I had been searching for an IR illuminator to compliment my PVS-15 binoculars. I could not find any illuminators that seemed worthwhile for the money as a weapon mount, so I built my own using the Surefire Scout M600. The Scout M600 is my favorite Surefire light--it is slim, lightweight, and stout.
Surefire does make an IR light conversion for their Scout. The problem is that it is designed for 3V CR123 batteries, and the output is not so great. This is where I decided to use something more powerful.
A common flashlight drop in is known as the P60 light engine. Valiant Concepts just so happens to produce a conversion head which will screw on to the M600. It is called the VME head and is shown here: http://valiantconcepts.com/index.php/products/vme-head The VME head allows P60 drop-ins to fit the Scout.
The light engine being used is one which accepts 8.4V input voltage. This allows you to ditch the standard, non-rechargeable CR123 batteries that the Scout uses, and replace them with (2) more powerful RCR123/16340 rechargeable 3.7V batteries. I use the AW 16340 batteries, but any will work.
Finally I used the 940 nanometer P60 drop in from Battery Junction. It is available here: http://www.batteryjunction.com/infrared-ir-p60-drop-in.html
What you will have to do to get this P60 drop-in to work is cut about 1/4" off the front of it. Without doing this, the threads on the VME head will not start. As you can see, even though the VME head is for P60s, not all P60s will work without modification. This was easy though. I simply chucked the aluminum reflector in the lathe, and started turning small amounts off and checking, until I could fully sink the front bezel threads.
To finish it off, I also used a borosilicate glass lens. I am very sorry here, because I cannot remember where I obtained this lens from. However, they are available at many flashlight online stores and any common lens with about 0.80" diameter will work.
So when it is all said and done, it's a very easy conversion, and I'm convinced that it is one of the more desirable IR illuminators out there for a weapon. So if you have NV and want to shoot at night, building one of these would not be a bad idea.
Breakdown:
VME head:
940nm IR module:
Complete:
Surefire does make an IR light conversion for their Scout. The problem is that it is designed for 3V CR123 batteries, and the output is not so great. This is where I decided to use something more powerful.
A common flashlight drop in is known as the P60 light engine. Valiant Concepts just so happens to produce a conversion head which will screw on to the M600. It is called the VME head and is shown here: http://valiantconcepts.com/index.php/products/vme-head The VME head allows P60 drop-ins to fit the Scout.
The light engine being used is one which accepts 8.4V input voltage. This allows you to ditch the standard, non-rechargeable CR123 batteries that the Scout uses, and replace them with (2) more powerful RCR123/16340 rechargeable 3.7V batteries. I use the AW 16340 batteries, but any will work.
Finally I used the 940 nanometer P60 drop in from Battery Junction. It is available here: http://www.batteryjunction.com/infrared-ir-p60-drop-in.html
What you will have to do to get this P60 drop-in to work is cut about 1/4" off the front of it. Without doing this, the threads on the VME head will not start. As you can see, even though the VME head is for P60s, not all P60s will work without modification. This was easy though. I simply chucked the aluminum reflector in the lathe, and started turning small amounts off and checking, until I could fully sink the front bezel threads.
To finish it off, I also used a borosilicate glass lens. I am very sorry here, because I cannot remember where I obtained this lens from. However, they are available at many flashlight online stores and any common lens with about 0.80" diameter will work.
So when it is all said and done, it's a very easy conversion, and I'm convinced that it is one of the more desirable IR illuminators out there for a weapon. So if you have NV and want to shoot at night, building one of these would not be a bad idea.
Breakdown:
VME head:
940nm IR module:
Complete:
