# Firearms and Shooting > Projects and Home Builds >  DIY Night Vision

## Beavis

For anybody who has ever wanted functional night vision, but can't realistically go out and buy good Gen 2 or 3 gear, this might be for you, and it saves wasting money on junk digital or Gen 1 crap.

This is currently a work in progress for me, I aim to have this unit built and wired more robustly so I can mount it on a rifle for use with an IR laser, but this guide will get it up and running at low cost. The housing parts I scrounged off my partner's dad, the eye piece cost $6 from the local hobby store, the intensifier tube is 80 pound from the UK and the battery pack and terminals cost next to nothing. I probably have less than $200 invested in this as it stands.

Getting started - the gear you need



Soldering gun
Crimping tool, or something that will strip wire
Lens pen to tidy up the input and output windows
Waste water or down pipe, I think mine is 80mm dia, cut to a suitable length
Two end caps
A high speed camera lens and preferably a C mount, but it isn't totally necessary
4xAA (6V) battery holder
Spray can lid
Jeweler's loupe  
Electric tape and tin/lead or equivalent solder
Blue -Tak
A hole saw is extremely helpful

First off, you will need one of these



What is it? It's a P8079 image intensifier tube, yes it is a generation 1 tube, but it is actually 3 generation 1 tubes wired together (known as a cascade tube). Each tube gains off of the next, so you end up with a lot of light being amplified, maybe 10x more than a regular gen 1 tube. Some people have quoted 50 - 100,000x gain, which is staggering and more than a lot of gen 3 tubes. Does this make it better than gen 3? No, gen 3 tubes give high light gain in a much smaller package, and lack the geometric distortion (fish eye) that is inherent in gen 1 tubes. They also have a much longer useable lifespan than any gen 1, you might get 1000 hours out of one of these tubes if you are lucky, but beggars can't be choosers, and these are mil surp tubes. In saying that, you would have to spend a shit load more money than you will on this project, to get significantly better night vision (in terms of viewing quality, size and weight is another consideration). If you are wondering, these cascade tubes come from AN/PVS 2 starlight scopes, as used in Vietnam and the Falklands conflict.

 I purchased mine here Starlight Night Vision. DIY Night Vision Monocular Julian is a good bastard, the first tube he sent me got broken in the post, so he sent me a new one. This left me with a broken spare tube I could prototype off of and not have to worry about fucking it. They are also available here Image Intensifier Tube 1st Generation though I hear shipping is expensive. And from this dude in Israel Varo Image Intensifier Tube IR Laser Viewer Night Vision | eBay 

I can highly recommend Julian at Starlight UK, he will help you out if you have problems. 


While we are looking at it, you will want to get a 2.5mm screw for the positive output, so you can attach a terminal as pictured. I had a prick of a time trying to find one, the hobby store came to the rescue. 

The input window. Where the magic happens. Keep this MINT. 



It shouldn't look like this...



The output window, where the image will appear.



 Note how I have used masking tape to shim the NV tube to fit in the drain pipe. This is a temporary solution but it works. I will probably use expanding foam in the final build. The reason you use a wider drain pipe is so you have room to play around with the wiring. The beauty with this project is you can get as involved as you want. You can make the thing out of cardboard and duct tape, or you can machine a nice alloy housing if you are handy with a lathe. You could even buy a broken AN/PVS 2 and use that. 

The objective.



 You want a "high speed" lens, anything under F2 will work, but honestly I wouldn't want anything slower than what I have (F1.4). F1.2 would be outstanding, but they can be difficult to come by cheap, they are generally very expensive, though you sometimes see them on Ebay for cheap. Most people seem to use CCTV lenses, which can be bought cheap and are fine for the purpose. An example 50mm F1 4 CCTV Lens C Mount for GF3 GF2 GF1 G3 GH1 GH2 EP1 EP2 EPL1 EPL2 | eBay Ideally you would get a C mount for the lens, and glue the C mount to one of the end caps (after cutting a hole in it to see through). I didn't have one/couldn't be bothered buying one, so after cutting a slightly undersized hole for the lens mount, I got my dremel tool and shaped the hole, so the I could insert the rim of the lens mount and then twist it, so the tabs hold it to the end cap.



