Most consumer-grade night vision devices are basically a standard camera without the usual filter to block near infrared (NIR) light, which are then paired with a NIR light source that’s not visible to the human eye. Unlike the passive night vision provided by a photomultiplier tube, these can’t resolve objects beyond the beam of their illumination source. On the other hand, if, as [Project 326] did, you use an infrared laser to illuminate the scene, you can still get a very long range out of these devices.

[Project 326]’s device consists of a previously-built reflecting telescope focusing a distant scene in to a webcam with the infrared filter removed, with the infrared laser illuminating the scene. Finding a suitable laser took some effort: the first option, a secondhand fiber-coupled industrial laser, was accidentally over-volted and destroyed during testing. The second had a fiber output which proved extremely hard to terminate, and a third laser couldn’t be collimated correctly. The final laser was a Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VSEL) diode array element driven at about two Watts and collimated by a small lens.

This illumination setup is safe at a long range, but only at a long range. The laser was strong enough to burn cardboard at close range, but out at about 500 meters, the beam had spread until it was less than a hundredth of the standard safety limit. To make sure that nothing else would get in the way of the beam, it was shone down from the top of a tall building. Testing with a power meter also showed that at a long range, the beam was weaker than expected. It turned out that the wavelength used (940 nm) is attenuated by water vapor, to the point that up to 70% of the beam’s strength was lost before reaching the target. Despite this, and despite a rather linear beam profile, a somewhat dark image was still visible at 650 meters.

If you’re looking for a somewhat more versatile long-range night vision device, check out one based on a photomultiplier tube. Another approach is to use a very high-sensitivity camera.

Thanks to [Keith Olson] for the tip!