Meet Frankenstein DIY Digital Night Vision

Meet Frankenstein

Just finished this Rolaids 3.0 build tonight.






Barn in the background is 50 yrds (this is a 50mm lens). This is using the Red Led mounted on the air tube. One shot sighting with the Sony Enhanced Effio-e ccd. This picture doesn't do the display justice. It is much clearer and not pixelated at all. I also, upgrade to a 100mm lens.

I was asked about a parts list and so I put this list together. The total cost came out to a little over $300.

CAMERA BODY $63.00 700TVL SONY Enhanced Effio-E 4140 CCD Box Camera ATR Auto Iris OSD http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/700TVL-SONY-Enhanced-Effio%252dE-4140-CCD-Box-Camera-ATR-Auto-Iris-OSD.html
MONITOR $20.31 3.5" TFT LCD Color Mini Monitor For Car Auto Rearview Monitor DVD VCR http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=m570.l3201&_nkw=3.5%22+TFT+LCD+Color+Mini+Monitor+For+Car+Auto+Rearview+Monitor+DVD+VCR&_sacat=0
LENS $72.87 2MCCTV 2M-5100A 100mm AutoIris Varifocal CCTV lens http://www.2mcctv.com/advanced_search_result.html?q=100MM
PICATINNY TO 11MM $7.43 DOVETAIL 3/8" 11mm WEAVER PICATINNY 7/8" 20mm RAIL MOUNT ADAPTER http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0068YV38K/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
CAMERA TO PICATINNY $17.95 See Through Tactical Riser Off set Mount PICATINNY RAIL Scope Flashlight Sight [1/2" Riser Mount 8 slots] http://www.ebay.com/itm/See-Through-Tact...t-/221003118692
ILLIMUMINATOR $46.98 US KH Powerful Green Sight/Laser Designator Flashlight/Sight Focus Night Vision http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-KH-Powerful-G...n-/360723216880
ILLIMUMINATOR MOUNT $6.80 PICATINNY SCOPE MOUNT RAIL 13 SLOTS *SALE! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tactical-Picatin...=item51b16d48c9
PIG TAIL $1.95 2 way Twin DC Y splitter Pigtail Cable http://www.ebay.com/itm/111142203922
BATTERY $52.60 12v UPS Battery 9800mah Lithium Ion Battery for CCTV http://www.amazon.com/Hiyadeal-Portable-...attery+for+CCTV
BATTERY POUCH $11.88 VISM by NcStar Stock Riser with Mag Pouch http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OAAHTA/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
MONITOR BRACKET $4.00 Ace Hardware 1/2" band Iron
4ea 8-32 1/2" cap screws $1.60 Attach camera to Picatinny Brackets
4ea 8-32 1/4" cap screws $1.60 Attach the monitor bracket to monitor and camera body
2ea 1/4-20 1/2" flat socket screws $0.80 Attach camera to Picatinny Brackets
$309.77

Nice, waiting for video just add dvr

IR light will work as well but not be visible except from source dull glow if you need to be less noticeable.

Excellent work and description of parts HornSlayer -

BB

There is an IR filter on top of the ccd. It gets removed to open up the ccd to ir light.

I'll get some better pics this weekend using a 940mn light sorce and 100mm lens.

What is the range on this? 100 / 200?

On a moonlight nite its good out to 200 yards. Otherwise it's only limitation is the illumination used. I can easy target stuff out to 300' with the green laser light, 200' with the Nebo Red Protec light. I have a cheap 940nm light that has no zoom and it does ok at 100'. This is on a high powered 25 caliber airgun so my working distance is really maxed out at 200'.

Not sure how the lens would hold-up to a powder burner. If there are any engineers on the board they might be able to estimate the joules from a .308 round on the lens.

Cool rig

.308 joules on a 150 gr round is about 3600. Free recoil is more like 35j, depending on variables. From what limited information I have seen, scope manufacturers are interested in the joules of the round for calculation purposes.

Nice rig.

Using such a bright light wouldn't it be better to just use a light and day scope ?

I guess your talking about the Green Laser? I agree and that is exactly what I used before building this rig. The red led and the 940nm light do not lend themselves to a day scope. The green laser flashlight is visible to cats and dogs but not hogs from what I can tell. The red light is somewhat noticeable to deer, and coons but not enough to chase them off. The 940nm is invisible but its range is short. I have been looking at the Pulsar 940, are there any others out there that are reasonably priced?

