Ward D Vision 700 Digi N V

[onehole]

Does anyone have experience of the above mentioned "add on" and its performance compared to a more dedicated unit.I like the idea of being easily able to transfer to a different rifle/rifles and prefer looking down a "scope" rarther than a "TV" screen.Thanks,,,,,,O

[terryh]

Morning,

 

Just gone down this route for the exact reason you say - adds on to existing rather than dedicated.

 

Still playing around with my set up, initial feeling is good for the money, seems to work well, but limited time to get out at present removes my final view on the system.

 

Only gripe (which is a known) is the silent on/off button needs some form of cover - otherwise you'll leave the unit on, in use no problem as it will run for a good few hours, if you put it down though - 'buggerit' as it has internal batteries only.

 

FYI the illuminators from the same company are very nice!

 

You are reasonably close to me so if you want a peek you are welcome?

 

T

[Grum87]

Terry, what sort of useable distance are you getting with this unit? Ta.

[terryh]

Terry, what sort of useable distance are you getting with this unit? Ta.

 

There's the rub, I've not been able to get out with the actual rifle set up yet into suitable fields - work is a bit invasive at present.

 

I have though simply 'stuck' the WD700 on the back of a friends 8x monocular (just faffing around) and obtained very clear images across an (estimated) 250yard field into woods, with good detail into the woods.

 

T

[Rammer223]

its a good little unit ,but it must be used with the correct scopes to get the best out of it key issue seem to be you need a scope that will parallax down to10-15 yard I tried one on the back of an nsx and didn't work out for me ,plenty written on nightvisionforum on the subject of which scopes work best etc etc

lee

[onehole]

Thanks so far gents,,,Thanks for offer Terry may take you up on this,,,,having a look at the other options down here locally at the moment but will give e a shout,,,,Is yours the actual "Ward" version as I think there are others?Rammer is your comment re NSX because it will only parallax to 50 yds or so,,,,ie a focus issue?at closer range,,,,,thanks,,,,O

[Rammer223]

Thanks so far gents,,,Thanks for offer Terry may take you up on this,,,,having a look at the other options down here locally at the moment but will give e a shout,,,,Is yours the actual "Ward" version as I think there are others?Rammer is your comment re NSX because it will only parallax to 50 yds or so,,,,ie a focus issue?at closer range,,,,,thanks,,,,O

Yes you have it

As said before much more info on nightvisionforum and better explained by more informed than I ,but it all to do with infa red light passing and different points to normal light a scope that's in focus in the day at say 15 yard at night using infa red untouched would be in focus at say 50 yard thus a scope that won't parralax down below 50 yards ish like the nsx means you can't get clean image at closer ranges or sumot like that I think mybe

Lee

[dylan5588]

Yes you have it

As said before much more info on nightvisionforum and better explained by more informed than I ,but it all to do with infa red light passing and different points to normal light a scope that's in focus in the day at say 15 yard at night using infa red untouched would be in focus at say 50 yard thus a scope that won't parralax down below 50 yards ish like the nsx means you can't get clean image at closer ranges or sumot like that I think mybe

Lee

Yes, its all to do with the wave length of infra red,You will find that with the NV attached, an object at say 100yards will be in focus with the scope adjusted to around 10-12 yards. Even at 200 odd yards the scope will only be on maybe 15-20 yard setting. really messed with my head until i was told by someone on the NV forum. By the way its best to have a scope with side wheel adjustment, much easier than fumbling around to the front of the scope and your hands blotting out the picture!

[terryh]

One hole

 

Yes a WD700

 

Re parallax, most of my scopes are the same so have identical occular ends and all focus via side wheel on full mag down below 5yards, this is the reason for me going an add on to my day scope as opposed to dedicated NV which, if NV was your thing, is the way to go - but not for me.

 

Will give a basic report as soon as I can get out into the fields!

 

T

[Grum87]

Have you had any joy in getting out yet Terry? Just received word of getting a refund for a rifle that will cover one of these and some other goodies.....so interested to hear the feedback before I pull the trigger.

[terryh]

Grum,

 

Unfortunately 'no' between Dad's taxi and being a bit busy with my company (plus the weather's been awful) I've not been able to get out to try the .22RF & 223 rifles.

 

Have though, after reading round, sorted setting up the focus. Will also have a long adapter bushing made this week which will tighten things re. Fit to scope of the WD700.

 

I can say that 'playing' with this unit and IR's within the confines of my house/garden gives me a positive feel.

 

Brgds T

[Grum87]

No worries. There does seem to be plenty of positive reveiws aswell as some mixed. The mixed seem to come from the 'buy a dedicated unit' brigade.....all very well if youve got the money and rifles to dedicate one to a night rifle....

 

i think Ill bite the bullet and give it a punt. I built myself a digital unit with a large LCD screen last year....while it never made it out the house and into the feild due to being so fragile.....results from out the window were very promising, so I know digital can work....

