Night Vision
 

I did a search for night vision and you wouldn't believe the crap that came up

If I am out at night I am typically at hull speed. I just want to know if Gen I is adequate for boating at night. Not at 70 MPH but at maybe 30.

Anyone have experience with any brands?

Planing speed??? Why use night vision??? Read the Nav lights of other boats.

Check out the Flir!! It works awesome!

Running at night at speed is a very bad idea.

EXACTLY !!!!

" But officer...I had Night Vision "

RJR,
Have a FLIR Nightvision on my 28 Skater. It is a Thermal Camera not the IR stuff that is out there. Been in the Marine Electronics business for over 25yrs and have tons of experience with it. It is a great tool to have at night. Most people have never had the chance to use one only have opinions on what or how they think it will work. I agree that running any boat at speeds over 30-35mph at night can be a bad idea but I can tell you I have done extensive testing with the FLIR and you can safely operate you boat at those speeds in total darkness. Check out their website at www.FLIR.com and go to the Maritime section. Here is a video link to my set up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYnJHQHGH70 I will post some real night time video next week.
PM If you have any questions.

I'm all for old fashioned proper night navigation but that would be a great tool to have at your disposal. Very cool piece. Would be nice to have a hand held unit or one of these (link below). would you happen to know if the FireFLIR offer the same imaging as the unit you have or is it specific to its intended use?




http://cgi.ebay.com/FireFLIR-THERMAL...item588ceb4328

Glass Dave,
Not sure what core they are using in that piece but it is the same technology. I would guess the range on that would less than what I have. Also the core I have is set with parameters that are best for the Marine Enviroment temp wise. I would guess it has a very wide range of view which cuts down the distance you can see.

What is the advantage of "Ultra Low-Lux" vs FLIR?

I run at night a lot during the summer. Especially when we goto loto etc. I have looked into these kits several time but at nit I have never had a problem seeing another boat. I usually run around 20-30mph.

Griff I said HULL speed not planning speed. Watching Nav lights is fine but there is a lot of junk out there that doesn't have nav lights.

Hull speed sucks and I was thinking that NV might offer a safe way to speed up a little. Unfortunately, 30 is pretty much the minimum which is a little fast to be operating at night.

I had radar on my last boat and am trying to figure out a way to put it on my 382 without looking funny. But even with radar high speed isn't safe.

Is Gen I useful?

I had seen the Flir home imaging at work in my cottage a couple of years ago, didn't realize what else they got into with these -- very cool.
Gotta like the one that has both thermal imaging and a video camera, as more people are mounting on board cameras why not include this??

What are the prices on these units? I see the individual pieces can be bought -- might work better on a performance boat if you can blend it in within the existing pieces rather than have a miniture R2D2 on the bow...

RJR is right about a lot of junk out there!!! Mostly sail boaters that go out there and turn their nav lights out to impress some dumb broad and show her the stars... if you hit one of them they will say everything was working properly and it will be a very bad day for you ! The only way to run out there is to run safely and slow>All though a few times a year I like to get about five to eight miles offshore and run in the moonlight reflecting on the water--- very cool.


Jim

Ultra low lux is a camera that uses amplified light to see. That means you need some sort of light. Full moon, inland waterways with lighting around etc. If you are out in total darkness offshore or in a middle of a lake on dark light you cannot see. Worthless. Also if the light changes around the camera it has to adjust. This can be annoying. Thermal cameras (Flir) are unaffected by light. Only temp. You can see the same in sunlight as total darkness. The camera can detect temp changes up to 1/40th of a degree. Seeing coconuts, boards, lobster traps etc. Even at idle these items can damage an expensive set of props.

Now I get it. Thanks.