Night Vision Batteries

[HellTaxi]

Hey, I came across a pair of night vision goggles, and with a free day, curiosity got the best of me.



They are a head mounted binocular pair, found with them was another night vision monocular scope, that was similar in texture all over, shared similar symbols, and had "MADE IN RUSSIA" engraved. That scope doesn't work so well.



In my exploration of the unit, I came across the battery compartment, which does not fit any common size of battery. To try the unit out, I used two rechargable (1.2v) AAs taped together and a paperclip to connect to the other terminal on the screw thread. It works very well, picking up basic shapes and monochrome colours of objects in a pitch black closet.

But, after the testing, and excitement of it working, I started to look for a more permanent powering solution. The compartment is approximately 20mm wide, and 72mm long.

Looking through a list, I found that the only battery solution close to the compartment is two CR123A, sold as camera batteries. The problem arose when I noticed that CR123A supply 3V each, and currently I haven't put in any more than about 2.4.

I'd probably end up buying some batteries anyway, but I can't be sure of any damage it could cause to the unit if I'm wrong. If anyone can shed any light on this, it would be very welcome.

Also, the symbols mean nothing to me, and google searches wield no results. Help with this would also be useful.

Finally, on the sides of each tube is a small removable cap that has a small window. It's showing small pink crystals. The only thing I can think of is that they are there to detect water, and my common sense points to a conclusion that if they are pink, they've already detected something. It seems logical in my mind, but it is only speculation, and could be completely wrong. I can post more pictures of these if anyone needs them.

Again, Thanks for any help with any of this.

Also, this seemed like the best place to post this, but I could be wrong.

[disco frank]

it could need more than 2.4v for them to work correctly

other than that

i want a pair :P

[goodlet]

Dude, that is awesome! sigh, I would love some true night vision goggles. Screw that consumer shit away.

[Ohmigosh]

Cool find. Where did you discover them?

Assuming you could identify the power requirements you could always geta custom rechargeable battery pack made. (Google will give you quite a few custom battery pack makers) No idea if it is expensive though.



Also does this site have the model in question? --> http://www.geocities.com/russian_nig...ion/index.html

[HellTaxi]

Originally Posted by disco frank

it could need more than 2.4v for them to work correctly

other than that

i want a pair :P

If you're refering to the scope one, it took a standard 9v battery, it was the charging circuit that was blown in that one. It'd buzz for a bit, the image would appear, then a clicking noise, and the image would slowly fade as the capacitor discharged. It discharged in about a second when looking into a light.

This pair worked fine on 2.4V, and I really wasn't so sure to put in any more.

I went out to the chemist today, in search of the little camera batteries, and success!

I came home, and excitedly loaded them, they rattled a bit, not a perfect fit, but that was expected. Then I put on the cap...

Pushed down a bit, then harder....

Yeah, it didn't fit, they were too long, screw even sub-standard battery sizes.

So, bringing out the multimeter, and testing these new ones, we get 3.3v, lovely. So I made a dummy battery out of a cork and a paperclip, taped round the camera battery to stop the rattling and fill up space, and Voilà, it works brilliantly.

Originally Posted by goodlet

Dude, that is awesome! sigh, I would love some true night vision goggles. Screw that consumer shit away.

So true, those toy ones can't compare to the phosphor screen models, and the grainy green glow is what I see night vision as anyway. :P

Originally Posted by Ohmigosh

Cool find. Where did you discover them?

Assuming you could identify the power requirements you could always geta custom rechargeable battery pack made. (Google will give you quite a few custom battery pack makers) No idea if it is expensive though.



Also does this site have the model in question? --> http://www.geocities.com/russian_nig...ion/index.html

Garage sale, someone else's junk, my treasure.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm fixed for now, and a spare battery too.

However, I'll probably look into using two AAAs in the future, they seem to just fit, but the hassle of taping, and making a contact on the other side... Oh well, another time.

No, unfortunately, thanks for the search effort anyway.


The questions about the crystals and that markings are still active, if anyone can help, I'll get some more pictures up later.

[aXit]

I know this thread was from a while ago, but a 18650 lithium battery fits that space pretty much perfectly. And rechargeable at 3.7V. Just an option.

[RobRoySyd]

The questions about the crystals and that markings are still active, if anyone can help, I'll get some more pictures up later.

The crystals are most likely silica gell with a cobalt indicator. As they're pink they need recharging or replacing. To recharge put them in an electric oven at 150degC for a few hours or until they turn blue.
You can buy these crystals on eBay. I use the SG-40 canisters packaged by Hyrdrosorbent Products. You could buy these and cut them up or buy one of the larger units.
One reason they'd be in there is from memory the photomultipier tubes operate at quite high voltages and too much moisture could cause arcing. Apart from that canisters of silica gel were used in all the portable military electronics gear I worked on decades ago even though it was low voltage.
To store these I'd suggest a ziplock bag with silica gell. They probably have real leather straps which will grow mold in humid conditions.
Great find by the way. These used to come up for sale from time to time and at quite high prices.