I should add that you want to try and get a lens that has an adjustable iris - so you can manually control the light gain. There are curtain situations, such as under street lights, where you need to restrict the available light to get a sharper image, and possibly prevent damage to the tube. These tubes are very sensitive to any light, and unlike some modern gen 3, they are not "auto gated", meaning they won't cut or reduce the power supply to stop themselves being damaged by excessively bright light. Be careful with them. 


Wiring it up.



I drilled a hole towards the front of the housing, just short of where the end cap will start when it is on. Feed the wires from the battery holder through the hole and give yourself enough slack to work with. My 2.5 mm screw was a lot longer than it needed to be, so I shimmed it with a bunch of terminals stacked up. I then slid an exposed strip of the positive wire up underneath the terminals and soldered it to the top. I soldered the earthing wire to a terminal and attached the terminal to the earthing ring with blue - tack. Pretty ghetto arrangement, but I have found it damn near impossible to solder the wire to the earth ring. Maybe I don't have a powerful enough soldering gun to heat the components, or it could be alloy, which makes it kind of impossible to solder to  :Oh Noes:  In all the other guides I have seen online people talk about soldering it so maybe it's just me. Anyway it works.

Spray can lid. This is a very important piece of engineering.



This is used to set the correct focal distance for your lens. With my 50mm camera lens, I want the camera lens to be right on 35mm from the input window on the NV tube for it to be in focus. So cut a hole in the lid big enough to fit over the input window, and cut it to 35mm long (for a 50mm lens) to act as the spacer. This will restrict how far back you can slide on the objective lens end cap. 



Note how I have used cardboard to help keep everything centered. Hey, it works...

You can now slide the objective assembly on.

You will now be left with the out put window poking out the back. I had the pipe cut short so that the NV tube sticks out the back. This meant that when I put the ocular end cap on, it would sandwich the tube into the assembly nice and tight. You can do it however you want. 

I then placed the jeweler's loupe on the out put window (it's just sitting there). This is an 8x loupe. It's purpose is to magnify the image in the output window, which is tiny and not particularly useful. I got this from the hobby store as well. It works, but I find it reduces the image quality quite a bit, compared to what you would see in the naked out put window. With the lens iris all the way open, it tends to bloom quite a lot. This is possibly because I don't have the loupe or the objective at the optimal distance from either window, or I am expecting too much from a $6 magnifying glass. I have ordered an AN/PVS 2 eye piece to replace it, but it will do for now.



Cut a hole in the other end cap for the loupe and slide it on snug



And there we go, a functional night vision viewer. I have blue tacked the battery box to the housing, I think on the final build I will construct a battery tube and permanently glue it to the top.



I haven't had much luck trying to take a photo through it, but there are plenty on line from other builds. 

I need to give credit to cj7hawk. His page : AUSTRALIAN NIGHT VISION FORUMS

A good thread on Arfcom : DIY Cascade Tube Thread... - AR15.COM

A few good videos from You Tube: 










A video of a Varo Cascade tube, I'd like to try one. 




Beavis

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## Frosty

Cool thread man, never even thought you could do this, might give it a wirl.

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## kimjon

Well done, looks like a cool project. Let us know how it goes

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## ebf

Very cool Beavis  :Thumbsup:

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## Twoshotkill

Looks great MacGyver .....I mean Beavis!

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## Nibblet

Now that is a proper project!

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## Tasbay

Well done Beavis. The Gen1- 3 stage cascade tube in the AN/PVS-2 was about the best Gen1 tube made. I see its a EEV English tube and not the Litton or Varo U.S tube.
My only suggestion to be on the safe side is a layer of metal sheeting around the tube on the inside of the PVC pipe. A few layers of tin foil would probably do the trick.
Some of the older Gen1 tubes had a issue of leaking amounts of X-ray`s out the sides and rear eyepeice. I don`t remember the U.S cascade tubes being a problem but you never know with this older equipment.
Looking foward to seeing it with your first deer.