Lots of DIY going on in the UK. That is where Roland got a lot of his ideas. I don't remember Roland using this camera. He seems to like the EJ230. I've got a EJ230 and Watec 910 I have been working on here.

I'm glad to see some DIY stuff popping up here.

I used a box camera to have a platform for the illumination and to eliminate milling the camera body face. Box cameras come pre-fitted for cs-mount lenses. The monitor bracket is attached directly to the camera body thus making it one unit. I can swap it out in a matter of seconds if needed. The key is the Sony enhanced effio-e chip and super hdd ccd.

Make sure to show us your version when your finished !

I don't use the red or green lights, just IR. BTW, you can get a much smaller and lighter power supply. I use a 6800 mAh and it will power the unit for over 24 hours. It is $42.00 here:
http://www.usledsupply.com/shop/12v-battery-pack-12v-6800mah-5v-9800mah.html

There is also a 9800 mAh for $72.00.

I have used these a lot on my Pulsar and never have to worry about the battery being down. I tie wrapped mine to my buttstock on the opposite side from my cheek. I leave it there to charge also.

Here is a daytime still from the Watec. Note the various shadow levels and ability to resolve. The bushes in the rear of the photo are ~55 yards away.

Is it a Bullet or a Box? What chip-set does it use?

The Watec 910 HX is probably the best low light camera out there at this time. I didn't say affordable.

Blurb:
The Watec 910HX 1/2" 570 TVL Wide Dynamic Range Camera (EIA) is a low-light B&W camera. At a standard 0.0001 lux and 0.000005 lux (integrated frame technology), this camera is designed to adjust based on the lighting conditions of your environment via frame loss compensation. This unit is fully adjustable to meet the requirements of your dark or well-lit applications and can be pre-calibrated by the user to ensure good quality imaging experience.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/899111-REG/Watec_910HX_1_2_570_TVL.html

It is actually too expensive for most DIY builds. Check Rolands comparison video. It was in a whole different class from the others.

I'm waiting on a lens from China right now and then I'll be able to get some better video.

This is a cascaded version as opposed to your scopeless. I am not building mine to use hunting. It's just a test bed to learn from.

A lot of the DIY guys have a hard time buying a store bought unit because they can build one for 300 bucks that offers a better image.

Keep up the good work!!

The watec's have been around 20+yrs very good low light cameras, the board version and some other models are about 1/2 the price and will give similar performance with ir assist. Now if no ir is what you are looking for, the watec listed is the best but price is not cheap. Plus they usually don't come with lenses that's extra $$$

Best cheap camera I have used sony exview cam .0003 lux around 120.00 several lens choices are available you pick the one you need or buy several to try different FOV.
ex view

Very sensitive to ir, you can use 940 IR which is hard to see source , unlike 850nm IR which gives off a red glow. Put it behind compact day scope and you will have daytime at night, with IR assist

Nice!

In Roland's first version he uses a standard 3 x 9 power 40mm scope for the optics. In version 3 he uses a 7-70mm vari-focal lens attached directly to the camera itself. I took it one step further and used a box cctv camera body as my base and a 5-100mm lens. By doing so it gave me a flat surface to mount the illuminators. The image I see rivals that of the n750 because of the lens I use. My scope has the 2 shot scope adjustment just like the pulsar.

Here is a pic of the display.


Here is a shot of my first attempt to sight the scope in. The red dot was the 1st shot, then in the center of the target you can see just above the bullseye the second shot. Pretty cool huh.


This last pic is the next 4 shots, remember this is a high powered PCP airgun so each shot draws down the airtube pressure. What I'm looking for is 4 shots in a vertical line. 5th shot is the one just under the bullseye.


To center the crosshairs in the display I will have to shim the scope just a tad.

A Pulsar N750 is $1,600 and it is nice don't get me wrong, but this rig cost me $300 and works just as good. Also, what is really nice is I can rotate the display 90 degrees and hold the rifle Duke Nukem style.

One a final Note, I purchased one of the T20-IR's to Replace the Green Laser torch, that will add $100 to the total cost of the build making it a little over $400.

thats some great work, did anyone ever put this on a .308? I would be curious to know if it would hold up to the recoil and what kind of life expectancy to get out of it.

