Is "Spygear" any good?

[Cerlis]

I was wondering if this stuff is any good.

http://www.spygear.net/

I noticed that alot of the items i saw at Target seemed like fun for an adult. Hearing through walls device. Camera. Secret microphone.

Because that is who i have in mind for it.

However, i think it fully possible that these are ghetto versions of the real thing. Example being say, for the recorder you can only record 1 minute conversation and have to record over that and cant fast forwards or rewind.

And of course i'm sure one or two things probably dont work.

So i'm wondering if anyone here has actually bought some of these for someone and tried them out.

[Brother Oni]

I think it's fairly obvious that they're play/non serious versions of the real thing, given that a set of Spy Gear NVGs go for about 70UKP (http://www.zazdas.com/department/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcountry=218&idproduct=2890660&idcategory=0), while a set of the real thing is over 2 grand (http://www.nightvisiongear.co.uk/Night-Vision-Goggles-NVS7-2.htm).

[Cerlis]

I think it's fairly obvious that they're play/non serious versions of the real thing, given that a set of Spy Gear NVGs go for about 70UKP (http://www.zazdas.com/department/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcountry=218&idproduct=2890660&idcategory=0), while a set of the real thing is over 2 grand (http://www.nightvisiongear.co.uk/Night-Vision-Goggles-NVS7-2.htm).

well the question is not if they are as good as the true thing, but if they arent crap.

[Manga Shoggoth]

...Hearing through walls device.

Has the glass against the wall gone out of fashion, then?


Judging by the photographs:

I doubt whether the night vision goggles are any good (I seem to remember them coming up as a christmas present for my daughter last year - I was completely underwhelmed).
The long range walkie talkie looks like a standard PMR walkie talkie with a dye job (so you are probably paying a premium for a fairly standard piece of kit).
The video spy car looks interesting.
My daughter has requested the laser tripwire this year. I'm not hopeful, but at least it is technology that may work.

[Jack Squat]

They're kids toys, some are decent, some are crap. Most of the "night vision" stuff just shines a LED and makes you look through tinted lenses. On the ones that work, you're pretty much looking at the same technology that's in the old Digital-8 video cameras. Pretty much everything else works but is pretty low-tech.

What uses do you think this person will use them for? Goofing around - they're probably fine. Any sort of results based projects? I'd look into higher end gear.

[TechnoScrabble]

I got my nephew some of the spygear NVGs scratch that, they were eyeclops, and they work about as well as the ones I've used in the Army, only with a maximum range of about sixty yards.

I don't know about the other stuff, though. I remember the ones I got as a kid sucked, but they may have improved since then. I remember the safe never worked, the tripwire required constant careful care to set up that a kid just couldn't manage, the remote car was noisy and hard to drive.

[t209]

I got my nephew some of the spygear NVGs scratch that, they were eyeclops, and they work about as well as the ones I've used in the Army, only with a maximum range of about sixty yards.

I don't know about the other stuff, though. I remember the ones I got as a kid sucked, but they may have improved since then. I remember the safe never worked, the tripwire required constant careful care to set up that a kid just couldn't manage, the remote car was noisy and hard to drive.

One problem with real night vision though.
Remember when Homer opened up a flaregun and blinded the soldiers with night vision goggle. That's the problem, along with tracers.
I used to have a toy night vision goggle though. It didn't work (Black Outs were common when I was in Burma).

[Jack Squat]

One problem with real night vision though.
Remember when Homer opened up a flaregun and blinded the soldiers with night vision goggle. That's the problem, along with tracers.
I used to have a toy night vision goggle though. It didn't work (Black Outs were common when I was in Burma).


While maybe not something on these toys, high grade night vision can auto adjust to the light level.