Introduction

Raytek was founded way back in 1963. Raytek designs, manufactures, markets, and services a complete line of infrared, noncontact temperature measurement instruments for industrial, process control, and maintenance applications. Raytek kindly sent us one of their portable MiniTemp MT4's for evaluation from their headquarters in the USA. The Raytek MiniTemp MT4 is a noncontact thermometer used to measure hundreds of different temperatures, whether it be for solid or liquid object. This "gun" is capable of measuring surface temperatures from -18 to 260°C (0 to 500°F) and has a distance-to-spot ratio of 6:1. The response time, meaning the time it takes the temperature to register on the LCD display after "shooting" an object is an incredible 500 mSec, basically instantly.

Features

The MT4 has an option of changing the temperature unit from the default setting of Celsius to Fahrenheit. This can be changed with a simple flip switch, just below the red trigger inside the casing of the gun. This features makes the MT4 internationally-friendly with support for both units, which various countries use as their "official" standard.

The temperature is displayed on a LCD display (which can be seen in the picture above) which is position on the back of the gun. The font size of the numbers are large and easy to read. The display screen is roughly 1cm by 2cm and is pretty much your standard LCD display screen. It also has a feature which could be considered "power saving mode" the display switches off automatically after about 6 to 7 seconds of inactivity, all you need to do is "point and shoot" and the display is active again. If you hold the trigger down and move it over different objects it will update quicker and allow you to find "hot spots" quicker, then depressing the trigger all the time.

The MT4 comes with and is powered by a 9 volt Duracel battery which is quite easy to install and is positioned at the base of the gun, under the cover which acts as a grip (as shown in the picture above). A little image is displayed on the LCD display when the battery is going flat. The grip itself is plastic, but comfortable. The grip is designed to be like a pistol grip, as the shape of the device would tend to suggest, the unit as a whole is light and doesn't strain your hand / arm. Here is a picture of my brother-in-law gripping the gun...

The laser on the MT4 is used only for aiming purposes and knowing what you are actually measuring. The laser is standard and comes with a caution mentioning avoiding exposure as laser radiation is emitted from the MT4 with can be harmful to us and animals. Like those pesky laser lights, they can be annoying if people shine it in your eye, the best thing to do is grab the laser light from the offender and throw it as far as you possibly can, preferably into water which is hard(er) to find.