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Dropped $150 on a thermal camera for my phone and it's been a total waste
I got it to find shorts on boards faster, thinking it would save me a ton of time. The thing is, the resolution is so bad on the cheap model that a hot spot just looks like a fuzzy blob. I can't tell a bad cap from a bad IC unless the part is already on fire. It worked okay one time on a swollen laptop battery, but my $20 thermal probe from the hardware store does the same job. I feel like I got tricked by the ads showing perfect rainbow pictures. What's a good thermal tool that actually shows clear details without costing a grand?
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allen.cole4d ago
Totally feel that, the cheap ones are basically just expensive hot spot detectors. You might have better luck with a used FLIR E4 if you can find one, people hack them for better resolution. What kind of boards are you usually working on?
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