bjloden

To all, I've been quite busy and would like to update everyone on what is going on with the patent issues regarding infrared. There are developments on a number of fronts. As noted in this thread, the house has passed a bill and now the senate is working on a similar bill which will eventually be reconciled and passed. This is one of the few bills in congress that is receiving bipartisan support. I'm not sure if anyone noticed but POTUS mentioned the Patent Troll issue in the State of the Union Address. Everything appears to be aligned and as soon as the bill is passed, it appears to have pre approval from the White House. One of the key provisions will be fee shifting. A plaintiff will first be required to submit a bond assuring payment of the defendants legal costs if they lose the action. Another key provision is the requirement for greater due diligence on the plaintiff's part. The plaintiff will have a greater responsibility to show evidence of infringement. In HomeSafe's case they filed demand letters based on the fact that an inspector offers IR on their website. This won't be acceptable under the likely provisions of the final bill. In any case, ASHI's lobbyist is on the job working with a large coalition to move this through the legislative process. At the state level there is also a great deal of activity. In December 43 State Attorney's Generals submitted a letter to the Secretary of the Federal Trade Commission voicing strong support for the Secretary's proposed investigations on patent trolls. It is my understanding that FTC investigations are underway. Since I work in North Alabama, I am a stones throw away from Oxford, MS, HomeSafe's resident location. Anticipating possible action from HomeSafe, I have been working with local authorities to strengthen state law as it pertains to the aggressive claims of Patent trolls. State Senators from my area have pushed through legislation giving the attorney general the authority to investigate and prosecute patent trolls who may attack Alabama business. The law was patterned after the Vermont law on the subject. A few weaknesses have been identified in the original Vermont law that were corrected in the Alabama bill. The attorney general has asked any business that are attacked by patent trolls to contact his office. I've attached a letter from his office. In addition, ASHI has provided start up funds for an independent Not for Profit Corporation, IR FREEDOM, Inc. The business operations are being established and I am the President of the organization. We are currently completing our business plan and have corporate donors making pledges of support. We will also have a website up soon and will be soliciting donations from individuals and companies who want to defend free markets in the infrared sector. I do hope all of you will support this effort. Finally, here is a link to a news story on the subject from a North Alabama CBS station. http://whnt.com/2014/02/03/patent-troll ... stigation/ Just to drive home the point, Patent Trolls are a real problem across all sectors of the economy. Cutting deals with them is not the way to resolve the problem. By working through the legislative system, the law enforcement agencies and by joining together, we can permanently put this problem to rest for the infrared community. Please join me as we fight for IR FREEDOM! Download Attachment: Alabama Attorney General PR.pdf 147.73 KB

I bought one in Atlanta at IW a few years ago. I use it on the dozen or so roofs I can't access per year. I have the spotter wireless camera and a HD video camera. With a little practice you can get pretty good at getting detailed video of the roof. It is also flexible enough to bend around behind chimneys. They advertise the weight at 10#. Sounds like it would be easy to handle but when you have it fully extended, it can be a handful, especially if the wind is blowing. You will definitely build up some arm strength using it.

Michael, At ASHI we are encouraged that the bill has come together so quickly. ASHI is a member of the industry lobbying group, Coalition for Patent Fairness, and our lobbyist in DC, Randy Pence has been promoting and tracking the progress of the bill. ASHI Executive Director Frank Lesh was in DC with Randy when the bill was filed. We are very encouraged by the rapid movement so far on the issue in DC however there are no guarantees when it comes to Washington. We will be sending out a legislative alert and a call to action for all inspectors and thermographers to call and write their elected representatives expressing support for this legislation. You shouldn't underestimate the impact these contacts from constituents can have on the decision making process. We are leaving nothing to chance and are continuing to build an industry wide coalition and are in the process of obtaining verbal commitments of support from industry leaders. While the bill would make it more difficult for the patent trolls and their minions to use their patents against us if passed, we aren't going to stop until the threat is eliminated. We will be making more announcements on our progress in the near future.

