FLIR DM284 - Digital Multimeter with Thermal Camera

[chicken]

From the category of "Things you never knew you wanted":

FLIR announced the DM284, a digital multimeter with integrated infrared camera.
http://www.flir.com/DM284/
http://investors.flir.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=970194

[Bill W]

But then how many of us with cameras to hand fire them up pretty much every time to check overcurrents ?

The DVM has enough onboard processing to simply add a low-res thermal detector

If I had used a camera sooner yesterday I would not have that burnt tantalum smell hanging about !

Bill

[Fraser]

I would certainly appreciate having a 160 X 120 pixel Lepton 3 equipped multimeter. It would actually be more useful to me than the F1G2 that needs a mobile phone host. Sadly I have yet to see which Lepton version the DM284 contains. I suspect it will be the 80 X 60 Lepton 2 though

Has anyone seen a picture of the DM284 yet ?

Fraser

[simone.pignatti]

I would certainly appreciate having a 160 X 120 pixel Lepton 3 equipped multimeter. It would actually be more useful to me than the F1G2 that needs a mobile phone host. Sadly I have yet to see which Lepton version the DM284 contains. I suspect it will be the 80 X 60 Lepton 2 though

Has anyone seen a picture of the DM284 yet ?

Fraser

Hello, here some main specs, the DM284 will not save the image (scan only)

Image Resolution: 19,200 Pixels (160 X 120)
Temperature Range: -10°C to 150°C
FOV: 46° x 35°
Measure up to 1000V AC/DC
Type K Thermocouple input (-40°C to 400°C)
10 Year Warranty

link to the PDF data sheet http://www.batterfly.com/PDF/FLIR/DM284-Datasheet-bf.pdf

[Fraser]

FLIR...... Take my money please. I need one of these meters !

[Fraser]

Just saw a price for it $750. That will be at least £750 in the UK then

[emptech]

My Extech DMM is showing it's age, I've been happy with it for about 15 years now, so it was time to buy a new dmm, so I just purchased a DM284.  I already have a FLIR E-40 so didn't really need another thermo camera, but I don't want to lug my E-40 (now e-60, thanks all) all over the place.  The DMM does not come with a carry case, it should, for what one pays.  I found a Go-Pro case in a Target for less than $20 that suited my needs.

The list price for the instrument is $749.00 US.  If you search, you might find somebody who will cut the price by 10%.  I was about to place the order and I found a site called Bukoos.com.  They sell what they call "reclaimed goods."  They claim that they are selling units brand new, unused, but in "B-grade" boxes.  That means the boxes may show some wear or damage.  My display box looked brand new and I didn't see where it was shopworn at all.  I paid $600.00 plus shipping.  When I bought the unit, I believe they had a few in stock.

So far I'm using it in AAA alkaline cells, but only after using it for a few days, I'm down to 50%.  I would like to buy the L-I battery pack, but it seems to be going for about $79.95 everywhere.  I'd be surprised that FLIR had it specially made, so with enough searching, might find one made for some other instrument or device.  I haven't tried any other types of cells yet.  Also, to change the batteries, you have to open the rear panel with a Philips screwdriver, kind of a pain, you would think the back would just snap on.  If anybody has some ideas on batteries, I'm listening.

So far all I've used it for is repairing an air conditioner.  I checked for voltage, 214 VAC, but had a bad blower.  I measured the capacitor value, an AC capacitor labeled 20uf, measured 18uf.  I replaced the motor, then used the thermo camera and thermocouple modes to verify operation.  I used the included type K thermocouple to measure the discharge temperature (62F) and return temperature (84F).  I went back with the thermo camera and double checked the readings.  I was interested in air temperatures, but noticed the temperature of the register itself varied all over, probably some eddie currents in the air pattern.

I was working on a repeater vault on top of a mountain, where we lost air conditioning, we were on a backup window air conditioner.  Now we are back to a real system.  Our immediate task, restore a D-Star repeater.

If anybody has questions about the meter, please ask and I'll try to find answers, as I've only used it a little bit so far.

I don't check this forum often, and don't know if it notifies me of responses, if not, emptech at surewest.net

Jim

[joe-c]

i saw it some time ago.

I have 1 big question for a device like that....
can it store images (internal or memory card)... and contain this images radiometric data?
if not... its just a toy for me.   

[emptech]

The answer, no it cannot store images nor can it send them to somebody.  There is a "hold" feature on the device but it will only freeze an image, voltage reading, etc.  You press the H button again and the instrument is back to normal.  I can see some applications where this would be used rather than lugging around an e-4, 30, 60 device, just to give a qualitative indication of the area, such as hot circuit breakers, leaking air ducts, etc.  It can make spot temperature measurements, the emistivity <sp?> is adjustable.  Although I paid $600 US, I think it is over-priced for what it is, hate to say it, a toy.

So far, the battery life with AAA cells is pain, I'm going to try some lithium AAA cells next but $80.00 for their L-P battery pack with charger is way over-priced.  I haven't found it discounted anywhere.  It puts out 3.7 volts at about 3000 MaH, so I think somebody could easily adapt a camera battery pack to work for a fraction of the price.

Jim

[Bill W]

Sadly product compliance pretty much forces manufacturers down the route of custom packs where they can control the design, and then recoup the cost from customers.

Gone are the days of simply putting a common camcorder pack inside (eg a Duracell DR5) as you have no way of 'proving' it to be safe.

Bill