OK, time for the answers I suppose.
Here are the semi-teardown pictures of the camera
The housing is very well made by a professional engineering company and not some kitchen table and a lathe job. The front and rear panels are held in place with large internal C clips that were thankfully easy to remove. The front panel did not want to move so I investigated further. Under the label there was a blind 6mm screw hole. Hmm me thinks, a mounting point ? or maybe a fixing point for a puller ? Thinking the latter I gently screwed a stubby 6mm screw into the hole and pulled. The front panel very slowly started to move forwards out of the cylindrical shell.
The whole front panel eventually pulled out of the casing and I discovered that the camera id fixed to a thick front panel that has a neoprene waterproof seal around it. The rear panel is similarly designed. Very nice
So what camera resides within ? Well I was wrong, it is not a Photon
It is a FLIR/Indigo OMEGA. How coincidental that we were so recently discussing the ALPHA and OMEGA cameras in another thread ! I immediately recognised it from the case design, rear connector and the front case design. It even has its In Indigo emblem on the front and a FLIR warranty label on the side. The lens is interesting in that it is a ZnS lens with the rings like on the Inframetrics PM280. This is the high frame rate version of the camera which is good news. She is a bit older than the PHOTON but still not a bad little camera.
The internal connector to the camera is designed to come apart so I can access the communications pins. The SnoopIR has a remote control option so it may even have the Pseudo RS232 in pin connected to the rear socket already. I shall have to track down the control software now.
Answers to the questions I posed:
Who made it ? Focus2000 UK
Custom or commercial ? Custom product for Law Enforcement agencies
For what purpose was it made ? Law Enforcement detection and evidence gathering
What manufacturers core resides inside ? FLIR/Indigo OMEGA (Micron)
What did it originally cost ? £5K
Who was the intended customer ? UK Law Enforcement
So there you go. A very neat little custom thermal camera with a neat core and case. The unit came with an ARCHOS DV700 PVR that is also in excellent condition. All contained in an expensive Peli case.
The price I paid ? £132
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