My tube has been occasionally going black like it was losing power for a split second here and there and completely died. I'm looking at a new power supply unit, aren't I?

The way to be sure is to apply voltage to the tube directly. What sort of device is this? PVS14?

I had that happen to one of my pvs14s at cola warrior west, and then it died while getting ready to run.  It turned out to be the pvs body housing itself.  The only way to know for sure is to test the tube and or components.

Maybe a loose tube?

Hmm yeah this, have you cracked it open to check if your internal connections are not coming loose for some reason?

How old is the tube?

"My nightvision is randomly shutting down!?!?" Is probably our most common problem here.

First: Change the batteries OMG change the fucking batteries!

Second: are you using a mount or J-arm with an automatic shutoff mechanism? I recently switched over from wilcox dovetail HMA (straight arm) to a norotos Dual Dovetail, immediately noticed it intermittently shutting off when I would look up or shake my head.

Solution is to apply a strip of electrical tape to the PVS14 housing body electrical contacts.

Third: the voltage doubler or other circuit in your pvs14 housing battery compartment could be failing.

Solution If unit is factory sealed under warranty, send in for warranty service.
Solution if homebrew, exchange battery compartments with a known reliable unit. Apply 3 volts directly to tube body to rule out failing PSU.

Fourth: Tube Power supply failure:

Tube will be slow to power on or require multiple start-attempts. Tube may work fine after succesful start-up, tube may flicker or strobe.

Solution: apply 3V directly to tube to rule out battery housing failure; look for slow startup, flicker, or strobe.

Ultimately you will have to send in for repot services, AEoptics can repot your tube module for $500 bucks and for most autogated tubes is worth the cost IMO.

Try battery first. It could be a psu issue, though. Could be lots of things.

Tried the battery
Confirmed it wasn't a jarm issue.
The tube would go dark like someone was hitting me with a high power IR illuminator, but without the point of illumination.
Let it sit for a day and now it powers up just fine.

Well, the problem came back, so I got a spare lower assembly. Now it's steady, but way dim.

a spare lower assembly? i am a little confused. what did you replace - the power on the housing, or the power on the tube?

The battery pack and the PCB.

It really sounds like an internal power supply issue.

are power supplies going bad a common occurrence. I did have a J arm cause power lose once.

Sounds like insulation breakdown in the potting. You could try dessicating the living crap out of the tube for a week ( eg, seal in a bag with lots of fresh dessicant ) and see if that fixes it - If it does, then you *know* its insulation breakdown and needs to be fixed immediate - Don't use any further than a test.


If not, then it could still be insulation break down.


Insulation break down causes arcing between high voltage parts of the tube, so that the tube runs under voltage and appears dark - It will often flicker somewhat until the problem is so severe that the tube can't start.


Hope this helps - If the tube was good before, then, well, a repair is probably the cheapest way out -


Don't forget Blackghost's comments earlier - try everything else first. Assuming a failed tube should be the final conclusion only after every other possibility is eliminated.


David.