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Posted: 4/18/2017 4:59:11 PM EDT
[#1]
09A Eye is my preference because I like the little button to flip the cap up--minor thing, hahaha
As has been noted, it does require some shimming, though, but I prefer the slightly looser fit to the "press fit" that a smaller cap might have. You shouldn't be spending too much time focusing your NVD once set for infinity, but comfort with that comes with experience. That being said, lens attachments are one of the reasons I prefer AVS-6 style translating objectives, versus rotational ones like on the AVS-9 and PVS-14, but that's a fairly minor issue. For sacrificial lenses, I just use thread-in LIFs, not necessarily for any laser protection, but just because I've got 'em, and I haven't found a need to really get or explore anything else. They degrade performance/light collection slightly, but in terms of practical consideration, versus scratching up/getting fingerprints all over my objective lenses, they're worth it for me. ~Augee |
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Posted: 4/19/2017 7:48:32 AM EDT
[#2]
That's funny cuz I always hated those little push-button caps; I always used an obj cap on the back. That little red nob always drove me nuts; I would be constantly re-spraying it. Yeah I was probably a little ADD about camo but what the hell.
For you guys that have laser filters, that makes sense to just use them as sacrificial lenses. And yeah I'm a little jealous. I'm a little confused about the "7mm" hole though. Understand the concept, the hole just sounds a little big? I have used something about .040" dia, or slightly bigger than the dia of the factory hole in an issue cap, just for testing the unit for power in daylight conditions, but it would seem to me that a 7mm hole is kinda big to use as a protective cover as well? Dunno just asking. I guess the only thing that would get fucked up is the sacrificial lens, as long as you remembered to shut off the unit. That being said, I plan to punch a hole in the BC to test this out. The concept sounds really good. It would extend the time you could use an IR laser during dawn and dusk conditions. |
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Posted: 4/19/2017 10:35:25 AM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That's funny cuz I always hated those little push-button caps; I always used an obj cap on the back. That little red nob always drove me nuts; I would be constantly re-spraying it. Yeah I was probably a little ADD about camo but what the hell. For you guys that have laser filters, that makes sense to just use them as sacrificial lenses. And yeah I'm a little jealous. I'm a little confused about the "7mm" hole though. Understand the concept, the hole just sounds a little big? I have used something about .040" dia, or slightly bigger than the dia of the factory hole in an issue cap, just for testing the unit for power in daylight conditions, but it would seem to me that a 7mm hole is kinda big to use as a protective cover as well? Dunno just asking. I guess the only thing that would get fucked up is the sacrificial lens, as long as you remembered to shut off the unit. That being said, I plan to punch a hole in the BC to test this out. The concept sounds really good. It would extend the time you could use an IR laser during dawn and dusk conditions. I like 7mm. This gives me solid focus on the pistol front sight. The rear is out of focus but highly visible. I am not willing to lose as much gain as Augee is and the pistol sights work fine for me - front sight focus is what's important, right? I get focus from front sight to infinity. The hole is still small enough that most objects/fingers do not penetrate. Dust will get in. It's a tradeoff I'm willing to make. Only the UVP gets the exposure. EDIT: If you need to extend the usability window for the IR laser then get an IR Pass Filter. This will cut most of the visible light and still pass the IR laser. |
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Posted: 4/19/2017 11:07:26 AM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That being said, I plan to punch a hole in the BC to test this out. The concept sounds really good. It would extend the time you could use an IR laser during dawn and dusk conditions. |
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Posted: 4/19/2017 11:26:49 AM EDT
[#5]
Thank you SOT & others for the insight. I will look at PN 30070 for the Butler Creek cover if the aforementioned velcro strips do not work well. In the long run, I think getting my IR flashlight helmet-mounted might eliminate the need to use the onboard IR at all, meaning the open BC cap has more places to go. Good. It would help if Ops-Core got their freaking acts together and shipped a product once in a while.
I will add a Tiffen 30UVP to my next Amazon order. Looks like $4. With all these millimeter hole-size suggestions, I have to ask: do you people really have millimeter drill bits lying around? I have a lot of tools, but when it's time to punch a hole through plastic I grab my drill, this thread, and a conversion calculator to turn the units back to 'Murica numbers. What gives? @Texasmusic where in Texas are you? We might need to go explore. |
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Posted: 4/19/2017 11:40:53 AM EDT
[#6]
I used metric because the military documentation I read was in metric and I just kept the momentum - then I cut apertures based on F-Stop sizes for experimentation and my F-Stop calculator was metric, so I ran with it.
