DIY Open Source Night Vision

[ToolAA]

I found the datasheet on these cascade tubes. P8079HP

p8079hp_man

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

The voltage really needs to be above 5V for optimal operation per the chart on pg 11 (7V max.) That nixes my idea to use a single 3.6V or 4.2V Lithium Maybe I should just go back to the 4xAA method. Or I could build a tiny regulator (it only draws 50mA max) to put after the switch.

Also, per the datasheet the positive side terminal connection is #3-48 UNC. ToolAA, I have some of those if you need. Other places on the web say its metric and a M2.5 starts to thread but its just not right.

Edit: I sliced up the scans, put them in order, and created a pdf w/ them. Attached below.

I’m thinking of making a 3d printed holder for 2 CR123

https://a.co/d/c5tBWmW

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[smdub]

CR123s would be the most compact solution but they will still need a regulator. Non-rechargables will be 3.3V*2=6.6V which is below the 7V tube limit but the rechargeable lithium ions like you posted are 3.7V nominal but 4.2V charged. Two in series is 8.4V which is way too high.

Even a LiFePO4 chemistry will (briefly) be 3.6V fully charged *2 = 7.2V.

I need to decide if I want to buy some rechargeable CR123s or just design it for 18650s which will still fit side by side.

Battery life: Looks like the tube consumption is typ ~35mA
Disposable CR123s are 1.5Ah. 1500mAh/35mA=43hrs runtime
Rechargeable CR123s are typ about half that. 800mAh/35mA=23hr runtime.
18650s can be had over 3Ah. Even the old ones I pull out of old laptop packs test over 1,5Ah. So thats 40-80hrs runtime.

In all reality, 20hrs of runtime w/ a CR123 rechargeable is no problem. The ability to swap in non-rechargables from a drug store in a pinch would be handy too. Though I see batteries sort of like ammo. I resist getting yet ANOTHER size I need to stock and keep track of. Would love to limit it to things I already own.

I'll go trackdown parts to make a little linear regulator.

 

[ToolAA]

Thought some of you might think this is cool. Sort of related to the DIY NV goggles. The discord group has been trying to source some really low light sensor modules and part of that process has been buying some off the shelf cheap Sony camera modules and testing them out. Most range from $10-$50 and I picked up a few from AliExpress. These sensor modules are way too large for NV headsets but I wanted to play around with connecting one to my spotting scope to see what happens. I sort of had this idea of adapting my spotting scope into a psudo-NV spotter and maybe using it to do some amateur astronomy photography. They sell camera adapters for astronomical telescopes and they usually cost hundreds to thousands of dollars.

I removed the lens mount and printed an adapter for my spotting scope. This requires me removing the eyepieces and just using the objective part of the scope.

Didn’t have a lot of time to play around yet, but are a few images from my back yard looking through the trees at a transmission tower which I think is about 5-600 yds away.

There is a larger radio tower about 2.2mi away and here is a short clip. I would’ve be able to see it with my naked eye without the blinking strobe.


Here is the same scene at night. There is a lot of light pollution from my location.

This is a short clip. In the first part tou see the same tower in the distance. The second part, I’m shining my IR laser onto to the tower. The larger light spots are coming from the laser reflecting off of smaller tree branches in between me and the tower, but if you look closely you can see the actual laser spot reflecting off of the tower structure and wires. The third part s me focusing on a house in the distance maybe 300+ yds away, then adjusting the camera settings.




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[teratos]

Saw this in my email, and thought of this thread.

Bootleg Panoramic Night Vision Goggles - USB | Ghost Guns

Files for the Bootleg Night Vision Googles by Just Call me Koko.

ghostguns.com

 

[ToolAA]

Saw this in my email, and thought of this thread.

Bootleg Panoramic Night Vision Goggles - USB | Ghost Guns

Files for the Bootleg Night Vision Googles by Just Call me Koko.

ghostguns.com

Actual Gen3 Quads can cost $25-30K. I've read a ton of Reddit and other NV forms where owners of actual analog NV devices love to $hit all over these attempts to DIY NV using FPV cameras. Agreed, it's nowhere near the optical clarity of a real analog device. Head to head, if you were defending yourself against an attacker wearing the latest analog devices, you would be at a disadvantage. However, defending against a non-nv wearing opponent, you would be at a clear advantage. There is a place for these devices. Also consider the newest generation of military headset ops devices are being tested with digital NV devices.

I'm working on a bootleg DIY endoscope. If you can keep a few patients knocked out a little longer in the shipping container, I'd love the change to do some real world testing. Maybe we can work out a trade.