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Thread: Night vision goggles

  1. #11
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    Some of my buddies have saved up and gone with 14s with a good tube and a DBAL D2. Its the path I would choose if I was looking for more value from my savings. I just use mine a lot and the ol’ nerve bundle would miss stereo. A mono is much cheaper, and still quite good, though. It gets you across the capability threshold. In gun terms, a 14 is a 6920 and a UL BNVD SG is a SR15 or a proper M4A1.

    When I said “spend what it takes to get L3 filmless”, I didn’t have a specific number of dollars or tubes in mind. I should have said “buy however many L3 filmless tubes you can afford and still have enough leftover for a DBAL D2 and/or TLR VIR II”. I suppose I should add that a top-shelf thin-filmed tube would also get you across the capability threshold. Falls off fast below that, though.
    RLTW

    Former Action Guy
    Disclosure: I am affiliated PRN with a tactical training center, but I speak only for myself. I have no idea what we sell, other than CLP and training. I receive no income from sale of hard goods.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1168 View Post
    Some of my buddies have saved up and gone with 14s with a good tube and a DBAL D2. Its the path I would choose if I was looking for more value from my savings. I just use mine a lot and the ol’ nerve bundle would miss stereo. A mono is much cheaper, and still quite good, though. It gets you across the capability threshold. In gun terms, a 14 is a 6920 and a UL BNVD SG is a SR15 or a proper M4A1.

    When I said “spend what it takes to get L3 filmless”, I didn’t have a specific number of dollars or tubes in mind. I should have said “buy however many L3 filmless tubes you can afford and still have enough leftover for a DBAL D2 and/or TLR VIR II”. I suppose I should add that a top-shelf thin-filmed tube would also get you across the capability threshold. Falls off fast below that, though.
    I would say the majority of Elbit XLSH tubes are meeting omni viii minimums. You definitely have to know the basics when shopping, but for the most part I feel pretty confident in saying that any XLSH you get from TNVC is going to generally be in that ballpark. The absolute dogshit XLSH tubes I've seen are all coming from those gimmicky package deal rip offs. I've also seen some XLSH tubes that were better than the average L3 filmless, with the only catch being a few little blems in zone 3. I would absolutely love to get my hands on one of those.

    In any case, you can get a decent tube in a milspec housing with Carson glass for around 2500. I also saw on FB the other day there's a dude selling new DBAL full power units for 1400. Can't beat that with a stick.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Defaultmp3 View Post
    RNVGs with the best white phosphor tubes you can afford, preferably hand selected. Or DTNVS if you really want the articulation. TNVC is who I generally recommend, even though I'm not a fan of how some of their employees carry themselves online; they might be pricks, but to customers they appear to be the most consistent and trustworthy. I have also heard good things about High End Armament Technology (AKA HEAT) and Kosher Surplus. I would steer away from Steele Industries, US Night Vision, and Night Vision Inc. There are a bazillion other little shops/assemblers out there, who might do great work, or might not.

    GPNVG-18s are pretty legit, they do bring serious capabilities, but the civilian available ones appear to have rather mediocre tubes, with no ability to hand-select (unless you were willing to drop the cash to buy the system yourself and then swap out all 4 tubes).

    Hard pass on the PVS-31 as a civilian; their fragility and minimalistic features makes them a poor choice outside of cloning, IMO.

    The problem with JRH is that you're mostly stuck with NVD housings, which tend to be a bit less well-supported; they're perfectly fine for most folks, I'd wager, but there's less aftermarket accessories. That being said, if that's not an issue, and the various NVD housings fulfill your requirements (I personally have no interest in any of their housings with the availability of the DTNVS), JRH is probably right up there with TNVC in terms of customer satisfaction.

    The Boson Systems MNVG and Nocturn Industries UANVB Katana are both interesting housings, but both are yet to be widely released, so meh.

    Just as an explanation, I personally chose the RNVGs with hand-selected L-3 22UAs, with an emphasis on having low equivalent background illumination (EBI). I did not see much use in articulation for myself, as I don't plan on running around enclosed spaces a lot with the NODs flipped up, particularly in vehicles, which is where the articulation is a huge boon due to its ability to fold flatter against the helmet. Nor do I plan on often mounting a rifle with a CNVD or operating a thermal device, so having one pod up and one pod down didn't matter to me. Instead, I preferred the simplicity and durability of the solid aluminum housing. That being said, if I absolutely wanted articulation, I would likely go with the DTNVS over the various NVD housings, due to the reported high durability of the DTNVS, the interpupillary distance (IPD) stops and better aftermarket support. I do not see much use in the big feature that the NVD housings offer that the DTNVS lacks, manual gain, due to the fact that I have high quality tubes and am running dual tubes; manual gain can be useful in monoculars to help match your unaided (or thermal) eye, or if you have poor quality tubes where excessive gain could cause issues with image quality.

