finaly stepped into the NV world.... few qusetions

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - finaly stepped into the NV world.... few qusetions

Posted: 6/4/2010 9:00:40 AM EDT

bought my first night vision mono last night..... its awesome and now i want more. found on here in the EE for $1650 and did a FTF seeing as he was only about 2hrs away from me. it is an AN/PVS 14 Type Night Vision Monocular housing with used ANVIS MX10160 Tube with no gain adjustment. it has a standard ANVIS tube inside like the ITT 6015 model monocular. to me this preforms great, but i don't have anything to compare it to.

when firing at night with it mounted behind my EoTech do i fire with both eyes open or close one? i didn't fire it yet but when i was looking threw it my other non-scope eye was getting blurry and hard to focus as there was a small amount of moon light where i could barely see the shed i was aiming at. i also noticed that the light going into my eye was bright and it took away my eyes adjustment to the dark when i looked threw it, i saw that Vic has the wilcox amber caps which don't emit as bright a light into the users eye, is that a good idea? i was also looking for some protective caps i could put on when i'm not using it to prevent damage or dust from collection on the lens.
Wilcox cap

also wondering about one of these, a tether plug because mine don't seem to have a place to hook a lanyard to.

Posted: 6/4/2010 6:31:32 PM EDT

[#1]

i always close my non nv eye when shooting.

everything you are describing is normal with n.v. it can screw up your natural night vision for a little bit, and the eye that was looking at the glowing green screen will definitley take some time to get back to normal.

the amber lenses seem cool, but i havent seen one in person..a little expensive for my blood.

Posted: 6/4/2010 7:59:06 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
bought my first night vision mono last night..... its awesome and now i want more. found on here in the EE for $1650 and did a FTF seeing as he was only about 2hrs away from me. it is an AN/PVS 14 Type Night Vision Monocular housing with used ANVIS MX10160 Tube with no gain adjustment. it has a standard ANVIS tube inside like the ITT 6015 model monocular. to me this preforms great, but i don't have anything to compare it to.

when firing at night with it mounted behind my EoTech do i fire with both eyes open or close one? i didn't fire it yet but when i was looking threw it my other non-scope eye was getting blurry and hard to focus as there was a small amount of moon light where i could barely see the shed i was aiming at. i also noticed that the light going into my eye was bright and it took away my eyes adjustment to the dark when i looked threw it, i saw that Vic has the wilcox amber caps which don't emit as bright a light into the users eye, is that a good idea? i was also looking for some protective caps i could put on when i'm not using it to prevent damage or dust from collection on the lens.
Wilcox cap

also wondering about one of these, a tether plug because mine don't seem to have a place to hook a lanyard to.

think I got the same one too

and also looking for caps and such

Posted: 6/4/2010 10:17:11 PM EDT

[#3]

this coming weekend i'm going to VT for a few days to a buddies place so i'll try it out and when i get back i'll buy some stuff from Vic. i think i need a bit more trial and error to figure out what i need to improve my set up.

also when i mount my 14 behind my EoTech do i want it as close as i can get it? i have the regualr USGI weapon mount and i get a lot of shadow because it' back about 2.5 inches. when i held it by hand really close it got a lot clearer, i think something like this would would work better. TM-14 i could also use the same base for a magnifier

Posted: 6/5/2010 7:04:36 AM EDT

[#4]

Our new TM14 has been selling extremely well. It allows you to get the NV right up to the back of the optic and the versatility with the helmet mount swap is unmatched.

As for the Wilcox Amber Filter, it will help with your problem of too much light coming through, It seems you bought a home-built system using the old commercial PVS-14 Night Quest housing. The lack of gain control is what's hurting you here. But, the Amber Filter will help knock it down a bit.

Posted: 6/5/2010 9:29:22 AM EDT

[#5]

the housing is a USGI surplus housing but the power pack takes 2 AAs, has the knob for gain adjustment but the tube doesn't have that feature. he put it together from Ebay parts and old stuff that he upgraded for PD unites around him.

