Night Vision Goblin Tactical or other light bar options for JEEP

NHPiper · Apr 5, 2021

At some point in the near future (when it arrives at the dealer), I am picking up my first Jeep Wrangler. One of my friends turned me on to them and I can't wait to get out and off road with him at night. Historically in his Jeep, he has rigged up his Surefire X300 Vampire to a window mirror and it has worked amazingly well. Since I don't have one, and the cost for a Goblin Tactical IR light bar is the same, I am leaning in that direction. We are running L3 Unfilmed tubes, so I don't need something that is going to blow my eye balls out when we are off roading in the woods of NH.

Goblin 850nm Hunter Light Bar | Goblin Tactical

Goblin Tactical is proud to offer what we feel is an exceptional value for those in need of supplemental infrared illumination. Our Goblin Infrared Light Bars are designed and priced to be a bargain for anyone who needs IR illumination on their ATV, UTV, or vehicle. Our Goblin Infrared Light...

www.goblintactical.com

Also saw these: https://www.blackoakled.com/collect...frared-pod-light-black-oak-led-pro-series-2-0

Anyone have any experience with these or other IR light sources that are easily able to mount to a Jeep? Any preference on using 850nm vs 940nm light sources for quality L3 tubes? Again, not riding around in the desert here in NH where there are lots of open spaces.

Rerun7 · Apr 5, 2021

These work amazingly well and don’t give off a red glow

ULTIMATE 2" 940nm Infrared LED Light Cubes - Dual Row Flood Pair

The ULTIMATE 2" IR Light Cubes use 2 rows of 940nm infrared LEDs with flood reflectors to throw a beam pattern specifically designed for short range navigation illumination. The beam disperses 940nm light to the left and right for optimal visibility in co

ultimatenightvision.com

Killswitch Engage · Apr 5, 2021

Rerun7 said:
These work amazingly well and don’t give off a red glow

ULTIMATE 2" 940nm Infrared LED Light Cubes - Dual Row Flood Pair

The ULTIMATE 2" IR Light Cubes use 2 rows of 940nm infrared LEDs with flood reflectors to throw a beam pattern specifically designed for short range navigation illumination. The beam disperses 940nm light to the left and right for optimal visibility in co

ultimatenightvision.com

goblin also has a 940nm version.

i feel like if you can tolerate a faint red glow the performance of the 850 far outweighs the emission.

NHPiper · Apr 5, 2021

Rerun7 said:
These work amazingly well and don’t give off a red glow

ULTIMATE 2" 940nm Infrared LED Light Cubes - Dual Row Flood Pair

The ULTIMATE 2" IR Light Cubes use 2 rows of 940nm infrared LEDs with flood reflectors to throw a beam pattern specifically designed for short range navigation illumination. The beam disperses 940nm light to the left and right for optimal visibility in co

ultimatenightvision.com

How did you wire them in?

NHPiper · Apr 5, 2021

Killswitch Engage said:
goblin also has a 940nm version.

i feel like if you can tolerate a faint red glow the performance of the 850 far outweighs the emission.

I am not kicking down doors, so the red isn't an issue for me. Since a lot of the driving in NH is wooded, even with a partial moon, sometimes the extra IR is nice. You don't really need it to walk with unfilmed white tubes, but driving I think it would be a good precaution.

Rerun7 · Apr 5, 2021

NHPiper said:
How did you wire them in?

They come with everything you need to wire them up. Mine are on a front brush guard so I also bought a couple roll bar mounting brackets to put them on.

They put out plenty of light for back woods trails.

WillHugh · Apr 5, 2021

I vote the option that doesn't require us cutting into your wiring harness to power the lights, lol. That Goblin light bar seems like a solid option if it works well. Ability to attach with a magnet and just plug in would be great. NH gets weird about auxiliary lights during inspections.

May want to consider going with the 940nm. I think you might find that less is more with the tight spaces we typically drive in.

Rerun7 · Apr 5, 2021

WillHugh said:
I vote the option that doesn't require us cutting into your wiring harness to power the lights, lol. That Goblin light bar seems like a solid option if it works well. Ability to attach with a magnet and just plug in would be great. NH gets weird about auxiliary lights during inspections.

May want to consider going with the 940nm. I think you might find that less is more with the tight spaces we typically drive in.

Just to clarify, you don’t cut into any harness.

Whatever lights you buy should come with a relay/harness so all you do is hook to the battery, tap a 12v line and run the switch into the cab. The hardest part is getting through the cab firewall for the switch. Other than that it’s just mounting the lights/relay and keeping your wires tidy.

NHPiper · Apr 6, 2021

Rerun7 said:
Just to clarify, you don’t cut into any harness.

Whatever lights you buy should come with a relay/harness so all you do is hook to the battery, tap a 12v line and run the switch into the cab. The hardest part is getting through the cab firewall for the switch. Other than that it’s just mounting the lights/relay and keeping your wires tidy.

