Nitecore NU05 Mil are friggen awesome, and only $25. I'd totally put them on dogs. There's a new NU06 that I have too, it's nice (longer run time, multiple mounts) but you can't change modes while it's running - not a huge deal, but the NU05 Mil is idiot proof.

Nah. Guardian beacon's about $30 and is way more visible than glint tape.
https://tnvc.com/shop/guardian-dual-function-infrared-beacon/

They also make a dog collar adapter for it.
https://tnvc.com/shop/guardian-dog-collar-adapter/

That pretty cool!!

Thanks this may be the direction I go simply for cost and ease. I like the guardian as well.

I know this is not attached to a helmet or weapon. BUT it's another employment method. Attached File

I have a number of NU05 Mil IR great value proposition (and agreed bright and idiot proof!) - use them on everything from packs to backups for helmet etc.  Also rechargeable which is good.  Another, good solution (disposable) is the Unity tactical spark - fit very nicely onto the velcro squares on top of a cap or boonie.

PS just looked at one of the boxes - 940nm too (NU05).

I'm a dummy. Somehow clicked on the wrong thread.

That’s pretty cool.

In today's day and age, I'd be careful who sees me pointing that thing..

I realize you are joking, but only a dumas would think it's a weapon when used. I looks like a camcorder.

I see you have never taken a civil service exam.

LOL

@Roster-X

Sorry for the delay but here is a link to a dovetail mount, I didn't use this file as I found one and modified it in tinkercad.  I think this might work for a single unit but as I remember to get my Sionyx to line up with regular PVS-14's the dovetail needed to be extended:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4692105

This was more of what I started with, and modified to fit.  Mine has a bit of play but was more of a get it close and see if I can get one made out of aluminum or something.  I haven't gotten around to that part:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4362976


I doubt that is the same one I used but by now there might be several out there to get.

@Rooster-X:

Please see post above, I screwed up your username and @'s don't work on an edit.....

Got an email from Sionyx announcing the release of the Opsin helmet-mount optic. Looks like they only have a single-monocle mount and battery pack at the moment.
https://www.sionyx.com/pages/opsin



At $2595 it had better be pretty dang close to PVS14 performance
https://www.sionyx.com/products/opsin

Damn. I knew I wanted one - I was just waiting for this bump in advancement - and the mount. Fuck it

I just ordered an Aurora Pro and an LED lightbar for my boat. Would someone please recommend a cheap headgear setup? I've been digging through this thread for an hour and I'm still not sure what to get. Just want something like a harness and counterweight, and whatever attachment is needed for the Aurora that will allow me to change pupillary distance.

Opsin is available on guidefitter at a hell of a discount

No worries thanks for getting back to me. I found one of those on thingiverse and printed it.

Looking forward to some reviews! if they are good, they will make for a pretty reasonably priced set.

Found an easy get-started path here...

https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/Kit-me-out-with-a-Sionyx-Aurora---helmet--mount-and-all/5-2415357/

Are they saying it's available for shipping now?

It's not on Expert Voice yet, but Nightwave is. Since you have to qualify to purchase from both of those sites, I have no problem posting prices - everyone knows dealers and some others, get better pricing. Nightwave is $1355. Post Guidefitter's price if comfortable doing so.

1871 on guidefitter.
Night wave is 1121 on guidefitter

Damn!!!! Thanks - may need to see if I can qualify somehow (I'm on EV with .mil credentials). The MACHOS from LGS will have a mount available at some point.

Comes with a single mount

I meant that LGS says he'll make it MACHOS compatible for stuff like HMT, and if someone figures out a splitter cable or a USB hack, maybe duals.

I ordered one from OP, and it may be here this week if hopefully clicked on it  in time, because they only have 4 left.

I'm new to NV, and I may not be able to give an even remotely capable technical review, but I have have a pretty good idea of what to expect from checking out the NV forum, and this thread.

I don't have any camera equipment to probably get a good pic of it in low and no light conditions, but I'll try my best with my I-potato.

I watched a vid today with a youtuber trying 3 different tubes in no light conditions (L3 Unfilmed, Photonis Echo, Elbit Thin Filmed) and they were all pretty dark with the photonis being the darkest,Vid here no light starts right around the 3.07 min mark. so I'm thinking maybe I can expect the same from this, where I would need IR lighting in that kind of condition no matter what tube I would be using?