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## veitnamcam

:Cool:  :Cool:  :Cool: 
Will read properly when not pissed and suffering the effects of arc eye.

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## Beavis

> Well done Beavis. The Gen1- 3 stage cascade tube in the AN/PVS-2 was about the best Gen1 tube made. I see its a EEV English tube and not the Litton or Varo U.S tube.
> My only suggestion to be on the safe side is a layer of metal sheeting around the tube on the inside of the PVC pipe. A few layers of tin foil would probably do the trick.
> Some of the older Gen1 tubes had a issue of leaking amounts of X-ray`s out the sides and rear eyepeice. I don`t remember the U.S cascade tubes being a problem but you never know with this older equipment.
> Looking foward to seeing it with your first deer.


Cheers guys.

I have heard of the Russian cascade tubes emitting measurable amounts of radiation (even when switched off), hopefully this one doesn't because I have used it a bit! I wonder how it would produce x rays? Compton scattering I presume

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## Dynastar27

modern day mc gyver man good work

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## ishoot10s

Good job Beavis, well described too, thanks.  :Cool:

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## Scouser

Well done Beavis, good on yer for attempting it....

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## Beavis

Cheers, buy some tubes guys get amongst it.

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## Nibblet

Going to have to give this a crack when I have some spare coin.

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## veitnamcam

Got any pictures of looking threw it at night ?

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## Beavis

Not yet. Can't seem to be able to get the camera to work.

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## veitnamcam

Bugger

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## Tasbay

Beavis : Sent you 5 pages on how to build one of these things without Iradiating yourself. Let me know you got them.
Also a guy selling Varo U.S made Gen1 Cascade tubes on Ebay for $115nz with free world wide shipping. just look up intensifier tube on Ebay. Happy to help cause I know once your over on the dark side you are going to want some Gen3 off me!!!

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## PerazziSC3

ok im going to try it. how hard was it to find a camera lens/ how much did it cost?

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## PerazziSC3

is this the tube im after?

Varo Image Intensifier Tube IR Laser Viewer Night Vision | eBay

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## Beavis

That will work a charm. I discussed the radiation hazard with cj7hawk, he has run a geiger counter over the P8079HP tubes and found no emissions. I believe the varo tubes are essentially the same thing.

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## Tasbay

> is this the tube im after?
> 
> Varo Image Intensifier Tube IR Laser Viewer Night Vision | eBay


Yep thats the tube I was refering to.

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## PerazziSC3

Ok i ordered the tube from that guy in israel, shoul be a bit of fun.

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## Nibblet

> Ok i ordered the tube from that guy in israel, shoul be a bit of fun.


You mind doing a big write up with lots of photos too please, I'm always keen to see others approach.

Will have to order a tube in the next few weeks.

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## PerazziSC3

yep will do, im a bit retarded when it comes to wiring shit up so might be interesting. Think my main problem is going to be finding a suitable camera lens without blowing to much money.

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## Nibblet

I think you should be fine wiring this up. With a c mount it could be quite good, any  reason why you can't change lenses to increase zoom?
Say 55-85 dslr lens, sure you will loos some light gathering ability at increased zoom but not all.

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## PerazziSC3

yeah with a C mount no reason to not change lenses, a few of the guys online run a couple of different lenses for zoom purposes. Shouldnt be to hard finding a 1:2 lense or like 1:4.8, heaps floating around on trademe but a 1.4 or 1.2 seem to be a bit more scarce

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## Beavis

Get a 1.2-1.4 CCTV lens off eBay

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## PerazziSC3

would you definetely reccomend 50mm beavis?

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## Beavis

I know sweet FA about lenses, but the 50mm works for me. I guess a 75mm would let in more light.

