"No, I have reason to believe that if I told you my password, you would commit a felony under the CFAA, which I could then be charged with under RICO laws as I would be an accessory."
Not only did they solve a problem that already has an answer.. they solved a problem where multi-billion dollar implementation (no matter the actual answer) has been implemented and has proven successful
And here I thought it was about hacking Honda Civics.. enough people do that you'd think there'd be a holiday for it already.
... paying them well?
Haha, good one.. it's a government job.
You don't say what your budget is, but good, sturdy workbenches (like these) with plenty of outlets for power supplies, scopes, meters, etc. as well as built in drawers and cabinet space.
If you are looking for suggestions on equipment, power supplies like the Topward 6000D series or similar (multiple output, adjustable, current limiting supplies) are invaluable. Good o-scope, handheld multimeter, etc. if you don't already have that stuff.
You know how when you normally type in things, Google "suggests" what you might be looking for? And how, sometimes, those searches are, shall we say, "interesting" to say the least, or "NSFW" or just plain old weird? (For instance, try typing in "How do I" or "how do you" and see the odd results that occur... the ones I currently see are "get pregnant" and "start selling weed").
Now, imagine having the results of those show up as you're trying to search for something else entirely.
Frustrating, to say the least, and embarrassing or potentially job-threatening on some of those more risque searches.
No, there is a big difference between Near-infrared (0.75 - 1.4 um) -- which is what CCD is sensitive to without a filter -- and Far-infrared (8 - 15 um) -- which is the thermal imaging range.
Always try to do things in chronological order; it's less confusing that way.