All Analog I2 needs *something* to emit light - nothing works in a Cave without supplemental IR. Congrats on being the first owner! As far as how to test, Unless you live somewhere that still has thick vegetation (FL?) on a moonless night, you'll probably have to go indoors somewhere, but not "cave dark". Make it so you can't see your outstretched hand, but it's not pitch black. The Pro worked fine under Moonless Starlight in the open, but when going into thick summer woods, the NL level dropped to 5 and it hit it's limit.

Thanks for the advice!

I will try it that way. I live on the outskirts of my town here but there is still streetlights on all night long unless we loose the power of course, which is every time a tree takes out the power about 3-4 time a year here.

I'm hoping I can zero an IR laser with it during the day until I can get out to my buddies land at night with it. Not sure if possible though? I was thinking with it being digital it might be possible?

I use my Pros all the time, under the bright, noon-day Sun - to check clothing and gear for IR reflectivity so I can paint them. I wouldn't point it AT the sun, but digital is safe. BUT ASK SIONYX FIRST, LOL (Try IG).

I just got it in but I have nothing to compare it too of course.

I live on the outskirts of my town so there is still ambient lightning here so it looks great here.

Last night I drove out to the hills where there is only moonlight-starlight and it looked pretty good there but I could only see so far into the woods which were fairly open on a trail, like maybe 40-50 yds. Seemed like it should have been brighter but I'm not sure there, because once again I'm inexperienced with NV. I played with the gain a bit but didn't see much difference.

From my only 3 weeks of research and checking out videos of Gen 3 stuff both green and white phosphorus, I'm not sure it's near as good, but I may be very wrong!

I think on a cloud covered night it might suck without IR, but maybe this is the case with most NOD's? Don't know.

Inforce IR light also just got here today so I tried it out in my attic with no windows and zero light there, and worked great in that situation. Without the IR it was just fuzz.

Not sure what I'm going to do. Going to play around with it for a few more days. Looks like it's going to be a cloudy night here on Sun. night so I may head for the woods and try it again.

Got it at OP so they will take it back and I will get something in Gen 3 white phos if need be.

Really hoping someone with far more experience than I will be checking one out soon so maybe it's good and I was just expecting too much of any NV is this price range?

I will say it is nice to be able to set it up during the day to get it all dialed in with it mounted on the helmet, because it took quite a bit of trial and error to get it just right for my egg head, and eyes.

I have it mounted up on a CNC machined knockoff wilcox mount I got on amazon for 250$. I'm pretty impressed with it. It locks up solid with no wobble at all.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PCH1YZ8?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I definitely don't like having the power cord sticking straight up from the battery and also at the optic connection.

I am at the furthest adjustment to the left I can get until it hits the jack connecting to the optic so it lines up with my right eye. I needed just a smidgen more that way to see the full screen view so I had to unscrew the dovetail and tweak it a bit on the Sionyx mini rail mount otherwise I would only see a little over 3/4 of the full view.
Attached File


I thought maybe I need to pay the price and get the Sionyx mount, but it looks like I would have the same issue when I need to adjust it to my left. Attached File


I think a 90 degree jack would solve this issue maybe.

Anyway that is all I got for now so please take this all with a grain of salt due to my inexperience. I'm just going to sit back for now and wait for more experienced members here to give their reviews, and maybe learn something here.

Hell yea dude! Congrats on being a first owner and post videos if you can!

Are you able to navigate around without bumping into things? How is the image lag? I think most of us want the answer to this specific question

Thanks man!

There is some good image lag when you first set it up but pressing the button closest to you two times clears it up quite a bit but there is still some there. When I was walking around and not looking for it, it wasn't as noticeable.

It's hard to explain because it's not bad at all but it's there.

So far I haven't bumped into anything. I turned around with a door behind me only a couple inches away from my face and I was able to judge it fine. Seems to have pretty decent depth perception.


Is there any lag with a PVS14?

