Night Vision IR Light Bar for Driving

Rerun7

Furious George
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Feb 18, 2017
    1,916
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    Fayetteville, Arkansas
    Any experience with IR light bars for driving at night? Looking for something to put on a vehicle that won’t break the bank and allow me to drive down wooded trails.

    Saw one from Superbrightleds for cheap but no real reviews on it.
     
    I wanna say when I got my night DL there were no illuminators. We just had to slow it down some.

    Sometimes the thermal cameras used for that go on sale though, I forget where i saw 'em. Uses a small screen to and the camera goes next to your head in the middle of the vehicle.
     
    use the force luke , there is no ditch it does not want your truck no that is not a tree stump and its free till you wreck or you could try these
     
    I wanna say when I got my night DL there were no illuminators. We just had to slow it down some.

    Sometimes the thermal cameras used for that go on sale though, I forget where i saw 'em. Uses a small screen to and the camera goes next to your head in the middle of the vehicle.

    do what? theres tons of ir light bars and cubes out there. we had blacked out ir filters on driving lights in the late 90's on mil stuff so...
     
    ^.

    I had very little trouble driving with the black out kits and a set of PVS7s. Only issue was depth, the dead space in front of the hood. Seemed unusually long but you get used to it.

    That was mid 90s tech in the Hummers, so the shit they have now must be terrific.
     
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    So far all I can find is a bar from superbright leds for $70 and black oak lighting for around $200. They are both 850nm.

    Then there are bars from UNV, Baja and Rigid in 940nm but the cost goes up to $350+.

    Anyone aware of a 940nm for a reasonable price or other choices than what I listed above?

    The primary use will be driving under nods from one hog hunting location to the next so I didn’t want to drop a bunch on it.

    Heck - I got a 42” curved light bar on my truck for $50 that’s worked great. This NV stuff is expensive!
     
    do what? theres tons of ir light bars and cubes out there. we had blacked out ir filters on driving lights in the late 90's on mil stuff so...

    I had to look those up, and no, we didn't have those on ours and this was in 2000's. But we were a Stryker unit, our hummvees here on Ft. Lewis were pretty basic, just army pickups for toting shit really and mostly rag tops. They had blackout lights but that's it, and you're not supposed to use those in the test, it's just a dim light focused down anyway.

    I NEVER saw an IR light bar or anything like that, only thermal driving cameras. And most of my night driving actually took place in a Stryker with the thermal, so I just never was exposed to it I guess.

    The Surefire Hellfighter lamps are white with an IR filter. More like a spot lamp or search light.

    IR LED's can be purchased if you know how to wire 'em in or modify something to use those for a cheaper DIY version.
     
    This is very "jersey" but I bought a security IR Flood light and it had a 110v to 12v convertor, so I wired it directly into the trucks electrical.. It lights up a large area but I wouldn't run at high speeds LOL
     
    What would be a cool do it yourself mod kit, would be to get a pretty good high end thermal camera, mount it in front of your vehicle, then hook it up to a heads up display projector on your windscreen so you can see it projected and drive with it.
    It might take some work to get all the ratios right, but it could be pretty cool.
     
    What would be a cool do it yourself mod kit, would be to get a pretty good high end thermal camera, mount it in front of your vehicle, then hook it up to a heads up display projector on your windscreen so you can see it projected and drive with it.
    It might take some work to get all the ratios right, but it could be pretty cool.

     
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    Military pull offs are the best,( kind of look at me shit though) but you can make your own. Installing them low works better for me than high. Replacing your fog lights with home mades that look like fog lights is a win win. Many do not like to inform dirt bags with add on's that real cool shit might be just, a broken window away.
     
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    I put 2 4” Rigid IR driving lights on the front of my truck and they’re plenty for driving in the dark. On a bright night I don’t really need them, but I’ve got a few hunting spots that are off the road a ways. It’s awesome to be able to go down lanes and through fields without alerting the entire area with lights.
     
    Search ebay for oxley lights, there sre some on there now for 200 plus shipping. Way high but they are hard to come by. I bought two a while back for 71 each. Very small but very bright.
     
    I put 2 4” Rigid IR driving lights on the front of my truck and they’re plenty for driving in the dark. On a bright night I don’t really need them, but I’ve got a few hunting spots that are off the road a ways. It’s awesome to be able to go down lanes and through fields without alerting the entire area with lights.
    I did the same thing as this gent did and have been using them for several years. They work fine and Rigid Industries prices are competitive. I had them installed by a person who knows electronics and trucks. They work great with one PVS-14RC.
     
    Rigid, don't be fooled by how small these are, they put out an immense amount of IR light.
     

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    Not a bar but got a couple of these sold as surplus for my hunting jeep for maybe $50. Have to replace the 24v bulb with a 12v one but works fine for what it is.


    Im sure the LED bars are better but for the cost and how much time I actually use it- it gets the job done.