Posted: 6/5/2010 2:00:10 PM EDT

[#6]

Screw the gain control. If you got a functioning Gen3 PVS-14 with a U.S. tube for $1,650, you got a deal. How's it work?

Posted: 6/5/2010 11:50:01 PM EDT

[#7]

i don't have anything to compare it to but i would say great. i took some pics looking threw it, i have a canon SLR with a 58mm lens so it was hard to line it up right. any of the blurriness is from the camera being out of focus and the 14 not being focused correctly to the camera (i only have 2 hands). i'll try to get some out side pics when i get a chance, these are in my room with a light on in the other corner, the stair way was completely dark with the IR lite on and same goes for the hallway.

if you look closely when using it you can see some small specks but i only see them some of the time. this weekend i'll be using it a lot both head mounted and weapon as well. i'll let u know how that goes.

Posted: 6/6/2010 5:24:58 AM EDT

[#8]

Great! Those look pretty damn good to me. One of the reasons I asked is because I have one of them on the way!!!!!! Should be here tomorrow. I do have something to compare it to, as I have Gen1 and Gen2 equipment, along with both LED and laser-based illuminators, including "Da Torch".

I can't say that I'm completely disappointed with some of my Gen1 stuff, but it's a crapshoot. I have a Luna Optics goggle-type device and a Yukon scope, and they both work remarkably well for Gen1 (better than a Gen2 I have). I also have some ATN stuff which is complete junk (Gen1 and 2).

Just from your pics, I can tell that it's gonna kick the ass of my other stuff. As far as the lack of a Gain Control, it seems the jury's still out on it's usefulness. From what I've been able to gather, unless you're trying to engage a target on The Strip in Las Vegas, Times Square or in 3ft of snow with a full moon, it's pretty-much unused. It certainly wasn't a deal-breaker for me. I'll give up a working knob to save 2 Grand and get my mitts on arguably the best Gen3 device out there. I wish I could dump almost 4 Grand on a brand-spanking new one, but that ain't gonna happen.

I'll try to get some pics up comparing all the stuff I have once I get my new toy.

Posted: 6/6/2010 7:22:32 AM EDT

[#9]

Those pics look very good.

Adjustable gain is not just for bloom mitigation in comparatively high ambient light conditions. Even though my PVS has an outstanding SNR of 29, I find the adjustable gain to be useful in VERY dark situations to mitigate scintillation when not employing active IR. Yep, you read that correctly, I reduce the gain when in a REALLY, REALLY dark environment.....like can't see your hand 6 inches in front of your non-aided eye.

While I utilize that enhanced functionality on a regular basis, it is probably not worth $2k delta for those shopping bargains.

Posted: 6/6/2010 11:21:14 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Those pics look very good.

Adjustable gain is not just for bloom mitigation in comparatively high ambient light conditions. Even though my PVS has an outstanding SNR of 29, I find the adjustable gain to be useful in VERY dark situations to mitigate scintillation when not employing active IR. Yep, you read that correctly, I reduce the gain when in a REALLY, REALLY dark environment.....like can't see your hand 6 inches in front of your non-aided eye.

While I utilize that enhanced functionality on a regular basis, it is probably not worth $2k delta for those shopping bargains.

This.

Posted: 6/6/2010 12:35:16 PM EDT

[#11]

Vic, as you well know I am not HSLD, but I do actually use the gear pretty regularly, and most often under substantially sub-optimal conditions....one learns what works better.

Posted: 6/6/2010 12:39:06 PM EDT

[#12]

nice pictures for sure.

Posted: 6/6/2010 3:38:00 PM EDT

[#13]

i'm going to try and mount this on my MK-14 clone in front of my SS 10X42 scope... will that work? i've messed around with it in a dark room and i can see all green and black cross hairs but not dark enough out yet to see any farther. any tips?
Edit...

ok i tried with the PVS in front of the 10X42... no go. i couldn't get the right focus between the day scope and the PVS right to be able to see what i was looking at. i held the PVS behind the day scope and was able to see pretty good, if i am able to get a mount it will work. i'll just stick with the EoTech on my SBR for now.

i have seen in the past a picture of a SAGE stock with a PVS-14 mounted on a custom mound behind the day scope, it was mounted to the rail section above the stock adjust lever behind the receiver. i'm pretty sure i'll just get one of the universal universal scope mounts from TNVC so it can be used on my 700 as well, does that kit come with all the adapters?