I think I can bluetooth this with my phone and maybe take videos. I gota get into the manual. It will probably take my retarded ass a couple days to get this figured out

Hey cool keep us in the loop.  FYI, no lag in -14.

OK just took it down in my basement with almost no ambient light. Enough that I had to use the IR.

Depth perception was really good with this. I was able to hang down there for a while and put away some tools, and step over allot of shit on the floor without tripping on any of it.

Now the bad.

This thing has quite a bit of lag that I didn't notice last night for some reason. Maybe because I was being more carful due to this being my first time with NV? I was moving much slower with it last night compared to normal movement.

The quicker you paned right to left, up and down, the more worse the lag got.

It does recover very quickly but it is kind of distracting.

I did mess with the diopter some more, and the focus, but it didn't make it and worse or better. I even played with the exposure to see it that would clear up the lag but to no avail there either.

I worked around the basement for about 20 minutes, and was able to work through the lag, but I'm not sure I want to deal with this in the long run.

I did some sprints in the back yard while stopping quick to see how my eyes would handle the lag coming back into focus. Like I said it does come back quick, and maybe I could get used to it, but do I want to?

I guess for me this is not as much a review as it is me just learning here, but I hope I can help in some small way if there are others thinking about purchasing one of these.

ETA: Being that this is my first NV experience I have to say though even aside from some of the small disappointments I'm finding, this is really MOTHER EFFIN COOL!!!!!

Do you have a link to the manual? (haven't checked the site). Me thinks some settings need to be tweaked, especially if it has EIS (Enhanced Image Stabilization). If so turn that OFF. The Spec is 2ms for sensor processing, the Pro has 30ms and is unnoticeable, real world. I believe Gaming Monitors are 4ms, but maybe they are down to 2ms, I don't know. It appears it records, going by the webpage, if so look for resolution/fps settings and try 720p/30. 1080p/60 definitely performs worse, the darker it gets. If it has HDR, turn that ON. It's hard to guide you without knowing what is in there - can you take pics of each setting screen?. There also may be two settings screens: Quick press, and Press & Hold. You also need to determine what 1:1 is, if it has zoom. Screen Brightness on LOW is best for me on the Pro, Gain is usually at 0.0, -0.3, or -0.7

https://support.sionyx.com/en/support/solutions/articles/61000304190-opsin-user-manual-pdf-download-

Played with the exposure more, and at 0.0 and 0.5 seems to be the least lag. Recovers very quickly.

As it gets lower than 0.5 there seems to be black lines flashing across the screen. Of course I'm playing with it in daylight right now so maybe this goes away when it's dark?



Been scrolling through the menu and I don't see any resolution in there.

Long press the rear button and try FPS 30 in the dark. Short press is EV. Make sure NUC is set to Auto. Make sure Diopter is set for your eye, and front focus is good. If you have a walk in closet, or windowless bathroom, you can test in there

FPS 30 in the dark still has the worst of lag. 90 is still the best setting all around in dark and light.

Forgot to add the there is no auto setting for NUC. Just on and off.

I got a couple of pics from my attic which is sealed tight as a drum so with the door shut there is no light coming from anywhere.

Here they are in order of----

1st pic = door closed all the way with brightness all the way up.

2nd pic = door opened just a crack about 3/4 or less. brightness all the way up

3rd pic = door opened about 5-6"

4th pic = door closed all the way with Inforce IR light on, and FPS setting at 30

5th pic = door closed all the way with IR on, and FPS setting at 90. IR light is pointed at the floor ( notice the faint dark lines are gone here)

6th pic = door closed all the way with IR on, and FPS setting at 90  IR is pointed straight ahead as if you had it mounted.

#1 Attached File

#2 Attached File

#3 Attached File

#4 Attached File

#5 Attached File

#6 Attached File

Never dawned on me too look with my bare eyes when I had this thing on.

I want down in my basement again which this time had some outside light shinning in from a window next door. All this would pick up was the beam of light coming through the window, but anything outside of that beam was not visible, and just dark static.

I lifted up the NV and could actually see a bit better with my bare eyes. I could see outlines of everything. It still was really dark down there but I could see better without the NV. Of course if I used the IR it was clear as hell.

