NVG Equipment Gallery

[EastCoastShooter]

Beautiful. New tubes?

[c3sk]

Originally Posted by EastCoastShooter

Beautiful. New tubes?

Ya, omni 8 contract W91CRB tubes.

[EastCoastShooter]

Sounds like we need some thru-the-tube pics to me...

[c3sk]

Originally Posted by EastCoastShooter

Sounds like we need some thru-the-tube pics to me...

I'll post some tonight, looks like every other gen 3 tube :P
Omni 8 has a lower spec threshold than omni 7

[ericwilliam]

Got some AN/PVS-5B's, Gen 3 Dual Tubes.
MX-9916/UV Intensifiers

Modernizing them. PVS-14 Dual Adapter in the mail right now. Going to be wired to an ANVIS LPBP.

[rockafella]

Great idea! Might be looking to do a similar build ....how much do the PVS-5b's go for these days? Any suggestions where one would find these in Canada, an ANVIS adapter and an ANVIS LPBP?

Originally Posted by ericwilliam

Got some AN/PVS-5B's, Gen 3 Dual Tubes.
MX-9916/UV Intensifiers

Modernizing them. PVS-14 Dual Adapter in the mail right now. Going to be wired to an ANVIS LPBP.

[Amoki]

Gents, if you don't mind me asking: what is a good Gen 2+ SHP setup to grab?

Old threads repeatedly have the (Dipol) D-300 Gen 2 SHP, but Google-fu says that no one seem to be carrying those any more.

[ThunderCactus]

Any gen2 with photonis xd4 tubes. Its all about the tubes.

[Amoki]

Need some NV advice in a pinch, gents. (in terms of NV information online, you only really have the arfcom dudes who don't have ITAR to contend with)

I have been making a few enquiries online and have come down to 2 options with the same price point. One is an Armasight NYX-14 Bravo, with tube spec of 57-64lpm, and 16-30 SNR. The other is a Photonis Gen 2+ offering from Alpha optics, with 64lpm and 20 SNR minimum WITH Autogating.

Which one should I go for? My understanding is that because Armasight NVs are built in the US before they go to Canada to be exported, they have the FOM 1250 export limit anyways. So that means the Armasight offering will be a low-end Gen 3 tube. Armasight also does not guarantee your tube SNR/LPM value without an additional $400 charge.

The other option is to save up just that little bit more for a GSCI PBS-14 running a GaAs tube (non-AG). But my understanding of autogating is that it is the difference between having a 4-figure paperweight and a NV that you can still use after a 1000-lumen light is shone at you. Am I correct?

[ThunderCactus]

photonis tube hands down.
autogating just prevents really bright light sources from damaging the tube. It also reduces bloom or halo from bright light sources.

[Amoki]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

photonis tube hands down.

Why? Gen 2+ SHP is Gen 2, right?

[ThunderCactus]

And a mercedes GT S AMG is JUST a sports car.
The armasight could very well be using a photonis tube anyway, but best to make sure and get an NVD that states it has a photonis tube.

[Amoki]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

And a mercedes GT S AMG is JUST a sports car.
The armasight could very well be using a photonis tube anyway, but best to make sure and get an NVD that states it has a photonis tube.

Don't quite understand the Mercedes analogy. (I'm an Asian engineer who drives a Toyota Camry and works in a dairy factory, lol)

I know Photonis brought Gen 2+ tech way further than what the Yanks were doing in the 90s, but can I expect a performance that is equal or exceed the lower-end Gen 3 tubes? That's kinda the main deciding question. Obviously I'm not expecting Gen 3 Omni 6/7/8 quality.

[ThunderCactus]

In terms of clarity and target ID, yes. In terms of gain and ease of walking around at night, iffy.
The main difference between gen2 and gen3 is that gen3's sensitivity peaks in the near IR spectrum, making it more effective for picking up the ambient IR light available at night.
Downside is if it's REALLY low end gen3, the lower resolution and lower SNR will affect your ability to ID targets.

It's a similar situation to comparing top end gen1 to bottom end gen2. The top end gen1 has excellent clarity and decent resolution, but the gain is shit. The bottom end gen2 has WAY better gain, but it just as ineffective as gen1 because the noise and resolution is so bad.

However as I said, the gen3 is operating in a different spectrum than gen1 and gen2. Ultimately it really comes out to dollars per effectiveness. If we're talking old ass like omni 2/3 tech, then I'd rather have a photonis SHP tube

[Azathoth]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

In terms of clarity and target ID, yes. In terms of gain and ease of walking around at night, iffy.
The main difference between gen2 and gen3 is that gen3's sensitivity peaks in the near IR spectrum, making it more effective for picking up the ambient IR light available at night.
Downside is if it's REALLY low end gen3, the lower resolution and lower SNR will affect your ability to ID targets.

It's a similar situation to comparing top end gen1 to bottom end gen2. The top end gen1 has excellent clarity and decent resolution, but the gain is shit. The bottom end gen2 has WAY better gain, but it just as ineffective as gen1 because the noise and resolution is so bad.

However as I said, the gen3 is operating in a different spectrum than gen1 and gen2. Ultimately it really comes out to dollars per effectiveness. If we're talking old ass like omni 2/3 tech, then I'd rather have a photonis SHP tube

been a long time since i posted anything. Frank I think you did a poor job of explaining it. Pictures for the under educated on the subject.



700 NM is nominally where IR truly starts. In the scientific literature the number is 750 as humans and some animals see bleed through in the 700 NM range. The above graph shows that GEN II tubes require VISIBLE light to get peak performance. The majority of what GEN II can detect is in the visible spectrum. Technically you can calculate the area under the curve of Gen 2 you will probably find that >66% of the amplification requires VISIBLE light.

I have seen the same graph with GEN 1 plotted on it. Basically Gen 1 doesn't ever go above 0.10 response under any light condition.

This graph is key to understanding why certain IR flashlights and IR glowsticks don't seem to 'work'. Military grade IR light sources are >800nm+

Most easily found civilian IR light sources:




Lets say that's 770nm. Basically if you are running Gen II you can see the response from the tubes are VERY poor when compared to Gen 3. Gen 3 is gathering no less 5 times more sensitive.







High performance Gen 2 is superior to OMNI I - III However, I haven't seen a Gen 3 Tube < OMNI IV ever. I can't ever recall seeing or reading of units with lower than OMNI III spec being available for sale ever. Ibso facto no gen 3 tube that is currently available would be inferior to a Gen 2 HD tube