5
Thermal Scanning
The high-performance Microscanner
™
D-Series can also be used to
measure tempera tures at a distance.
When not touching or close to a surface:
• The Microscanner
™
is a wide-angle ther mal scanner with a fixed
emissivity of .98.
• The displayed reading is an average tem perature of everything that the
sensor sees within its field of view.
Thermal scanning is very useful in many applications such as evaluating
insulation, monitoring machinery, and inspecting electrical equipment.
The MAX or MIN modes of operation can be particularly useful in thermal
scanning. The highest (or lowest) temperature measured dur ing a scan is
indicated by the audible beeper. Once a hot spot (or cold spot) is identified,
the exact temperature of that spot can be measured by touching the
surface as previously ex plained.
When using the D-Series as a scanner, keep the following in mind:
• The instrument’s field of view is 1:1. Also referred to as a distance-to-
spot ratio, 1:1 field of view means that the sensor sees a cir cular area
with a diameter equal to the distance between the sensor and target.
For example, at a 6-inch distance, the sensor sees a 6-inch diameter
spot; at a 10-foot distance, the sensor sees a 10-foot diameter spot.
• The Microscanner
™
measures the average temperature of everything
in its field of view.
• A small hot spot may get lost in a large viewing area. The closer you
hold the instru ment to a surface, the better its target resolu tion.
