FLIR devices..

[groundhog]

I read somewhere that a good safety item to have is a FLIR device. Basically a infared viewing device. It helps you to pick out and see warm things in cold water.

Like if a person or pet falls into the water and its dark and you can't find them.

I just did a web search and ..... oye! they are expensive.

Is there a cheap one out there?

[teshannon]

GH,
I have night vision binoculars that use IR but to be honest I've really not used them much. It is on my to-do list. I don't know how good they would be picking up someone overboard at night but I have a few people in mind to try them out on next summer.

[groundhog]

I can give ya some names too if you need more..

[sailingdog]

Some of the older Sony camcorders had infrared viewing capabilities... Sony called theirs NightShot or something like that. However, the newer cameras have a feature with the same name, but it isn't the same. The reason Sony de-tweaked the feature is that some consumer groups were protesting the fact that the feature could effectively "see" through light fabrics. LOL...

[erps]

I get to play with some neat toys at work including a generation-3 night scope but I haven't used FLIR yet. I've looked at the website and saw a one being demonstrated at a boat show last year and thought it was pretty cool, but my goose doesn't lay golden eggs.

With a good night scope, you can run at 20 kts. at night. The nav lights are bright enough to see crab pot buoys and dead heads. A night scope is limited by fog through, while FLIR is supposed to cut through it if I recall correctly. A good night scope runs around $3k. I've tried some of the cheap ones too and was very disappointed. The ones I tried didn't have a 1:1 lens ratio and they were so dim that you had to use the little built in IR illuminator for close in work.

[Idiens]

FLIR - Forward Looking Infra-Red - is a military aircraft term for thermal imaging. This site has some good info.

http://www.x20.org/thermal/