We should all know that 5.56mm is about .223" and that 7.62mm is about .308" so we should have some baseline for estimation. |
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Posted: 4/19/2017 11:56:41 AM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Thank you SOT & others for the insight. I will look at PN 30070 for the Butler Creek cover if the aforementioned velcro strips do not work well. In the long run, I think getting my IR flashlight helmet-mounted might eliminate the need to use the onboard IR at all, meaning the open BC cap has more places to go. Good. It would help if Ops-Core got their freaking acts together and shipped a product once in a while. I will add a Tiffen 30UVP to my next Amazon order. Looks like $4. With all these millimeter hole-size suggestions, I have to ask: do you people really have millimeter drill bits lying around? I have a lot of tools, but when it's time to punch a hole through plastic I grab my drill, this thread, and a conversion calculator to turn the units back to 'Murica numbers. What gives? @Texasmusic where in Texas are you? We might need to go explore. 
Here is one of my caps. If you make the 3 strips wider you get a much tighter fit. I have one on a PVS 14 & I pretty much lined the whole thing & its a PITA to get on / off. But it sure as hell doesn't slip when you grab the thing to rotate focus ( I have to rotate the focus out 15 degrees to get the activation button to clear the battery compartment when changing batteries). I burned a hole in it with some .223 brass. I figure that gives me about a 0.23622" hole which is by far the superior hole diameter. 
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Posted: 4/19/2017 3:04:25 PM EDT
[#8]
I know I throw around the 5mm dimension a lot, because as SOT mentioned, 5mm and 7mm tend to be the "de facto standard" hole dimensions that seem to offer the best balance between focal length and light gathering.
At the same time, as has been mentioned, a lot of these used to be done with pin hole covers in the field using hot 5.56 and 7.62 brass to punch the holes. For mine, I used a standard Imperial drill bit from my not necessarily extensive set, and just put the Imperial dimensions into Google to find the closest to the dimension I wanted--I think I used a 7/32, which I think comes out to about 5.5mm if we're being techincal about these things, but I erred on the slightly larger side, it's not strictly an exact science--at least not for my purposes. As for why I stay on the smaller end, it has less to do with pistol sights (which I rarely, if ever bother to mess with with NODs--just not the type of shooting I typically do, though I will probably start doing it more now that I've got two pistols with RDS, including a T1 on a 6SM), and more to do with the amount of time I spend in and around vehicles, as well as C2 and other specialized equipment. A decent amount of that, however, is related to the specific position and role I am personally in. Depending on tasks, the 7mm (or 7.62 or 9/32) might be the better option as long as you're not having to do as much up close, fine manipulation--but still want a practical and useful close focus, and want to retain more gain. ~Augee |
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Posted: 4/19/2017 5:38:09 PM EDT
[#9]
Awesome posts guys. Really good info. As far as conversions, I used a .125" bit, which is close to maybe 3mm, and a .250 bit is gonna be pretty close to 7mm.
4mm= .157" ~ 5/32" 5mm= .196" ~ 3/16" 6mm= .236" ~ 7/32" 7mm= .275" ~ 1/4" or 9/32" |
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Posted: 4/19/2017 5:57:06 PM EDT
[#10]
Also on helmet set-up, I drilled two 3/32" holes in the RhinoII mount for bungee hooks. Now that sucker locks up really tight.
And drilled two 5/32" holes in the bump helmet, on top of shroud, and rigged paracord through them for a loop to attach the -14 safety lanyard to. I have a mini-"S" hook on the helmet side, tied off with a bolen, and just knot off the cord through the lanyard hole on the housing side. I would be interested in a loop to use a "S"hook on the -14 side as well. |
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Posted: 4/19/2017 7:07:01 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Also on helmet set-up, I drilled two 3/32" holes in the RhinoII mount for bungee hooks. Now that sucker locks up really tight. And drilled two 5/32" holes in the bump helmet, on top of shroud, and rigged paracord through them for a loop to attach the -14 safety lanyard to. I have a mini-"S" hook on the helmet side, tied off with a bolen, and just knot off the cord through the lanyard hole on the housing side. I would be interested in a loop to use a "S"hook on the -14 side as well. I also use a barrel knot on the little clips & etc. More low profile. |
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Posted: 4/19/2017 8:52:14 PM EDT
[#12]
Huh never had a problem with a bolen on any dummy cord. But hey I'll look at your knots, thanks.
