FLIR F-Series Installation Manual page 37

2 Basic Operation and Configuration
Cable characteristics are determined by a number of factors (core material, dielectric material and
shield construction, among others) and must be carefully matched to the specific application.
Moreover, the transmission characteristics of the cable will be influenced by the physical environment
through which the cable is run and the method of installation. Use only high quality cable and ensure
the cable is suitable to the marine environment.
Check cable connector terminations. Inferior quality connections may use multiple adapters which
can cause unacceptable noise. Use a high-quality video distribution amplifier when splitting the signal
to multiple monitors.
Image too dark or too light: By default the F-Series thermal camera uses an Automatic Gain
Control (AGC) setting that has proven to be superior for most applications, and the camera will
respond to varying conditions automatically. The installer should keep in mind that the sky is quite
cold and can strongly affect the overall image. It may be possible to avoid a problem by slightly
moving the camera up or down to include (or exclude) items with hot or cold temperatures that
influence the overall image. For example, a very cold background (such as the sky) could cause the
camera to use a wider temperature range than appropriate.
Eastern or Western Exposure: Once installed, the camera may point directly east or west, and this
may cause the sun to be in the field of view during certain portions of the day. We do not recommend
intentionally viewing the sun, but looking at the sun will not permanently damage the sensor. In fact
the thermal imaging camera often provides a considerable advantage over a conventional camera in
this type of back-lit situation. However, the sun may introduce image artifacts that will eventually
correct out. and it may take some time for the camera to recover. The amount of time needed for
recovery will depend on how long the camera was exposed to the sun. The longer the exposure, the
longer the recovery time needed.
Figure 2-4: Images facing sun from standard camera (left) and thermal camera (right)
427-0030-00-12, Version 170 Mar 2014 2-21