Posted: 6/6/2010 7:42:11 PM EDT

[#14]

most n.v will benefit from a adjustable objective or side focus scope. not ALWAYS needed but nice to have if you want to shoot closer than the scopes set focus distance (usually 35 or 100yds). good glass helps too, although there are affordable scopes that give good results.

i shoot rats at close range and its a must have for me.

you MAY lose some of the image due to FOV mismatch also..

Posted: 6/6/2010 8:18:51 PM EDT

[#15]

best one i got tonight, it was hard to get the PVS focused right and the camera was not easy to get matched.
this is a shed about 60ft from my house, some small light from the kitchen can be seen. to the naked eye you can kind of make the shed out

Posted: 6/7/2010 9:27:11 AM EDT

[#16]

Very nice!!! Question for 'ya. Have you tried to use the built-in IR illuminator yet? Did it make any difference? I noticed the tiny little lens on the front for the IR, and was just wondering if it was effective at all. Also, does the IR illuminator "on" LED light-up in your FOV?

Posted: 6/7/2010 6:12:12 PM EDT

[#17]

the IR works great for close up, like i a room but outside it doesn't do much. there aren't any indicators or the IR, just the switch to turn it on.

Posted: 6/11/2010 1:51:40 PM EDT

[#18]

well got mine and wow it works great.

I bought some stuff in anticipation of getting it (lens cap, sacrificial lens cap, helmet mount, weapons mount, and IR laser/illuminator.)

well when I first got it I put on the lens cap with the small hole in it. I forgot about it and went into my basement. turned it on in my pitch black basement and was really not impressed. I then turned on the IR and could hardly see. Then BINGO oh take the cap off! I could see fine with out the IR and it was perfect with the IR on and could even see into closets and such. I will test it out outside soon and have to take photos.

my question is the cap with the hole in it is that a daylight cap? Is it safe to turn it on in daylight with that cap on?

and I need a J-arm for my rhino mount asap!!!

Posted: 6/11/2010 5:56:21 PM EDT

[#19]

its just a bad idea to turn on n.v in lighted areas, even with that pinhole cap.

better safe than sorry at least thats how i see it.

Posted: 6/11/2010 10:10:19 PM EDT

[#20]

Generally, the cap with the hole in it is for sighting-in a scope (not needed with a PVS-14) or setting the focus in relatively bright environments. You definitely CAN damage your tube if left on for any length of time with the cap on in bright light. It'll burn a spot right where the little hole is, kinda like burn-in on a plasma TV or computer screen if an image doesn't move for awhile (hence the screen-saver).

Those are great little units, I love mine

Quoted:
well got mine and wow it works great.

I bought some stuff in anticipation of getting it (lens cap, sacrificial lens cap, helmet mount, weapons mount, and IR laser/illuminator.)

well when I first got it I put on the lens cap with the small hole in it. I forgot about it and went into my basement. turned it on in my pitch black basement and was really not impressed. I then turned on the IR and could hardly see. Then BINGO oh take the cap off! I could see fine with out the IR and it was perfect with the IR on and could even see into closets and such. I will test it out outside soon and have to take photos.

my question is the cap with the hole in it is that a daylight cap? Is it safe to turn it on in daylight with that cap on?

and I need a J-arm for my rhino mount asap!!!

Posted: 6/14/2010 10:24:19 PM EDT

[#21]

i got a J-arm for mine off of Ebay, it's plastic and doesn't turn off the PVS when i flip it up. does this sound like a cheap china knock of?

