AR Sponsor
Posted: 5/11/2011 12:14:50 AM EDT
|
I have a thought, civilian laser rangefinders are limited to about 800yards and the more expensive ones are about 1200 yards. But the military versions can go to 3500-13,000 yards. Why cant I mod one to gain performance? Whats the difference between the civ and gov versions? Lets break it down. Hardware: ( Leica Geosystems/Vectronix Vector, MOSKITO & PLRF15C) .mil has higher power laser, and possibly different wavelength(905nm for 3k yds version, 1550nm for 13k yds version). .mil may have a more sensitive detector .mil glass has a larger aperture, 42-50mm Software: .mil the HUD goes to at least 4 digits, so it can display 3500 yards I need to choose a civi rangefinder that has these characteristics: -inexpensive -HUD goes to 4 digits and not just 1200, counter wont quit at 1200 but keep going past given it still "see's" the laser bouce -fairly sensitive detector, dont want to swap this out because its going to be harder to source -Hopefully a model that all that is required is to swap in a higher power laser and maybe power supply. Proposed Hacking steps: -get rangefinder that meets criteria -replace laser with higher power(likely 860nm), test -add larger objective lens, test -replace detector if the above doesn't give good performance -addition of 860-900nm cut out filter on eyepiece My background: Electronics Tech and experience with optotronics, sub periscopes. Any suggestions as to what rangefinder I should start with to hack? I dont want to hear about the dangers of high power IR lasers, or the ethics of pointing it at animals. I will first attempt to replace the laser with a laser that will not blind. This project is intended to be used for long distance high power shooting, and just like a gun, requires responsibility. Of course it could be used for evil, but so can guns. So please no lectures about the dangers of high power lasers. |
|
I've used several surveying/professional range finders and they advertised say 800m range, but if you ranged a prism, they would double or triple the range.
So a quick check to see if the electronics are up to the task is to find a surveyor with a total station and a prism and range his prism and see if you can get the range you are looking for, Just be careful not to lase the surveyor, as many rangefinders (even Wall-mart grade ones) are not eye safe if viewed with binoculars or a telescope. You also have to be reasonably on axis for the prism to work. So don't do it while the guy is looking through the total station. Go here to see some examples of prisms: FSI Ingore the ones that look like a piece of transparrent material, those are timber cruzing prisms, a different animal. The prisms you are looking for are typically mounted on rod or poles. |
|
Step 3: Stuff I should have done before step 2. This thing is pretty dusty inside, there are 3 lenses inside each one with a lot of dust. And one of the mirrors has a scratch on it. Dammit. So I guess I dont need the dust proof container until re-assembly. Bushnell...yea, anyways that's the spirit of this thread to take something cheap and make it better. I might have to RMA this unit because of the scratch on the interior mirror, but the scratch might be part of the HUD? Looks like someone dremeled™ the back mirror right in the center. Scratch on bottom blurry pic. Also, those hex "screws" on the front are fake plastic. I was hoping it would just slide on out. The whole thing appears to be sonically welded together, not going to be fun to get apart. Will probably end up really chewing up the casing. Any suggestions, please.   |
|
Quoted:
Well, this project is on hold. I cant get into the shell of the device without damaging it. In the interest of you still doing something freaking awesome with this, you might consider picking up a small pelican case and reinstalling the guts, or picking up a small project box that you can mutilate. Don't give up so soon!!!! |
AR Sponsor