DIY Infrared laser aimer

[PlasticMagnet]

hiya,
ive been asked about the feasibility of a diy ir laser aimer for use with night vision.
my electronics skill and knowledge is a bit limited in this field tbh.
has anyone tried this themselves? any success?
my first thought was a 'vanaras' ir laser module in a peq box, housing the power supply and alignment adjustment. looks simple and fairly cheap on paper...

[kejot]

Re: DIY Infrared laser aimer

cheap ones available off ebay, or you could get a element peq with the torch/laser/ir in it and replace with a decent ir, also PM'd

[johnnyj]

Re: DIY Infrared laser aimer

i made a peq15 ir and red dot unit a long time ago , i would do things very different now but yes its easy to to
for the base i would use a dytac peq15 as they are made to fit a cr123 battery and there cheap
my go at it :P red dot on the left and IR on the right both fully selectable (off/rd on / ir on / rd+ir on ) the only thing i did not finish was making them adjustable

[PlasticMagnet]

Re: DIY Infrared laser aimer

kejot: thanks for the pm mate, interesting read

johnnyj: i have that exact peq box, gathering dust, ready for a project. what strength laser did you use and what was the effect when wearing nv's?

thanks for the help guys, think i might go ahead with this anyway, found some el cheapo nv and a source for an ir torch and laser.
anyone have any ideas/plans for making the laser module adjustable?
i thought about using a laser boresight and zeroing it in parralel with the rifle bore so there will be no discrepancy with range?
as in fix the peq on, measure the distance from bore to laser, then make sure that distance is the same at range.

[johnnyj]

Re: DIY Infrared laser aimer

i have not got a clue what power laser i used now :S is was before vanaras stated selling theres and i got it from ebay from asia and i broke it before the full box was finished :S

to zero my ir i used an old cheap RD unit ( the type you find that come with very cheap bb guns) it had the same bore at the lazer unit and after the RD was removed could be zero'd in

i did also find the spare selector switch i used in my build today and will mail you its info if you cant find 1 i will mail you my unit ( correct size for the peq15 you have )

[Davey]

Re: DIY Infrared laser aimer

IR lasers blind people. They are f**king dangerous because you cannot see them so your reflex to look away is diminished. These should not be used for airsoft PERIOD.

[johnnyj]

Re: DIY Infrared laser aimer

davey , people know this...the box i made was to challenge my self not to be used in a game , tbh most lasers being used in the game are far too powerfull ...

[Major]

Re: DIY Infrared laser aimer

I'm sorry, but IR does not blind people.
If this was the case, looking at rainbows would be deadly.

[Jackypoos]

Re: DIY Infrared laser aimer

It's the focused beam of a laser that blinds people. He's saying that the Infrared (invisible light) doesn't cause the blink reflex that protects your eyes, unlike visible lasers.

Either way, I wouldn't be happy for someone using it in a game and I'm very conscious of red lasers too.

But yeah, there will be guides thing online; I assume it is just a regulated power circuit. You can buy very powerful kits on the ebay, they may do IR ones too if you ask

[Davey]

Re: DIY Infrared laser aimer

I've been told by people who've tried it that cheap Chinese IR lasers can damage your NV tube. If you use a potentiometer to regulate and adjust the power, you will be able to keep it low enough to protect your tube, the higher the generation of tube, the weaker the laser should be. I burnt a Gen1+ tube with an N1000 IR laser when it reflected off the floor. Try to get a glass lens rather than a plastic lens.

Majorlydangerous, you certainly live up to your name. Do a little research before you stare at anything.

[Bachelarius]

Re: DIY Infrared laser aimer

Weakest one I've ever seen is a 1mW 850nm (just visible) one, may be worth trying that. Failing that, a 5mW would be the next one up. Anything any more powerful is just too dangerous for airsoft use. I keep meaning to pick a 1mW one up to try out as an illuminator (defocus the beam into a torch-like one), but am a bit worried about the strength of them as well. Worth a shot I guess, see how it goes.