Is there a way for me to make a device capable of seeing long infrared waves well enough to detect a human at 30 yards away with an air temp of 70 degrees for around 100 usd.
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it's called a FLIR "camera".
http://www.flir.com/us/
http://www.flir.com/us/
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Check out this link for a modification to a video camera.
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Use infrared photo diode.