So how does it work? Pretty darn good in layman's terms. From
the Bushnell Website however here is a more professional
explanation:
How Does It Work?
1.Available light (energy) is collected by the objective lens
and focused on the image intensifier.
2.Inside the intensifier, a photocathode is "excited" by the
light and converts the energy into electrons.
3.The electrons accelerate across an electrostatic field
inside the intensifier and strike a phosphor screen (like a
monochrome TV screen) which emits an image that you can see.
This acceleration of electrons provides gain and enhances the
image.
That's a lot better explanation that I might have given but I
stand by my comment ie., pretty darn good. I asked for the
loan of this instrument in preparation for a night time hunt
in Texas on the Reed Wildlife Ranch for the second Big Hog
Outing, a gathering of folks who post on Kevin Ryer's Texas
Boars.com Forums. Mrs. GB and I have attended both of these
and had a blast both times. The hunt was to be on a dark of
the moon weekend and Kevin and Jim usually hunt only at night
hence the need for something to aid us in telling when hogs
were in our area.
When I first received the NV Binoculars we tried them out in
our bathroom which has no windows and thus no light source
when the door is closed and the lights off. In this manner I
got the eyepiece focus adjusted properly and did the initial
focusing of the objectives. I then took them outside on a
moon lit night and it was like daylight. Even later on a dark
of the moon night with the night lights of mine and a
neighbor's showing dimly down into my blueberry orchard and
out across my field to the swamp I could still see almost as
if it was daylight. The attached illuminator did an excellent
job of lighting up dark areas to 25-30 yards or so it seemed.
I was convinced we'd do fine in seeing any game that was
nearby on the hunt.
I then took them out on a misting rainy night when my
youngest son Phil wanted to see how they worked and found out
that on rainy or foggy nights they really DON'T work. Well
not very well anyway. Each drop of moisture in the air
appeared as a tiny ball of light reflecting back at us and
effectively negated their use under such conditions. Uh oh,
hope it don't rain or fog on the hunt.
Well guess what folks, it didn't rain or fog on the hunt! On
stand the first night our first visitors to the feeder were
some deer that came in across a sendero from us while it was
still daylight. When it became dusky dark they moved closer
and finally began feeding under the feeder about 20 yards
away from us. In the dusky dark conditions the NV Binoculars
made it look as if daylight. Later when all light had faded
from the sky and only the stars remainded I was still able to
see the deer and coons under the feeder but details were not
real clear. With the illuminator on I could easily see the
deer and coons to a distance of perhaps 75 yards or more and
could see the eyes of critters shining like little flash
lights at me from well over 100 yards. Hard to tell distances
real precisely in total darkness in an area you aren't really
familiar with anyway. This night they performed herculean
duty in showing me every creature that visited the area. The
first batter died on me just at about 10 minutes before our
last radio check of the night. Since no hogs had come in we
were ready to leave anyway and the mosquitos had drained most
of our blood anyway.
I changed out the battery with one of the two spares I had
with me and back at camp we all played with the NV Binoculars
and compared them to Kevin's night vision scope. They were
clearly superior in their ability to show detail.
The second day was cold and wet and windy and the night
wasn't much better. We decided to use the most convenient
stands near old smoky, the fire pit that Jim has under the
new roof on his barn. Old smoky is smack in the middle of a
24' x 24' deck he has build as a gathering area. Our decision
proved a wise one as only one hunter saw a hog that night to
shoot and Rob killed it. All the others got cold and wet and
muddy and did I mention cold? Oh yeah we were snug as a bug
in a rug for sure and still got as many hogs as everyone but
Rob.
