thermal imaging

mp377t

Well-Known Member
I work with a guy that supposedly is in the military and he told me they frequently help law enforcement conduct flyovers with their special thermal camera to detect grows. I read on another forum those guys in their choppers are mainly looking in the woods for large grow ops. I live in a fairly populated city in new hampshire and am using a 150watt hps should I be worrying? The guy I work with even went as far as saying they can even tell from the sky if its an HPS or not?? He used to grow himself weed and mushrooms. I didnt tell him im growing but was just asking "questions" about it...
 

TeaTreeOil

Well-Known Member
He's full of shit.

All military personnel are full of shit. You have to be a fucking dog to join up.
 

mp377t

Well-Known Member
so if the cops fly over me with a thermal camera which I find unlikely anyways they would waste time with someone like me but its new hampshire so that why im a little sketched out because it seems like cops up here have nothing better to do than bust people for dumb shit, will they see my little 150watt hps and do something about it? Would it even be enough for a warrant? im sorry if im being annoying but im just a little paranoid now and i havent even smoked for like a week so thats now the reason lol(the reason is whats in the closet...)
 

Dirty Harry

Well-Known Member
He's full of shit.

All military personnel are full of shit. You have to be a fucking dog to join up.

I take exception to that statement! Hate the game but don't hate the player, I just retired from the military.

What ever heat that may be seen from a 150 watt grow is nothing compared to the heat that can be picked up from an over set to broil or someone barbecuing on the back deck. The amount of heat is null for what they are looking for.

I would not worry about it unless your doing it in an attic of a poorly insulated home.
 

Dirty Harry

Well-Known Member
the military guy is lying. There are federal laws forbiding the use of military resources against the public.
True, unless they see something on a simple training exercises. In that case they can't do anything other than pass on a tip of what they saw law enforcement. An in the USA, there are full time state/guard counter drug positions who do such things, and they work with state law enforcement...But your talking about state national guard positions working for a Governor and NOT the federal active duty military.
In a state guard, they work for the Governor of the state first. They only become federal active duty troops if activated by the president, then in that case, they become full time active duty and are no longer able to assist in a state government exercise unless the president allows it.
 

mp377t

Well-Known Member
its not just the military as he told me, the military just aids law enforcement, and in my case that would be the NH drug task force that im afraid off but after reading this article im thinking maybe my problem isnt as big. apparantly they busted this guy acting as muscle for a oxycontin bust but he got off because no one showed up at his hearing from the tast force so they were forced to drop all charges lol their excuse was 'lack of man power' heres a link oh and i told the guy i work with this and he said it was because they 'flipped' him but if yu real the article i find that hard to believe since they made the drug deal with the cops...http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090623/GJNEWS_01/706239932
 

TeaTreeOil

Well-Known Member
I take exception to that statement! Hate the game but don't hate the player, I just retired from the military.

What ever heat that may be seen from a 150 watt grow is nothing compared to the heat that can be picked up from an over set to broil or someone barbecuing on the back deck. The amount of heat is null for what they are looking for.

I would not worry about it unless your doing it in an attic of a poorly insulated home.
I've also been in the military. I have first hand experience.
 
first post on here!!! i know the guards flies over us all the time, i think they are looking for outdoor grows though. on the other hand public saftey has thermal mounted right on top of there taho! donated by the us army! if they ride by and see somthing "hot" they cant kick in the door but it is enough for them to keep a eye on ya.
 

tuna

Member
I would'nt worry bout it, alot of people grow and you never hear of people getting busted do to Thermal Technology. I never did.
 

sirsmoksalot

Active Member
If your really worried wait till colder months and use a carbon filter and pump the heat into your home. But I doubt one 150HPS would even make a bleep on there Radar so to speak. I would be worried about using more then a few 1000watters but I use CFL's in the summer and the big boy in the colder months and just heat my home with it. :-) BTW I also put my room next to my furnace. Maybe I'm a bit paranoid. :-)
 

TeaTreeOil

Well-Known Member
If your really worried wait till colder months and use a carbon filter and pump the heat into your home. But I doubt one 150HPS would even make a bleep on there Radar so to speak. I would be worried about using more then a few 1000watters but I use CFL's in the summer and the big boy in the colder months and just heat my home with it. :-) BTW I also put my room next to my furnace. Maybe I'm a bit paranoid. :-)
Unmeasurable amounts of IR escape from inside the walls of your home. The scanners only detect surface temperatures, and can only see through things with high transmission, like transparent glass, transparent plastics, air, etc. If you can see through it, so can the FLIR scanners, quite likely. Even water to a degree, but not very well. Water heavily absorbs IR, while allowing normal light to pass through it much easier.

There's actually a technique of using 'shallow pools of water' held in glass, of course, as IR barriers for plants grown under HID lights. It allows the lights to be used much closer without burning the plants, and also keeps the grow area much cooler.
 

CrackerJax

New Member
150 watts? No worries mate.... keep on growing!

As for predators being used....I have heard stories about them starting to be deployed but have not confirmed it yet.

It is true that the military cannot spy on US citizens inside the US, but that does NOT mean that the hardware cannot be purchased from the very same contractors who build for the military and then use it by the DEA. I do believe it is coming and it is very effective at thermal imaging. they are using it for "practice" in Cali for detecting fires. It has a sensitivity of 1/2 degree. 1/2!!
 

doobnVA

Well-Known Member
You can't see an outdoor grow with thermal imaging. This guy is full of shit.

Not to mention that it's basically an illegal search if they fly over your home and take thermal images without a warrant. 150W isn't even as hot as most motion lights in people's driveways.

thermal imaging CANNOT see into your home. it can only see heat that radiates out of your home. So unless you're growing in a poorly insulated attic like someone else said, or venting hot air out of your grow room to the outdoors, then you're fine.
 

CrackerJax

New Member
Yah, that's why they use thermal imaging for detecting fires outdoors,... because it doesn't work....

Weed has a specific signature, not unique but specific. Thermal imaging CAN detect an outdoor grow. I can understand the wish not to believe it, but it's true....

I agree with the warrant issues, but you need to understand how the real world works as opposed to the paper world. On paper they need a warrant. In reality they locate the grow, never mention it, and then find another pretense to go to that property, imaging long forgotten and never spoken of.
 

ganjman

New Member
Flying pigs are looking for what? Weed? NO, HEAT. And if your growing, you should also have a good airflow/temp set up - so it shouldnt be making any more heat than any other room in the house.

As far as outside grows - space the plants out and they wont be able to see the heat signiture.
 

CrackerJax

New Member
Yes, space them out. Just from a financial standpoint it isn't worth the fuel to locate a small grow. They are after the big boys, who don't space the crops out. FLIR has a difficult time pinning weed down if it is mixed with other soft herbaceous plant material. So growing amongst a lot of trees without a lot of underbrush will expose you more to them.
 

ganjman

New Member
You can't see an outdoor grow with thermal imaging. This guy is full of shit.

Not to mention that it's basically an illegal search if they fly over your home and take thermal images without a warrant. 150W isn't even as hot as most motion lights in people's driveways.

thermal imaging CANNOT see into your home. it can only see heat that radiates out of your home. So unless you're growing in a poorly insulated attic like someone else said, or venting hot air out of your grow room to the outdoors, then you're fine.
Nope - i do belive it's you who's full of shit - if you didnt know plants give off a heat signiture you know nothing.
 
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