cygnus@daffy.cis.udel.edu (marc cygnus) (08/08/90)
...anyone have the beginnings of a clue where I might obtain (relatively
inexpensively) infrared tubes suitable for building a small, portable IR
sight?
I'd rather just buy an assembled scope, but the price range (>$1,500 usu.)
is somewhat prohibitive...
Thanks for any info!
-marcus-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Opinions expressed above are not necessarily those of anyone in particular."
`...but do YOU own a | INET: cygnus@udel.edu
homemade 6ft Tesla?' | UUCP: {yourpick}!cfg!udel!cygnusmacminn@powertool.crd.ge.com (Stephen R MacMinn) (08/08/90)
In article <26851@nigel.ee.udel.edu> cygnus@daffy.cis.udel.edu (marc cygnus) writes: >...anyone have the beginnings of a clue where I might obtain (relatively >inexpensively) infrared tubes suitable for building a small, portable IR >sight? Funny you should ask! I just got a catalog from a surplus house called JERRYCO, address is: JERRYCO Inc. 601 Linden Place Evanston Illinois, 60202 ...and I noticed that they're selling a complete IR seeker head from a sidewinder missile (every kid should have one!). The ad says: AIM 9B Sidewinder heat seeking missile guidance device. It sat in the nose of the missile and tracked the infared "signature" of the target via a telescopic optical unit. . . . (more) Consists of a cassegrain type telescope mirror asseembly and associated electronics including a transmitter and an interrogator. The catalog number is 20383 and their price is $98.50 Good Luck!
v105l4lg@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (collie) (08/08/90)
In article <10846@crdgw1.crd.ge.com>, macminn@powertool.crd.ge.com (Stephen R MacMinn) writes... >In article <26851@nigel.ee.udel.edu> cygnus@daffy.cis.udel.edu (marc cygnus) writes: >>...anyone have the beginnings of a clue where I might obtain (relatively >>inexpensively) infrared tubes suitable for building a small, portable IR >>sight? >Funny you should ask! >I just got a catalog from a surplus house called JERRYCO, >address is: > JERRYCO Inc. > 601 Linden Place > Evanston Illinois, 60202 >....and I noticed that they're selling a complete IR seeker head from a >sidewinder missile (every kid should have one!). The ad says: >AIM 9B Sidewinder heat seeking missile guidance device. It sat in the >nose of the missile and tracked the infared "signature" of the target >via a telescopic optical unit. > . . . (more) ******************* Now the Feds are going to shake down that business for sure,or they're trying too trap hardware dealers by posting in that catalog they send you. I would stay clear from that kind of business,if I were you. ******************* >Consists of a cassegrain type telescope mirror asseembly and >associated electronics including a transmitter and an interrogator. >The catalog number is 20383 and their price is $98.50 ******************************************************************************* collie. ******************************************************************************* x
jimc@isc-br.ISC-BR.COM (Jim Cathey) (08/08/90)
In article <10846@crdgw1.crd.ge.com> macminn@powertool.crd.ge.com (Stephen R MacMinn) writes: >...and I noticed that they're selling a complete IR seeker head from a >sidewinder missile (every kid should have one!). The ad says: > >AIM 9B Sidewinder heat seeking missile guidance device. It sat in the >nose of the missile and tracked the infared "signature" of the target >via a telescopic optical unit. The last (and only) heat-seeking doodad I saw required a liquid nitrogen (or something like that) supply to cool the sensor assembly down to the point where it would work. I wouldn't be surprised if this assembly needed the same thing. Not too practical for handheld use! +----------------+ ! II CCCCCC ! Jim Cathey ! II SSSSCC ! ISC-Bunker Ramo ! II CC ! TAF-C8; Spokane, WA 99220 ! IISSSS CC ! UUCP: uunet!isc-br!jimc (jimc@isc-br.iscs.com) ! II CCCCCC ! (509) 927-5757 +----------------+ "With excitement like this, who is needing enemas?"
henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (08/08/90)
In article <32308@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> v105l4lg@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu writes: >>AIM 9B Sidewinder heat seeking missile guidance device... > > Now the Feds are going to shake down that business for sure,or they're > trying too trap hardware dealers by posting in that catalog they send you. I doubt it. The AIM-9B is grossly obsolete. It would not be enormously surprising to find such hardware surplus. You shouldn't expect sparkling performance from it, either: this is 1950s-vintage gear. Expect the electronic to contain vacuum tubes. -- The 486 is to a modern CPU as a Jules | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology Verne reprint is to a modern SF novel. | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt) (08/09/90)
In article <32308@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> v105l4lg@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu writes: > In article <10846@crdgw1.crd.ge.com>, macminn@powertool.crd.ge.com (Stephen R MacMinn) writes... > >AIM 9B Sidewinder heat seeking missile guidance device. It sat in the > >nose of the missile and tracked the infared "signature" of the target > >via a telescopic optical unit. > > . . . (more) > > ******************* > Now the Feds are going to shake down that business for sure,or they're > trying too trap hardware dealers by posting in that catalog they send you. > I would stay clear from that kind of business,if I were you. > ******************* I wouldn't bet on it. I've seen exactly the same IR seeker-head offered (and advertised) for sale at a local Silicon Valley surplus-electronics store (Haltek). They were asking rather more $$ for it, however. The ad stated that the IR-seeker was government surplus, perfectly legal to own, but could not legally be exported to certain countries. This is true of many types of computer and industrial electronics. Until recently, IBM PC-AT machines were in this category! In fact, I bought a batch of Teac 155-megabyte digital tape cassettes recently, for use with my Macintosh backup drive... and the shrink-wrap on each one stated that it was subject to COCOM regulations and could not be exported without a permit.
cygnus@daffy.cis.udel.edu (marc cygnus) (08/09/90)
In article <10846@crdgw1.crd.ge.com>, macminn@powertool.crd.ge.com (Stephen R MacMinn) writes: |> In article <26851@nigel.ee.udel.edu> cygnus@daffy.cis.udel.edu (marc cygnus) writes: |> >...anyone have the beginnings of a clue where I might obtain (relatively |> >inexpensively) infrared tubes suitable for building a small, portable IR |> >sight? |> |> <stuff about catalogue co. deleted> |> |> ...and I noticed that they're selling a complete IR seeker head from a |> sidewinder missile (every kid should have one!). The ad says: |> |> AIM 9B Sidewinder heat seeking missile guidance device... Well, perhaps I should clarify my request... I want to build an IR scope suitable for *human* use (a "night scope", loosely). The missile gadget won't quite work like that. Besides, it probably requires cooling to ridiculously low temperatures... not something I'd fancy plastering my eye against. -marcus- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Opinions expressed above are not necessarily those of anyone in particular." `...but do YOU own a | INET: cygnus@udel.edu homemade 6ft Tesla?' | UUCP: {yourpick}!cfg!udel!cygnus
khouglan@pima.intel.com (Kriss Hougland~) (08/09/90)
>>AIM 9B Sidewinder heat seeking missile guidance device. It sat in the >>nose of the missile and tracked the infared "signature" of the target >>via a telescopic optical unit. > >The last (and only) heat-seeking doodad I saw required a liquid >nitrogen (or something like that) supply to cool the sensor assembly >down to the point where it would work. I wouldn't be surprised if this >assembly needed the same thing. Not too practical for handheld use! I think this might be the gyroscopic one. Science or Scientific American had a good article on it. Simple and cheap. The only thing required was some electricity to spin the gyro and the IR sensors would do the rest. (This is all of recollection on my part so pardon me if Alzhimers is setting in at the ripe old age of 25... :-) ) Haltek is selling them as well. I think they had an add on the back of Nuts and Volts. (Anyone got a lifetime subscription yet outside of CA?) -- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Addresses: !Disclaimer: All informtion is my own and is not that khouglan@hopi.intel.com ! my employer. Hey, if I knew something, then you askah@acvax.inre..... ! would have heard of me before..... ========================!====================================================== Life is a virgin. A bitch is too easy. (unknown) You buy cheese, you get cheese (P. Khaun) and sometimes you don't even get cheese (K. Houlgand) ===============================================================================
dbell@cup.portal.com (David J Bell) (08/09/90)
