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Posted: 4/16/2012 3:54:35 AM EDT
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I don't know anything about IR Beacons but I do have an application for them.
We would like to light up a quarter mile of forest road jeep trail with IR beacons constantly on producing steady light to light up the entire area that we could then oversee with our PVS-14s. We were thinking of ones radiating 180 degrees around in a 360 degree half cone while sitting on the ground or slightly elevated. Reason is that there is a big hog wallow adjacent to the jeep trail loaded with hogs and gators but it is too dense to get into there at night. We would like to light up the road and keep in covered on night hunts. Does anyone know of any civilian legal IR beacons that would work for this, possibly similar to lighting up a helicopter landing pad? So far I am looking at these units from Morrovision, but there is no description of actual output or actual usage describing the coverage the unit puts out? http://www.morovision.com/mvnv_accessories/ir_markers/MVB-903518-903523.html http://www.morovision.com/mvnv_accessories/ir_markers/MVB-903213.html I guess I could set up some IR Flashlights on tripods and have them shining lengthwise to the road but I was thinking of a more diffuse output that would not blind us while simply lighting up the area with IR.... |
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Get a bunch of these at $6.20 each with free shipping. I use one on my helmet. Lights up a surprisingly big area. They are built heavier and better than the one you see at the hardware store for $2. I think they are sealed pretty good, so you could permanently mount on trees. They are not surefires, but I've used mine for nine months with no problem or battery change.
IR flashlight |
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From looking at that, you can make your own by buying up a lot of small LED lights, soldering them together in a semicircle and giving them power. eg: http://dx.com/5mm-ir-led-emitters-20-pack-2399 for a few dollars. 8 of these in a semicircle would do it and you can soak them in resin if you like or just smear them in hot-melt glue with the bulbs sticking out. Also, 8 in a semicircle is VERY bright and would go to 12v if wired in series. You can add 1 or 2 LEDs to decrease the overall intensity. If you make them cheap enough, just add a switch and a disposable battery and you have a complete solution ready to go and you can just throw them in the bin when you're done with them... Different batteries would be OK too - eg, lantern battery ( 6v ) to either a 1 x 6-way 180 degree spread or 2 x 4 way 180 degree spreads. Just try to make sure they are well mounted and pointing away from you, beacause those LEDs are too bright for normal NV use if you're looking straight at them. Regards David |
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Thanks for the responses you guys.
I went ahead and ordered a nice EagleTac M3C4 flashlight with the triple OSRAM 850nm IR LEDs that puts out 3,400mW on Low and 10,200mW on High. This will easily light up a quarter mile long pathway on a moonless night! 
It will be set it up on a camera tripod and point it down the roadway, I'll take some pics with the NV gear and maybe some videos of a sounder group getting whacked too. 
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Quoted: Thanks for the responses you guys. I went ahead and ordered a nice EagleTac M3C4 flashlight with the triple OSRAM 850nm IR LEDs that puts out 3,400mW on Low and 10,200mW on High. 10W ? !!! Wow... That may be a little too bright up close to the torch. I'd love to see pics if you get a chance to photograph it -
David |
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I sure will, probably next weekend if we don't get rained out.
I read a nice article in "Defense Helicopter" June, 2011 on this flashlight and the Florida "Space Hawks" 920th Rescue Wing of US Air Force @ Patrick Airforce base in Melbourne, Florida next to Cape Canaveral is using them to light up their helicopter pads at night for their Space Shuttle rescue missions. Apparently it lights up more than three football fields on high The Chief Safety Officer was discussing "brownouts" ,a dangerous occurrence in their night landings and he said that this torch put out more IR light that his big military avionics IR searchlight does on his Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk chopper. One thing is for certain -> it will be pointing away from us! 
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Thanks for the responses you guys. I went ahead and ordered a nice EagleTac M3C4 flashlight with the triple OSRAM 850nm IR LEDs that puts out 3,400mW on Low and 10,200mW on High. 10W ? !!! Wow... That may be a little too bright up close to the torch. I'd love to see pics if you get a chance to photograph it - David Well, it is a kickass torch with killer throw and massive flood, I will have to take it out onto the 2,000 acre cattle pasture to get some NV pics of its beam because my tiny five acre horse pasture is overwhelmed as it looks like complete daylight! 
It is a small lightweight IR 850nm torch with three OSRAM double stack IR LEDs (so it is actually six of them) in a shallow smooth reflector. It has a very nice rotating infinite potentiometer that adjusts from 0-100% output and anywhere in-between. As far as an IR Search Light or Beacon for hunting purposes, I believe that it fits the bill and then some. I think I understand why they named it the Model M3C4, because it blasts IR like C4 explosives!
