Using a Thermal Gun / Infrared Thermometer for electronics

but is a feature of the 981D, which seems to be unavailable.
>> >> Like all such cheap devices, the laser pointer is misaligned. One >> thing I like about it is that it does NOT have a rubberized paint >> coating on the handle, and will therefore not self destruct like the >> Sears version, where the rubberized paint turned to sticky goo. > > Being ordinarily cheap, I nonetheless tend to buy quality tools (I hate t

o spend money, but I hate having to spend twice even more). I use a Raytek Raynger ST, and according to it's label, it was built in 2000. I can't be lieve I've owned this that long. It's a 12:1 and it does have some sort of rubberized grip, but it's still pliable with no sign of returning to it's o riginal chemical state.

> I use this often and never had a problem with it. If it ever dies, I'll

get another Raytek assuming it's still made somewhere other than China (thi s one is U.S. made).

> One thing a lot of people don't realize is that these work great, but won

't work on reflective surfaces.

Really? So if you waved it along a wall, it wouldn't let you know when a sh eet metal 2x4 was behind the wall or not? Or have you tried that?

You can see a metal 2x4 behind a wall with a good IR imager, but only if there's a temperature difference between the room you're in and the room on the opposite side of the wall. (Sheetrock is opaque to IR, so what you see is the temperature differences).

I'm not sure that you could pull that off with a slow-reacting thermometer unless you "waved" it very slowly and systematically, or unless there was a significant (over 10 degrees C) difference between room temperatures.

"Doesn't work on reflective surfaces" is a relative claim -- the less emissivity that a surface has (meaning the less black it is in IR), the more that the IR photons coming off of it are bouncing off from outside rather than being emitted from inside. In theory, a perfectly reflective surface can be white hot and never show it. White paint isn't terribly emissive, but it is somewhat so. Flat black paint (or electrical tape) is usually quite emissive. Aluminum can be molten and not show any color

-- it's not the absolute shiniest stuff in the world, but it sure comes close.