>>Funny you should ask! >>I just got a catalog from a surplus house called JERRYCO, >>....and I noticed that they're selling a complete IR seeker head from a >>sidewinder missile (every kid should have one!). The ad says: > ******************* > Now the Feds are going to shake down that business for sure,or they're > trying too trap hardware dealers by posting in that catalog they send you. > I would stay clear from that kind of business,if I were you. > ******************* Nope... That model is apparently declassified and surplussed. I've seen them in Halted Specialties Corp, here in Sunnyvale (Si Valley). I can't see that they'd make much of an IR sight, though. The Cassegrain 'scope is a bulbous, extreme wide angle affair (the whole "nose cone"), and the detector looks like a low-resolution CCD device. There'd be a *LOT* of work involved in making evevn a poor camera... Dave dbell@cup.portal.com
zimmer@calvin.tmc.edu (Andrew Zimmerman) (08/09/90)
Wow, twice in the last month I have had articles on hot topics in Sci.electornics. (The first was an article about electrostatic sensors for rc-planes). Anyway, about building an infrared viewing system. There was an article on this subject way back in the mid-70's in one of the popular electronics magizine. (The photocopy I have doesn't have the date on it, but it was written by Forrest Mims.) It describes how to build an infrared viewing system for $35. The major part of the system is a 6032 or 6929 image tube. In the mid 70's, I was able to order one for about $13, and as late as the early 80's, the tubes were still being advertised. Unfortunately, I gave my tube away. These tubes required between 12kV and 20kV, which is why I didn't want to get to close to them. Andrew zimmer@calvin.stanford.edu
yarvin-norman@cs.yale.edu (Norman Yarvin) (08/09/90)
In article <2903@isc-br.ISC-BR.COM> jimc@isc-br.ISC-BR.COM (Jim Cathey) writes: >The last (and only) heat-seeking doodad I saw required a liquid >nitrogen (or something like that) supply to cool the sensor assembly >down to the point where it would work. The early Sidewinders weren't liquid-nitrogen-cooled; that was introduced in later versions, to make the seeker more sensitive. -- Norman Yarvin yarvin-norman@cs.yale.edu
vekurpan@tekred.CNA.TEK.COM (Vincent E Kurpan) (08/09/90)
Regarding the use of old seeker heads for IR scopes None of these are imaging devices so regardless of anything else they are useless for imaging. Also they generaly do not respond to the cooler wavelengths and would not show people etc... only jet engines. In short they are highly specialized devices and far more crude than you'd imagine. Don't buy one unless it's really cheap ($2).
henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (08/09/90)
In article <2903@isc-br.ISC-BR.COM> jimc@isc-br.ISC-BR.COM (Jim Cathey) writes: >>AIM 9B Sidewinder heat seeking missile guidance device... > >The last (and only) heat-seeking doodad I saw required a liquid >nitrogen (or something like that) supply to cool the sensor assembly >down to the point where it would work. I wouldn't be surprised if this >assembly needed the same thing. Not too practical for handheld use! The AIM-9B seeker was -- if I'm remembering the numbers right -- uncooled. As I mentioned earlier, this is *very* old equipment, and not very good. Cooled seekers greatly improved the performance of the Sidewinder. -- The 486 is to a modern CPU as a Jules | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology Verne reprint is to a modern SF novel. | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (08/09/90)
In article <6109@tekred.CNA.TEK.COM> vekurpan@tekred.CNA.TEK.COM (Vincent E Kurpan) writes: >Regarding the use of old seeker heads for IR scopes > >None of these are imaging devices so regardless of anything else >they are useless for imaging... Good point, one I should have mentioned. Those things are basically a telescope with an infrared-sensitive cell -- not an imaging chip, *one* *cell* -- at the focus. Some extremely clever tricks with rotating reticles (patterned image masks) were used to get two dimensions of tracking data out of a single sensor cell. These seeker heads might be of interest for the infrared optics or the mechanics, but the actual sensors are near-useless antiques. -- The 486 is to a modern CPU as a Jules | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology Verne reprint is to a modern SF novel. | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
ee5391aa@hydra.unm.edu (Duke McMullan n5gax) (08/09/90)
Lessee...I've got a 6032 image tube I ordered from John J. Meshna a few years back. They may still stock 'em -- IF they're still in business. I haven't heard of them for a while. Anyone? B&F aka BNF aka some other things used to stock such.... A surprising number of video image tubes are sensitive in the near...well, VERY near infrared. You might drag your 8mm Vcam along and see if it serves. I'm assuming you know the difference between IR tubes and light amplification tubes. The IR types _do_require_ a source of infrared light to be effective, whereas the LA tubes will let you see reasonably well under starlight. Now, I assumed you knew that, so why'd I write it? Just tired, d -- When you're up to your butt in alligators, it's difficult to remember that the initial objective was to drain the swamp. -- traditional Duke McMullan n5gax nss13429r phon505-255-4642 ee5391aa@hydra.unm.edu