With regard to your first question, I took actions to accomplish three goals: The first was to have the lawsuit against the inspector withdrawn. I achieved that goal just in time on the morning the inspector's response was due to be filed. I believe I had 6 hours left before he could potentially have lost by default. The next concern was to protect my members from immediate subsequent lawsuits and legal threats. I was able to achieve that goal, at least for now. The last goal was to provide a safe haven for all inspectors, not just InterNACHI members. When Bill Louden first called me about this issue (he called me last month, I didn't call him), I promised him and Frank Lesh that I wouldn't leave ASHI members out on a limb and that I would try to find a way to provide this safe haven for ASHI members who use IR cameras as well as InterNACHI members. I kept my promise. In reviewing Mr. Gromicko's post above I find one accurate statement. That being that I called him. From that point on the narrative is a flight of fantasy and the record needs to be corrected. First lets make it clear that Mr. Russell, the threatened inspector, was not an ASHI member but we at ASHI wanted to help. As a courtesy, we called Mr. Gromicko to determine if he had a plan that we could work with. In the course of the discussion he made references to such odd possibilities as writing his own standard and using that as a legal defense. He also believed that everyone should avoid reading the HomeSafe patents. Mr. Gromicko indicated that on advice of his counsel, he had not read the patents. This was, in his mind, some kind of magic shield that would protect him and his members from legal action. Over the past five years I have consulted with patent attorneys in New York, Washington DC, Detroit and Huntsville, it was clear to me that Mr. Gromicko was grasping for a solution and had little in the way of a viable plan that ASHI could work with. I did tell him we were reactivating our task force on the issue and were willing to work with INACHI members who were willing to join an industry coalition to have these patents overturned. At the end of our conversation Mr. Gromicko asked for a "gentleman's agreement" between himself and ASHI that neither party take any action without first consulting the other. We agreed and ASHI held to that agreement. You can image our surprise that Mr. Gromicko broke his word and unilaterally made his deal with HomeSafe. As far as this supposed 6 hour deadline Mr. Gromicko says he had to save Mr. Russell, I spoke to Mr. Russell on the day before the date he was required to respond and he said his attorneys had developed a response and strategy and were ready to move ahead. The deadline was merely to respond, basically they had to enter a plea, guilty or not of patent infringement. Once a plea was entered that Mr. Russell had not violated the patents, there would have been months of back and forth and eventually a trial date would be set, probably sometime late next year. Plenty of time to build the coalition we are working on now. At ASHI we are very committed to resolve this matter in a moral and responsible manner. We have already joined with a Washington DC lobbying group, Coalition for Patent Fairness, and will be incorporating our on industry coalition, (with the ASHI board approval next week) within the next few weeks. We have already received promises of industry support and will be asking all thermographers to step up and contribute to our coalition to raise the tens of thousands of dollars it will take to protect the industry of these patent trolls. I invite all home inspectors and thermographers to stand with us.

Safe havens can turn into prisons. They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty or safety." Ben Franklin

Great research Scott. We will definitely be using this as we go forward.

To All, I am very familiar with this issue and with HomeSafe. They have been sending out letters to home inspectors and energy auditors threatening legal action for patent infringement since about 2009 or 2010. When I found out about this in 2010 I informed the ASHI Board of Directors of these threats. They took the threat seriously and appointed me to lead a task force to investigate the issue. We consulted four patent attorneys to evaluate the validity of their claims and the consensus among patent experts was that given the overwhelming evidence of "prior art" in this field, and the specific nature of their patented process, any litigation could be defeated. However the costs to litigate this could be expected to run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then a separate suit, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, would be required to invalidate their patents. We then attempted to build an industry coalition to defend inspectors of this threat but since no inspector had at that time actually been sued, the companies involved in IR sales and training backed out of providing funding for an inspector defense fund. At ASHI we have been watching the situation since late 2011 and for over a year there were no threat letters going out. I was hopeful that the problem was going to evaporate. However this represents a dramatic change of events. Since finding out about this yesterday I have been in contact with the board and we are reformulating our task force and are again going to work to protect the profession from this threat to the thousands of inspectors who currently use infrared technology as a part of their inspections and we hope that the rest of the industry will join us. Though Mr. Russell is not a member of ASHI, we intend to assist in obtaining funding needed to protect his business and his family. Please consider that if you now use infrared technology or ever expect to in the future, you have a stake in this. HomeSafe claims that if you turn on an infrared camera in a house, you are in violation of their patents. A win on their home court in Oxford, Mississippi would give them a powerful precedence to start filing suits across the country. Bill Loden ASHI President Elect

