Victor_TNVC
New member
With what seems like a popularity surge in thermal and digital NV in the past 2 years, we have been seeing and increase in hunting videos posted to blogs, forums and YouTube. Don't get me wrong, DVR's have been used for years with thermal devices to record, we're not saying that is a new sensation. In the past though, most folks used to just purchase the DVR separately, then piecemeal their cables with some solder know-how, or a ton of pre-made adapters. You can actually make a pretty nice DIY DVR recording system for your thermal devices if you know what you're doing. [beeep], even we have a few lawmate dvr's and radio shack cables with adapters. However, there are a lot of people that don't have that kind of time, and just don't have the patience to be bothered with sourcing everything separately.
We put together the Night Goggles DVR package simply out of that customer demand. When we did research on what a good package should include, we found that there were a few kits already offered. Some were pretty good, and some were just sort of alright. Even with the good packages that we found, they were all missing a few things about them. They either had a pouch that we thought could have been better, priced higher than we thought was reasonable, or we just didn't like the functionality of the DVR. So, we took our product design experience, and went to the drawing board.
Let's break down our kit piece by piece, and explain in detail what we did differently where we were able:
DVR
Now unfortunately, we weren’t able to find a DVR that wa smanufactured in the USA for less than $1,000 per unit. We know that people most likely aren’t going to fork over that kind of cash just for something like this. We had to settle for what the market currently offered. We chose the Angel Eye mini DVR to be the base of the package. Let’s just go ahead and get this out of the way; yes, it’s made in China. Again, good luck finding a DVR that isn’t. We tested several different DVR’s that were on the market, and we liked the performance of the Angel Eye. It also has been being used for quite sometime by the hunting world, and there seemed to have been a decent amount of good reviews. It’ll get the job done without breaking the bank, put it that way.
It’s not bombproof by any means. Then again, neither is your smartphone, and you probably paid several hundreds of dollars for that. In fact, we recommend you treat it like you would your smartphone in terms of care. No prolonged direct sun exposure, don’t submerge it in water, don’t run over it to see if it can withstand the weight of a car, etc. You get the idea. All in all the system is decently rugged, and will more than pay for itself afters everal hunts.
The DVR itself utilizes a micro SD card for its memory. The DVR also features a wireless remote. You can use this remote to auto-record without having to touch the DVR itself. There are several different options to how this operates in the menu. So let’s say you’re proned out looking for hogzilla, he comes into your FOV. But wait, you want to record the shot and you’re not currently recording. Hit the button on the wireless remote, DVR vibrates letting you know its recording and boom; head shot. That is why the wireless remote is a nice feature. It can be clipped on a belt loop, on a lanyard around your neck, placed in your pocket, or even attached to the rail of your rifle.
Configuring the settings on the DVR, and the overall operation of the unit is pretty straight forward. After the DVR powers up and you see the Night Goggles logo, press okay and it will bring you to the options screen. Configure resolution, frames per second, vibrate functions, time and date stamps, etc.
RIFLE/HELMET POUCH
Designed to be mounted on the opposite side of the stock, the pouch places the Mini DVR upside down. This allows the shooter simply roll the gun towards him, keeping it pointed downrange, to view the controls/video playback.
Silent Opening/Closure Mechanism allows users to quietly open the pouch to access controls without the telltale "riiiiip” of Velcro fastening. This is achieved with an integral polymer substrate that slides into a captured sleeve between the pouch body and stock harness. When opened, the cover flap (with integral padding) reveals a clear window for accessing menu controls and watching video playback. The flap is an integral and very important component in this pouch, because LCD screens are pretty bright at night, and you definitely want to keep them covered up.
A mound of red stitching on the bottom of the pouch produces a tactile surface over the power button. This allows users to easily find this very important control in the dark, without looking.
A Velcro/Shock Cord Security Strap holds the Mini DVR in place while providing easy access for the AV-In Cable.
The pouch can be removed from its Velcro harness platform and affixed to any surface that has a loop pile patch. This is ideal for mounting the Mini DVR to a helmet when devices such as the IR Patrol M250 orM300W are being used in a hands free configuration.
You can also attach the pouch to your forearm as well if you're planning on using your thermal device in a tertiary or handheld manner.Just fold the rear buttstock strap inward against itself, place your arm inside the straps and fasten tightly. This is a great option if you have a buddy that wants to tag along on a hunt, just to film.
CABLES
Our cables are 100% US made, and are built in a factory hereon US soil. They are built by a company that specializes in building cables for robotics, typically EOD stuff. We "beefed” up the cables a bit, and they are what I would consider milspec. Rigid enough to keep from creasing or kinking,but with enough flexion to not cause issues with snags or looping. The cables also feature a built in microphone. These microphones are typically used for surveillance in an array of different devices and they are ruggedized. They draw in very good audio quality and capture a pretty dynamic range of decibels.
We found that with all of the IR Defense devices, a right angle connector is what is needed. It is more streamlined this way, and you don't have a huge cable curve that sticks out from your rifle. We also found that with right angle connectors, they are more reluctant to be pulled from the device, should they become snagged by foliage. The cables feature an internal filter, that cuts down all of the horizontal and vertical video noise, that you can sometimes see in cheaper DVR's.
We are offering these cables at a fair price, and we think that for the quality you're not going to find a US made cable at a cheaper cost.
Overall, we think this is the most affordable, all inclusive system on the market.
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