I am new and ignorant to most NV. I am thinking about buying a used armasight pvs-14. The seller is telling me that it is 3rd gen. How can I confirm that is is truly 3rd gen? Thanks in advance for any replies.

If the unit is from Armasight then ask the person you're trying to get it from for a picture of the sticker labeled on the unit itself. All PVS-14's have some sort of manufacturer label on it with serial numbers, NSN's (if military contracted), part numbers and other information regarding the unit. Another in-depth way is for him to send a picture of the tube itself to help identify what kind of generation he has. I hope this helps.

Out of hand - by the label.

In hand - Gen 2 generates an empty circle around point light sources when out of focus, has tracer effect with point light sources, washes out in lower light levels than Gen 3. Gen 3 will have a solid halo around point light sources, no tracer effect with point light sources, potentially have autogating whine, resist washing out in dynamic lighting conditions.

What did I miss, guys?

Will be hard if you've not seen one before for comparison. I would try peek through the very edges of the ocular (adjust diopter if needed to get them in focus) if you can see any labeling on the tube and then come back and write them out here. Armasight does use some Russian Gen3 too and they may not have any labels.

I was thinking exactly this as I was typing my previous entry.

Figured you might've, and while you came up with a clever solution I think that personally before seeing either Gen2 or 3 I probably couldn't have done it by eye.

Just from the performance alone this will be impossible as some Gen2 that Armasight sell are good enough to pass as Gen3 for someone who's not seen one. The cosmetics might be a way but I can't say as I haven't seen that many different Gen2 tubes.

I went back and looked at it again. There are no stickers/tags on it anywhere. The only markings on it are on the on/off/etc twist knob. The pawn shop is trying to sell it as an Armasight pvs-14 Gen-3. I ask the guy how they know it is a armasight gen-3 being it has no markings. He could not answer me, so I asked to see the tube markings and he said I could test it in the dark but not pull the tube. They only want $1500 for it but it seems to good to be true. ???????

If it's an armasight it will have an armasight logo some place on it. Sounds like someone built this and he's passing it off as an armsight. Just my opinion. As far as being gen 3 is it autogated if so listen for the whine the tube will make. Put it up to your ear. It's not unheard of gen3 pvs 14s selling for 1500.00 they do on EE here in arfcom every so often. As far as helping you any further. It's kinda of hard to do without being there or not having a pic of the tube.

He does not have to remove the tube just unscrew the rear lens so you can see the info on the tube. Then screw the rear lens back on. Now if the unit has been purged. You just lost the purging by doing that. But that's truely they only way to be 100% positive as to what tube you have omni wise

I would probably test it and make sure it works. If it works and there aren't any major blems and it isn't covered in sand from being overseas I would probably tell the guy it isn't an Armasight and offer them $1200. It is a pawn shop so they have at least 20% markup on it, and I'm betting closer to 50%.

I don't know why, but it seems all unmarked PVS-14s become "Armasight" at the point of sale. Lack of markings does not kill the deal for me but it's not a good sign either. Usually a seller will not be comfortable with you removing a rear lens for inspection because they have no understanding of how it is built so they're scared that they are about to lose their item's value if it does not go back together properly.

It does have manual gain, right? Most Gen 3 do. Most Gen 2 don't. Look for that, but just because it has the knob does not mean that it has manual gain. It could have a mismatched tube/battery compartment. You need to run it and see if the gain runs up and down to know for sure.

I like the $1200 number that someone mentioned. If it's Gen 2 then you paid $1200 for Gen 2 and you are off to a good start. Gen 3 has advantages in most circumstances but Gen 2 does have its merits.

Don't forget: If it does what you need it to do then it's a good unit. Don't get dragged into the religion of "Thou shall not utilize Gen 2. Yea, verily, even the blind could see that Gen 2 has more gain and better resolution."

Thanks to everyone who replied with your knowledge and pointers. I am going to try and go back and get some photos and to test it in a dark room.

Hey just to help you out I bought an Armasight PVS-14 GEN 2+ with a C Grade tube in it. Go up to the "identify tube" thread towards the top and my pictures will be in there.

I bought an armasight Gen 3 for $1400 used.

You can look through the eyepiece lens with an LED flashlight without removing the lens and possibly read some of the numbers on the label on the rear of the tube, post what you find here and someone can help id the tube