Since it is all digital, meaning the crosshairs, there is no reason it shouldn't hold up to a 308. If the recoil jacks with the focus then I guess you may have to refocus just a bit? Not sure about the LED display but I don't see a problem there either.

The recoil may not mess with the zero, but it may break up the electronics. Not all that stuff is made shock resistant to that sort of repeated shock.

1+ High energy recoil shock wave can do a lot of damage

Sounds too good to be true, but for the price, I am gonna try this Sony ExView board mount. Comes with an aluminum housing and the 4mm lens will have to be swapped out but worth a shot.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-EXview-DN-C...=item3cd82b4a7f

Ask first is it has the enhanced effio-e chip. You need the OSD (On Screen Display) that includes privacy zones in order to create the crosshairs. Some of the Effio chips do not include privacy zones and will not work. Also, that is a 24v camera. I would stick with a 12v system and if you look hard enough you might find one with rca plugs.

I was going to do Rolaids NV1.0 style build with a day time scope and a QD mount to remove the cam from the rifle when not in use.
Just have to figure out the lens measurement vs. distance from scope.

Will upgrade the parts as testing deems necessary. Just got his $20/free ship 5" monitor as well.

Just found a Swan SW211 camera in my parts box with a couple of lenses for day time (rated @ >3 LUX) testing (mount alignment, distance, lens choice, etc).

Thanks for the new project ideas!

The recoil can be a problem with a 1.0 build. It also is not as good as a low light / night scope. The 3.0 version I built is a excellent day time scope as well and night time. The key is the 100mm lens and in my case the support bracket I made for the lens. Here it is mounted on the gun.

Was able to test recent mods. The first pic is a feeder at 75 yards.


This is a Target at 50yards.


The actual display is sharp, the lines are the pixels. When you view the display it is like looking at a led computer screen.

This is the same Target with my red led hunting light from NEBO.

I have been asked how the one shot sighting process works. We use the privacy zones feature in the menu system built into the camera to create the crosshairs, they are basically blacked out areas that are 1 pixel wide that run from Top to Bottom for the vertical and left to right for the horizontal. The process is to line up a shot on target then afterward move the crosshairs to where the shot landed (POI).

In this first pic the red dot is where the bullet landed to the right of the bullseye which is in blue. Notice the Vertical position is at 256/257


We first change to Privacy Zone 1/8. Then we move the right limit of zone 1/8 to the POI adding one pixel at a time to the block until the two edges split the Bullseye and the POI.

Next move the left limit to 1 pixel in front of the right limit and in the example the new line is at 297/298

Next change to Privacy Zone 2/8 and we move the bottom limit in a similar fashion from 152 to 155.

Next move the top limit to 1 pixel above the bottom making the horizontal line at 154/155

Note the number of crosshairs (Privacy Zones) varies between camera types. In the camera I am using I can have 4 separate sets of crosshairs. This is important because these scopes being handmade may not have perfect alignment with the trajectory of bullet. So you may have another pair of crosshairs off to one side at different distances. If you look at my prior post in the last pic there is another crosshair up above the target which is a hold over before I remounted and shimmed the scope. It does give us an Idea of how multiple cross hairs will work in the system.

Hope this helps.

The color exview is not as sensitive to IR as the bw one I listed. Just an FYI also the pinhole is a f4.3 which is not as sensitive as the standard lens which you get to pick either 2.8MM, 3.6, 4.3, 6,8,12, OR 16MM .

The effio-e board I am starting out with is only 480tvl so not quite as nice as the 700 or 770 line boards.

For what ever the reason it won't let me edit my original post. So here is a better parts listing.

CAMERA BODY $63.00
700TVL SONY Enhanced Effio-E 4140 CCD Box Camera ATR Auto Iris OSD
http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/700TVL-SONY-Enhanced-Effio%252dE-4140-CCD-Box-Camera-ATR-Auto-Iris-OSD.html

MONITOR $20.31
3.5" TFT LCD Color Mini Monitor For Car Auto Rearview Monitor DVD VCR
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=m570.l3201&_nkw=3.5%22+TFT+LCD+Color+Mini+Monitor+For+Car+Auto+Rearview+Monitor+DVD+VCR&_sacat=0 LENS $72.87 2MCCTV 2M-5100A