[Mick Miller]

I made one for me and a handful of mates. Near eye, beats the Wardy and on a par with the 870 so I'm told. All in and with a good torch mount and illuminator it came in at £560, including a built in 4ah li-ion battery.

 

The thread is on another forum. I'm getting around 660 yards of clear view on around x16 mag. If I was any good I could easily hit foxes out to 400 yards with it, but I'm not. For air rifle work you need to use a much smaller illuminator otherwise it whites out.

[Grum87]

Can you make these to order Mick? Not a bad looking beast....

[Mini Magnum]

660 yds on x16 mag that is some feat Mick !!!!

 

What camera and eye display are you using ?

[Mick Miller]

Camera, not a chance. Near eye display VF-2C, not as good as the drone but better than most and the same as the Wardy.

[Mick Miller]

Camera, not a chance. Near eye display VF-2C, not as good as the drone but better than most and the same as the Wardy. Currently undergoing redesign to make it more compact but retain all the same features.

[Mini Magnum]

So what sensor then as 660 yards on x16 mag is some feat, I'm interested.

[Mick Miller]

Well, I suggest you buy around 60 different cameras, as I did, and conduct some empirical research, then all will be revealed and your curiosity sated.

 

Honestly, I'm not going into details about the camera, and any I've sold have had any distinguishing marks removed. 660 yards is from Google earth, it may have been 620, it might be further? Scope choice makes a big difference, expensive isn't always best - I use an MTC Genesis - and you need no ambient light (no moon, no street lights) plus a large 66mm illuminator; but yes 600+ on high mags is achievable, the image is always 'greyer' and more 'washed out' with less contrast that at lower mags but at x10 it's pretty damn good really. Those brightness and contrast controls on the VF-2C are actually useful (odd that most seem to set it to half and seal it up) - but you surely already know all this from NVUK?

 

Or just follow the crowd and use an E700

[Mini Magnum]

Using an E700 Ward 700 with T75 AS illuminator I could make out a hare at 200 metres, but not crystal clear on 20x mag with a MTC Genesis scope, the surrounding hedges were clear enough but I was positively ID'ing at this distance. For you to say 660 yards on x16 mag, with the same scope, you must have something very special, or your talking a bit of guff, that's all.. On lower mag distance improves dramatically. Do you sell them, I'll buy one and compare, if its that much better I'll put a sock in it.

[Mick Miller]

I'm redesigning them to make it smaller, the comments back on The Cube (other than the colour!) mostly say the same thing, amazing unit but with the onboard 12v 4ah li-ion battery it's too big as is.

 

I think I can get it down to the project box we used when we started the whole thing, the camera is the same one we've been using for about 4-5 years, maybe longer. For a while we couldn't get them as manufacturing had stopped completely, recently the manufacturers did another run and I bought 20 of them, it's all I could afford at the time. The camera IS the key. The rest is a better constructed version of what most people have caught onto now via NVUK. Although I do add my own pcb, a fuse, a charge level indicator for the battery, an auto off after 10 minutes (to stop you pressing the button by accident on the way to a venue and killing your battery life), brightness and contrast (but not screen dimming - can't see the point in that as ANY light will kill your night adjustment in that eye). It also features an onboard LED driver so that the torch essentially becomes a dumb led on a massive heatsink, which also means it can be overdriven, although with the new AS leds, that's not necessary.

 

It aint guff. Not by a long chalk. I was reading the number plates off the parked tractor at the top of the field behind my house one night, that was 450 yards away.

 

Currently it's bulky, so I'm working to par the size down (printer is doing a test run on an enclosure right now), but it's way more complicated that most of the builds you see. I don't use hot-melt, sticky tape, bits of foam or parts soldered together and floating free.

 

Whilst I have made them for people, it's NOT my main business nor will it ever be, just a hobby and essentially the costs cover the parts and buy me a drink for doing it. These people also understand that whilst I can fix things if they break them, they have to pay to cover the parts cost to make the repair. So far I've only made these for mates, or mates of mates; essentially people I can trust to keep the parts to themselves and not plaster them all over forums, as is some peoples want.

 

However, I don't really want to get into the whole selling things thing on here or anywhere else for that matter. I don't sponsor the site and it would not be not be right or decent of me to use it for that purpose. But as soon as the new one is completed I'll post some pics and some video (trying to find a way of recording what you actually see through the viewfinder as the camera output isn't representative as it doesn't have any brightness or contrast adjustment), then you can make your mind up whether its real or just puff and bluster.

 

I'll also try and find somewhere that I can range find during the day and see if I can record the ping off the rangefinder, and somewhere where I can get a good distance without obstructions.

 

By the way, that's not ID'ing a hare at that distance!

[Mini Magnum]

Look forward to the video Mick, it would be nice to have a direct comparison off digital add ons alongside each other.