DIYbanter - View Single Post - Using a Thermal Gun / Infrared Thermometer for electronics

N_Cook

On 08/05/2017 08:48, wrote:
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?

I use a basic one often enough to require bypassing the button cells and
wiring out to an external bigger battery