I'm new to gen III NV since it was mostly out of my budget  range. I managed to pick up this unit used from a retailer (usnightvision pvs14). Over all it seems to be in good shape besides some signs of use, like the battery cover capture wire was broken and there is a small nick in the ocular lens.  I detect no burn marks or other anomalies in the image, the edges are crisp. In low light viewing it will do the small black traces when looking at a relatively bright light compared to the ambient light, like a light bulb on a distant house. In brighter conditions it does not do this. There were some tiny black spots which turned out to be dirt on the tube. I figure the nitrogen purge is long since compromised. No writing on the part of the tube that was visible with the ocular lens removed (is that normal?) I suppose I would have to disassemble the unit further to determine the type of tube (I would like to know).

I read somewhere here that to truly test the tube you need to see how it performs in a very dark environment.  Last night was heavy cloud cover and no moon, so I snapped a couple pics. The first is nearly pitch black to the naked eye, the second there was a little more ambient.  The ipad does not take very good pics, I had to turn the gain up to get an image.  Through the naked eye the image was much better on  a lower gain setting. I'm interested in the opinion of those with more experience.  The unit cost me $1200. Thanks in advance.

I am sure most will agree the value is mostly in the tube. I personally would pay $300 to $600 for a used housing depending on the condition. The ability to see in the dark is priceless to me, since its my passion. Doing that for $1200 seems like a great deal. Knowing the performance specs. On the tube is the only way to truly judge its value. Even that does not help when trying to sell it to a buddy. Letting him look through it  and say " damn it looks like daylight out here" has the most value then . I am sure you could get your money back anytime.

It freaked me out he first time I look through it, and then looked with naked eyes to make sure it was will dark outside lol. With a good amount of starlight it looks like late afternoon. My only previous experience  was with a crappy Russian gen I. Can I do any damage disassembling further to check for numbers on the tube?

The tube retaining ring removal tool can be bought off ebay for about $30 . Runing a screwdriver across the output screen after it slips will greatly depreciate its value:) . If it was mine I would send it to I2 technologies for cleaning, reassembly, collamination, purging. All for less than $100 . Pete can also give you some performance specs.

You should be able to see any relevant tube numbers without having to remove the retaining ring.

Snap a clear photo and post it here with the S/N blurred or covered.

I'll snap a pic, but I can see no numbers with the ocular removed.

Then it's either not a .MIL-spec tube or the label has been removed.

Either way, not a tragedy. If you're happy with the performance and price that's all that matters.

Here is a pic:

Hmmm... can someone confirm if this is a repot?

What is a repot?

"In low light viewing it will do the small black traces when looking at a relatively bright light compared to the ambient light, like a light bulb on a distant house."

i think it s the phosphor persistence effect
it s not a big deal
Some tubes show this more than others
It is caused by panning the scope across bright lights and they disappear quickly once you move the scope away from the bright light that caused it

http://www.ndia.org/Divisions/Divisions/ScienceAndEngineeringTechnology/Documents/Pan,%20Lu,%20-%20Lu.pdf

if you can open the house,maybe there are more informations on the tube side
and the pigtail can give us more clues

this kind of photo for example




thx

repotting = a tube that someone had an issue with and repaired it either themelves, or professionally. The potentiometer screws that you see below the light pipe (clear plastic ring with 2 tabs) are generally filled in - I'm guessing that is why Horta is asking about repotting.

If it works for you, and it came from a legit retailer, I wouldn't worry a whole lot. $1200 is a pretty good price on a PVS-14 - especially if you have a receipt and possibly a warranty. Heck, for the price you paid, you could buy two of those and use them in a binocular setup and still be under the going price of a new PVS-14.

Pretty sure the US night vision label was on the recent batch of APEX gen 3 14s. The one I looked thru was a great deal for $1200.
Op I sent you an IM.

Thanks everyone who has responded, this forum is a nv treasure trove of information..

I did ooen the housing. The pigtail looks like l3 style and no numbers written on it that I can see. The kids woke up early from their nap so i didn't get a pic.

The tube has a hand engraved number on its side. It looks a lot like the repot tube in the tube id sticky (see quote below)) except i know mine is autogated.

Can any info be gleaned off the engraved number on the tube?

Another tube with similar features:

http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=6&f=18&t=363314

The exposed pots and hand etched number. I'm thinking my tube is an AEO, sound like a reasonably accurate conclusion? I wonder how it ended up in a usnightvision housing.

Double post.

the serial can start with the company name
like AOE or ANV for american night vision

do you know if it s autogated??
if you have a doubt, autogated tube emits a slight whistle.

Here is another for the tube ID thread. I am new to this but I gather this is a AEO tube?

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1080x768q90/540/DxntUk.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1080x768q90/538/8rWNEr.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1080x768q90/673/tE806O.jpg

Sounds like it is autogated, then.