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Posted: 4/19/2017 10:28:51 PM EDT
[#13]
Bowline knots work great. They are superior in most ways to a Figure 8. They don't seize. They're adjustable.
I quit using them and went to the Figure 8 after Lynn Hill screwed one up and almost killed herself. If you fail to tie it correctly it is easy to tie a slip knot. I figured if she could screw it up then so could I. With the PVS-14 lanyard you can tie a Bowline once and forget about it. You can loosen it to remove the line and then reset it. When we were rock climbing and my ass counted on it and I was having to tie off all of the time I did not want the extra stress. I don't want to argue how easy a Bowline is to tie. We climbed in the dark, in the rain, dust storms, etc. and the Figure 8 is just plain simple and, in my opinion, safer. The Bowline provides more utility. I'm sorry if I'm derailing here but I damn near get sick every time I think about someone's ass hanging on a poorly tied Bowline. End rant. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 7:10:44 AM EDT
[#14]
Duly noted. Like anything else, it's good training that helps you succeed. But that being said, anything can fuck up, and using alternate T,T,Ps that are more murphy-proof is always a good idea.
We practiced knots n stuff for endless days on deployment; not much else to do on a big gray boat, so you practice all the little shit that there never seems to be enough time for. The bowline (I guess I'll spell it right) was our go-to knot. It was non-slip but fairly easy to un-tie. We used it for everything, from rigging a helo for rappel (back before fast ropes) with GI static line, to tying off our pocket shit to our cammies, with survival kit cord. They even held up well (and un-tied!) in salt water immersion, which was especially important for us when we were doing shit over the beach. Although in many important apps, we finished it off with a half hitch, it usually held it's own, with a reasonable tail for the application. I would like to say with endless repetitions that I would never fuck one up, but I also know that can happen. So yeah, if a buddy ate shit on one, I'd be a bit leery of it as well. But just to say, I've used it for securing dummy cords, with para cord and survival kit cord for over 30 years now. It works pretty good. Enough to trust my NV to. As a side note, I gut the cord to make it easier for the knot hold. The mantle itself is plenty strong for this app. Again I want to say how much I appreciate this thread. Hard to find any good info out there on this stuff. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 3:07:19 PM EDT
[#15]
All of you have misspelled "taught-line hitch." For the intended purpose it is superior to every other knot that has been discussed.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 3:58:42 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
All of you have misspelled "taught-line hitch." For the intended purpose it is superior to every other knot that has been discussed. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 4:35:00 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Thank you for joining us in misspelling "Taut-Line Hitch". |
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Posted: 4/22/2017 11:10:09 AM EDT
[#18]
Don't care if I mis-spell it, as long as I don't mis-tie it.
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Posted: 5/1/2017 8:15:44 AM EDT
[#19]
Getting back to MNVD's, I wanted to ask you guys about batteries and storage. I have read that you need to store the unit without batts. OK, that sounds good for long-term storage when you're not using it, but what about for occasional use? I will turn my unit on and check function, or go out and train with it on a monthly basis at least, sometimes a lot more, as lately I have been upgrading my set-up, with advice from this thread (and thanks again gents). Are there any guidelines on this? Instead of taking them out, I just rotate batts on a fairly regular basis, which so far has worked for me. How about a service interval of say 6 months, or before any actual mission?
I have had flashlights which have corroded out on me, but that seems to be if you leave the batts in for more than a year or so, and they go dead. That's when you seem to have problems. Same with my OTAL (and SF light for that matter). Is this a viable technique, or train wreck waiting to happen? You read these horror stories of batts leaking out in units; is that safe queens that don't see regular use or what? |
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Posted: 5/1/2017 8:43:05 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
whats the best turn key "buy once cry once" setup? some white phosphor sentinels? Short answer: Maybe, depends on your requirements and how much you're going to use NV. |
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Posted: 5/1/2017 12:40:17 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Getting back to MNVD's, I wanted to ask you guys about batteries and storage. I have read that you need to store the unit without batts. OK, that sounds good for long-term storage when you're not using it, but what about for occasional use? I will turn my unit on and check function, or go out and train with it on a monthly basis at least, sometimes a lot more, as lately I have been upgrading my set-up, with advice from this thread (and thanks again gents). Are there any guidelines on this? Instead of taking them out, I just rotate batts on a fairly regular basis, which so far has worked for me. How about a service interval of say 6 months, or before any actual mission? I have had flashlights which have corroded out on me, but that seems to be if you leave the batts in for more than a year or so, and they go dead. That's when you seem to have problems. Same with my OTAL (and SF light for that matter). Is this a viable technique, or train wreck waiting to happen? You read these horror stories of batts leaking out in units; is that safe queens that don't see regular use or what? For me, anything that costs over a hundred dollars gets premium Lithium batteries or Eneloop rechargeable batteries. Neither of these batteries has proven to have significant occurrences of seal breach. Unfortunately, the Eneloop batteries are not well suited to NVGs because of their discharge curve and the "fresh off the charger voltage" can be high enough to smoke an NVG. They are however superior to alkaline batteries in almost every other circumstance. I strictly use Lithium batteries in the NVGs and I leave the battery in full-time for my main unit. Units in storage are stored without batteries at all. Even a relatively short period of disuse could spell disaster if you accidentally leave the unit turned on. The outer shell of a AA Alkaline battery is not just a casing to hold the battery together - it is also an active electrode in the chemical process and erodes during use. The seals cannot protect against erosion of the materials they are attempting to seal and this risk is highest when the battery is at full discharge. To me, it is not worth the risk - Lithium for the NVG. Eneloops for everything else. |
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Posted: 5/1/2017 1:18:54 PM EDT
[#22]
I've just been getting into the habit of removing the battery and setting it next to where I park my bucket.
