Nikon 9350 User Manual
OPERATING MANUAL
ASTROSCOPE
NIGHT VISION
Export limitations: Because the AstroScope 9350 modules utilize
state-of-the-art image intensifier technology, it is unlawful to carry
these devices out of the country or to export them without an
approved U.S. State Department export license.
WARNING: TO REDUCE RISK OF
FIRE, ELECTRIC SHOCK OR DAMAGE, DO NOT
EXPOSE THIS PRODUCT TO CONTINUOUS RAIN
OR MOISTURE.
TO REDUCE RISK OF SHOCK AND TO REDUCE
ANNOYING INTERFERENCE, USE ONLY
RECOMMENDED ACCESSORIES.
CAUTION: DO NOT REMOVE THE
COVER. THERE ARE NO USER SERVICEABLE
PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO
QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.
EC PN 080526
REV C
February 2004
ii
TABLE OF CONTENT
1 INTRODUCTION TO ASTROSCOPE NIGHT VISION......................1-1
1.1 Purpose of This Manual..................................................................1-1
1.1.1 How This Guide Is Organized..............................................1-1
1.2 Important Safeguards......................................................................1-1
1.3 Reference Guide..............................................................................1-3
1.4 How Image Intensifiers Work.........................................................1-5
1.5 Evolution of Image Intensifiers ......................................................1-7
1.6 Benefits of AstroScope Night Vision.............................................1-7
2 ASTROSCOPE CONFIGURATION, SET-UP, AND OPERATION ...2-1
2.1 Removable-Lens Camera and Camcorder Operation.....................2-3
2.1.1 Required Components........................................................2-4
2.1.2 Assembly............................................................................2-5
2.1.3 Notes on Optimal Use........................................................2-6
2.2 Non- emovable-Lens Camcorder OperationR ...............................2-11
2.2.1 Required Components......................................................2-12
2.2.2 Assembly..........................................................................2-13
2.2.3 Notes on Optimal Use......................................................2-14
2.3 C-Mount Camera Operation.........................................................2-17
2.3.1 Required Components......................................................2-18
2.3.2 Assembly..........................................................................2-18
2.4 Pocket Scope Operation................................................................2-21
2.4.1 Required Components......................................................2-22
2.4.2 Assembly..........................................................................2-23
3 ASTROSCOPE ACCESSORIES SET-UP AND OPERATION............3-1
3.1 200 m Low-Light Telephoto Lensm ...............................................3-3
3.1.1 Required Components........................................................3-4
3.1.2 Assembly............................................................................3-5
3.1.3 Notes on Optimal Use........................................................3-8
4 TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE.............................................................4-1
5 MA NTENANCEI ....................................................................................5-1
5.1 Key Operational Parameters ...........................................................5-1
5.1.1 Power: ................................................................................5-1
5.1.2 Environmental....................................................................5-1
5.2 Cleaning ......................................................................................5-1
6 WA RANTYR ..........................................................................................6-1
6.1 HOW TO RETURN PRODUCTS FOR WARRANTY REPAIR .6-1
6.2 HOW TO RETURN PRODUCTS FOR “OUT OF WARRANTY”
REPAIR ......................................................................................
7 CONTACT SHEET FOR REPAIRS AND SERVICE ...........................7-1
6-2
iii
1 INTRODUCTION TO
ASTROSCOPE NIGHT
VISION
1.1 Purpose of This Manual
This manual provides basic information and instructions for
operating the AstroScope 9350 products, as well as procedures for
troubleshooting. We suggest that you read this manual carefully
and retain the manual for future reference.
1.1.1 How This Guide Is Organized
Important Safeguards: Precautions to take before using the
equipment.
How Intensifiers Work and the Benefits of the 9350: Overview
of how Intensifiers operate, along with night vision advancements
and advantages of the 9350 units.
Set-Up and Operation: Description of how to prepare the 9350
unit for use, including camera and exposure settings.
Troubleshooting: Solutions to common problems.
Maintenance: Information on how to clean and store the 9350
units.
Product Specification: Information on current draw and
environmental specs.
Night Vision Terminology: A glossary of the basic terms used
when dealing with night vision.
Additional Information: Includes warranty and contact
information for repairs and service.
1.2 Important Safeguards
1) Read Instructions - All safety and operating instructions
should be read before the product is operated. Keep the
instruction manual for future reference.
2) Heed Warnings - Adhere to all warnings on the product and
in the operating instructions.
3) Servicing - Do not dismantle or otherwise attempt to service
this product or any of the accessories yourself. Refer all
servicing to Electrophysics qualified service personnel.
Opening this product or its accessories will void the
warranty.