The hogs and coyotes will never know they're walking around in daylight!
Here are some pics of the unit, NV pics will have to come later as it is raining out tonight... 
Here is where I ordered mine: http://illuminationgear.com/14322/27013.html I also installed the TNVC ELR-VF 805nm IR focusing light on my rail and it works perfect too. 
Things are only going to be getting better out there in the dark woods. 
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Quoted:
SkyPup, looks like you have one hell of a spread... Very nice! Whereabouts in Florida are you? I am in Pasco County north of Tampa. We are on a 2,200 acre prairie west of Paynes Prairie in Alachua County where Chief Micanopy and Chief Osceola attacked General Gaines and started the Second Seminole Indian War in 1835-1842. I've found dozens of Newnan's point arrowheads over the years and quite a few US Military brass button and Minnie balls. Also found a nice silver US $0.03 piece about the size of a Mercury dime with I think only 20 stars on the flag, it was minted in 1842. |
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Incredible, Skypup. Sounds like maybe you are into history and relics like me. Although I don't get the chance much, I like to relic hunt with my MD here and there. Found a nice Standing Liberty Quarter from 1925 recently.
You've got some cool history in your backyard! |
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Not just great photographs... some great photography there too. Thankyou for posting. They were some great pictures. Anyway, I think that you're NV images were suffering from too much near-field reflection of light - you may want to make something to occult the beam a little more so it doesn't cause so much light to come back into your NV from up-close objects. How you might achieve that with the size of the beam head on that torch though, I'm not sure. You mentioned a tripod earlier? Perhaps a board a few meters out to catch the worst of the beam and keep it out of your image area would do the trick? Other than that, I'm not really sure what to suggest. Regards David.
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Vic, thanks a bunch for helping us to protect this land with all the NV gear.
Folks don't realize that herds of wild hogs and packs of coyotes totally trash a pristine susceptible area like this destroying all the nesting Sandhill Cranes, Whooping Cranes, Wild Turkeys, Fawns, Gopher Tortoise, and many other animal and plant species. I have killed over 200 hogs and dozens of coyotes over the past couple of years using mainly high power LED flashlights for night kills, but now with the NV gear it is a whole different story with zero intrusion on the vermin. Unless they are in our scent cone they never even know we are there before smackdown time with the NV gear!
Here are some more pics of area that we love & protect. Whooping Cranes 
Sandhill Cranes 
Taken many gators to 11 feet in here and some big bass 
Lots of reptiles 
Blue Herons 
Wood Storks 
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Thanks to the PVS-14, Eotech, and IR lasers, me and my friend nailed 4 hogs in 20 seconds tonight, he's got the pics on his camera so maybe get them up later on this week.
Jumped an entire sounder group and took out three sows and a male shoat, one of the sows was gravid too, so probably decreased the population by 20 or more.... 
Can't thank TNVC and their NV gear enough for helping us to clean up these big cockroaches!
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Quoted:
Vic, thanks a bunch for helping us to protect this land with all the NV gear.
Folks don't realize that herds of wild hogs and packs of coyotes totally trash a pristine susceptible area like this destroying all the nesting Sandhill Cranes, Whooping Cranes, Wild Turkeys, Fawns, Gopher Tortoise, and many other animal and plant species. I have killed over 200 hogs and dozens of coyotes over the past couple of years using mainly high power LED flashlights for night kills, but now with the NV gear it is a whole different story with zero intrusion on the vermin. Unless they are in our scent cone they never even know we are there before smackdown time with the NV gear!
Here are some more pics of area that we love & protect. Whooping Cranes http://www.phossil.com/thom/Kanapaha/Whooping%20Crane%20&%20Cow.jpg Sandhill Cranes http://www.phossil.com/thom/Kanapaha/fl-218.jpg http://www.phossil.com/thom/Kanapaha/fl-14.jpg Taken many gators to 11 feet in here and some big bass http://www.phossil.com/thom/Kanapaha/fl-17.jpg Lots of reptiles http://www.phossil.com/thom/Kanapaha/fl-25.jpg Blue Herons http://www.phossil.com/thom/Kanapaha/fl-39.jpg Wood Storks http://www.phossil.com/thom/Kanapaha/fl-57.jpg http://www.phossil.com/thom/Kanapaha/fl-205.jpg Wow, just wow on the pics! Thanks for the kind words as well, you have a LOT of smack down on that size parcel with all those varmints thinking they owned the roost!
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