OPTICALLY SPEAKING
Thermal Imagers and Night Vision optics that are suitable for time critical applications, such as search and rescue, demands performance and reliability that can mean the difference between life and death.
Advanced Optics is New Zealand’s leading supplier of professional European manufactured Thermal Imaging and Night Vision optics for land, marine and air Search and Rescue. As well as finding people, these optics are ideal for marine safety, especially when navigating at night where surface debris may be present, finding moorings and locating overboard persons.
I would like to talk about two of our product lines that we extensively supply to search and rescue organisations, including Coastguard New Zealand, Royal New Zealand Air Force, LandSAR, Philips Search and Rescue Trust, New Zealand Police and Search and Rescue New Zealand.
Pulsar Lexion XP Thermal Monocular
The Pulsar Lexion XP is our flagship professional search and rescue thermal monocular. It has a fully waterproof, ruggedised glass reinforced polymer housing, that is fitted with a unique heat-sink system that transfers heat generated by the internal electronics to the outside via an integral radiator. This maintains optimum image performance and protects the internal electronics from overheating.
The Lexion is fitted with a TWS Qualified : MILSTD-810 / MIL-STD-833 Lynred 640×480, 17µ, 50Hz sensor as used by NATO and aerospace applications. Complementing the milspec sensor are precision ground germanium optics, AMOLED HD display and advanced image processing. The Lexion is powered by a quick-change rechargeable power pack that provides upto 7 hours continuous use (IPS7), or 14 hours (IPS14).
The Pulsar Lexion XP is available with a choice of 28mm, 38mm and 50mm focal length lenses:
• 28mm lens has a very wide field-of-view and low magnification that is suitable for use from helicopters for ground searching and from boats in rough seas. The wide field-of-view can rapidly find overboard persons and is useful for walking and navigating.
• 38mm lens is the best allrounder. It has good distance performance while maintaining a wide field-of-view. This is our most popular model.
• 50mm lens has a high magnification and long detection range that is suitable for land based and helicopter searching of large expanses of sea and open land, mountains etc.
Thermal Imaging optics are exceptional at detecting warm objects at extreme distances, and can see through light foliage, mist and smoke.
ANV Ultra HD-BW / SD-BW Gen3+ NVG
The ANV Ultra Night Vision Goggle is a highly specified night vision optic that produces a fine monochrome image in extreme darkness. Additional features include autogating, manual gain control, auto-vertical shut-off, fully waterproof housing and an inbuilt illuminator. The first two require a special mention:
Autogating: this enables continuous viewing in the presence of external light sources, such as street lights, other boats and navigation beacons.
Manual gain control: enables the user to precisely set the brightness of the image to suit their own eyes. This is far better than Automatic Brightness Control (ABC) optics, that tend to be too bright.
The ANV Ultra is available in the following performance grades:
• SD: 64 lp/pmm resolution with F-o-M from 1700 1900
• HD: 68 lp/pmm resolution with F-o-M from 1900 2100
(See our website or search online for an explanation of Figure-of-Merit. In a nutshell, the higher the better.)
Night vision is very useful for navigating a boat at night because it works through glass and can differentiate objects of the same temperature, which thermal optics cannot.
For more information about our professional products visit: www.advancedoptics.nz