It's a small task to remember, but given the cost of the unit the juice is worth the squeeze. I'd think cycling out your batteries perhaps every month and removing them each time would be the best case scenario for not frying your wizard eyes. That may be overkill, but at $4,000 (12) batteries a year seems like a wise insurance policy. Here's your whole year for $20.00 $20 |
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Posted: 5/1/2017 2:42:33 PM EDT
[#23]
To build on what TechOps is saying, let's look at some numbers in a proposed training schedule:
1) Rotate to new Lithium battery (assuming single battery model) Cost: $1.50 2) 1 intensive training session per month. 2 nights per session - 8 hours per night. 3) 1 hour per night familiarization session - 29 hours per month. This is a pretty heavy training schedule for non-military personnel. Total hours expended is 45 hours - approaching the end of life of the battery (assuming approximately 70 degrees environment). Rotating the batteries for the intensive portion of the training cycle ensures that there will not be battery failure during this critical period. If the batteries fail during a casual familiarization session then there is no serious loss. If you are training for the type of scenario where you are draining water heaters for potable water and eating dog food to survive then you may consider running your batteries to exhaustion and suffer randomized battery failure as part of your training regimen. If you don't want to be regarded as the idiot that failed to install fresh batteries before a training session then tell everyone ahead of time that randomized battery failure is a part of your training regimen. Any serious student or instructor should respect this provided the training is not so intense that a randomized battery failure will cause a serious hazard - driving, etc. Running Lithium batteries in this kind of training regimen still ensures that the batteries do not leak even when run to exhaustion (the risk of leakage while using Alkaline batteries is high). Consider the training you just experienced and realize that NVD Lithium battery consumption is only $1.50. The Cost/Benefit Analysis of utilizing Lithium batteries in conjunction with the Risk Versus Reward of using Alkaline batteries does not, in my opinion, warrant saving money by using Alkaline batteries. |
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Posted: 5/1/2017 5:46:36 PM EDT
[#24]
Outstanding gents, just what I was looking for. I was gonna mention lithium as well but didn't realize how connected they are to the whole battery discharge and leakage issue.
Duly noted. It's lithium batts from now on. And yeah fresh batts are cheap insurance for your investment. |
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Posted: 5/2/2017 4:31:55 PM EDT
[#25]
Switching gears here I wanted to ask about safety lanyards. I figure it's a good idea but don't have any real experience with it. Only fell face first into a big brush pile one time, and everything managed to stay on somehow. Also walked into a couple of trees with no ill results, other than some snickers.