John, The 120X120 range of resolution is adequate for most residential applications. I started several years ago with a Fluke TIR FT2. A great camera. I know have a Flir B360 with 320X240 res. It is a good camera but after owning both I would rather go back to a Fluke. Fluke loaned me a TiR32 for a trial I like the camera. If anyone wants to buy a B360, let me know.

Hey Brian good to hear from you. ASHI has cut travel expenditures significantly since I was on the board between 2005 and 2008. Used to every committee would have face to face meetings and the board trips usually involved at least 3 nights stay in a hotel. Now I think most committee meetings are by telecon. There is now more discipline in keeping face to face meeting shorter. On Friday morning I'll travel to Chicago for the April ASHI Education Inc Board meeting Friday afternoon. The ASHI board meeting will be on Saturday and I'll fly out Saturday evening. One night stay for two days of meetings. I think it is a great improvement over the old operating process. Lower costs for ASHI and I have to spend less time away from my wife. Win/win. I've used skype. I did a few chapter interviews when I was running for office. A really great tool but it has it's limitation and it is very difficult to conduct a full up board meeting electronically. When I was with NASA back in the 90's we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars setting up elaborate video teleconferencing rooms at the three shuttle centers, Marshall, Johnson and Kennedy. These were for our Flight Readiness Reviews and other program level meetings. It was a big waste of money because the managers, who you would think were technically savey, wanted to have everyone in the same room when making flight decisons that could and would effect lives and very high dollar assets. I have yet to ever participate in a virtual meeting that was effective as a face to face. We do need to always look for ways to leverage technology but I think it will be a while before we can ever go completely virtual in the conduct of our business.

Les, The financials are confidential so any numbers you hear will only be speculation. Bigger than a bread box, smaller than an aircraft carrier...? As far as who is in charge; there is a Board, CEO and Director. You named the CEO and Director.

Hummm, I don't know about that. Kurt, in his uncanny way, was applying a small amount of force for years; yet last year many on the upper throne (including our your past president) more or less told him to pound salt. That's one of several reasons I chose not to re-up. Last year the ASHI leaderhip that you say told Kurt to "pound salt" set their major goal as changing the way ASHI elected its leaders. While Kurt and many others recognized that things needed to be improved, many also recognized that the proposed changes were not what was needed. For speaking out, many were not treated kindly and yes, some were told to "pound salt." But we're big boys and we've learned that when you compete in the arena of ideas, politeness sometimes takes a back seat to passion. But look at the result. The proposed changes were defeated, not once but twice. In the end an entirely different group actually ended up pounding salt. One of my favorite movies is "It's a Wonderful Life" the Christmas classic. Yes its a little sappy but George Bailey had a chance to see how he affected the world around him. Though he started out with big plans, he didn't do anything big or heroic, he just showed up every day and did the right and honorable thing. At times he sacrificed for others as he worked to help his family, friends, neighbors and community. He nudged the rock. As home inspectors we too do incredible things. Not every inspection is life or death but do you think that just maybe something that might have caused a house fire or a crippling accident might have been prevented because of your work? Maybe a couple walked away from a poor purchase decision and were prevented from going bankrupt with a money pit that would have swallowed them. For good or bad, we all nudge the rock a little every day. So, those who have left ASHI come on back. Those who are thinking of joining us, I do believe there are positive things in the work. The only thing I can promise is that the law of motion is real and that we all make a difference.

