I build night vision systems... I'm not holding the "distance record" in the group i am in, but, i am respectable now.
I have been thru this... i knew i needed a fairly powerful IR light. Since my digital night vision is behind a gun scope? it takes "more" IR light. (as magnification on the scope goes up? The light comign thru goes down)
I thought i wanted a IR laser, then on the site, most of the guys there HAD lasers and really didnt use them very muck... they tend almost to a man, to use LED IR source.
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for IR illuminators? Theres a lot of seriously overpriced stuff out there, and a lot of, well.... pretty much junk.
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the pulsar digisight you mention? its analogous to our "scopeless" builds... inside there is a camera lens basically, (low F, and probably C or CS mount)... and basically the guts of a security camera. (theres also a special board that creates the digital reticle)
I got caught up in the LED IR illuminator project... and i'm glad i did... I get WELL over 300 yards with my LED illuminator that i built myself... if you go the LED route, and you can build it yourself? (a flashaholic would recognize the build as a specialty flashlight, trust me)
some of our guys sort of specialize in building the LED illuminators fr the other members that cant or wont build them themselves... none of the members will recommend or even BUY a "commercial" LED illuinator anymore... the units the boys are building are better.
the nightvisionforums" in the UK is the site to go... i guarantee someone already OWNS a pulsar of your model, and had used one of the established illuminators aready with it, and can tell you what it "does".
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if you do go the laser route? there are several things against the lasers...
1) they are expensive to buy an illuminator. you CAN buy a fairly powerful IR module, fairly cheaply... (300mW, 35 bux ebay... 500mW, 80 bux ebay) but theres no guarantee it will work as an illuminator. 99% of the "laser consumers" want their IR laser to be a SPOT, and want it to burn matches and pop balloons, LMAO... the OPPOSITE of what an illuminator does.
as soon as its an "illuminator" instead of a "burning toy"... the price gets big.
2) very few lasers give a high quality picture, and your setup is at its core, basically a "scopeless" digital nightvision setup. most lasers give a "dotty" picture... you will think its suddenly "low resolution" the way it looks... LED illuminators give a "closed ccircuit TV" look, very nice picture.
3) one of our members, one "MRNEWBIE" built his OWN do it yourself laser illuminator. He has about not even 50- bucks into it, and he posted a video, demonstrating it working. he was showing crisp video of 500 yards, at 24x scope magnification! he goes almost twice as far, by dropping down to his scopes lowest power... 8x... since you basically have what we call a "scopeless" build? you could expect possibly even MORE distance. (in close, you just focus it WIDE, so you "waste" the extra outside your field of view... prevents blooming)
4) you just have to get the correct LENS... remember, most lenses are geared towards making a SPOT BURNER, not a wide illuminator, and having decent light (a lot of laser illuminators have "tiger stripes", and some multi-mode lasers, have horrible "hot spots" and the lenses make "lines"... *UGH*)
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how far can you really shoot? I know i can shoot 1000 yards, from a bench... but only with using my budies very expensive custom gun, and he's being the spotter, calling wind at that distance... with my OWN target piece i use for that? *shrugs* I do about 500 yards just fine... BUT, thats from a bench, in the broad daylight, at a piece of PAPER. Plus, i had all day to range in, and get used to the w-i-n-d
my own set up? I can already "see" clearly out past 300 yards... and really, i'm not taking shots in the pitch black, night vision or not, at any mroe than that distance. AT around 300 yards? I have enough time to shoot... and grab a cigarette and light it quickly... then POINT at the target JUST as it goes "ping!"...
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i'd decide how far YOU really intend to shoot... if 300 yards or a litle more would hold you over? I'd go with a LED illuminator made by one of our members that sell them/ I dont make anything off of it? But really... you can easily spend TWICE as much, and only see HALF as far... thats why the guys build them!
you COULD build your own laser, say 500mW class? for well under 100 dollars, with a little time spent at "laserpointerforums"...
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PS - you dont NEED 850nm... you COULD use 808... or 940... i bet your unit sees both fine... the only difference?
808 will be brighter, and go a lot further.... the same power in 850 will go LESS far... and 940 is a LOT less far...
the 940 is "weaker" for lack of a better word, but, it is pretty much invisible....
the 808 has a slight "signature" at the source, but the spread out beam is invisible... kinda looks like a cigarette in the distance. If your not hunting HUMANS, it wont spook the game, dont worry.
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if you seriously NEED to go more than 300 or a little more yards? Yeah, you need a laser... but, depending on conditions? some of our boys have showed "scopeless" videos (with LED immuminators) that hit up to 500 yards on a good night...