    Disclaimer: all my information comes mostly from reading, with some minor CQB FoF experience under NODs.
    Spot on. You saved me a lot of typing.

    I personally don't see the hype in articulation, so the RNVG was an easy choice, especially considering the durability advantage. After owning duals and having used single PVS14's, I'd never choose a monocular over duals if money wasn't an issue. RNVG is also nice as it allows you the ability to run an external battery pack if so desired, and the on board illuminator comes in handy on occasion.

    I personally went through TNVC for my RNVGs. I'd done business with them in the past with good results, so it only made sense. I waited a little longer for hand select tubes and would absolutely go that route again. They were right on their estimated wait time and the specs I received were awesome.

    Specs:

    Tube 1: 2800 FOM (38.9 SN, .7 Halo, 72 Res, .3 EBI)

    Tube 2: 2685 FOM (37.3 SN, .8 Halo, 72 Res, .5 EBI)

    Of course, specs aren't everything but a 2743.2 FOM average is insane, especially considering I didn't pay any extra for hand select tubes. I feel like I can see the future with these things.

    I've seen JRH mentioned many times across numerous boards with very positive reviews, so I'd consider them good to go as well. Them now being a site sponsor here is also a plus.

    I've attempted to give Night Vision Inc. my business in the past, and the experience was absolutely terrible. Probably the worst experience I've had with any vendor, ever.

    If you get into night vision with the mindset that $5k is your minimum starting point, then you'll likely do alright so long as you stick with a good vendor (TNVC, JRH, etc). Where people run into problems is trying to get into the game for $1k-$3k total, only to find out the vendor lied about specs and materials, or the buyer didn't understand the generational differences and specs, and ends up overpaying for junk.

    (Also, M4C still needs a Night Vision sub forum).

    Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

  4. #14
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    The BNVD is an excellent system; especially the UL which uses RP Optics. I believe NVD was one of the first to the game when it comes to using the lightweight RP Optics which seem to have gained a lot of popularity recently. IPD stops are a non issue as many have said. I do like having the articulating feature as it gives me more options for placement of the goggles when not actively looking through them. I’m not sure what the mentioned disparity in aftermarket support for the BNVD is because essentially every housing is proprietary but they all use the same optics (PVS 15 and 31’s excluded).

    Get the best tubes you can afford in a common housing and I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pappabear View Post
    What are the goto NV Goggles. A friend is asking ?
    Any help much appreciated.
    Here are bunch of links on the subject. I have added this thread as well...
    We need a dedicated NV sub forum...
    Gettin' down innagrass.
    Let's Go Brandon!

  6. #16
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    Just had a couple deals drop on BNVD dual tube sets that might interest some here-

    BNVD no gain (what most call "auto gain") with Photonis Echo spec Green phosphor tubes on sale at $5595.

    https://www.jrhenterprises.com/BNVD-...oBNVDGREEN.htm

    Also WHITE Phosphor available in same model-

    https://www.jrhenterprises.com/BNVD-...DWHITEPHOS.htm

    Best part- they are currently shipping in 1-2 weeks. No 16-30 week lead time on these.
    Site Advertiser


    www.jrhenterprises.com
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  7. #17
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    While I would love NV Goggles, I am satisfied with my Green Phosphor PVS-14. I am a divorced Dad with 2 teenage Daughters. Money is tight. I got the best I could afford. To me, the PVS-14 I have has a great tube. Very clear, bright, no real blems that I can detect. It serves my purpose couple with a Dbal and IR illuminator.
    Last edited by Red*Lion; 06-10-21 at 13:29.

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Red*Lion View Post
    While I would love NV Goggles, I am satisfied with my Green Phosphor PVS-14. I am a divorced Dad with 2 teenage Daughters. Money is tight. I got the best I could afford. To me, the PVS-14 I have has a great tube. Very clear, bright, no real blems that I can detect. It serves my purpose couple with a Dbal and IR illuminator.
    Your family is way more important than flexing $10k. You made the right choice.
    RLTW

    Former Action Guy
    Disclosure: I am affiliated PRN with a tactical training center, but I speak only for myself. I have no idea what we sell, other than CLP and training. I receive no income from sale of hard goods.

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1168 View Post
    Your family is way more important than flexing $10k. You made the right choice.
    Thanks. The PVS-14 is vastly superior to the PVS-5's, PVS-7's and passive viewers (M1A1 Tanks) that I used while in the Army, Army Reserves and National Guard.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Red*Lion View Post
    While I would love NV Goggles, I am satisfied with my Green Phosphor PVS-14. I am a divorced Dad with 2 teenage Daughters. Money is tight. I got the best I could afford. To me, the PVS-14 I have has a great tube. Very clear, bright, no real blems that I can detect. It serves my purpose couple with a Dbal and IR illuminator.
    I want/need NV, my dog needs surgery to remove a tumor. My dog is going to get the surgery. Priorities.
    Gettin' down innagrass.
    Let's Go Brandon!

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