I have a friend who is an auto mechanic. He said that his shop recently bought a Thermal Gun, also called an Infared thermometer. He said it's quite handy, where it will detect coolant leaks, overheated parts of an engine, and even finds something like a hot connection in the wiring under a dashboard, and much more.
He is an expert with mechanics and has been in the business for over 30 years. He can repair auto wiring, but said he would not know the difference between a transistor or capacitor inside a car radio. Said he never learned electronics, just wiring.
Anyhow, I was telling him about my recent incident working on a preamp, and nearly burning my finger on an overheated IC chip. Almost immediately he asked me if I had a Thermal Gun. I had never even hear of them, but he explained how they work and said that it might be good for looking for hot components in an electronics device, in fact he said the manual said something about using it for that purpose.
RIght away I was thinking Big Money, but he said that they can be bought for as little as $35, but they bought one for around $120 because it had more features.
I asked how it works and he said you just point it at different parts of an engine or at a bundle of wires, or run it along an exhaust pipe to find leaks, and so on. And said there are ways to adjust its sensitivity, and it will locate clogged portions of a radiator and many more things.
This sounds like something that might be real handy for electronics work. Have any of you ever used them in this manner? If you have, are they worth the price to buy them for use on electronics?