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## Tasbay

> yep will do, im a bit retarded when it comes to wiring shit up so might be interesting. Think my main problem is going to be finding a suitable camera lens without blowing to much money.


Keep an eye on Ebay or Trademe for a buggered Night vision unit. That way you will have a fast front lens, eyepeice and the power supply can most likley also be used. Most of these tubes will run on 3vt.

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## PerazziSC3

ok any nightvision unit e.g gen1 will still have an ok lens and eyepiece?

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## Tasbay

> ok any nightvision unit e.g gen1 will still have an ok lens and eyepiece?


Yes pretty much though the bigger the front lens the better. Keep magnification below 4x as the higher you go the dimmer the final picture will be with a given tube. Most nv units and in the 1x-2.5x range.

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## turner nz

oh wow this is neat might have to give this a crack too !

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## PerazziSC3

ok think im sorted for a lens, doing as beavis sugeested, $35usd 50mm f1.4 off aliexexpress.  as for the eye piece, im thinking that would need to be of reasonable quality? do you think 8x is ok @Beavis or any other comments on it?

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## Beavis

An 8x 6 dollar loupe is what I am using, while I wait for my PVS 2 eyepiece from the bloke in Israel.

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## turner nz

so are the 3 parts to the night vision ? front lens the intensifier tube and this eye piece correct ? did you get the rubber eye piece beavis ? 

Lens for Varo Night Vision Monocular Eyepiece Device Rubber Eye Shield Ring | eBay

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## Beavis

Yip your onto it. I Got the one without cuz I'm cheap

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## Beavis

So I went for a walk with the missus down to one of the local parks. It is a good test because the trees block out the majority of artificial light from the houses. It is a mostly over cast night, with quite a bit of moon glow on the ground and clouds. Note that my camera is just a cheap digital jobby with an F 2.8 lens, the sight picture is very crisp and clear with the naked eye. I did my best. 

Taken in almost total darkness, couldn't see down the path. Some light is leaking through from houses though, but none perceptible with the naked eye.



The following pictures were taken under a good amount of moon glow. I couldn't see Amy up the path with my eyes (they do suck though).





The fence is 15yds away I guess. Was too dark to make it out at all.



Same fence from I'm guessing 5oyds away, taken under trees. The fence was shrouded in total darkness and where I was sitting it was totally dark.



Looking at Amy under tree's. 



Looking under the trees towards the foot path, about 75yds away. I could see it clearly but it didn't show up in the photo.



Looking at Amy down the end of the foot path



What you see out on the street



Most of these photos were shot with the "gain" set to half way or three quarters. Set to full in total darkness.

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## ishoot10s

Shit Beavis, that's bloody great. I can see myself having a crack at one of these too. Btw, does Amy always walk around at night in a bikini? :Thumbsup:

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## turner nz

those pictures look great, hey beavis whats the diff between the american intensifier tube and the British one ? much the same ? found that forum you must have been looking at from the states but no one mentioned the usa one from Israel they where all buying the British one

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## Beavis

> Shit Beavis, that's bloody great. I can see myself having a crack at one of these too. Btw, does Amy always walk around at night in a bikini?


Only under strict supervision, as you can see

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## Beavis

> those pictures look great, hey beavis whats the diff between the american intensifier tube and the British one ? much the same ? found that forum you must have been looking at from the states but no one mentioned the usa one from Israel they where all buying the British one


I read that the British ones have a power supply cut off if they are exposed to bad light, I'm not keen to try, though I did expose it to light once accidentally and it didn't appear to do damage. This thread has a little Varo vs EEV debating Night Vision Forum at Nightvisionforums.com &bull; View topic - Cascade night vision project I think for our purposes it will be much of a muchness. I have learned a lot through the course of this project, but some of the technical jargon is still way over my head.

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## Beavis

A bunch of stars you can't see with the naked eye 



It's clouded over unfortunately

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## 308

bloody impressive results for not much cash outlay - fine work

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## Tasbay

Beavis : Was just over on AR15.com I see Amy isn`t wearing much their either............ Deffinatly makes the photos more interesting!! :Have A Nice Day:

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## Beavis

Lol you guy's have some perverted imaginations...

