Riflescopes and Scope Accessories

The night goggle technology used by many people today originally came to us from the military . They are also responsible for other equipment that we may or may not take for granted. Where do you think the internet came from? Or that lovely dehydrated food you take hiking with you and of course the global positioning system. Yes folks we must thank our army for these things. More to the point though, night vision technology are some serious toy’s and when I say toy’s I’m not talking about your child’s toys.

In times gone by, fighting a battle in the dark was preferred to fighting one during daylight hours. Darkness gives a predator a sense of stealth helping him to remain hidden until the moment of attack. In years gone by this had been very tough, because the human eye has a limit to what it can see in the darkness and there had to be a better way than using the light of the moon and stars or blowing your cover because of the use of search and flashlights. The Military have worked tirelessly for years researching many methods to boost a soldiers vision at night and thanks to their efforts the whole playing field of combat warfare has been altered dramatically not to mention the many uses for this technology in the civilian world.

Today’s night vision equipment gathers any available light by using electro magnetic radiation that is unviewable to the human eye. This light that is invisible to the naked eye enables optics like night goggles, binoculars and scopes the ability to help us see in very poor light conditions to almost complete darkness.

The market today is flooded with many versions of cheap night vision goggles and you can become confused when shopping for a device. There 2 common types typically used 1.Image intensifiers 2.Thermal devices. Thermal devices work by looking at and scanning the differences in temperature in the direction they are pointed at. Commonly refered to a sFLIR’s (Forward looking infrared).

Using light intensification and available light, the image intensifiers can multiply this light 2-5000 times greater than what our eye see’s. This light intensification uses phosphorous screen technology (similar to that used in a TV) encased in an eye piece to give a operator as close to normal vision as possible. When this eyepiece is being used, it makes it possible for the device to amplify the images giving increased clarity when viewing. The phosphorous monitor or screen is green in color. The human eye can recognize higher levels of green than any other color in the visible spectrum allowing the soldier to see better in the dark.

As I mentioned before it is easy to become confused with the many different ranges of magnifications and models out there in the market today. The range that this technology can be used changes depending on the application needed but a foot soldier may need a night goggle with a range from four hundred to within a few feet away from the intended target. Because the army has to think of the weight that a combat soldier has to carry it is possible for missions to be carried out with no illumination for night binoculars by using only the image intensifiers. This keeps costs down with smaller, lower power and lightweight sizes for easy transport.

A couple of things you should know if you do purchase a set of night vision goggles is you will experience a certain amount of tunnel vision because your peripheral vision is restricted within the eyepiece. By constantly moving you can counter this loss of judgment to a certain extent but judging distances can still be tough at times. Another point to remember is that objects can seem larger or smaller than what they actually are. Your vision can vary from 20/20 to 20/25 but the good news is that you are able to see. The army have the ability to work under the shroud of darkness, much like their enemies, allowing for a better chance to capture and defeat when needed. The FLIRs have really helped in finding human energy from within a heavy cover, allowing for the directing of personel to a certain area to carry out missions. Rescue missions also have a higher probability of success with the use of the Night Optics.

Filed under: Rifles and Shotguns on February 18th, 2010