| Description: | Most night-vision devices and electronic sights either are sensitive to infrared (heat) radiation or use light intensifiers to detect their targets. Both have minor disadvantages: IR images can be camouflaged by insulation and LI requires background light to amplify. In addition, the user can only see as far as the unaided eye.
Commercially available at Tech Level 10, the image converter is sensitive to both infrared and visible light. It picks up both heat images and visible-light pictures. The converter can intensify these images, making night-vision possible, as well as magnify them up to 20x. Both functions are completely adjustable, but high intensification will cut contrast drastically, in if the image is bright enought to blink. A laser rangefinder is also included.
In infrared mode, personnel may be detected up to 3 km away, and vehicles at 6 km. In visible-light mode, personnel may be detected at 5 km and vehicles at 10 km. Note that physical concealment does not necessarily mean that a target is undetectable. The rangefinder is effective out to 7 km, making it useful for infantry or hunting use only.
Special hardware/software packages are available for hand computers tht expand the capabilities of the image converter. When hooked up to a computer using a graphics package, the image converter can be tied into a map box (allowing others to see what the user sees), and electronic "photographs" can be stored in the computer's memory. Another package allows the computer to calculate the speed of a target relative to the user.
Physically, the image converter is similar to a set of binoculars. Power packs are mounted inside the converter casing and average one week of constant use.
In Champions terms, the image converter binoculars provided a +12 to perception only for the purpose of overcoming range penalties, as well as infrared and ultraviolet vision.
Image Converter Binoculars: (Total: 67 Active Cost, 22 Real Cost) +12 versus Range Modifier for Sight Group, 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Week (Recovers Under Limited Circumstances; +0) (18 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), Nonpersistent (-1/4) (Real Cost: 6) plus Ultraviolet Perception (Sight Group), +1 to PER Roll, Discriminatory, Analyze, 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Week (Recovers Under Limited Circumstances; +0) (16 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), Nonpersistent (-1/4) (Real Cost: 5) plus Detect A Single Thing 11- (Sight Group), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Week (Recovers Under Limited Circumstances; +0) (3 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), Nonpersistent (-1/4) (Real Cost: 1) plus Nightvision, Discriminatory, Analyze, 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Week (Recovers Under Limited Circumstances; +0) (15 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), Nonpersistent (-1/4) (Real Cost: 5) plus Infrared Perception (Sight Group), Discriminatory, Analyze, 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Week (+0) (15 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), Nonpersistent (-1/4) (Real Cost: 5) |