I appreciate you kind words Kurt. Concerning "the rock", Sir Newton knew what he was talking about when he described the laws of motion. A body in motion will continue in the same direction unless acted upon by an external force. But even a small force applied over a long period of time can eventually effect a significant change.

Mardi-Gras in full swing now. Missus & I took a walk in our subdivision last night and saw license plates from MA, TX, CA and others. Lafayette expecting sales from Mardi Gras to hit 110 Mil this year. That's $500 for every man, woman & child that lives in Lafayette..and all I get is some crappy beads! [] Marc I was in Lafayette for three years and was offshore for the big Mardi Gras events every year. I did get to go to Caesar's Ball in New Orleans in 2008. Wow, what a party.

I intend to stay in touch. How is everything in Lafayette? I spent several years in Lafayette back in the 80's working offshore drilling. Lafayette was a great place. I loved the Cajun culture. Seemed like there was a festival of some kind every week.

I'm a little late on this thread but find the discussion very interesting. I'll disclose up front that I'm an ASHI guy. I was on the board of directors a few years ago and because I was concerned about the direction of ASHI I decided to get involved again in 2010. With a lot of help from a few members of TIJ and other concerned ASHI members around the country we mounted a petition candidacy and I was elected Secretary. I'm pretty much with Jim Katen on his reasons for remaining with ASHI. Of all the organizations in this profession, I believe that ASHI holds the most promise and I want to try and do what I can to make it a place that professionals can call home. For those of you who are considering walking away I hope you will stick around. For those of you who have left, I would love to see you come back. ASHI can be influenced by good people with integrity. I see a lot of that exhibited in this thread.

I'm trying to put together some resources through ASHI to help inspectors avoid infringing on HomeSafes patents and take the sting out of receiving a demand letter from them. Whether you agree or not with the HomeSafe business practices, they do own the patents to a process that involves IR and IAQ and they have a right to protect their patents. To ensure that we as home inspectors and thermographers don't infringe on their patents we need to understand exactly what they own and exactly how we can avoid any liability. I've already consulted with a patent attorney on this matter to protect myself and I wish to make the information I have available to all inspectors, regardless of affiliation. It will take a few dollars to put this together and to secure the minimal funding required from the ASHI board of directors, I will need to demostrate there is a problem widespread enough to warrant spending a few dollars. If you have received a demand letter sometime in the past from HomeSafe, contact me: bjloden@knology.net If you are an ASHI member and believe it is a function of a professional association to protect both the collective and individual rights of the members in regard to the practice of the profession, contact the ASHI officers and directors and let them know. Their phone numbers and email addresses are in the front of the ASHI Reporter. You could also contact your chapter leaders and CoR reps. Thanks for your help.

You'll find some lower tech solutions on this website: http://www.aerialproducts.com/ I've been considering the mast system for roof infrared surveys but it could be used to take closeup photos of roofs that are otherwise too dangerous to climb.

About 12 years ago when I was on the Space Shuttle program we were required to develop a new glue to seal the J slots at the solid rocket motor joints because of EPA environmental concerns. Thiokol came up with a glue and performed extensive tests in Utah with a final test on a full sized rocket at their horizontal test facility. Everything worked fine so it was approved for use on a vehicle. I was on the post flight inspection team at KSC and when we got the first motors with the new glue back after launch and broke the first joint you could hear a collective gasp in the building. We had burn char very deep into the J seal joint, much deeper than any ever seen before. This meant the char was much closer to the o-rings that seal the joint. After weeks of investigation the conclusion was that the glue worked well when tested in the dry climate of Utah but lost much of its adhesive power when applied in humid Florida. The one lesson we learned over and over again is that no matter how well you research and test a system or component you are never going to know with 100% certainty how it will perform in the field. This holds true whether you are building houses or rockets.

