People like you sir, are the salt of the earth. To have the courage to experiment, think out of the box and daring to risk being laughed at. More power to you mate.👍

You are a saviour...what an amazing idea and video ...really grateful for saving the money of many guys ...thanks a lot

Genius. I salute you, Sir.

Hi Russel,. What an ingenious and well-described solution to what would normally be an expensive modification. I really enjoyed the video and your constant handy tips for installing the apparatus. I'm just putting a video together showing my, even cheaper attempt, at improving the visibility of my iron sights in low light conditions. Thanks from a keen seeker of low-cost solutions, Andy.

I can't believe I was considering buying one for a ridiculous sum of money.

Quality! Ive built my own using your instruction. I bought the 16mm lense and the focus is not quite right, im awaiting the 12mm lense to be delivered as i think that should be perfect for my 4x40 scope. I also bought a rechargable lith-ion battery pack but the 6800mah one for £14.99 and its powering the camera and monitor for an average of about 5 hours per charge with no soldering required. Absolutely loved the video, and i hope my findings help anyone else whos thinking about having a go. my build came to £45 all in all which is a huge saving compared to the £400 retail price on a night vision scope. Cheers

Absolutely AWESOME video! Thank you for taking the time doing this video!!!

Very nice. I have a super basic setup (no night vision stuff) that works pretty well. I take a small red led flashlight (about $8.00 from Amazon). On a couple of airguns I use velcro straps to attach it to the underside of the barrel. I can either use the low setting, or the high setting on that flashlight. On another air gun, I turn a scope ring upside down and attach that to the scope. Then I use the end of the scope ring, that is supposed to attach to the 11mm grooves on the rifle, and it will attach to the pocket clip on the flashlight. Or, I can attach the flashlight to the wood in the doorway of my chicken coop. That's where I am killing the pests, as they go into the coop at night for the chicken food. The good part of mounting the light on the gun, is that, it makes the rat eyes glow, and they are super easy to spot, and the red light gives enough light (on high or low) to spot my target. The bad part is, when moving the airgun, the light source moves, and can spook the rats off, unless I keep the movement very slow. Got one last night, and moving very slowly did not scare him off. If I attach the flashlight to a stationary spot in the doorway, then obvious;ly I can move the airgun (scanning the area) and the light stays stationary. That's good. But, mounting it in the doorway makes me loose a lot of the eye glow form the rat. I'd love to have a night vision scope, but cost is way high. Your system looks very cool and reasonably priced too. With my flashlight method, you can't cover a large area due to light movement. But, it can work well if you just need to cover a small area (the chicken feeder, or maybe use bait in a small area). Got 10 rats in 2015 during peak rat season, and 2 so far, as I just got serious about a week ago. I often go out, sit for 45 minutes till I see one, nail him, and call it good. One night last year, I think I nailed 2. Your system would be great to use, and you coul cover a large area scanning as you need to. I'm only shooting at 10 yards right now, and my stealth gun is a Crosman CO2 carbine in .177 caliber with a muzzle brake that makes it super quiet. I have also used 3 different Crosman multi-pump air guns, one in .22 caliber, the others in .177. I don't have a PCP airgun. My break barrel Crosman Phantom is WAY too loud. Just bought a nitro piston break barrel, but I haven't even fired it yet, so I don't know how quiet it will be. For 10 yard hunting, my airguns work pretty well. With your setup, I think I could back off to 20-25 yards (maybe with a better airgun, though the CO2 shooter might have the accuracy at that range), and that would be better for scaring them off. My system is just a cheap down and dirty method for limited use. The flashlight starts acting quirky if I don't replace the AAA battery about every other night.

That was brilliant, I've just been reading one of my old Airgun World mags & the chap did an on the cheap night vision set up but his cost about £300 including mounts, no so cheap really. Thank you for posting this video.

You sir have won my subscription! Dope video.

Been ready! Already have my sights on an adjustable IR flashlight.

Best DIY Night Vision Scope Video on youtube! Thanks!

Just ordered the parts and I am going to give it a go. Great vid.

This is easy and practical. Thank you very much for sharing.

Thank you so much for this video Russell!Very helpfull!

I just made head mounted NV goggles. Thanks for the inspiration:)

Just ordered all of the items necessary. Some rats are going to pay the price.!!!Great video

what a great video absolute brilliance right on mate

Thank you Russell, I'm looking forward to finding all of the components and putting one of these together myself. Very well done video and I appreciate your sharing it with us.

The 6mm lens will work fine. Lens diameter is dependent upon distance from the scope aperture. Basically, it is a matter of eye relief. The lens in your eye is actually quite small, only about 10mm. The point where the cone of light coming from the scope is equivalent in diameter to the lens of the eye is where the picture becomes both full and clear. The same is true of a smaller lens. The smaller the lens, the farther from the rear lens in the scope it needs to be. It doesn't matter the size of the lens -- if you have it in the wrong place, the picture will be blurry. The worse the alignment the blurrier the picture will be.

