I spoke to a aerospace engineer friend last night about FLIR detection and the only thing he could think of to fool FLIR was a array of LEDs to throw off the FLIR sensors? But LED's have a extremely narrow beam width, much like a flashlight. In fact I think it's only 15~20 degrees in actual beam width? So LEDs are most effective when the FLIR is almost directly above the LEDs and
not effective at all from any other angle. There are also issues of lots of custom wiring, power, etc. And can you imagine what 100 or 500 LEDs would look like to FLIR? Christmas! and you were trying to keep a low profile... ha-ha (laughing at myself).
And please, let's be clear. FLIR is not like night-vision goggles or scopes that contain their own light sources. FLIR does
not contain, generate or require a 'floodlight' to detect and measure it's target. And
IF FLIR did require a flood just imagine the size that flood would need to be to make it effective enough to light up a target miles away? Not to mention the weight, cost and how many bedrooms you would light up along the miles too?
FLIR scans for heat generated
fromthe source up to it's sensors and that is a
one way ticket and that's why FLIR can see heat targets many miles away!
As for FLIR in space, sadly it's a natural. And again, there is no need for FLIR to 'light up the earth'. To back that up just think of our weather satellites that constantly (and extremely accurately) measure almost everything from space! Satellites do not require a flood, but they
do have very sensitive and specialized detectors ~ with and without filters ~ all measuring across the spectrum as we know it ~ from 15 feet below the earths' surface (radar), up into radio frequencies and beyond!
FLIR is the same as a satellite, with it's filters and software FLIR is tailored according to specific needs. And FLIR filters are very similar to a lock combination on a safe ~ the right
(read exact) combination and BINGO!
I see your point about a plastic cover and I agree. The plastic will block the plant signature emissions. But the plastic would not be blank because it would be very effective at reflecting sun heat back, so the plastic would be quite a large and unusual target for FLIR with or without the grass. More to the point, the surface temperature of suspended plastic with baking grass on it when compared to a 'bare earth standard' is all too easy for FLIR to discern. I must add that I don't know if bare earth is the standard, I only offered it as a possible reference.
And you are right, if one had a garden of five or six plants (lets say) under a white tarp attached to a house or what-have-you, your crop would indeed be cloaked and not visible to FLIR, but the plastic/fiberglass tarp would be! Also me thinks most plants outside favor a southern view for the maximum sunlight exposure? So I suppose all a pilot would need to do is fly from south to north and
if ones marijuana plants are visible
at all from that angle I suspect FLIR would have a hit!.. no pun intended.
Someone mentioned reflectiveness? In labs many things are 'fingerprinted' for signatures unique to it only. One of the ways items are classified is reflectiveness. So in this case, marijuana is bombarded with
calibrated broad-spectrum light. The
reflectiveness or
specific light patterns from the marijuana back to the sensors across the bands determine the species ~ much like DNA.
Once a signature is designated, equipment (FLIR) can be calibrated to detect and report
only that signature before it alarms. Yes, other items will also be seen on the FLIR display, but there is no "alarm" until there is a exact marijuana signature match. And if a oak tree is 10% less reflective than cannabis, that truly is a tremendous difference!
You commented that "IR bounces off the 1st thing it hits." but I would not equate IR to radar ~ so in this case no. It's much like IR
Senors used in home and business alarms. The IR Sensors are not sending out IR to be reflected, they are instead 'looking' for it.
Hope this helps!
SOGLAD
Well the way im thinking is if the plastic keeps the IR from bouncing back (Flir does use IR beems and they must bounce back to sensors to be read. look at your chart it says right on it reflectiveness) your gonna have just a blank spot on the FLIR display. That would be like showing a red flag to a bull. So we need to hide the blank spot with something. If we covered the plastic with grass cuttings or leaves the IR would bounce off of them and there would no longer be a blank spot on the display. Instead it would look like normal ground cover.. I understand plants need light and you wouldnt be able to keep them covered all the time.. Thats why i said it would be a bitch to know when u need to cloke you plants. Im just thinking out loud basicly, brain storming on how we can beat them bastards.. As far as the FLIR or FLUR on Sats it wouldnt work.. There would be way to much interferance shooting an IR beem that far. I doubt it would even make it through the atmosphere. If you have ever seen a chopper out scanning for weed you would see they fly super low. This is because you need a straight line of sight with nothing between the sensors and your target.. The IR bounces off the 1st thing it hits.
Swisha your right to an extent.. a few plants in the right spot would be almost impossible to detect. There are many trees and plants that are close to the same signature as MJ.. On that chart it shows an oak tree is 10% less reflective then canabis. So a canabis plant next to an oak tree would be tuff to spot.. What gets people caught up is when they plant in places like corn fields and river banks where there is nothing close to the same signature as a canabis plant.. For example if you had a blue peice of paper with a little tiny red dot on it, the red dot would stick out.. But if you had a red peice of paper with a little orange dot it would be much harder to spot the orange dot.. when there on the hunt for canabis they are looking for the blue paper with the red dot.. Also I've never realy seen them scanning private property like they do fields or state parks.. It's expensive to fly choppers, there not gonna waste there time looking for one or two plants.. They want to find the big plots with hundreds of plants in them and make a name for there self..