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## Scouser

> Lol you guy's have some perverted imaginations...


Beavis...mate.....you have only scratched the surface!!!!!!!

well done, that looks the mutts nuts....

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## ishoot10s

> Lol you guy's have some perverted imaginations...


Dude, we're not the ones perversely stalkin' our own missus in the pitch dark with a freakin' home made nightsight!  :Yaeh Am Not Durnk:

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## PerazziSC3

look what turned up, any comments experts? 
looks to be in excellent condition.

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## Beavis

That looks like it is in great shape, very clean. Go into a very dark room and hook it up to 6v, see if it lights up.

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## Nibblet

Need to sort your washing out dude.

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## PerazziSC3

> That looks like it is in great shape, very clean. Go into a very dark room and hook it up to 6v, see if it lights up.


will grab a battery pack and some wire tomorrow hopefully and do a test

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## PerazziSC3

looks like there is a reticle of some sorts on the white foggy end, is this normal?

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## Beavis

Well these did come out of PVS 2 riflescopes - bonus!

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## PerazziSC3

will be stoked if it is, looks like some sort of hashed reticle for holdover maybe... cool.

Can the tube be damaged from to much direct light when its not connected to power source?

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## PerazziSC3

this is the exact reticle http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/...kem31/8717.jpg

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## ishoot10s

Is that a Varo from the Israeli dude?

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## PerazziSC3

yep, took a week or so to get here

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## ishoot10s

Cool, did you get any of his other original bits or will you make do with local bits and bobs?

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## PerazziSC3

> Cool, did you get any of his other original bits or will you make do with local bits and bobs?


na i didnt, i didnt want to spend $90 on a eye piece. Will just use a jewellers loupe first or use an old scope. as for lens, im buying a cctv 1:1.4 of aliexexpress, about $40 landed

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## Beavis

I can highly recommend the PVS 2 eye piece. Image is very clear with it. Just go easy on your usage of it as the lens glass contains decaying Thorium 232, which emits alpha and weak gamma. Should be fine for infrequent use.

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## Nibblet

Going to have to order the parts tomorrow, this project is just too cool!

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## Tasbay

> will be stoked if it is, looks like some sort of hashed reticle for holdover maybe... cool.
> 
> Can the tube be damaged from to much direct light when its not connected to power source?


Yes the Gen1 tubes are very suseptable to light damage even when not connected to a power souse. Damage will usually be a dimming of the usefull emited picture to the stage of total fade out.
Had it happen to a clients Night Scope once with a Gen2 U.S MX9916 tube installed. He left it on the dashboard of his boat after a nights hunting , turned off with the batteries out. The front lens cover got knocked off in the dark and the scope watched the sun come up........... Stuffed tube.
You may have an emprinted reticule at the back end of the tube but thats unusual. I cannot rember if the PVS-2 has internal sight ajustment of was an Eclan mount arrangment.
The only draw back of the PVS-2 was the size of the thing at about 7 pounds and like mounting a Dog roll on top of you rifle.

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## PerazziSC3

> Yes the Gen1 tubes are very suseptable to light damage even when not connected to a power souse. Damage will usually be a dimming of the usefull emited picture to the stage of total fade out.
> Had it happen to a clients Night Scope once with a Gen2 U.S MX9916 tube installed. He left it on the dashboard of his boat after a nights hunting , turned off with the batteries out. The front lens cover got knocked off in the dark and the scope watched the sun come up........... Stuffed tube.
> You may have an emprinted reticule at the back end of the tube but thats unusual. I cannot rember if the PVS-2 has internal sight ajustment of was an Eclan mount arrangment.
> The only draw back of the PVS-2 was the size of the thing at about 7 pounds and like mounting a Dog roll on top of you rifle.


