To all my friends in the IR community, I would like to say farewell. I decided to leave ITC and FLIR (and Inframetrics) after 16 years of service, and my last day was August 6th. It was a very difficult decision for me to make, especially since I have made so many great friends over the years. I've always said that thermographers are some of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure to work with, and I will miss you all so much. I take with me both happy and sad memories, such as the Level II class held during the week of 9/11. Everyone pulled together and you all made it home safely, thank God. I continue to read the ITC Newsletter to see what's going on in the IR world. Take care, God Bless, and thanks to all for many happy years!

Michelle McDonough
former Sr. Admin, ITC
mmcdonou@adelphia.net

Editor's note: We all miss you Michelle. Thanks for all the years of dedication and friendship.

by Frank Bryson
Bryson Infrared Technologies

THE PROBLEM
A printed circuit board manufacturer had problems when a batch of boards failed QC testing, however classical techniques were unable to pinpoint the problem or locate the offending component(s).

THE SOLUTION
A board from an accepted batch and one from the failed batch were powered on a test setup, and infrared thermal images were generated of each. Visual comparison of the thermal images immediately showed that several components on the failed board were operating at significantly different temperatures than the identical components on the accepted board. This was to be expected since previous traditional testing had shown abnormal voltages and power consumptions at several components. When the abnormally warm components on the failed board were observed closely visually it was found that while one of these appeared identical to it’s duplicate on the acceptable board, it’s markings revealed that it was designed to operate at a higher voltage than  specified. This component was dissipating more power than the circuit design could tolerate, causing improper operation of this and several other components. This explained both the malfunction of the board and the temperatures differences that the thermal image displayed.

The infrared thermal image at the far left is that of the acceptable board, while that in the middle is of the failed board. The common color vs. temperature scale associated with these images can be used by the observer to visually determine the operating temperature of any component on either board.

The image to the right displays the thermal differences between the two images above. This image was generated by digitally subtracting the image of the accepted board from that of the failed board. Note that the scale to the left of the image relates color to a plus or minus temperature difference, rather than the absolute temperature as shown in the other images. Using this scale the observer can see if components on the failed board are operating at temperatures above or below their counterparts on the acceptable board.

The component at the top of the image is the source of the manufacturer’s problem. It is identical in size and shape to it’s proper counterpart, however since it is designed to operate at a different voltage than the design specified it caused problems throughout various circuits.

Frank receives an InfraMation Executive Attaché Case for his newsletter contribution. Published articles also earn credit towards IR recertification.

By any measure, InfraMation has exceeded all its goals. It is, year over year, the largest, most educational, most rewarding infrared camera applications conference in the industry! Thanks to all our attendees in 2004, and we encourage all of you to seriously consider coming to InfraMation 2005! We’ll be announcing the specific dates for next year’s conference soon.

For the first time ever in 2004, we offered over 400 pages of technical articles in our Proceedings book in full color! We’d like to thank our many sponsors and advertisers who have helped make this rather expensive undertaking.

Registration was a busy place at InfraMation	Shay Edwards explains his Transmissivity science fair project to a delegate

In response to last year’s customer feedback we offered more IR Clinics than ever before. We held 11 clinics and, also for the first time, brought in outside experts to assist in teaching classes in medical application, veterinary applications, and R&D applications.

Our Poster Session received lots of accolades from attendees who got to view 9 Poster Presentations all in one place – an excellent learning and networking environment.

Bob Rogers leads the Electrical Clinic, one of 11 this year	Delegates enjoy refreshment, discussions, and education at the Poster Session

We’re looking forward to an even better conference in 2005 and we’ve already started processing the new ideas and feedback on how we can still make it better. You can look forward to hearing from us soon about InfraMation 2005.

Thank you again for making InfraMation 2004 such a wonderful success.

• Federal Tax Law, FLIR serve up special year-end offers on IR cameras!
  North Billerica, MA - Nov 3, 2004
  As part of the Federal Tax Cut, businesses may deduct (expense) up to $100,000 from taxable income for purchases of new equipment put in service by December 31, 2004. It’s part of the IRS Code, Section 179. FLIR is giving you some great reasons to act now.

• Putting products and improvisation to the test
  Globetechnology.com, Canada - Nov 1, 2004
  ... The laptop is put through a cycle of routine operations and then flipped over; a lab engineer quickly snaps a photo using a thermal imaging camera. ...

• Self-cooling servers set to become a hot commodity
  Computerworld Australia, Australia - Oct 31, 2004
  ... design is critical. Parkinson said HP provides thermal modelling services to customers using a thermal imaging camera. In some cases ...

• Thermal Imaging Of Mount St. Helens Shows Red Glow
  Katu.com, OR - Oct 29, 2004
  By Corinna Allen and KATU Web Staff. Vancouver, Wash. Scientists have released new pictures of Mount St. Helens showing the red glow ...
  
