Hot wired: Tools of the spy trade

By PAUL BRISLEN

You just know your next-door neighbour's really a terrorist. You just know it, but now you're faced with a problem: how to prove it.

Never fear, technology is not only your friend it's your guiding light. Today's high-tech observational tools aren't restricted to the military or field operatives of Her Majesty's secret service - anyone with a credit card can order just about anything you want.

Laser targeting

Sometimes you won't be content just looking at a distant object. Sometimes you'll want to know how far away it is and how fast it's travelling. Putting aside for the moment the tricky question of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, these 7x50 binoculars also sport a laser range finder that can pinpoint distance to target as well as the speed at which any object is moving. The display allows you to toggle between metric and imperial measurements. The laser is a class 1 so you won't have to worry about blinding anyone, or giving away your position as it's invisible to the naked eye.

The binoculars also have a groovy targeting system that let you pretend you're Luke Skywalker in Star Wars to boot. The Laser Range Finder Binocular System weighs in at 1.3 kg without its battery so it won't drain your muscle strength while you're out and about.

* Price: US$1195

Of course, sometimes you'll want to take a copy of whatever it is you're looking at. Hooking your binoculars up to a camera or video recorder can be a tricky proposition so Bushnell, makers of quality optics, have come up with the Bushnell Instant Replay Binoculars.

That's right, these bad boys not only let you look, they let you record your vision as well. Great for, well, bird spotting I would imagine. Unfortunately Bushnell's dropped the ball with this particular model in that the camera sees through it's own lens, so the quality isn't as good as you'd get looking through the eye piece. Still, the pop-up LCD is nice and the 2.1 megapixel camera is OK. The binoculars also come with a 16 MB compact flash card so you can take your photos and put them straight onto your PC. Great for watching the kids play soccer on a rainy day without even getting out of your car.

* Price: US$600

Sonic boom

Looking's all well and good but sometimes you've just got to hear what's being said to really appreciate the moment. Imagine if Hal 9000 couldn't lip read in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Boy, that trip would have gone a lot smoother for the astronauts, that's for sure.

The Super Ear is the latest in personal sound devices and let's you boost your natural auditor capability by up to 50 decibels using the adjustable microphone on this puppy. Light weight and able to be attached to binoculars, the Super Ear brings those bird sounds closer to home. Forget about moving to Wellington to better hear the tuis, you'll be able to pick them up from Mt Eden. With an "acoustically engineered sound boom" that swivels up to 180 degrees you'll again be able to recline in that deck chair and not raise a finger.

Price: US$39.99

Vision thing

You know where this review's heading by now, don't you? You know there's one device out there that above all else needs to be discussed. That's right, it's the night vision goggles. Why restrict your bird watching to the day time when with this, well, interesting head gear arrangement you can be alert 24 by 7. Weighing in at less than a kilo, the NZT-22 provides "life like viewing" in what is described as the best night vision gear in its class. "An excellent choice for law enforcement, recreational or personal use" says the box and the mind well and truly boggles. Its "hands-free flip-flop" mechanism means you can easily flip the eye piece up out of the way when you enter a well lit area so as to avoid blinding yourself but the lack of serious binocular enhancement does limit the options when stalking your prey.

Price: US$799