Finished my "spy hunter" project

[ultravorx]

Well, for a while i've always had "unique" ideas for cars on what type of gadgets i could get for a car. Why rummeging thru a local junkyard, i found the perfect item. A thermal imaging camera from a cadillac. After bargaining witht the guy for a while, i got the camera for $250. I did some research on the unit, it turns out it has 4 main wires. Power, ground, and signal (signal and ground) So i bench tested it, it works!! I decided to try to retrofit it on my marauder, it could only add to the baddness of this car!! LOL So i de-badged the front grill, mounted the camera, ran the wires to a switch, got a "grill" to protect the camera from stones, and here is the final product!!

The good: At night you can see anything warm, animals, people, police officers on the side of the road with their lights off (it picks up their hot exhaust). And it has really far range, close to a mile!!! I also no have a debadged marauder!!!

The bad: During rain, the visibility of the camera is really lacking, because the rain cools everything doen, and this is technically a thermal imaging camera.

I really love this thing, its really a conversation pieces as well, LOL!!!

Here are the pics, so enjoy!!

[Dr Caleb]

Very cool mod! Nice work! Personally though, I'd replace the 'grate' with some Lexan - just to get better picture quality.

I've got to go rummaging through yards looking for marker lights for my CV. I'll keep my eyes open. I want to get a rear mounted camera I can hook up wirelessly so when the SOB's come back that stole my rear badge, I can get it on film. :mad:

[Heavy351]

That has got to be one of the coolest mods I have ever seen!!


Now if you could only rig up some kind of alarm to beep when something was hot enough within a certian field of view! Instant deer/cop/pedestrian warning!

nice work, very nice :rock:

[FiveO]

Very coool.... :up:

Interesting to say the least though....I'd heard some Caddy's had those.

[martyo]

Frank very cool!

They are actually using those cameras on boats now. They have many practical benefits as well as a huge "gee whiz" factor!

Enjoy!

When I get my car back hopefully we will be able to have an N.E. meet and get together. I would love to get a look at your newest toys.

[Ross]

Now that's a "secret project" if I ever saw one! :rock:

[Petrograde]

Wow,... dude sweet! :up:

I guess I'm gonna have to install Foward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) and a laser rangerfinder to top that! :lol:

[Silver_04]

With thermal imaging your car now has more military might than some countries. Very cool.

[frdwrnch]

I'm w/heavy, that's awesome! Very resourseful mod. Is that a dedicated monitor for it and is there a direct wire from the camera to the monitor?Coax?

[QWK SVT]

That is INCREDIBLY cool! You know that you've let the dogs loose, by showing off this mod, right?

[ultravorx]

I'm w/heavy, that's awesome! Very resourseful mod. Is that a dedicated monitor for it and is there a direct wire from the camera to the monitor?Coax?
The monitor is the pioneer avi-n1 nav/dvd/radio all in one unit. The cable is actually a standard composite cable. Your typical "yellow rca" connection!
Frank

[MYSTA KANG]

You have just earned the nickname "SPYHUNTER"!

That is one of the best practicle mods I have seen. Good work!

[Donny Carlson]

Now, THIS is cool!

1) The cover where the badge used to be is really fugley. I agree you should do something else here.

2) I have a V1 as well. Remember: up high is best. Mine is just to the left of the mirror, just below where the tint starts (the suction cups are actually in the tinted area)


good job, otherwise

[01 Interceptor]

Awesome...that's ingenious! I just may have to copy that mod. Nice thinking and have fun with the new toy, but keep those eyes on the road!

[ultravorx]

Now, THIS is cool!

1) The cover where the badge used to be is really fugley. I agree you should do something else here.


good job, otherwise

I know that grill cover for the camera doesnt look the best, i needed something quick to ensure the lens doesnt get broken by a rock. Im thinking that i may call zack to see if a custom grill can be made. Im thinking the camera will work thru the grating of the badgeless grill mod. Im going to test it out over the weekend.
Frank

[SouLRioT]

Talk about fly by wire, nice setup. One question tho, are you able to listen to music while having that up on the screen?

[Sactown]

Very cool mod! Was this the camera they were using for the heads up display?

[ultravorx]

Talk about fly by wire, nice setup. One question tho, are you able to listen to music while having that up on the screen?
Yes, i can listen to a cd or the radio with that on the screen. The pioneer screen has an option to switch to video feed, while still listening to the radio/cd, and i still have full control of the radio.

The unit is from with the heads up display, so in theory, you can watch movies on the caddys heads up unit!!! I may try to fit the heads up in my marauder if they still have the car at the yard, it may be too involved though for what i need, but just ads to the coolness!!!
Frank

[Dr Caleb]

I was considering removing the overhead console and removing the sunglasses portion, and inserting displays from a couple old iPaq's then building some sort of vehicle management system. Definitely a winter project, but there are regular cameras and displays that can be had cheap over here:

http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=216&products_id=2602&
http://www.robotstore.com/catalog/list.asp?cid=16