.isgfire.com
(877) 733-3473

Hey, David:

Thanks for the clarification...but please note I was not trying to mislead the poster about the K1000's capabilities. Most people cannot relate to measurements in tenths or hundreths of a second...I was merely trying to convey that the K1000 (along with most microbolometers these days) will make the gain adjustment in less than a second, so the user does need to wait a moment to allow the shift to occur in an active environment.

Hope all is well...

[dalittle]

Hey Jonathan,

Understand where you’re coming from. I didn’t take it as an attempt to mislead on performance. Case in point, the T320 and T4 also flip in well under a second. So, I thought the .5 to 1 second you posted was a bit conservative.

Haven’t seen you in a while. I’ll stop by your booth at FDIC next week.

be safe,
david

[Jonathan Bastian]

I won't be at FDIC...left full-time for them back in 2004 and part-time ended 2007.