With say a std GI set-up, of VAS shroud, Rhino II, J-arm, and -14, what/where is the point where the things break off/get loose in your experience? It looks like to me the Rhino would come out of the shroud first, followed by the J-arm coming out of the mount, and then the J-arm screw becoming loose at the housing. Is this about right? With that in mind, where do you run the safety lanyard to? I currently run a parcord loop attachment from the helmet, at the shroud, s-hook, paracord, to -14 housing. So no matter where it breaks loose, the -14 will not hit the deck. Although I'm not sure how all that crap hanging off my helmet is gonna act. If it pops at the shroud, the bungees will also support it- sort of? If it pops at the J-arm, then it's gonna hang down. SO, how tight should you rig the lanyard? As tight as possible to keep the unit as high as possible, or, a little slack so it clears yer face? |
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Posted: 5/2/2017 4:47:17 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Switching gears here I wanted to ask about safety lanyards. I figure it's a good idea but don't have any real experience with it. Only fell face first into a big brush pile one time, and everything managed to stay on somehow. Also walked into a couple of trees with no ill results, other than some snickers. With say a std GI set-up, of VAS shroud, Rhino II, J-arm, and -14, what/where is the point where the things break off/get loose in your experience? It looks like to me the Rhino would come out of the shroud first, followed by the J-arm coming out of the mount, and then the J-arm screw becoming loose at the housing. Is this about right? With that in mind, where do you run the safety lanyard to? I currently run a parcord loop attachment from the helmet, at the shroud, s-hook, paracord, to -14 housing. So no matter where it breaks loose, the -14 will not hit the deck. Although I'm not sure how all that crap hanging off my helmet is gonna act. If it pops at the shroud, the bungees will also support it- sort of? If it pops at the J-arm, then it's gonna hang down. SO, how tight should you rig the lanyard? As tight as possible to keep the unit as high as possible, or, a little slack so it clears yer face? |
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Posted: 5/2/2017 5:08:09 PM EDT
[#27]
The most likely point of release is accidental release of the J-Arm bayonet.
Loosening of the screw you're more likely to notice because it will mess with your "sight picture" before fully releasing, but it will happen. Rhinos coming loose from shrouds are not unheard of. The older pot-metal shrouds (usually black) would break fairly easily, newer machined ones tend to be a bit stronger, as are the RHNO II shrouds. VAS shroud should be fine, like the thumbscrew, the likelihood of all three screws failing at once before you notice something being off, barring a major face-rearranging trauma, is low. Regardless, always tether the device--not any other attachment, to a hardpoint (shroud is usually fine, except for older USGI plates). If you're using bungees and they're under sufficient tension to take out slack/rattle from the attachment system, you're pretty much guaranteed to eat NOD if the mount releases/fails. You take your medicine... regardless, I would not rely on bungees as primary retention. Leave only enough slack in your tether to be slightly loose when moving the arm up and down (or use a retractable lanyard), don't make it too tight to freely adjust, or too slack so that you have loops of string hanging down your face, and likely to get snagged/caught up in something. Once again, if you're going to get nailed in the face... you're going to get nailed in the face, another decent reason to wear eye protection, I say, is the low, but extant possibility of a chipped tooth better than your device taking a nose-dive onto concrete or falling out of a vehicle/helicopter/off a building/down a mountain, etc.? I guess it depends if you have dental insurance? I will say I've been nailed in the face with a device before... worst I got was a bloody lip, but no permanent damage, so that might be worth factoring as well, but I wear eyeglasses with polycarbonate lenses full time, so while they're not "traditional" eye protection, my eyes are always covered. ~Augee |
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Posted: 5/2/2017 5:21:35 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Switching gears here I wanted to ask about safety lanyards. I figure it's a good idea but don't have any real experience with it. Only fell face first into a big brush pile one time, and everything managed to stay on somehow. Also walked into a couple of trees with no ill results, other than some snickers. With say a std GI set-up, of VAS shroud, Rhino II, J-arm, and -14, what/where is the point where the things break off/get loose in your experience? It looks like to me the Rhino would come out of the shroud first, followed by the J-arm coming out of the mount, and then the J-arm screw becoming loose at the housing. Is this about right? With that in mind, where do you run the safety lanyard to? I currently run a parcord loop attachment from the helmet, at the shroud, s-hook, paracord, to -14 housing. So no matter where it breaks loose, the -14 will not hit the deck. Although I'm not sure how all that crap hanging off my helmet is gonna act. If it pops at the shroud, the bungees will also support it- sort of? If it pops at the J-arm, then it's gonna hang down. SO, how tight should you rig the lanyard? As tight as possible to keep the unit as high as possible, or, a little slack so it clears yer face? With the DDA I can attach directly to the housing lanyard point as designed and the controls are not impeded very much. Where does the system inadvertently disengage? At the Bayonet to Socket connection in my experience. You do not need to run into anything to make it happen - sometimes it just decides to eject. The RHNO II is far superior to the RHNO in this respect. My custom lanyard anchor keeps the J-Arm from unscrewing from the MNVD housing. EDIT: I have one helmet with a full ring bungee. I stretch the front of the ring over the mount and nest it under the release for the J-Arm. It is almost impossible for the J-Arm to inadvertently disengage on this helmet. |
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Posted: 5/3/2017 8:18:12 AM EDT
[#29]
Good info thanks. Yeah I wuz just wondering if it broke loose, where are you likely to get smacked. And yeah another good reason to be wearing safety glasses.