Thanks for the tips mate. Yip its definitely got a reticle of sorts with 7.62/Xxx printed under it. Obviously callibrated for 7.62

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## PerazziSC3

Ok my tube works. Makes an awesome whinning sound when it turns on haha

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## Nibblet

Got a link for the lens you ordered? Cctv one

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## PerazziSC3

50mm F1.4 CCTV TV Movie Lens c mount for sony nex NEX6 NEX 5R NEX F3 NEX 5N NEX 7-in Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com

havent ordered yet, wanted to make sure tube arrived and worked. will do it today

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## PerazziSC3

Actually i might get this one as it comes with c mount and lens caps
Black 50mm f1.4 CCTV TV Lens C Mount For Sony NEX Camera GF3 GF2 GF1 G3 GH1 GH2 EP1 EP2 EPL1 EPL2+Free Shipping-in Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com

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## Nibblet

> Actually i might get this one as it comes with c mount and lens caps
> Black 50mm f1.4 CCTV TV Lens C Mount For Sony NEX Camera GF3 GF2 GF1 G3 GH1 GH2 EP1 EP2 EPL1 EPL2+Free Shipping-in Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com


Want to grab me one please and go faster mail and split the cost?

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## hanse

I am following this with great interest, I have pestered Tasbay a few times about NV gear so am very excited to give this a go. Ordered one of Julian's tubes just now. One thing I have picked up on is that some tubes are "nos" and some aren't, "nos" meaning new on the shelf or unissued. Julian's are "nos" and tested as working and I don't know if the same goes for the Israeli ones or other UK ones. May be something to watch for. Great work for shedding some light on the subject Beavis, thanks.  Also do you guys use paypal??

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## PerazziSC3

> Want to grab me one please and go faster mail and split the cost?


i can grab you one if you want mate but not keen on faster shipping, im in no rush and it costs quite a bit more

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## hanse

Just ordered my lens, now the waiting game begins. I found a Computar 12.5-75mm f1.2 for $130 shipped. I hope its the go as everyone seems to have a fixed 75mm, but it is very fast!!

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## PerazziSC3

> Just ordered my lens, now the waiting game begins. I found a Computar 12.5-75mm f1.2 for $130 shipped. I hope its the go as everyone seems to have a fixed 75mm, but it is very fast!!


Nice mate will be far better than mine. I only have a f1.4 cctv one ordered. $40nzd landed with c mount so cant complain

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## hanse

> Nice mate will be far better than mine. I only have a f1.4 cctv one ordered. $40nzd landed with c mount so cant complain


I have an addictive personality when it comes to things like this! On annual leave at the moment and meant to be studying but it seems seeing in the dark is more fun!!

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## Beavis

I'm keen to see what you guy's make of yours. I am waiting on my bipod adapters before I can assemble my night shooting rig.

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## hanse

Cascade Tube and Computar 1.2-75 Lens have arrived in one piece and look great! Varo eyepiece and C-mount are in transit, just need my power supply and case and I am green for see in the dark.

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## Tasbay

> Cascade Tube and Computar 1.2-75 Lens have arrived in one piece and look great! Varo eyepiece and C-mount are in transit, just need my power supply and case and I am green for see in the dark.


Hanse:  Did you get that Cascade scope build file I sent you??

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## PerazziSC3

> Hanse:  Did you get that Cascade scope build file I sent you??


Any chance to flick it through to me Tasbay? jocsax@gmail.com

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## hanse

> Hanse:  Did you get that Cascade scope build file I sent you??


Yes thanks Tasbay.

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## hanse

I am a little concerned that when I look through my CCTV lens, the image is upside down. Any ideas? I am not really all that clued up when it comes to lenses. I am hoping that when I attach the tube and eyepiece it will appear normal?

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## Beavis

That is how it is meant to be

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## Tasbay

> Any chance to flick it through to me Tasbay? jocsax@gmail.com


Yep on its way.

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## hanse

> That is how it is meant to be


Thanks

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## PerazziSC3

Ok i can see in the dark, its very much in prototype phase but lens works.

