Quote Originally Posted by Justin K View Post
Thank you Michael--this sounds like a great approach. Do you have an IR monocle and separate IR light source LED to recommend? I know nothing about those (yet!).
Ken Lee (of this forum) on his website under the tech section has some comments on night vision goggles. I wrote a summary of my experiences with these probably 8 years ago on the Azo forum but that forum has been discontinued.

Quick comments. Focus needs to be capable of about 18" minimum and out to be able to see your film in your hands. Headset is advised to keep your hands free. I turn the IR light source off on my monocle to ensure the red glow does not add fog to my film and only use the headset to collect the IR light that collimates it to one of my eyes so I can see in the dark. You should have a focus at the end of the monocle as well as at the eye piece and a cap to protect the collective elements of the device from room light. You can find these units online.

The external IR light source I use is a 24 LED IR circular light bank that plugs into the wall for power. You can find them on Amazon for $20 +/-. They are common for security purposes. They have a red glow that shows they are in service and since I want to avoid this I just point the unit into a wall in my darkroom and only IR light bounces back. Lights up the room nicely. You can use a 36 LED light bank as well. I put a second LED light bank behind my darkroom sink and cover it with a Walmart diffusion globe (so the red glow is not present) on a foot switch on my floor so I can do development by inspection getting a light source behind my film.