Bullard TI Commander™ Thermal Imager
User Manual
3
Use and Operation
Power
To turn on the Bullard TI Commander, depress the large red
“On/Off” button
(Item 1, Figure 1)
on the left side of the
unit for approximately one second until the light in the red
button illuminates and remains on. The TI Commander will
take approximately 15 seconds to self-calibrate and become
operational. During the power-up sequence, you will see the
Bullard logo or the optional custom logo on the display. After
the thermal image appears, the unit is ready for use. To turn
off the Bullard TI Commander, depress and hold the red
“On/Off” button. Continue to depress the button until the
red light in the “On/Off” button has turned off.
The approximate battery level is indicated by the colored
circles on the left side of the screen. When the red circle is
filled, the battery has approximately 8 minutes of operating
time remaining. With about 4 minutes of operating time
remaining, the words “LOW BAT” will appear and blink
below the battery indicator to indicate an extremely low
battery. The operating time without the transmitter
activated is approximately 80 minutes.
NOTE
If the TI Commander is turned off when
the battery indicator is on the red circle,
there may be insufficient power remaining
for the unit to power up. If this occurs,
replace the depleted battery with a fully
charged battery.
Sleep Mode
To conserve battery life, the Bullard TI Commander
includes a “Sleep” feature. To put the unit into sleep mode,
briefly press and release the “On/Off” button
(Item 1,
Figure 1)
. The unit will immediately initiate sleep mode.
The red “On/Off” button will blink indicating that the unit
is in sleep mode. To bring the unit out of sleep mode, briefly
press and release the red “On/Off” button. The thermal
image will immediately reappear on the screen and the TI
Commander is fully operational. This feature can be helpful
during a fire company’s response to an incident. The user
can activate the TI Commander during the response, then
place the imager in sleep. This provides an “instant on”
capability for immediate use at an incident.
Thermal Throttle
The Bullard TI Commander features a fully adjustable
aperture, or Thermal Throttle, which optimizes the thermal
image and enables advanced scene assessment. Simply
put, the Thermal Throttle is a manual iris control that
regulates the amount of energy that reaches the thermal
detector. The process is similar to that of the pupil in the
eye. When there is bright light the pupil shrinks. When
there is low light the pupil expands. The Thermal Throttle
works the same way. In high heat situations, the Thermal
Throttle may be reduced down to obtain the best contrast
and the clearest image. In low heat situations, the Thermal
Throttle should be wide open. Since the Thermal Throttle is
manually adjusted, the operator can always get the
clearest image. The Thermal Throttle is manually adjusted
by turning the Thermal Throttle dial on the front left of the
unit
(Item 2, Figure 1
). Turning the dial clockwise
(toward the lens) closes the Thermal Throttle, turning it
counterclockwise opens the Thermal Throttle. For
increased durability, the Thermal Throttle is equipped with
a safety slip mechanism, which engages when the Thermal
Throttle reaches the fully open or fully closed position. This
mechanism prevents over-adjusting or over-tightening the
dial.
Bullard recommends the following Thermal
Throttle adjusting procedure:
Once the unit is turned on and the internal calibration is
completed, turn the Thermal Throttle clockwise until the
image on the screen disappears. This is the closed
reference position. Then turn the Thermal Throttle knob in
the opposite direction until the picture contrast is to your
liking. It should take less than one full revolution of the
Thermal Throttle to completely open the iris. Once the iris
is fully open, the safety slip mechanism engages to ensure
the Thermal Throttle is not over-tightened. Continuing to
turn the dial beyond that first full revolution will not change
the image.
NOTE
Most of the needed adjustment will be
accomplished within about 1/4 of a turn of
the Thermal Throttle. The Thermal Throttle
will not completely close.
Installable Accessories:
The Bullard TI Commander can be equipped with the
following optional accessories:
•
Wireless Transmission – enables remote video
monitoring of the image on the thermal imager
(Item 3, Figure 1
)
• Digital Image Capture – capture thermal imaging still
images for later retrieval via a personal computer
(Item 4, Figure 1
)
• Digital Zoom – digitally zooms the thermal image to
twice the standard size
(Item 5, Figure 1
)
• Relative Heat Indicator – Measures approximate
temperature of objects
(Item 6, Figure 1
)
If your TI Commander has been installed with any of these
options, refer to the
Accessories for Bullard TI
Commander User Manual
for setup and operational
instructions.
NOTE
The TI Commander also can supply hard-
wire video out via the data/direct charge
port. A video out cable (part number
CMDRCACABLE) can be purchased to
enable video-out to an external source.
U
se and Oper
ation