1-1
4) Intensifier Protection – In order to assure long-life and high
sensitivity performance, do not use during daytime or bright
ambient conditions. Do not look at the sun or extremely
bright objects. Do not look at bright objects for long periods
of time as this may cause the intensifier tube to develop
insensitive areas.
5) Accessories - Use only accessories and attachments
recommended by Electrophysics.
6) Water and Moisture – These products are NOT waterproof.
They are only resistant to occasional small amounts of
moisture. Do not operate in continuous rain conditions or in
high moisture environments.
7) Heat - The product should be situated away from heat sources
such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other sources of
heat.
8) Power Sources - This product should be operated only from
the type of power source indicated here.
9) Cleaning - Do not use unauthorized cleaning fluids and
materials. See Section 5.2 for proper cleaning instructions
10) Replacement Parts – Use only manufacturer-approved
replacement parts and accessories.
Damage Requiring Service – Refer servicing to
Electrophysics qualified service personnel under the
following conditions:
1) If liquid has been spilled, or objects have fallen into the
product.
2) If the unit has been exposed to rain or water and is now not
operating.
3) If the product does not operate normally by following the
operating instructions.
4) If the product has been dropped or damaged in any way.
5) If the unit exhibits a distinct change in performance.
1-2
1.3 Reference Guide
Nikon Pair – see pg 2-3
Canon EOS Pair – see pg 2-3
Canon XL Pair – see pg 2-3
200mm Lens – see pg 3-1
200mm Lens – see pg 3-1
200mm Lens – see pg 3-1
1-3
Bracket Series – see pg 2-11
200mm Lens – see pg 3-1
BBA-C Adapter – see pg 2-17
200mm Lens – see pg 3-1
Pocket Scope – see pg 2-21
1-4
200mm Lens – see pg 3-1
N
Unenhanced
Image
1.4 How Image Intensifiers Work
Image intensifiers are predominant in night vision applications due
to their ability to amplify low-light scenes at night, making them
visible to the human eye and commercial cameras and camcorders.
Unlike thermal images, image intensifiers can be used to read
vehicle license tags and registration markings on boats and aircraft,
as well as to recognize faces, which can be entered as evidence in
criminal prosecutions.
The sequence to image formation in an image intensifier is as
follows: light is converted to electrons then converted back to light,
making intensifiers very simple devices featuring very high
resolution and extremely low power consumption.
Photons Electrons Photons
VD Image
A night vision system based on an image intensifier operates as
follows:
Photo
Cathode
Microchannel
Plate
Phosphor
Screen
1. The very dim light reflected by scenes at night (lower than 0.1
lux) is focused by an objective lens onto a highly sensitive
1-5
photocathode. This dim light consists of energy in both the visible
and near-infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
2. When the light impinges on the photocathode (the light sensitive
portion of the image intensifier) electrons are emitted with
amplitude determined by the photocathode's spectral responsivity
and the amount of light energy. Because of the image intensifier's
internal electrical field, these electrons are accelerated toward the
microchannel plate assembly, the image intensifier's amplification
mechanism.
3. The microchannel plate is a glass plate with millions of tiny
closely-spaced channels bored through it. The plate is coated with a
special substance that produces secondary electron emission when
impinged by an electron. Due to the potential difference across the
plate, an incident electron enters a channel and frees other electrons
from the channel wall. These electrons are accelerated along the
channel in turn striking the channel surface again and again, giving
rise to more and more electrons. Eventually this cascade process
yields a cloud of several thousand electrons, which emerge from the
rear of the plate.
4. Electrons exiting the microchannel plate strike a phosphor that
emits light proportional to the amount of electrons hitting it. The
image is green because the selected phosphor glows green when
charged. The green color is selected because the human eye can
differentiate more shades of green than any other color.
5. Because the image is inverted, a fiber optic "twister" is used to
rotate the image 180°.
6. A special relay optic focuses the image properly to match the
image plane requirements of video and 35mm SLR cameras.
Image intensifiers exhibit several key features designed to optimize
their use, as follows:
Automatic Brightness Control (ABC): An electronic feature that
automatically reduces voltages to the MCP to keep the image
intensifier’s brightness within optimal limits and protect the image
intensifier. The effect of this can be seen when rapidly changing
from low-light to high-light conditions; the image gets brighter and
then after a momentary delay, suddenly dims to a constant level.
Bright-Source Protection (BSP): An electronic function that
reduces the voltage to the photocathode when the image intensifier
is exposed to bright light sources such as room lights or car lights.
It protects the image intensifier from damage and enhances its life.
Equivalent Background Illumination (EBI): This describes the
amount of light you see from the output of the image intensifier
when there is no light input. It increases with increasing
temperature. EBI is measured in lumens per square centimeters and
determines the light level, which equals the image intensifier’s
noise level. Below this light level, objects will be masked by EBI.
The lower value of EBI, the better.
1-6
1.5 Evolution of Image Intensifiers
The image intensifier tube has evolved substantially over the past
few decades. This evolution is described by different generations
(“Gen”) of technology as follows:
Gen 1 – These are the first so-called night-vision devices and were
introduced in the early 1960s and first fielded in Vietnam. These
devices utilized a multi-alkali S-25 photocathode having a spectral
response extending from visible to about 850nm. In order to have
sufficient sensitivity for use in night vision applications, three Gen
1 image intensifier tubes needed to be cascaded, each producing
some gain. The result, though highly sensitive, suffered from
significant edge distortion as well as poor life expectancy (less than
1000 hours).
Gen 2 – By the 1970s, the microchannel plate was introduced that
delivered high sensitivity imaging without the need to cascade three
stages. As a result, night vision pocketscopes and night vision
goggles emerged as viable products with improved operation life
(2000-4000 hours).
Gen 2+ – More recently, improved Gen 2 devices have been
developed (known as "SuperGen") that deliver improved sensitivity
and improved lifetime (10,000 hours).
Gen 3 – By the early 1990s, image intensifiers became available
with photocathodes made from gallium arsenide. This produced
significantly more sensitivity and an extended near-infrared spectral
responsivity range to 950nm.
Gen 3 Thin Film –Introduced in 2002, thin film image intensifiers
incorporate a new manufacturing technique, which have made it
possible to increase further the unit's sensitivity, improve signal-tonoise and contrast performance and reduce blooming due to
viewing bright sources.
1.6 Benefits of AstroScope Night Vision
The AstroScope Night Vision System is a modular system
incorporating a “common module” approach in which the image
intensifier is integrated into an assembly consisting of a front lens
adapter and a back body adapter. The AstroScope System delivers
several important benefits over other night vision systems. These
include:
• Optimized Performance: Because of the modular design and
the accessibility to the image intensifier, optical adapters and
interfaces can be designed so that each configuration delivers
optimized performance. This is due to the accessibility to the photo
cathode as well as the phosphor image output.
• Seamless Integration into Daylight Imaging Systems: The
AstroScope’s component interfaces are both electrical (where
electrical contacts connect components) and mechanical. This
results in a seamless integration with daylight imaging systems. As
1-7
a result, surveillance operatives that have been trained with daylight
imaging equipment may insert an optimally-configured night vision
module into the daylight lens/camera system and operate the
equipment in virtually the identical fashion at night as compared to
the day.
• Reduced Technology Obsolescence: Because of the
AstroScope’s modular design, this night vision system is never
obsolete. As new cameras are introduced, new adapters can be
designed that deliver optimal night-time imaging performance
without the need to purchase an additional image intensifier. In
addition, as new image intensifiers become available because of
technology improvements, these image intensifiers can be
purchased to deliver even higher performance with the existing
adapters and camera equipment.
• Fully Accessorized: Adapters have been designed for optimized
use on Canon EOS and Nikon digital and SLR cameras, as well as a
wide range of Camcorders including the Canon XL1S, Sony PC110, 120, and 330, C-mount CCD/CMOS cameras and as a viewer
using an eye piece adapter.
• Future Accessory Availability: Electrophysics continues to lead
the way in developing new and useful components and adapters for
night-time surveillance applications.
1-8
2 ASTROSCOPE
CONFIGURATION, SET-UP,
AND OPERATION
2-1
2-2
2.1 Removable-Lens Camera and Camcorder Operation
This section describes the configuration set-up and operation of
AstroScope Night Vision on removable-lens cameras and
camcorders, such as Nikon SLF/Digital Cameras, Canon EOS type
SLR/Digital Cameras and Canon XL Camcorders.
2-3
2.1.1 Required Components
The Nikon, EOS, and XL adapters pairs are pictured below. Handle
each part carefully. If any of the optics becomes dirty, refer to the
Maintenance section of this manual for cleaning instructions.
2.1.1.1 Nikon Components
9350NIK BBA side for Nikon Cameras.
9350NIK FLA side for Nikon Cameras.
2.1.1.2 Canon EOS Components
9350EOS BBA for Canon
Cameras
9350EOS FLA for Canon
Cameras
2-4
2.1.1.3 Canon XL Components
9350XL BBA for Canon XL
Camcorders
9350XL FLA for Canon XL
Camcorders
2.1.2 Assembly
The Front Lens Adapter (FLA) has an alignment pin on the inside
wall. Align the pin with the groove on the side of the CIU and slide
the CIU into the FLA.
Alignment Pin
Groove in CIU
2-5
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