Ward D Vision Digital Night Vision Adaptor

I don’t know masses about NV optics, but I do know one thing - the more you pay the better it gets - and that is why I currently don’t own anything, as I am not prepared to pay a good few thousand pounds for something that would suit my needs. To be honest, and with few exceptions, I find dedicated NV scopes poor – short range, bad image and of debatable build quality. Yes I’m quite sure a Maxi Kite or similar would be ideal, but it’s back to cost again.

However another route is an adaptor that allows you to use your standard day scope with an NV viewer (monocular) at the rear. Cheaper than a dedicated unit, I have tested a couple and they tend to strike a good balance, the downside, if rear-mounted is they push back the eye relief something awful and you have to cope with what you get. Or alter your rifle to suit, which is not ideal.

IT’S ALL GOING DIGITAL
The one scope I have tested to date that impressed was the Pulsar N550 digital, which at around £1000 was very good for the money. OK not a massive range but it worked well and I was tempted. It seems digital is one of the newer routes and apparently has a lot to offer, as Pulsar has just launched their larger N750.

In essence it’s a digital camera that sees what’s in front of it and transmits is back to your eye. The next innovation was to make a rear-mounted adaptor and to date I have seen two units that literally plug into the eyepiece bell with one having a separate screen. Three weeks ago I was shown a third, which seems to have rationalised the design even further in terms of simplicity and reliability.

It’s called the Ward-D-Vision Digital Night Vision Adapter and manufactured by Ward Optical Systems Ltd. I spoke to the inventor Clive Ward and here’s what he had to say: “Almost all current night vision rear add on units are based around a standard, stand-alone viewing monocular. This means that the lenses are not truly compatible with the field of view of a rifle scope, usually resulting in increased crosshair size and a dramatically reduced field of view. The other main issue is the length, which when mounted to your day scope by the use of a DSA (day scope adapter) increases the length of the unit, making finding a comfortable shooting position difficult if not impossible! Without resorting to drastic measures such as stock extensions and/or moving the position of your scope so compromising its daytime use.”

“The revolutionary new Ward-D-Vision overcomes these problems as it is designed specifically for fitting to a rifle scope. The unit works equally well as a stand-a-lone monocular when off of the gun. The lenses are correctly matched, so the view through the unit matches what is seen during the day, and the mounting system is integral. By clever use of a proprietary optical system the unit occupies the normal eye relief of your rifle scope; therefore your shooting position is unaltered.”

“Ward Optical Systems fit a high resolution digital sensor and also a high resolution near eye display to provide the best possible image. This attention to detail runs through the entire Ward-D-Vision unit, which has a sealed housing complete with an IP67-rated switch and socket. All of the screws are stainless steel, so corrosion or water ingress should not be a problem.”

CLEAN, UNCLUTTERED AND COMPACT
From my view the Ward is clean, uncluttered and compact, there are no trailing cables, extra screens or anything else to get in the way. The unit pictured here is the prototype and has a toggle ON/OFF switch, which will be replaced on the production version with a pressure pad. Power is supplied by an on-board rechargeable battery pack which will last in excess of 10 hours, there’s an ‘AV out’ socket for those who want to record their night work. What I really liked was the fact that it is light and fits securely to the eye bell using a split clamp and screw.

Eye relief is very good and with the Ward on there’s no appreciable difference in eye/ scope positioning, meaning your day gun is also your night gun. On that point, being digital, the unit is not light sensitive, so you could leave it on the rifle 24/7. At the back is a bellows-type eye cup so no rearwards glare, which makes it a lot stealthier.

The only accessory you will need to get the most out of the unit is an infra-red illuminator; the type required will be dependent on your application. Clive told me he rates the Nightmaster 800IR LED from Dereelight UK. I looked at the original Nightmaster some time ago and this is an improved version with a dedicated IR LED head. You can buy it alone or as a kit, which also contains the battery charger and a neat Fig-8 scope clamp. A body tube extension for a second battery is also available to boost the run time. With one of these fitted and your day scope set to x10 mag you get out to 200 yards.

Not a lot more to say at present, I’ve been promised a production unit for a full test very soon. From what I have seen so far it looks good. By the time you read this they should be in the shops and at a ballpark of £600 I reckon they are going to do very well! If you want to see one and the Nightmaster IR torch then pop along to the British Shooting Show where both Dereelight UK and Ward Optical will be exhibiting.