It doesn't sound like the newer stuff is prone to break away under "normal" use. But if it does, it's probably gonna be at the J-arm. The custom piece on SOT's J-arm sounds interesting. Care to share that with us? It sounds like a better attachment point, as it doesn't have to go down and around the housing and lay by the on/off knob. Hmm. Must investigate your bungee idea. |
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Posted: 5/3/2017 9:07:42 AM EDT
[#30]
Hey guys, I've got a demist shield that came in a package from a guy I recently bought my 14 off of on here, and in the manual it makes it seem like I can just pop this into the ocular side and then put the eye cup over it. Mine doesn't seem to want to fit anywhere. What am I missing?
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Posted: 5/3/2017 11:20:25 AM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Hey guys, I've got a demist shield that came in a package from a guy I recently bought my 14 off of on here, and in the manual it makes it seem like I can just pop this into the ocular side and then put the eye cup over it. Mine doesn't seem to want to fit anywhere. What am I missing? |
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Posted: 5/3/2017 10:20:36 PM EDT
[#32]
Yeah Ok the single bungee thing is pretty cool. I put an old pull tab from some pouch on it, so the webbing tab wedges under the J-arm lever.
Also finally punched out the hole in my BC front cover to .225. Now I see what you guys are talking about. Also pretty cool. Bump helmet rig is pretty dialed in at this point. Can't wait for my Revision A3 helmet to set this up again. |
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Posted: 5/4/2017 3:03:06 PM EDT
[#33]
I saw a store-bought version of the UV filter/BC cap w/hole mod recommended here and was just wondering. They are advertising it as away of navigating around brighter lit areas at night, as well as improving focus up close. My question is, how far can you push that without damaging your unit. Let's say you have a PVS14-17 or better. Can you safely operate in mixed light and no/low light conditions? Most of my experience is in the woods where I usually don't have to worry about that. In fact sometimes it's just the opposite, about as dark as up a pig's ass. So if you are moving through a built up area what kind of exposure to lights n stuff could you get away with, with the cover in place? Any kind of easily observable threshold here? Or does it just come with experience?
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Posted: 5/4/2017 3:50:29 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I saw a store-bought version of the UV filter/BC cap w/hole mod recommended here and was just wondering. They are advertising it as away of navigating around brighter lit areas at night, as well as improving focus up close. My question is, how far can you push that without damaging your unit. Let's say you have a PVS14-17 or better. Can you safely operate in mixed light and no/low light conditions? Most of my experience is in the woods where I usually don't have to worry about that. In fact sometimes it's just the opposite, about as dark as up a pig's ass. So if you are moving through a built up area what kind of exposure to lights n stuff could you get away with, with the cover in place? Any kind of easily observable threshold here? Or does it just come with experience? Here's my rule of thumb - If I am approaching a well lit area then the aperture gets flipped closed. If my image gets washed out with the gain down and the aperture closed then it gets turned off. If the area is so bright that NVGs are ineffective then it's definitely time to transition to white light, if needed. That's the baseline for starting. Experience will calibrate exactly where the line is. I do not like to use the auto-off feature. I like to turn the unit off. When I need the unit on again I don't want to have to turn it off and then on in two steps. Augee may have some wisdom to add to this. |
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Posted: 5/4/2017 4:41:58 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
ALL LIGHT damages a tube to some degree - it all comes down to degrees. Here's my rule of thumb - If I am approaching a well lit area then the aperture gets flipped closed. If my image gets washed out with the gain down and the aperture closed then it gets turned off. If the area is so bright that NVGs are ineffective then it's definitely time to transition to white light, if needed. That's the baseline for starting. Experience will calibrate exactly where the line is. I do not like to use the auto-off feature. I like to turn the unit off. When I need the unit on again I don't want to have to turn it off and then on in two steps. Augee may have some wisdom to add to this. Pm inbound with details SOT |
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Posted: 5/4/2017 4:42:35 PM EDT
[#36]
OK. Will have to go out and practice some.