It looks like the 2021 JLU has fuse boxes under the hood, in the rear, and in several spots in the cab, so you basically plug your lights or aux items into the correct box for 40amp or 15amp connections.

Went out last night and jury rigged some picatinny rail to my mirror with sinew and tape so I could mount an Inforce IR light. I think IR lights will be one of the first purchases I get.

There is a pretty good forum here that I found for the wiring.

AUX Switches: Cable COLOR CODE Wiring Identification

Today we installed a lighted whip on the back of the Jeep (mounted it on the tire carrier, relocation bracket / mount). After much research we wanted to help and/or save others time finding and identifying the AUX cables. Here is a short video and photo showing the wiring color codes and where...

www.jlwranglerforums.com

Nik H · Apr 6, 2021

NHPiper said:
It looks like the 2021 JLU has fuse boxes under the hood, in the rear, and in several spots in the cab, so you basically plug your lights or aux items into the correct box for 40amp or 15amp connections.

Went out last night and jury rigged some picatinny rail to my mirror with sinew and tape so I could mount an Inforce IR light. I think IR lights will be one of the first purchases I get.

There is a pretty good forum here that I found for the wiring.

AUX Switches: Cable COLOR CODE Wiring Identification

Today we installed a lighted whip on the back of the Jeep (mounted it on the tire carrier, relocation bracket / mount). After much research we wanted to help and/or save others time finding and identifying the AUX cables. Here is a short video and photo showing the wiring color codes and where...

www.jlwranglerforums.com

If you purchased your Jeep with the auxiliary switch box installed in the cabin, it is MUCH easier.

jwramp · Apr 6, 2021

NHPiper said:
Went out last night and jury rigged some picatinny rail to my mirror with sinew and tape so I could mount an Inforce IR light. I think IR lights will be one of the first purchases I get.

Great shot - now you need goggles for her! I point folks in the direction of mounting handheld lights temporarily quite often, to at least try it out for the probably rare instances where you're going to be driving around needing IR.

I use one of these in my photo-van for controlling stuff, including a pair of Larson Electronics IR pods up top (2x of their 3watt 850nm spot beams that I found a killer deal on ebay) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MVWYMM1/
I also added a cutoff switch under it to kill juice to the system. I wired it all straight off the battery so it doesn't matter whether the car is on or off to run the lighting. Didn't want it to always sap power though, so I just turn it on when I want. Then there's a piece of black fleece I velcroed to the top - got a large one that spreads over the whole dash too.

NHPiper · Apr 6, 2021

Nik H said:
If you purchased your Jeep with the auxiliary switch box installed in the cabin, it is MUCH easier.

Yup, it has 4 aux switches already wired to the cabin.

NHPiper · Apr 6, 2021

jwramp said:
Great shot - now you need goggles for her! I point folks in the direction of mounting handheld lights temporarily quite often, to at least try it out for the probably rare instances where you're going to be driving around needing IR.

I use one of these in my photo-van for controlling stuff, including a pair of Larson Electronics IR pods up top (2x of their 3watt 850nm spot beams that I found a killer deal on ebay) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MVWYMM1/
I also added a cutoff switch under it to kill juice to the system. I wired it all straight off the battery so it doesn't matter whether the car is on or off to run the lighting. Didn't want it to always sap power though, so I just turn it on when I want. Then there's a piece of black fleece I velcroed to the top - got a large one that spreads over the whole dash too.

View attachment 7598527
View attachment 7598528

She does have a pvs14 with a l3 unfilmed tube haha, but had to snag it for the photos

I would like to find a deadman switch to kill all internal dashboard lights when the headlights are off. Otherwise we will just rig up a towel or blackout curtain cut to the shape of the dash to velcro on.

deersniper · Apr 6, 2021

DoubleHaul · Apr 6, 2021

Until you get something dedicated, just running the dim amber parking lights works reallg well.

deersniper · Apr 6, 2021

DoubleHaul said:
Until you get something dedicated, just running the dim amber parking lights works reallg well.

That’s not very covert

mos2111 · Dec 7, 2021

Get the goblin bar in 850, but get the plug and play. It goes in the cigarette lighter and has magnet feet. I use it for what you're going to and like being able to see 100/200yd off with nods.

SGT Fish @ChevTec Group · Dec 9, 2021

Mounting pic rails to my front fender and helmet is how I rode my dirt bike at night for the first few years. Tlr-1s usually lasted long enough for a night. I still use the helmet one for scanning around. I really want an electric dirt bike now to mount some IR lights on and ride with NODs

jwramp · Dec 9, 2021

SGT Fish @ChevTec Group said:
I really want an electric dirt bike now to mount some IR lights on and ride with NODs

It’s a good time.

SGT Fish @ChevTec Group · Dec 9, 2021

I'm thinking something a little more offroad capable, but similar idea. I wonder if these Zero FX bikes have any IR lights.

Sorry to get kinda off topic.

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