Mike, I started out with a Fluke TIR2 FT. It is a great camera and the software for manipulating the images is really fantastic. I recently sold my Fluke because my wife needed a higher resolution camera for performing IR on horses. She bought the Flir B360. While the resolution is much better, for buildings the Fluke TIR2 FT is much better. I know someone who recently bought the Fluke TIR2 FT and is leaving the inspection business for a gig in the corporate world. He is looking to sell his camera. I think it is about a year old or less and probably not been used much. If you just want it for home inspections, get the Fluke. Call me if you want his contact information.

Back a few years ago I found a 1927 model water heater in a near collapsing storage building. It was a short potbellied coal stove with steel pipes in a spirel around the interior of the stove. The owner gave it to me and I kept it in a storage building until my wife made me get rid of it.

It is a property of matter that reflects the amount of energy of motion of the component particles. The various scales such as Kelvin, Celsius, Fahrenheit are measurement units established as a standard much like English measurements of feet inches yards, miles vs Metric measurments. One of the reasons that heat pumps operate in the winter is that even when the temperature is very cold say 0 deg. F, there is still motion of the air molecules and thus there is still "heat" energy that can be captured and moved inside. A heat pump will not operate at absolute zero but then again, nothing works a absolute zero because all of the energy has been removed.

I saw an infared camera at inspection world. This would be a great tool to have. It also takes you miles beyond the realm of the visual home inspection. If I thought I could recoup the $14,000 price tag, I would probably get one, get educated about how to use it correctly (if that education exist) and put it to work. As far as listening for termites chewing on wood, I am very doubtful about this. I'm thinking cars driving down the street, children playing next door, a gentle breeze or any number of everyday background noises are going to mask the sound of termites chewing on wood. Of course if they have a narrow frequency range and can filter out the background noises you might have something. Too often however, these kinds of electronics are dummied down to make them affordable for field applications, making them less accurate and less reliable. So the prototype in the lab may have been great but the production model may be a dog. Speaking of dogs, what about the termite dogs? If they stop working at least you might have a good pet.

Well I can tell you that you haven't broken your policy yet. If anyone is twice as smart as you it ain't me. I threw out the degree thing just to get some lively discussion, not because I really believe it is necessary. The best inspectors I know and have known do not have a construction degree and most don't have any kind of degree. My construction degree from MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY, HOME OF THE BULLDOGS, did not prepare me to do home inspections though it did give me some background to understand what I was learning in the field when I started. (God help those poor home buyers. I'm still praying for the statute of limitations to run out) I threw out the degree thing to get people to thinking that maybe spending $4,000 to $6,000 on a deluxe course through ITA or Carson might just be a real bargain when you consider what I spent in time and money on a four year degree. I am training my son in the inspection business. He has been working with me off an on for the last 3 years while earning a degree in liberal arts. He is going to make a good HI someday. Before I turn him loose, I will purchase one of the better coorespondence courses for him. BTW, most engineers would not be good home inspectors because of their terrible writing skills. Most of them are absolutely awful with the written word.

We as home inspectors need to start working to break the myth that the home inspection business is one that is easy to break into. One of the things I had to continually fight against here in Alabama when the provisions of licensing were being developed, was the belief that the unskilled and unqualified had some inalienable right to attend a 1 or 2 week class and then be turned loose on an unsuspecting public with a checklist, screwdriver and flashlight for a couple of years of on the job training. As long as we as an industry continue to support that model, we will continue to be looked upon as a trade, not a profession. Our fees will also continue to reflect the lack of professionalism the industry as a whole projects. Just because you have a hankering to be a home inspector does not mean that you are qualified. Our clients have a right to expect a minimal level of competency. Another thing that Marvin needs to understand is that even if he attains a minimum level of competency, building this business is an extreme challenge. It is currently a fact of life that you will have to market to realtors as you start out. There are two kinds of inspectors that realtors don’t like. The new ones who don’t yet understand what is important and what is not because this can result in needless headaches and work for them to smooth over the issues that are less significant. Then there are the experienced inspectors who know their stuff and report it as they see it without regard to “being fair to the houseâ€