BTW, if you had the bucks, would you get the store bought unit (Phokus Hoplite)? Overall quality looks good, it has a locking ring to snug it onto -14, a built-in sacrificial lens, and three aperture sizes you can change out. Do you think it offers any significant upgrade to a home-built unit? |
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Posted: 5/4/2017 6:14:43 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
BTW, if you had the bucks, would you get the store bought unit (Phokus Hoplite)? Overall quality looks good, it has a locking ring to snug it onto -14, a built-in sacrificial lens, and three aperture sizes you can change out. Do you think it offers any significant upgrade to a home-built unit? The purpose-built Phokus Hoplite looks like a good unit, though I have no personal experience with one. The selectable apertures let you experiment. The built in sacrificial window is a nice feature as long as it is replaceable. I think the hinge is friction instead of spring-loaded. I don't like spring loaded hinges because once the unit inadvertently breaks free it will open all of the way. I would like to see an IR Pass Filter included as an option in the flip aperture portion. If the Hoplite window is not replaceable then hopefully you can bust out the old window when it becomes scratched and run a UV filter behind the Hoplite housing like I do with the BC cover. I treat my windows with no mercy. If they get dirty or fogged then I just spit on my finger and rub the offending particles away, so I like them to be replaceable and economical because I scratch the crap out of them. If you need to run the UV filter behind a cover and the filter has too large of a profile then you can file the excess front of the filter ring down to the lock ring. I do this with my 55mm filters on my magnifier. |
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Posted: 5/4/2017 7:13:34 PM EDT
[#38]
Yeah I was thinking about that. I'd like the capability to not only replace the sacrificial window, which as the name implies is there to take one for the team, but also be able to use additional filters as required. If that's the case, it looks like it would be a nice unit.
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Posted: 5/25/2017 3:37:49 PM EDT
[#39]
ost
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Posted: 5/25/2017 10:35:29 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
ost My google result does not make sense..what's it mean? |
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Posted: 5/25/2017 11:24:18 PM EDT
[#41]
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I've seen this posted a few times now and still don't know what it means. My google result does not make sense..what's it mean? Makes it easier for him to find this thread again. |
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Posted: 5/26/2017 8:18:19 AM EDT
[#42]
OK since you guys brought this back up, maybe we'll collect some recent posts here. We've been talking about whether to wear MNVD left or right eye. Basically the conventional wisdom has been to wear it "other strong side", or non-dominant (hey Texas) eye, so 1) you can flip it up and engage with RDS with dominant eye, 2) and it helps to meld the two images together, mo better. Recent technique has been to switch to dominant eye, and use a riser to raise up your RDS, to allow you to use helmet mounted MNVD to view reticle and engage targets, with passive NV.
I have been practicing this a little bit, just with a 1/3 co-witness MRDS, and by golly it really works. I have a 1/2" riser on order to really explore this more, because with my current set up, I have to turkey neck a bit to see the reticle. Last night I practiced some come ups with IR illum to ID target, then engage with RDS reticle. They worked well together. The reticle did not wash out with illum on. The target lit up and the reticle closed the deal. Yeah I know that's not passive but some guys hunt here so that would be a good technique for them. As an added bonus this technique can be used to check zero of your IR pointer. I set up at about 30 m and just dialed the laser on top of the reticle. As an update, I have recently replaced my commercial UV filter with a GI LIF. I am using this as a sacrificial lens. Since it screws down into the lens housing, the BC 07 snugs down onto the lens housing much better. I expanded my diopter hole to .225". And it works. I was patrolling the back yard last night and when I looked at neighboring houses and other lights, the cover really cut down on glare and halo. This is an awesome set up for mixed/variable light environments. You simply flip it up when you encounter light, and maybe adjust the gain a little (I keep the gain down as low as possible so both eyes will meld into one image easier, with less strain. When you remove some light-gathering ability like this, you may have to adjust the gain). |
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Posted: 5/26/2017 8:35:26 AM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Old school tag. Post in the thread=subscribed to the thread. Makes it easier for him to find this thread again. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I've seen this posted a few times now and still don't know what it means. My google result does not make sense..what's it mean? Makes it easier for him to find this thread again. |
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Posted: 5/26/2017 8:41:39 AM EDT
[#44]
Also I saw an upgraded -14 housing for sale here. It looks like a good idea. Does anybody have any experience with legacy -14 housings being damaged? Normal or other use. I've seen some scuffed up -14's, but it was the obj lens housing that took the beating, along with the gain and power knobs. I like the concept of giving my investment more pro. Is it necessary?
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Posted: 5/26/2017 11:53:15 AM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Also I saw an upgraded -14 housing for sale here. It looks like a good idea. Does anybody have any experience with legacy -14 housings being damaged? Normal or other use. I've seen some scuffed up -14's, but it was the obj lens housing that took the beating, along with the gain and power knobs. I like the concept of giving my investment more pro. Is it necessary? |
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Posted: 5/26/2017 4:54:45 PM EDT
[#46]
Right on thanks and I will.