Night three was only me, Faye, Kevin and Rick Brown. We went
out again on another cold and windy night but at least it was
dry. We were at the Red Bird Patch in a small enclosure of a
stand not really big enough for two chairs and people. Part
of the time I was inside and part of the time outside. Again
the NV Binoculars lit up the landscape for me like day light
until full darkness and even then without the illuminator I
was able to see pretty well if any critters were near the two
feeders were watching that night. With the illuminator the
feeders about 75 yards from us were well lit and it was easy
to see lots of detail in the surroundings. Again that night
no hogs showed and at first radio call Rick and Kevin who had
no enclosure to get inside of were ready to go to camp which
we all did. Since we were leaving early the next day that
sounded good to us also. Again back at camp we played around
with the NV Binoculars and were satisfied they did a superb
job of turning night into day.
I highly recommend this NV Binoculars to anyone needed night
vision equipment for hunting or recreational viewing. I used
them several nights after getting back home to watch the
blueberry orchard and field beyond to see what kind of
critters were visiting. Just the almost undetectable (to the
human eye) light from the night lights that hit the orchard
and field allowed the NV Binoculars to show me very fine
detail and I was able to see lots of night time activity that
way. Too bad they had to go back as I think I would really
liked to have been able to keep these toys.
I give a great big thumbs up
and the Graybeard Seal of
Approval to the Bushnell Moonlight Night Vision Binoculars.
Try them and you'll like them I'm sure.
For those who know about such things these are Second
Generation Technology which means they work quite well but
are still affordable to own. Third generation is out there
but really isn't affordable for working folks generally
speaking.
Night Vision Terminology (From the Bushnell website)
Angle or Field of View: The measure of the angle defining the
field visible through the Night Vision system at a distance
of 100 yards.
Bright Source or Over-Light Protection: An electronic circuit
that turns the power to the Night Vision device
down or off when it is exposed to bright light (such as
automobile headlights). This protects the image intensifier
and extends its life. The device will recover and resume
normal operation in 1-2 minutes.
Eyepiece Focus: Used to match your Night Vision scope or
binocular to your specific eyesight.
Image Intensifier or Intensifier Tube: The active component
in a Night Vision System that amplifies light and presents a
usable image.
Infrared (IR) Illuminator: Provides a light source for the
system to amplify, yielding enhanced images in very low light
conditions such as caves where no ambient light is available
for amplification.
Night Vision Binocular: Two complete sets of optics and image
intensifiers that are connected together and share a common
power supply.
Night Vision Monocular: A Night Vision device for use with
one eye.
Objective Lens: Collects all available light and focuses it
on the image intensifier. It also provides image
magnification. The best objective lenses have low
magnification (5x or less), are high-speed (f2 or faster) and
are coated for maximum efficiency in the near-infrared
bandwidth.
Phosphor Screen: Positioned at the back of the intensifier
tube, the green phosphor screen renders a visible night
vision image. The human eye is most sensitive to green
contrasts.
Photocathode: Converts light (photon energy) into electrons
(electrical energy) which are then amplified in the
intensifier. The objective lens focuses available light on
the photoelectric surface of the photocathode, which is
excited and passes electrons within the tube.
Resolution: A measure of the ability to render and display a
detailed image. Image intensifier resolution remains constant
and is expressed as the maximum number of line pairs per
millimeter (lp/mm) that can be discerned when a
black-and-white stripe pattern is focused on the
photocathode.
Product Specifications:
Model: 26-3150
Description: 3.1x50mm Night Vision Binocular with Illuminator
Magnification: 3.1x
Objective Size: 50mm
Viewing Range (ft/m): 1.5-400/.46-122
Field of View ft@100yds/m@100m: 79/26
Infrared Illuminator: Yes (Built-In)
Battery Type and Number: One CR123A
Size (in/mm): 7.9x6.45x2.7/201x164x69
Weight (oz/g): 40/1,134
For more answers to your Night Vision questions, visit the
Bushnell Night Vision FAQ's page.
Visit the Bushnell web site by clicking on the name.
Bushnell Corporation
9200 Cody
Overland Park, KS 66214-1734
Important Phone Numbers:
In Kansas City area - (913) 752-3400
Consumers - (800) 423-3537
Dealers - (800) 221-9035
Fax - (913) 752-3550