   

• Ghost hunters seek evidence of the paranormal at local 'hot spots'
  Herkimer Evening Telegram, NY - Oct 29, 2004
  ... members snapped several strange photographs during the evening, while many "anamolies" were picked up by the Ghosthunters' infrared camera, according to club ...

• Planetesimal belts are discovered around beta Pictoris ...
  Space Ref - Oct 25, 2004
  ... of Japan has observed the dust disk of beta Pictoris using the Subaru telescope and an instrument called the Cooled Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometer (COMICS ...

• Technology gives new twist to farm security
  Tulare Advance Register, CA - Oct 23, 2004
  ... work for surveillance. Instead, ACTION bought thermal imaging, or heat-sensing cameras that can see through the fog. The cameras ...

• Europe On Track to Send First Mission to Venus in 15 Years
  The Planetary Society, CA - Oct 14, 2004
  ... VIRTIS (Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer) will be used to make spectroscopic maps of Venus in visible and infrared wavelengths, as well as ...

• Six-star travel not all luxury
  Manchester Evening News, UK - Oct 12, 2004
  ... year. Over a fortnight they used an infrared camera to check the switchgear equipment, which helps power the 1,132ft long ship. ...

• Camera Could Help Avoid Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
  WGAL Channel.com, PA - Oct 8, 2004
  The Inspector is an infrared camera that goes where the naked eye of a furnace technician just can't go. The camera is used to look ...

• Honda Plans to Sell at Least 26,000 Legends Annually (Update3)
  Bloomberg, United States - Oct 6, 2004
  ... The Legend will have an infrared camera attached to the underside of the bumper and will detect pedestrians, passing on the information to the driver through a ...

Here is a selection of recent new threads by IR Community members. Feel free to click the links, see how people have responded, and post your own response if you like.

• Magnetic field?
  How and to what extent is a P-60 affected by a strong magnetic field. Do you loose memory in a flash card?

• Distribution transformer- electric Utility
  Looking for anyone who has established any temperature rise curves, alarm stage or inspection program for infrared survey on sealed oil filled transformer for distribution (14,400v/600v) installed outside on poles. Looking for internal problem on coil and core via temperature measurement of oil.

• Hot spot??? please advise
  I recently found this main breaker.
  I noted that upper center bolt was hotter that sides bolts. I take different angles thermograms to eliminate the reflex possibility. This breaker is 850 amp loaded and balanced. What you think guys?..

• Failing Motors
  Anyone have any pictures of a failing motor(s)? Thanks in advance

• Need option to painting electronics on boards
  We have been using flat black paint to prep boards prior to performing IR scan but concerns have been raised regarding potential damage to the small traces on the board. There was an article from IBM on the FLIR website about using a 3M window film in place of paint. Has anyone had any experience with such a technique and are there other options? I do not want to dust, paint or otherwise coat the electronics. Any help is much appreciated.

• Effect of focusing on temperature measurement
  I recently had to make a temperature measurement on a large and very homogeneous but inaccessible target at a distance of several meters. One consequence was that I could not focus the camera (FLIR 160M) correctly or was unsure of the focus setting.
  My guess is that that should not have a great influence on the average temperature reading. Am I correct ?

• Sky Lights
  How much do heat loss am i getting with two sky lights. And if someone wants me to do a heat loss analysis what am i looking for

• Thermography for Energy Efficiency
  With the current high price of energy, it seems that thermal imaging of home envelopes and duct systems might be a reasonable expansion of my building repair and maintenance company. I have no idea where to start, beyond surfing the web and finding this great forum. I would greatly appreciate any information on required equipment, costs, pricing, marketing, etc. As well, if you can share the common mistakes made by contractors entering this specialized area, I'm all ears. Thanks for your time and assistance.

• I need clarification
  This is a picture of the interior side of an exterior wall of a home, would this be considered thermal bridging???
  
  
  
   

• Wall studs
  My question deals with moisture detection in wall studs. The situation is rain enters the building through the roof and saturates the wall. The tricky part is by time I get to the house three months have passed the walls look dry but the studs look soaked. What is going on?
   

And of course if YOU have a question or want to start a discussion on a topic, we would love to hear from you. Just post a new thread on a message board.

Brainteaser of the Month  [top]

Here is this month's brainteaser. What are the circles between the poles of the breaker?

Readers who email us the correct identification and explanation of the object(s) in the thermograms are entered into a drawing to win a prize from ITC. Please put "Brainteaser" as the subject of the message.

Click here to email your guess

Do you have an interesting image that you think would stump other thermographers? If so please email me your image (preferably in native .img, .jpg, .tif, .tgw, or .tmw format) with an accompanying visible photo and explanation. If your image is used, you receive a gift as well.

No this is not a goose or a swan! This is a thermogram of an exhaust pipe on a diesel engine. Note you can see the exhaust.

Congratulations to our winner, Carlo Lemon from NB Power and a thank you to Jim Barker of Phelps Dodge for the thermogram. Both Carlo and Jim receive a special low emissivity traveling coffee mug.

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