Good job Russell, thanks for the video!

Very creative! Thank for sharing this wow!

Very nicely built dude, the video was really clear.

Nice video, I'll have a go at putting it all together myself one day. Thanks.

Very good mate going to have a go at this, alway thought night vision was really expenive

My own setup is now complete and fully operational! The only extra bit I had to buy that wasn't in your list was a thread extender so the 16mm lens could focus and still be threaded into the camera. Works like a dream, rats don't know they're being watched until a pellet goes crashing through their head.

I'm thinking of making a head mounted NVD from a dash cam but after seeing this I'm making this too. Great video

Hey Russ, finally got (most) of me bit's from China (there was a delay until I ordered 'em)....works brilliantly!!...thank you for taking the time to post this up and for the help in the comments. Give yourself a big slap on the back m8 :)

cracking job mate. i bought my bits 18 months ago and still not put mine together......your video is so easy to follow. many thanks Dave

Sweet, thanks! I have a very nice Laser Genetics light that works wonders at night, but like others, the rats seem to put two & two together and run when they see green light coming their way and scatter. Junk yard and hardware stores here I come. Cheers from across the pond.

Brilliantly done! I have a very inexpensive wireless security ir cam that runs on 4 cr flat lithium batteries I would imagine I could set that up and use my smart phone to see my prey! The unit measures only 2” square no wires! Of course I’d have to mount a torch on the gun but what you’ve done is brilliant! Dominick Indiana USA

I’ve had my scope for a little over a couple of months but I love it and how easy it is to use. I put mine on my Ruger 10/22 and it’s pretty accurate.

Very cool man nice job !

Proper! I always say that the ability to make something far outstrips the ability to buy. 🤘

Some great tips there mate, nice video thanks!

Great video. Was good to see you put the link and prices in your video A great help when you're not sure how to make or what to look for. Gonna have a look and see what I can do. Let you know what happens. Gerry

Genius You Are !" GREAT Vid" GREAT Instruction " Great Instructor " thank you friend!"

Wish I'd seen your vid before I started fussing about with my own project. I ended up buying a bunch of stuff I really didn't need or didn't work initially but hey that's part of the fun. Lucky I have a lathe too so I made a nice mount for my various cameras I now own.

Thanks Russell 👌🏻

great video sir!

if we found that useful? its actually HYPER useful! keep up the good work!

By far the best & cheapest night vision vid on YT. just ordered everything ya listed bar the mains plug. Managed to find the same camera with a 16.5mm lens. Total cost... £47.21 Cheers pal

I'd say quite nicely done! thanks!

Great shot, hit that rat dead center mass..... Thank you for sharing this incredible information.

Best , Easyest one ive seen , nice one m8y cheers

Muito obrigado Russell, Agradeço pela resposta.Abraço do teu amigo aqui do Brasil.

All in it cost me £40 but it works really well and very stealthy on the rats - brilliant video, cheers Russ

great vid! hope to make one soon to use for airsoft as home made nvg helmet rig.

excellent video this one im going to put together thanks

Nice video and all the prices of the pieces are a big help. With your video I think I will give It a go. Must check out any other videos you have. Once again nice job. Gerry

Based on your inspiration, I built a "kick-ass" night vision scope. I had most of the required "stuff" laying around the garage. Okay, if I had to buy the required items The total cost would still be about $ 250US. Rifle scope- $60.00 3x9 40mm Simmons (Natchez Shooter Supplies) Bullet Camera- $109.00 .0003Lux, 12mm lens free option, sees IR (Rage Cameras on Ebay) Battery Pack $50.00 12Volt (Sportsmans Guide) Monitor Start at $25.00 (spend what you want, many options) Assorted "plumbing" fixtures $8.00 (local hardware store) Optional: IR flood light 12volt $100.00 (Ebay) Additional Battery Pack $50.00 (Sportsman Guide) Thanks for doing the leg work and advice on this project. It sure made it easy for me to build my night vision scope.

Very nice, i will try this if the wifey allows me to do more airrifle related purchases again.

thanks so much very interesting thing

Cool Rig I will try this one on my Hog hunts, Thanks

Thanks man from holland.

thanks for the info

im going to give it a go thank you very much

really good info

Thanks for the video . However I only get a very small circle of viewing. I have used a 16mm lens camera and tried moving it backwards and forwards from the scope to no avail. Do you have any ideas what could possibly be wrong. Thanks

This was very very helpful. Kinda scared to commit to ordering the pieces for fear of not being able to get it to come together as easily as you made it seem.

hi russell great vid, have just bought all the parts to make it just waiting for the power pack to arrive.the t20 ir you bought has it made a lot of difference to the range thanks

Ha! I got it working!spent some money on a cheap ir torch and its working. I may upgrade the torch but now i just have to mount it and try it in field. I will upload a video when I can so you and others can see it working.

Will you be changing the lens to a 16mm board lens ? Also do you have a link for the camera you purchased ? Thanks

Great vid! I'm Defo going to try this. Some bunnies are going to die!

