SKY RC Infrared Thermometer 380P

The SKY RC Infrared Thermometer is a non-contact thermometer specially designed to measure the temperature of model combustion engines, electric motors, speed controllers, batteries, chargers, etc., from -40°C to 380°C. To take a measurement, simply point the thermometer at the surface of the object where you want to measure the temperature and press the button to read the temperature on the large backlit LCD display! The new version features a high-contrast backlit display that is easy to read both indoors and outdoors, as well as audible feedback when buttons are pressed.

The infrared sensor is housed in an aluminum attachment that allows you to aim precisely at the target point while safely bringing the sensor close enough for a reliable measurement—even on high-temperature objects—without worrying about melting the plastic casing. The distance-to-diameter ratio of the measured area is 6:1; that is, if you place the object being measured 6 cm from the thermometer’s sensor, the temperature is measured over an area with a diameter of 1 cm.

You can measure temperature in four ways:

• Quick Single Measurement – When you press the button, the device takes a single temperature reading and displays it on the screen.
• Continuous Measurement – The device repeatedly measures and displays the temperature as long as you hold down the button.
• Continuous measurement with maximum temperature display – the device continuously measures the temperature as long as you hold down the button. The highest measured temperature is displayed.
• Continuous measurement with minimum temperature display – the device continuously measures the temperature as long as you hold down the button. The lowest measured temperature is displayed.

The thermometer has adjustable emissivity, allowing for accurate temperature measurements of objects made of various materials and with different colors. The emissivity of a material (denoted by the Greek letter epsilon ε) indicates the surface’s ability to emit energy. It is the ratio of the energy emitted by a given material to that emitted by an absolute black body at the same temperature. Different types of materials have different emissivity values (emissivity depends, among other things, on the surface color, radiation frequency, and many other factors)

Note 1: If you are only interested in relative temperature comparisons (determining whether the temperature of the target object is rising or falling), the exact value of the set emissivity does not matter. However, it is critically important if you need to compare the temperatures of objects made of the same material but in different colors (e.g., white versus black). If an accurate comparison is important to you, it is advisable to first measure the temperature of such objects with an infrared thermometer in a situation where you know for certain that their actual temperatures match. The ratio of the measured temperatures will then serve as a conversion factor for subsequent measurements. If you have the option to measure the temperature of the target object with a precise contact thermometer, you can use the ratio between the temperature measured by the infrared thermometer (with emissivity set to 1.00) and the temperature measured by the contact thermometer as the experimentally determined emissivity value for that object.

Note 2: The emissivity of anodized aluminum (a typical material used for engine cylinder heads) depends heavily on its color: standard silver anodizing has a relatively low emissivity (<0.80); the darker the color of the anodized surface, the higher the emissivity. The emissivity for black anodized aluminum is approximately 0.95.

To power the thermometer, you will need two AAA batteries (not included with the thermometer). The thermometer automatically switches to standby mode with minimal power consumption after 1 minute of inactivity.

Package contents: infrared thermometer, user manual.