It's cloudy outside tonight and all lights were out all around me until the next door turned on their upstairs light so I have to try again outside later because of course it works great with help from IR or ambient light.

I forgot to also add a pretty important factor that in all fairness the pic's are not as near as bright and clear as actually looking threw the Opsin, which is why the pic's are quite grainy.

My bad, probably not a good detail to leave out!

It does not take a very good photo unless you use IR.

May be able to play around with the settings to get a clearer picture.

It still will need IR in complete darkness. IE: inside.

On device images always look worse than real life - same when guys take pics through Analog. A phone pic through the eyepice would be nice to see as well. Do you know how to gauge Night Level? That's really the only way to tell whats going on, with a reference point.



Pic 1 (NL6), nothing would work if it's as sealed up as you describe. Pic 2 and 3 are the interesting ones, but depends on NL. Outside, Moonless Starlight, In the thickest brush you have around, would be good...but it also depends on where you live - just outside of an average population center can mess everything up with just skyglow.

Awesome 'first shots' though, thanks - data, data data.

@gman556 Thanks for posting these.  

Keep in mind the following

(1)  all night vision devices rely on the presence of photons to work - if there is no "light" at all, no device irrespective of spec will form an image - so no surprise the device doesn't produce an image in a sealed roof space.  
(2)  the OPSIN is rated for moonless starlight - an important point, this is because there is a lot of irradiance (starlight) in the range 1000nm to 1200nm (SWIR).  It is worth noting the Pro was clipped at 1100nm whereas the OPSIN uses the full spectrum available to the SiOnyx Black Si.  
(3)  a good test for this device is footage or photos from open woodland on a starlight only night with or without clouds and with progressively thickening canopy.
(4)  to get the best image - switch NUC on (this is the non-uniformity correction), this will help reduce the "snow' in low light condition, set the frame rate to 30FPS and toggle through the various gain settings (under settings, Exposure value).  

My OPSIN should arrive in about 10 days, so will be able to add more then.  I would say my expectations are modest, e.g. a solid improvement over the Pro that hopefully allows the device to be effective in woodland under starlight (without skyglow) and in buildings with umbrella lighting where required.  The improvements being generated through better lens, F1.3 Vs F1.4, extended SWIR range 1200nm Vs 1100nm, much higher outdoor irradiance levels at 1200nm and from an eye relief and exit pupil POV larger AMOLED viewing screen 1920 x 1080.  There are other intangibles that are unknown e.g. is the 1350 detector more sensitive than the 1310 detector, has the processing software improved, has the electronic noise been reduced etc.

Having gone through the manual - I would like to see the following improvements through a firmware upgrade
(1)  compass, ability to switch to MILS or degrees
(2)  GPS, ability to switch to MGRS or as an absolute minimum UTM
(3)  add some basic AR capability e.g. the addition of waypoints or key location markers
(4)  add frame rates of 7.5FPS and 15FPS
(5)  add greyscale option

The above would improve the device significantly for the SAR and LEO communities.  

Looks like a Youtuber has some comparisons to Gen 2+

Been waiting for someone to do this. I wanted to get outside yesterday when we had a storm with cloud cover but I was up until 6 am the other day and shut down early last night plus there was still some ambient light glow from all around me so I would of had to take another trip to the woods.

@gman556 again thanks for digging up this video.  Very interesting.

Some take aways from my POV

(1)  The NUC function works very well and has a strong positive effect on image quality - clearly quells scintillation and produces a smoother cleaner image
(2)  The gain function appears much more effective than that found on the Pro - appears to produce better contrast
(3)  The depth cut through is very good e.g. cut through and clarity in areas of differing light conditions - very important to most users and critical for professionals
(4)  The performance in highlight nighttime conditions is excellent, again with higher clarity and better cut through than the Pro
(5)  Much improved low-light performance over the Pro

@GroundhogOZ

This definitely makes allot of sense to me. It's does work very well with highlight conditions.

I think I know what you mean by the clarity in differing light conditions. IE: under trees, and shady spots being visible where you couldn't see otherwise?

I like this a lot. Great 'quick grab' system that could be kept in a glove box to quickly peer at something down a dark road without the bulk of of a whole helmet contraption.

I like that myself if I could rig something up for the Opsin.