auction for military grade thermal imagers - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Vipitis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 13, 2020, 01:25:06 am
content: hey, I just looked for something else but came across a very interesting listing:https://www.vebeg.de/web/de/verkauf/suchen.htm?&SHOW_AUS=2047470&SHOW_LOS=12this is stuff the German government auctions off, I am surprise they would at all - but there is a warning that you can't export this. It might also not be working anymore. It's not very clear what exactly it is but it is very likely cooled periscopes MWIR imagers. You have to sing up and bid in person tho and it is in Rheine, Germany. As far as I know you have to be a German citizen as well, but there area few here that might be closer to this than I am with the means to transport this as well.a Avio TVS-500EX sold for 360,55€ just a few days ago:https://www.vebeg.de/web/de/verkauf/zuschlagspreise.htm(ctrl+f "Wärme").previous thread about fire fighting thermal cameras -https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/old-firefighting-thermal-cameras-on-auction/msg1408079/#msg1408079

author: bap2703
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 13, 2020, 08:25:59 am
content: The action lists it as tanks thermal sight.Maybe similar to that :http://www.kotsch88.de/f_leopard2.htmSeems to be a US based CdHgTe line sensor with 120 or 150 pixels.The sight system on leopard tanks is named EMES-15, the thermal part is apparently WBG-X.Searching for that is found this :https://bw-schmitti.de/produkt/wbg-grundgeraet-2-infrarotgeraet-nachtsichtgeraet-betrachtungsgeraet-von-fa-carl-zeiss/The case seem to match the one in your link.It's labelled from Raytheon.An impressive tanks fan forum with some specs :https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/494706-2020-08-07-199167-leopard-1-a1a1-l44-wrong-thermal-sight-fov/

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 13, 2020, 01:24:49 pm
content: The problem with ex tank thermal cameras is that they are normally large and heavy. They are amazingly engineered to be reliable and resistant to the rigours of tank mounting and the battlefield conditions. Imaging performance can range from ‘OK’ on very old technology units, to amazing on more recent designs. The cooled detector provides low noise imaging with no FFC shutter to interrupt viewing.The lens systems attached to such tank systems can be equally impressive. They often contain large diameter long range optics and image stabilisation systems to aid the operator whilst the tank is in motion. They are large and heavy assemblies though. The combination of the thermal imager section and its associated lens block makes for an impressive bit of kit..... but unless you mount it in your car, it is not exactly portableWhen such systems come onto the secondary market the Germanium Salvage dealers will often buy the whole lot in order to recover just the Germanium lens elements and prisms. Such is often of considerable value due to the lens/window element size used in these systems.Regarding serviceability of the units......These units would normally require a power supply and control module that is separate to the camera head. Without such you basically have a lens block, servo drivers, detector, detector output pre-amplifier and electronic viewfinders. If the controller is included you have a viable camera system, if not..... well it makes an impressive display piece in the living room or hallwayThe cooler used in this particular camera is an excellent linear type that is known for being rugged and long lived so it might still be functional ?Decommissioning .....The Germans are well known for their exacting standards in most aspects of life. As such, if these thermal cameras need to be decommissioned for reasons of disposal compliance, they will have undergone the necessary ‘treatment’ to place them beyond use. The simplest decommissioning acts include cutting the small metal connecting tube that goes from the linear cooler to the secondary piston and detector. All the Helium is lost.The optical path is sometimes smashed as well. I saw an example of German thermal camera decommissioning on eBay recently. The EEV P4428 Pevicon tube based camera was used by Fire Brigades. A whole lot were decommissioned from the German Fire Brigade. I was not aware that these were required to be put beyond use at time of disposal but these most certainly had received the ‘full treatment’ ! Both the Pevicon tube and the display CRT had been removed and the cable looms cut up. Such action rendered the cameras good for parts only. It was both a sad sight for me and impressive at the same time as someone went to a lot of trouble to decommission the pile of cameras, and that took time.Fraser

author: Vipitis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2020, 11:40:17 am
content: lot has sold for 20.251,01€(+16% VAT) which is a little below 1.4k€ per unit (it was 17 units).Will be interesting to see if they show up for resale or just get salvaged for the Germanium.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2020, 12:14:54 pm
content: Blimey ! That is more than I expected them to sell for.Fraser

author: Vipitis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2020, 12:19:04 pm
content: agree, It is a huge lot but if these are decommissioned they are likely disabled as well. still a nothing to compare the cost of getting something like this installed originally.If it were one or two units and somewhere like 300-400€ I would have been interested in just looking at the tech and adding more Germaium to my collection. Especially the big pieces and non spherical (I am not aware of any anamorphic thermal lenses, but it is possible and might be part of tanks specifically).

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2020, 12:28:43 pm
content: I worked on a 1.3 Million US Dollar aircraft thermal camera pod with a salvage dealer who received it as part of a job lot. It was interesting to study the technology within (it used large rotating wedge prisms to create a scan ! ) but at the end of the day it was just a very specialist and expensive power supply + Stirling Cooler/detector and impressive germanium lens system. The main image processing was aircraft linked and useless on its own. Basically an impressive pile of scrap that the chap was not able to sell so he broke it up for its intrinsic metal value. Not worth much if it cannot be sold complete and re-commissioned. Ex military equipment can be a highly risky purchase unless you have inside information on the equipment and its current condition.

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2020, 01:08:56 pm
content: Quote from: bap2703 on November 13, 2020, 08:25:59 amWonder if this HgCdTe sensor came from Honeywell (Lexington MA division)? They were making various types of these sensors cooled to ~70 Kelvin back in ~80s that had proven to have an efficiency better than theory predicted (later the theory was "corrected"). These sensors were used to track missiles in space, FLIR, and even as part of the Remote Sensing Chemical Agent detector we were working on at the time. This used a single element HgCdTe sensor that was cooled by a Stirling cooler to 70 Kelvin as part of a tiny Michelson moving mirror interferometer to measure the background radiation at 10~12 microns to detect the presence of known chemical agents used in warfare.Best,

author: Vipitis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2020, 04:57:13 pm
content: From my experience with the maritime camera system I bought. It costs around 300k£ to manufacture. But the core and lens cost 42k$ (+the bigger core and bigger lens). But to add this to your yacht was also around 1.2€ with installation and screens, controls etc.I was happy to see just normal LWIR cores inside(albeit but we'll configured hardware wise, serial isn't working). With pretty crazy lenses. And three other visible/nir camera modules and a laser - I have the module with an optical cable, might post to another subforum about it. Plus some scrap hardware that is outdated(accelerometers) and just the titanium body and heavy duty motors.I think a crazy eBay Bargain happens to everyone that looks long enough. The lot of this topic certainly not. You can buy a not working unit for like 1k€ for a nother source(see replies).But for enthusiasts without the tools, knowledge or experience it's not a good idea to buy into.