PICATINNY TO 11MM $7.43
DOVETAIL 3/8" 11mm WEAVER PICATINNY 7/8" 20mm RAIL MOUNT ADAPTER
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0068YV38K/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

CAMERA TO PICATINNY $17.95
See Through Tactical Riser Off set Mount PICATINNY RAIL Scope Flashlight Sight [1/2" Riser Mount 8 slots]
Mounts to bottom of camera body
http://www.ebay.com/itm/See-Through-Tact...t-/221003118692

ILLIMUMINATOR $150.00 Not Pictured
Spot-On Hunting Lights T20 IR 940nm
http://www.spot-onhuntinglights.com/

ILLIMUMINATOR MOUNT $6.80
MODIFIED PICATINNY SCOPE MOUNT RAIL 13 SLOTS
Cut in half and attach to camera body to mount light
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tactical-Picatin...=item51b16d48c9

PIG TAIL $1.95
2 way Twin DC Y splitter Pigtail Cable
One leg goes to the camera the other to the monitor
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111142203922

BATTERY $52.60
YABO 12v UPS Battery 9800mah Lithium Ion Battery for CCTV
http://www.amazon.com/Hiyadeal-Portable-...attery+for+CCTV

BATTERY POUCH $11.88
VISM by NcStar Stock Riser with Mag Pouch
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OAAHTA/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

MONITOR BRACKET $4.00 Ace
Hardware 1/2" band Iron

4ea 8-32 1/2" cap screws $1.60
Attach camera to Picatinny Brackets

4ea 8-32 1/4" cap screws $1.60
Attach the monitor bracket to monitor and camera body

2ea 1/4-20 1/2" flat socket screws $0.80
Attach camera to Picatinny Brackets

1ea BNC to RCA adapter

1ea BNC 90 Degree Coupler

The shroud is custom made out of 16 gauge aluminum and a Hardwood block. If your going to attempt this build pm me and I will help you with the shroud.

Horn slayer,

I would love to pick your brain about this DIY night vision option. It's something I'm considering doing, but honestly know nothing about. Do you have a build write up for the 3.0 version?

Not really. I have a pretty good assortment of tools but it would be much easier and better if I had a Mill. I also have a pretty good knowledge of wood and metal work from my jig and fixture days. Do you have any background in the trades?

I'm a pretty good welder/fabricator, and have done it professionally for many years. I also do a fair amount of wood furniture.

The most difficult part of my version is mounting the picatinny mount to the camera body. I have not found a mounting base that doesn't require milling it flat, drilling mounting holes etc. The shield lens bracket is also pretty tuff because of the odd size of the hole and the tolerances.

I will say that the results are better than I expected. This weekend, I was able to sight it in at 50 yards with the first shot then hit within an 1.25" of the bulls eye at 100 yards with the second shot.

I was also able to field test the video and illuminator. I was able to easily see out to 200yards in great detail. The only issue I found is with the iris adjusting when an object is in front of the target like a tree limb or bush. There is a 1/2 second delay it seems before it adjusts the picture.

Nice write up!

This is cool stuff! Keep it up!

Any difference between ccd and cmos as far as NV is concerned. Seems like cmos might be a better option? (i.e. less battery drain)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-HD-700TVL-1...=item27d4e716c4

Battery consumption is not a limiting factor. Also, the camera has to have the ability to see IR and privacy zones to create the cross hairs. Most CMOS chips don't see in that range unless specifically designed to.

I am in the process of design and building Frankenstein 2. Frank 2 will be more compact and durable. I'm having a housing machined to make the unit more precise. Is anyone interested in cost sharing? I am looking for 3 or 4 others to split the machine work cost of the housing which is going to be made out of 1/4" wall 2 1/2" square tube. I plan to use a picatinny rail system so if you need something different we will have to discuss the details.

Would you recommend doing a manual iris then?

The autoiris is working pretty well.
Since I am making Franken 2, which is going to be pretty dang sweet, I am going to make my first unit into a handheld spotting scope. My new lens is a 10-120mm auto-iris. If your interested in building a Franken 2, pm me your email and I'll shoot you a drawing. I have a guy lined up to do the machine work on his 9 head turret workcenter. Here is the camera

Here is a drawing of the new housing that is precision made. It doesn't show the mount which in my case will be a picatinny. It is 6" long and made out of 2 1/2" Alum Tube 1/4" wall.