Also look at the systems using Echo and XLSH tubes at our sister company Night Goggles.

Same limited lifetime warranty and most importantly a 14 day return policy.

Thanks for the mention.

Also the popular BNVD platform is now available with Photonis tubes and single gain control. So now the entire BNVD line up with various tube options are available with single gain control.

We put some comparison pics up on our industry forum comparing two closely spec'ed BNVDs, one with Photonis Echo WP tubes and one with Elbit XLS grade tubes.

Previously the BNVDs with Echo spec WP tubes were only available in a no gain (what is commonly called "auto gain") configuration. They just recently started offering them in single gain configuration.

"Single gain" means one gain control knob to control the gain in both tubes.

The single gain version on the BNVD with Echo tubes is a new thing just announced at Shot show.

Pretty spot on. Only thing I would say is that there is a lower grade version, so the Echo would be mid grade, not "bottom of the barrel" as others have called the XLS/XLSH (same thing) line.

Echo mid grade. XLS= lowest grade Elbit makes.

Here is some comparison pics we did a while back between two closely spec'ed units- one with Photonis Echo, one with XLS WP

Echo/XLS comparison

Shortage of flexboards for the BNVDs has been holding things up. You are NOT charged until the order is ready to ship as noted.

When a customer's order goes into production we send them an email so they can notify their card of the charge and it's not long after that when you get the tracking email.

Photonis themselves are partially to blame for some of the tube name/marketing term confusion, as they've switched it up a couple of times over the last few years, similar to how Ops-Core ran with the S/M, M/L, L/XL helmet sizing just long enough for everyone to get used to it before switching to single-sizing and reconfusing everyone again.



At various times, Photonis has referred to the technological architecture of their image intensifiers as "4G Technology" as well as "Hybrid Multi-Alkali" and "HyMa," to a certain extent in an attempt to avoid comparisons to U.S. Gen. 2 technology, which to a certain extent is fair--Photonis has made advances to the basic technological architecture of Gen. 2 Multi-Alkali photocathodes, and current Photonis tubes are no more 1970s era Gen. 2 tubes as a Colt SP1 and KAC SR15E3 are the same rifle, despite being built and based on the same basic architecture.  

https://www.photonis.com/system/files/2020-10/Difference_Gen3_4G_english_version.pdf

Meanwhile, they've also used terms like "4G Standard" as well as "INTENS," "Elite," and "MIL-SPEC" at various times to describe their "military grade" tubes:

https://www.photonis.com/news/photonis-4g-standard-now-available-us-market

ECHO, as has already been said, is their "Commercial Grade" tube, however, U.S. ECHO specs are not the same as International ECHO specs.

For international markets, Photonis has both an "ECHO" spec, which is the lower grade and FOM limited (1800-2000 FOM), while the "ECHO+" is a 2000 Min. FOM unlimited (no Max FOM) tube.

To a certain extent, this bears some similarities to say Elbit's tube specs, in and that:

Commercial Grade:

ECHO = XLSH
ECHO+ = SLH

Military Grade:

4G = YH

However, this is not a perfect comparison in and that ESA's XLSH tubes are not FOM limited, and we have shipped units with 3000+ FOM (not common, but they do pop up), whereas international ECHOs are.

U.S. ECHOs, however, are somewhere in between the international ECHO and ECHO+, and are usually 1800 Min. FOM and not FOM limited. There is no "ECHO+" designation for the U.S. market.

Incidentally, the international 4G tube is also an 1800 Min. FOM unlimited tube.

For the international market, Photonis also has a 4G+, which is 2300 Min. FOM unlimited.

All clear as mud, I know.



Long story short, these tubes have gone by a lot of names over a relatively short period of time, and it can be hard for vendors/dealers to keep up with sometimes, much less the market-at-large, terms like:

4G Hybrid
Milspec
Milspec+
INTENS
4G ECHO

...etc., have all, pretty much at one time or another been "correct."

~Augee