Hi Russell nice video well made and well presented. I see you are using a reversing camera but these cameras have a reversed image built into them for looking backwards and when you use these cameras for looking forward the image is the wrong way round, left is right and right is left. Surely if you're going to all that trouble you would be better using a forward facing camera. I know you can buy a monitor that would reverse the image making it the right way round but most small monitors don't do this or have you found another way of doing it to throw it right. Regards Mike

Great stuff. One question if I may. Can any camera be used or does it have to be IR specific? Or is it just the lens that has to be able to be IR? Sorry if that's a dumb question! Thanks in advance, Bob.

How is a lazer pointer (you mentioned), the same as the infra red torch? Considering the build but I want the additional range. Thanks for the video! Well done.

its a little late. But if I were doing it, I would have found a cap for the pipe and drilled that out vs a piece of wood. Awesome video none-the-less!

Can you make a complete list of everything and price in the description. Thank you

Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry you folks lost your firearms but a similar setup on my AR or Ak will be great.

ive been looking into a cheap IR set up. Was wondering the right size car dash cam would work with correct size tubing and IR light mounted. Then use the LCD on the back of the dash cam for view. Would this work do you think?

Gr8 vid Thank you 😇🙏👍

Thanks man I'ma try doing this and 3d printing a case for it

Hi , made up I've found a cheap and cheerful setup , did your camera have any ir leds around the camera ? Much appreciated

Sweet!

any chance you could show or walk us through how you hook up the easy capture USB?

damn you are so smart! Nice video! Subbed!

Hi Russell Great video. Bought the items as you've described but doesn't work in the dark even though I'm using an IR torch. Any ideas? thanks Wayne

Hi Russell, I'm following the details you've got on your video. so far I'm doing ok bit of a problem finding a 16mm board lens but what I'd like to know is what scope are you using?. I have a hawke 10x40 but looking at getting a 10x50 in the near future.

Great video, not to mention your great design. I read below that you were now using a 6mm camera and i was just wondering if you still require a larger lens?

hi mr russell platten nice video thank yu if we use just red light is illuminated reticle is mandatory or normal one is enough

nice vid I have a similar setup but every time I go to use it on rabbits and what not I have to adjust the camera at the back end to adjust this for the hunt any ideas also I need some repairs to the nv kit it keeps going off and on again bought it 2nd hand over 2 years ago and I've hardly used it any help would be nice

MANY THANKS RUSSELL, I DID SEE THAT ONE BUT WAS NOT SURE AS IT STATES 6MM, BUT IF YOU THINK GOOD I WILL BUY. MANY THANKS AGAIN

Hi, i like your work! Can you please tell what's ending distance to have clear shot with this equipment?

Did you have to rig up any fancy plugs for the camera and monitor to plug into the battery? Sorry I have to ask questions this way, but I don't (and refuse to) have any kind of social media and not sure putting an e-mail address up is wise.

spot on I have tryed a 6mm lens but it didn't work now I know I need a 12mm or a 16mm now I can shoot rats in the dark at my hens grate vid and very informative

Friend with this night vision kit I can see up to how many meters away using the infrared flashlight ??? Thank you.

Great vid mate. Do you think you will do a vid in the future where you fit a battery pack to it rather than a mains plug, this is the only thing holding me back from building one. Thanks

Top job......

hi,great stuff.... did you get a chance to try the 16mm lens ?

Would a 10mm lens work okay? Awesome video by the way!! 👍

Hay Russell. Just 1 quick question. What recording device do you use to record the vids as you shoot?

thanks russell i have ordered an extension piece as the camera 12mm screwed too far in towards the board so waiting once more for bits but i am getting there let you know once its done. the problem was going from 1.6 or 2.6 to 12mm it was too powerful hey ho another small wait will nolt hurt

Hi Russell, great vid and i have built my own. It works great, however using the rear view camera my image is mirrored (right is left and left is right). Did you have any issues with this? And do you know of a screen with the option to un-mirror the image? Thanks a lot. Sam.

Did you have to adjust the scope at all to get the cross-airs to show up clear? I am trying this on mine, but the cross-airs are not very clear. The camera is in focus when outside of the scope, however when I put it up to the scope is not very clear. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I also bought an IR light, seemed to be same specs as what was described in video, but its not picking it up. I think there is something wrong with the light though. Sending it back to try another one out. How far out are you able to see? I am looking to set this up on crossbow.

yes,that's what I ordered. will double check everything and upload a video this evening.

Russell, one quick question. Why is a 16mm lens better then the 12mm and the 6mm? Thank you,

I ve been looking for rear view system for my van so I know the bits you are talking about pretty well, I never thought if this at all. Nice one indeed and well done for a sharing. Have you got business idea here Mr Platten???? Sounds a bit like it....... (we could be a great trading nation one again with ideas like this)

Thanks for reply. can you tell me if I used 700tvl cctv dome camera with 16mm lens it will work properly

I like it.