For other people trying this, word of warning, once the tube is switched off it takes quite a few minutes to "cool" down as such so don turn the lights on straight away...

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## hanse

Got mine going too. I need to shave a little off my spacer for the focal distance of the front lens to get a sharper image and assemble it properly and pimp it up with some paint and fit an adjustable mount and my recticle. Still a bit to do.  :ORLY: 

My lens turned out to only be a 2/3 format so it only uses the middle 20mm of the tube, I am looking for another one in 4/3. It has been a real learning curve on lenses!

Notice how I have used pieces of the 80mm pvc as a shim for the tube, as luck would have it, they make a perfect fit, like fucking mint no wiggles perfect. I just cut short lengths for each end, cut them to allow them to squash up and slide into the housing. The one on its own goes in front of the tube to space it off the front cap and lens. it has a small slot to mate with a pin in the tube, when it is all glued together this will stop the tube from spinning as to allow my recticle to work. Don't comment on the fine soldering either thanks, carpenter by trade!

The battery holder is a piece of 20mm pvc with a waterproof push button of a torch epoxied into it, the 2 x CR123 batteries fit mint inside. I have to get a end cap for it yet and it will eventually be siliconed into place on top of the scope.

I am probably going to make an windage and elevation adjustable rail mount for it but that's still in the design stage.

The photo is with my iphone and really doesn't do it justice, very sharp clear image.

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## PerazziSC3

mines very much in the beginning stage of development. 

Looks the same as yours just im currently using a lot of tape and i havent put on eye piece, i have just been looking at the screen.

Mine is quite cool in the sense i have the built in reticle and holdover etched into mine already. Found it quite easy to get it into focus which was good. Havent even soldered wires on yet, but it appears my positive terminal isnt threaded.

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## Nibblet

What range would you say that house is?

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## hanse

65m, I will get out on the golfcourse one day soon with it all dialled in and see what it can do. That photo is literally the first time I looked through the thing.

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## Beavis

Fuck nice work hanse, might have to steal your idea about the shims

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## hanse

Cheers man, Id be keen to see how you plan to mount it with your adapters. I'd love an old elcan mount to play with.

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## The Hunting Show

Great project, thats Full on DIY!

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## hanse

Just got my tube sorted to go on a rifle. 

I took a one piece scope mount and machined off the rings, this is my base. I then welded some straps to a piece of flat bar and drilled and tapped this assembly to the base with some slotted m6 grub screw type screws that I made from some bolts . The straps are drilled and tapped to take a pair of m6 bolts that provides the tightness and allows the mount to be removed from the tube. Add some etch primer and matt black can bomb and it is good to go. 

I am quite happy with how it has all turned out, given I had never used the Mig before on such small parts.

I will use it in combination with an IR laser on bunnys for a start to see how it all goes.

I have been busy with study so this has been neglected for ages, be good to get out for a look through it!

Attachment 27871

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## turner nz

nice work mate looks great! :Thumbsup:

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## ishoot10s

Nice job Hanse, looks great!

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## AzumitH

That's some Tier-1 shit hanse

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## Bill999

dammit hanse how am I ever going to compete with that?
that is damn fine work

well i hope there is still space on this bandwagon because finally made the call and my tube and camera lens is on its way

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## Nibblet

Curious to know how much use these have been getting. Still on my list of things to build.

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## hanse

I got my setup an Ultrafire IR torch (IR= Infra red = cant see with eye), and am in the process of getting it all mounted on a long rail to replace the factory rail on a 10/22. I mounted it all, that is the NV, the IR Torch, and a IR aiming laser on a old AR15 handguard as a test and took it out for a play the other night. The torch changes it all completely! Clear night no moon, and I could see rabbits clearly, body/head shape and all at over 100m, and the laser was a nice small aiming dot at that distance. It really lights up when you get them in the eye  :Cool:  I could see unclear rabbits (eyeshine/fuzzy outline out to around 200m+. I was amazed at the view when you add some IR illumination really makes it a scope rather than just a toy. Remember I have a big fast lens so more zoom than is common, it is a 12.5/75mm f1.2.

