Home made Night Vision Goggle (prototype V0.1)

 

I've been fascinating about NVG since I was a kid. Now that I'm a grown ass man, that still hasn't changed much. I often dream walking in the wood, riding on my dirt bike in the middle of the night with NVG exploring the wilderness. Yes, I'm a weirdo, deal with it :)

However the cost is a huge barrier for most of us. For a peasant in a 3rd word country like me, even a gen 2 PVS 14 is something so out of reach. Digital NVG is cheaper, but for $500-1000?  Bitch please. ┌( ͝° ͜ʖ͡°)=ε/̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿

I start this little project with a VISSION in mind: NVG for every one. The total cost of this project is about 40$ (for the monitor and camera). The rest like the frame, battery, wiring... already available in my little tool box.

Disclaimer: I'll assume the reader have basic knowledge about electronic (soldering, wiring, reading schematic... ) This is not a hand holding tutorial, this is a proof of concept, to spread the idea so that other people who are smarter than me might fork this into something suit them, or improve and make it better.

The eye piece

This is the most expensive in the whole lot. I bough mine from Alibaba, there are so many different types and kinds of miniature monitors up there, but it should:

• Take AV input (HDMI won't work). Because this uses FVP camera for drones, it gives AV output signal.
• Have a usable resolution
• Have a good refresh rate. Mine is 100Hz PAL and 120Hz NTSC. A high frame rate is crucial, if you plan to use it in combat (and will save you from dizziness)

 

The wiring diagram are all in Chinese, lucky me the seller provide some English instruction.

This monitor works at a wide range of voltage, from 5 to 12 volts (I only tested with 8.4v). Keep in mind that the higher the voltage, the more heat that PCB board gonna make, that board need some ventilation (╯°□°)╯

Side note: Some monitor (like mine) will NOT turn on without AV signal. I was confused at first but the seller was nice enough to explain this to me 

 

Frame/Housing

The whole thing built on top of an eye glass. I use this old broken frame. Hot glued the monitor to a piece of cardboard. It's prototype V0.1, litterally written in the title ;)

You can see the camera sits on the top, but we'll talk about it in a minute.

I did have to eye ball where to cut on the cardboard. The monitor eye box is tiny, so a slight mistake and you will have trouble seeing anything! But luckily everything turns out OK for me :)

Mounting the camera is easy, I just use 3M double side tape and stick it on top

 

Camera

 This is a 5$ Alibaba FPV camera for drones. I selected the cheapest one possible

 

 

Check your product manual for wiring instruction

 

By Default this Camera has no IR capability. To do that, I need to work some magic on it

 

 Unscrewing the lens out of its compartment, there's a tinted piece of glass. That's the IR filter, it blocks IR spectrum from entering the sensor

 

Use a blade, I remove that tinted glass from the lens. It held by glue at 4 corners, extracting it was quite easy.

After that, I put it back together. We are done with the Camera.

Wiring

Finally, wire everything together and some cable management. You cannot fulfill the mission of rescuing snacks from the kitchen at midnight with tangled cable.

Wiring schematic

 

A quick tinkercad circuit to help you understand the wiring

As a prototype, I use quick connector to make future adjustment easier

IR Illuminator

Being a digital NVG, it require some IR illuminator to work. This small lamp cost like 10 cents (idk, it's so cheap) and also work with a wide range of voltage. I test with 3.3V up to 9V and it doesn't get very hot. It has a range of about 10 meters, that's OK for in door use, but out in the wild you'll probably need something with better throw.

Power source

The majority of the devices operate in a 5V+ range. So I used a power bank with a modified USB cable to power the whole thing. It works really well.

However I also test with 2 cell of 18650 (8.4V fully charged). The higher voltage will cause the IR illuminator to PWM, it's kinda anoying so I think I'll stick with 5V

Final Product

And some action   

Future Upgrade

Adjustable eye piece (latteral and horizontal)

Dual screen, for both eyes

A better camera with higher sensitivity, something like an Eagle

2 cameras, one for each eye. This will give the wearer depth perception

Upgrade to 1x lense (wide FOV is hard to see things afar)

A better housing (HD zero or Fatshark FPV goggle style) for bettter weather resistant

 

Helmet mount?

No! I'm making this for hiking. Wearing a helmet on foot is stoopid. And in this tropical heat, that's asking for trouble. 

Also: I'm not that tacticool kind of dude that you normally see online.