#IRIlluminator

Thirsty for more night vision-related content? Well, drink up here at Friday Night Lights. Last week we took a look at EOTech’s premium thermal clip-on. Well, this week we take a look at a discontinued product from Insight. The ISM-IR is the integrated sighting module. It is a red dot with an integrated multi-function aiming laser (MFAL), basically a PEQ-15. Let’s take a closer look.

Armasight, a manufacturer of night vision optics, thermal imagers, and illumination devices, has just released a new IR illuminator. The Armasight Watchman IR illuminator can be handheld or weapon mounted, runs on either a single 18650 rechargeable battery or two CR123 lithium batteries, and has a high output of 600 mW. The package includes a weapon mount, tape switch, and an 18650 battery.

IR laser aiming and illumination devices are becoming more and more popular every year in the civilian market. Originally developed for military and law enforcement, Wilcox has announced that they will be making the RAID Xe commercially available. The RAID Xe is an update to the original RAID X that features a few minor changes to the housing and the control switch to allow for multiple mode activation options as well as allow the user to offset mount the device when rail space is limited.

Hello, fellow nocturnal enthusiasts and welcome to another Friday Night Lights. Last week we took a close look at the highly anticipated CTF2 laser/weapon light from Phantom Hill Design. Today we take a look at something new from Z-Bolt – their Blazer IR LED illuminator. Now you can add a potent long-range illuminator to your gun or spotting scope.

Friday night is upon us once again. In today’s Friday Night Lights we will take a look at a clever little upgrade for a Steiner DBAL D2 and SPIR illuminator. Last fall, Villain Weapon Systems announced their LSD (light shaping diffuser) for the DBAL D2. It was a simple yet effective upgrade for the DBAL D2 multi-function aiming laser (MFAL). With their LSD diffuser, you can quickly shape the IR illuminator from tight hot spot to a wider beam with the flip of a cap rather than twisting the beam shaping head.

Have you ever wondered what IR illuminators look like to someone on the receiving end? Certain SOP is to forgo the use of an IR lights or lasers and to just shoot passively for fear of the target downrange being able to see the glow of an IR device even without night vision. And while that is sage advice, how much does someone actually see with the naked eye? Well just last weekend, J.W. Ramp performed a much-needed test. He documented and photographed the downrange IR signature of some of the most common IR illuminators on the market. Such a comparison has never really been done before at this level.

For some time now I have been seeing and hearing people rave about the ZenitCo Perst lasers. Online retailers claim the Zenitco lasers have some rather high numbers for laser power. I put a Perst-3 to the test to see what makes these lasers so popular.

For those who like to shoot in the dark with night vision, often it is easier to aim with a laser than try to look through your optic while wearing NODs on your face. Most night vision users tend to go to Steiner for their DBAL or L3 for their ATPIAL/PEQ15. While those two are the industry standard, besides the BE Meyers MAWL-C1+, there are other options for a Multi-Function Aiming Laser (MFAL) like the Holosun LS321G.

Insight is well known for making weapon lasers like the PEQ-15. They also made a weapon laser sight for grenade launchers. The PSQ-18 and PSQ-18/A are the laser sights for the M203 and M320 grenade launcher. They have a laser pointer but they also have an integrated IR laser illuminator that works very well.