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Need help fixing thermal imager.

Need help fixing thermal imager.

I have an Argus EEV P4438 Thermal Imager.

Here's the link to the pdf.

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It's designed for firefighters to see bodies in dense smoke. Built in 1998 It has no absolute temperature readout. The auto-iris adjusts the gain and I get to see relative temperatures. That's fine.

When I turn it on, I get an image, but the contrast is low and the image is negative. Hot spots are supposed to be bright. On mine, hot spots are dark.

If I stand barefoot on the carpet and step off, I can barely see the image of my footprints. A wall-wart plugged into the wall shows up prominently, but it's black, not bright. So, the unit is not dead, it's just not right.

After a minute or so, a white area appears on the edge of the picture and slowly moves toward the center. It's like someone poured cream on the edge and it flows toward the center. Then the whole screen goes white. Cycling power brings it back.

There are also some artifacts in the center of the screen. Look kinda like black lightning flashes. It's position dependent. Point the unit down and they all but disappear. Point it up and they are the most prominent. They are less prominent as it warms up.

I've done a lot of googling and reading of patents.

The thing claims to have a TGS sensor. The sensor looks like a vidicon with a wire coming out the front to a shielded box that I assume is the high sensitivity input. Has WAY more circuitry than you'd expect and dozens of variable resistors.

There's a 6V NiCd battery that measures 3V and won't accept any current at 6V. I assume this stores some calibration stuff. I'm afraid to replace the battery for fear of losing info I can't get back. Or maybe it doesn't work because the info is already lost???

I've found mention of a "white out" phenomena that causes the screen to go white when you look at very hot objects. I'm looking at room temperature stuff only.

If I can fix the negative image issue, and the white out issue, I might be well on the way to making it useful.

It's not worth spending a lot of money, but I'd like to make it work properly if I can.

Anybody got any ideas on how to proceed? Any chance of finding a service manual or calibration procedure?

Thanks, mike

Reply to
mike
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Have you tried talking to your local fire department?

First thought: are you operating it so far out of its normal operating range that the rules don't apply? I.e., does the manual claim that using it the way you are *will* produce useful results?

I the image presented on the video out identical?

So, you know for a "fact" that this isn't as it should be (you know it to be a 6V battery by counting the cells? Can you measure individual cells to verify one or more are toast?)

So, you can safely ^^^^^^^^^^^^ shunt it with a *good* 6V battery?

Lots of pots *and* calibration constants?

Reply to
Don Y

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OR a bad bias, bad deflection...., on the vidicon itself...

If I were you I would check around the vidicon (anodes, grids, cathode...), you may find the answer there

The problem is that you will most likely find no spec. for the pyroelectric vidicon, so you have to guess for anodes, grids, cathode, etc... and their operate voltage respectively...

That's fun enough if you have time, and beware for high voltages around the tube

Reply to
halong

On a sunny day (Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:35:42 -0800 (PST)) it happened halong wrote in :

Vidicon? Looks like not enough beam current. Could be worn out heater (cathode). Increasing the heater voltage a bit might help, but is considered bad practice, and shortens life of the vidicon. Playing with the grid bias may be better, maybe there is a trimmer there. The beam current has to be just enough to compensate for the charge released from the target by the incoming light.

Reply to
Jan Panteltje

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Yup, in the old days I used something like this for the tubes..

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Reply to
halong

On a sunny day (Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:31:38 -0800 (PST)) it happened halong wrote in :

Yes, I have used those to repair BW tubes, and also color tubes. Yo ucan make yoru own by using a 10W bukb i nseries wit ha diode and capacitor rectifier. button || ==== -------------|>|--------------- 10W 240V bulb -- -- CRT whenelt (grid 1)

240 V | | AC )|| ---CRT heater === )||(12 V AC --- 100 uF | ---CRT heater | ---------------------------------------------- CRT cathode

Connect it, let the heater warm up, press the button until the big bulb glows constantly. made a lot of mony 'rejuvinating' old sets with that,

Also works for color sets, you need to do it three times.

I woul NOT try it like that on a vidicon, at least never have, but who knows if all else fails. Vidicon current is normally just a few uA.

BW sets go to several hundred uA, color sets to 1.5 mA per gun.

Reply to
Jan Panteltje

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Just the idea of rejuvenating for old tubes (if it's the case)

Agree to make sure to limit the current for the vidicon. He can't use one like that anyway until re-arrange the socket...until then he must know well about the vidicon's spec

Reply to
halong

On a sunny day (Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:54:34 -0800 (PST)) it happened halong wrote in :

Right, some vidicon I used had for exampe a 6 V heater.

Reply to
Jan Panteltje

I went to the local fire department. The imager is older than the oldest guy there. Nobody had a clue. They send newer units back to the factory for repair, so nobody knows what's inside.

Need to stumble upon a service manual.

Reply to
mike

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