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## PerazziSC3

> Curious to know how much use these have been getting. Still on my list of things to build.


used mine fark all haha

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## Beavis

I have used mine for star gazing mainly, I have an AR upper in the works that will be dedicated to it. Have an IR torch, laser etc. Still need to actually make up a half decent housing.

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## 257weatherby

> used mine fark all haha


My Varo tube (from the Israeli guy)  just decided it doesn't work anymore, no idea why, I reckon I could find a good home for yours (if you wanted to part with it)

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## Bill999

how did you guys get the focal length for the lope and camera lense correct? @Beavis and @hanse

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## hanse

DIY Cascade Tube Thread... -

I strongly advise reading all of this. If you go back through this thread you will also find some good tips, I made a nice housing from PVC that had some adjustment to get your focal lengths right.

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## Bill999

thanks hanse

I got mine running over the weekend by using the top and bottom off the plastic salt shaker bottles
scope eye piece fits the sprinkle end perfectly and a circular cut the other end to fix the cctv lense
pretty rough but its good to see the capability
it was a really moonlit night so was hard to see what it could really do when you dont even need it to walk around

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## PerazziSC3

Anyone still tinkering with these?

Thinking about playing with this a bit more. Anyone got any idea on how i could illuminate my reticle that is etched in my tube?

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## Tasbay

> Anyone still tinkering with these?
> 
> Thinking about playing with this a bit more. Anyone got any idea on how i could illuminate my reticle that is etched in my tube?


  just used the black ethcing

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## PerazziSC3

How have people found mounting to a rifle/using? How do you sight it in and also do you use a IR illuminator?

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## Beavis

Haven't had the time to play around with mine lately. Have two partially made DIY builds. Other one is made frome like 1/3 of a PVS 4. I would like to rebuild it into a full PVS4 unit if I can find a front lense and ocular for a sub orbital price. 

Any how I mounted it to a 1022 and used a cheap trademe laser for aiming, dimmed down with floppy disk film. Was able to hit a 6" plate at 75m in partial moonlight.

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## Tasbay

The old PVS-2 units these tubes came from had a eclan type mount so when you adjusted it the whole scope swung left , right or up , down. Mount the IR illuminator to either the scope body or the rifle. Best back from the front of the scope or under the rifle where light won`t reflect back into the scope from off the rifle.

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## PerazziSC3

Where's the best place to buy a decent ir illuminator

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## Tasbay

Ebay or trademe: The Ultrafire 501b IR is one of the best I have come accross and I include them in with Goggle and mono purchases.
Light up about 350mts with Gen3 but I don`t know how they would preform with gen 1 as the Gen1 is less IR sensitive. Thats why they used to use spotlights and IR filters on Tanks or rifles.

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## PerazziSC3

> Ebay or trademe: The Ultrafire 501b IR is one of the best I have come accross and I include them in with Goggle and mono purchases.
> Light up about 350mts with Gen3 but I don`t know how they would preform with gen 1 as the Gen1 is less IR sensitive. Thats why they used to use spotlights and IR filters on Tanks or rifles.


this the one? Highly Ultrafire Wf 501b Cree Infrared Ir 3w LED Night Vision Flashlight Torch-in Flashlights & Torches from Lights & Lighting on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

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## CUjimmy

Check this Guy out his IR are amazing he ships to US etc  https://www.facebook.com/Ir.light.builds?fref=ts

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## faregame

> Check this Guy out his IR are amazing he ships to US etc  https://www.facebook.com/Ir.light.builds?fref=ts


Yep I have his lights here - will be selling them
Have some videos taken a few nights ago - very nice torches

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## Tasbay

> this the one? Highly Ultrafire Wf 501b Cree Infrared Ir 3w LED Night Vision Flashlight Torch-in Flashlights & Torches from Lights & Lighting on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group


Yep!

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