Just realized that the Pitbull has a 123 batt. Comments? The AA seems a no-brainer, as far as sustainability for civilians in a WROL type situation. But the 123 has been coming on strong for years, so the gap in availability is steadily closing. But the AA is special purchase in lithium, at this time, while the 123 is lithium only. So every 123 you find is usable vs finding lithium AA's. Std AA's could be used in pinch, but the risks from leakage are there. 123's no issue here. Until they can make a AA light to match a 123, we're stuck with 123 batts for illum. That being the case, having 123's for day/IR illum, and MNVD is a plus. If your RDS uses a 123, that would be nice as well. Ten years ago I would have said stick to AA's. But today? Dunno. Thoughts? |
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Posted: 6/28/2017 8:15:16 PM EDT
[#47]
I still can't believe we haven't stickied this thread.
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Posted: 6/29/2017 8:27:49 AM EDT
[#48]
The things I've learned here have been a quantum leap forward in NV tech for me. As an upadate, I have been training with the 1/2" riser under my RDS. It is really a phenomenal difference. My training partner finally tried it. He was very skeptical at first, the same as myself. But when he saw how effective it was, he was sold. He is currently upgrading his NV set up with the tips from this thread.
Also, I have finished my (ballistic) NV helmet set up. And will now help my bud do the same. We are going to take a surplus ACH and put a "gunfighter" cut on it. Then dress it out for NV. I would say that one of the "do's and don'ts" is to figure out what your requirements are, and not be afraid to experiment a bit. This thread has really re-energized me to examine my requirements and the gear I need to accomplish the mission. Sometimes you need state of the art, sometimes you don't. The trick is to figure out where and when. This thread has been a great help in that regard. |
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Posted: 6/29/2017 10:28:32 AM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The things I've learned here have been a quantum leap forward in NV tech for me. As an upadate, I have been training with the 1/2" riser under my RDS. It is really a phenomenal difference. My training partner finally tried it. He was very skeptical at first, the same as myself. But when he saw how effective it was, he was sold. He is currently upgrading his NV set up with the tips from this thread. Also, I have finished my (ballistic) NV helmet set up. And will now help my bud do the same. We are going to take a surplus ACH and put a "gunfighter" cut on it. Then dress it out for NV. I would say that one of the "do's and don'ts" is to figure out what your requirements are, and not be afraid to experiment a bit. This thread has really re-energized me to examine my requirements and the gear I need to accomplish the mission. Sometimes you need state of the art, sometimes you don't. The trick is to figure out where and when. This thread has been a great help in that regard. Quote HistoryQuoted:
The things I've learned here have been a quantum leap forward in NV tech for me. As an upadate, I have been training with the 1/2" riser under my RDS. It is really a phenomenal difference. My training partner finally tried it. He was very skeptical at first, the same as myself. But when he saw how effective it was, he was sold. He is currently upgrading his NV set up with the tips from this thread. Also, I have finished my (ballistic) NV helmet set up. And will now help my bud do the same. We are going to take a surplus ACH and put a "gunfighter" cut on it. Then dress it out for NV. I would say that one of the "do's and don'ts" is to figure out what your requirements are, and not be afraid to experiment a bit. This thread has really re-energized me to examine my requirements and the gear I need to accomplish the mission. Sometimes you need state of the art, sometimes you don't. The trick is to figure out where and when. This thread has been a great help in that regard. One thing I've personally noted is that I barely if ever use my surefire M1 or Princeton Light. Seems like unless you're in a confined space, there's really little to no use for it personally. I'd like to remove some stuff to shed weight, but likely better to have it and not need it than the reverse. Quoted: I still can't believe we haven't stickied this thread. I've never seen a mod have to interject into a thread here so it's hard to say. Was it not that guy who was banned? |
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Posted: 6/29/2017 12:53:00 PM EDT
[#50]
Diz, thanks for the updates on the engagement methodology with the RDS. I was planning on going this route entirely from the start, partially to cut costs in the IR laser department. I ended up with an OTAL as part of a package deal and have been using it to good success and am very happy. For the time I had abandoned the idea of passive NV-through-RDS as you describe, but now that you are posting you like it so much I think I'm going to work on it more. I'll start with a cheapie 1/2" riser on Amazon in conjunction with my 1/3 cowitness for testing.
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