Posted: 6/15/2010 4:49:34 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
i got a J-arm for mine off of Ebay, it's plastic and doesn't turn off the PVS when i flip it up. does this sound like a cheap china knock of?

Does the J-arm have the metal contacts where it connects to the pvs?

Posted: 6/15/2010 8:03:00 PM EDT

[#23]

yes, it has the 2 copper looking contacts and wire the runs threw the mount.

Posted: 6/16/2010 8:01:41 PM EDT

[#24]

ok testing my same unit out tonight. It is a crescent moon tonight and pretty dark but looks just like day with the monocular. I'm really impressed and I got a cheapo IR laser/light peq15 clone (two actually one from the EE and one from the bay) and wow they work pretty good too. I can see the beam out to the woodline 200 yards away. the spot light is pretty good and shines about that far too. It looks really sharp through the monocular. First time I tested it left the peq15 caps on and then took them off and noticed no difference. The beam was nice and small though it flairs when it hits objects such as the barn or a tree. You could use spot and laser at the same time. For the price I am happy.

Now how the heck do you take nice photos through the NVG

I tried and tried with no luck

I was using a canon 5d with a 2.8l 28-70mm I'm not used to trying to photo threw the NVG.

here are my horrible photos

what it looked like

with IR laser and spot

just spot light

with no laser but moon popped up

the image is so much better than what these photos show. ANY help on how to photograph through the NVG would be helpful thanks

Posted: 6/16/2010 8:56:55 PM EDT

[#25]

can i see pics of the PEQ clones or a link to the Ebay add? i got a cheap thing off of gun Broker and it's horrible, i also got the Surefire tape switch that does the light and PEQ and it doesn't work with the DBAL clone i got. what does your PEQ clone plug look like?

Posted: 6/16/2010 9:13:24 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:
can i see pics of the PEQ clones or a link to the Ebay add? i got a cheap thing off of gun Broker and it's horrible, i also got the Surefire tape switch that does the light and PEQ and it doesn't work with the DBAL clone i got. what does your PEQ clone plug look like?

this is the one I got. I was surprised how good it works. the plug looks like a standard headphone plug

I'll have to play around with your photo suggestions too

Posted: 6/17/2010 2:53:50 PM EDT

[#27]

Surefire and other real devices that use tape switches all use proprietary, positive locking connectors for their cables. Cheap Chinese crap almost always uses standard mini-phono jacks that are used / designed for speaker connections on computers, MP3 players, etc. You can buy a whole bag of them at Radio Shack for a couple bucks. Most of the real stuff also uses a locking collar to prevent the plug from falling out if yanked / snagged. They're definitely NOT interchangable.

Posted: 6/17/2010 7:26:32 PM EDT

[#28]

i had a $40 PEQ-15 clone thing from my brothers airsoft days that had a small red Laser in it. i tool the wires off of the switch part and put them threw the copper spring type things in the Sure Fire PEQ plug at it worked. i could try something like that as i'm not going to cut the SF switch or modify it in any way.

Posted: 6/18/2010 9:48:23 AM EDT

[#29]

The realt tape switch from the PEQ-15 doesn't use a locking collar or anything, the springs on the connector just seem very strong. That mixed with smart tolerancing make it a pretty solid connection. I wish Surefire would make an SR07 with the Insight connector on it as I don't really like the feel of the Insight one. Doubt that will ever happen. I might buy one to take apart to see if I can Wile E. Coyote one together.

Posted: 6/18/2010 2:42:59 PM EDT

[#30]

there are just 2 wires in the switch, you can cut the PEQ plug off and wire on what ever you want onto the end. if you don't want to cut it and don't mind a bit of a half assed look you can just run wires to the exposed springs on the PEQ plug and tape it. the other end will have what ever plug you want on it, i would use tape along with some heat shrink.

Posted: 6/21/2010 7:20:06 PM EDT

[#31]

ok I took out the point and shoot and much better

still not as sharp and clear as I am seeing with my eyes but pretty close

with built in IR in pitch black basement (no windows)

out in the backyard with my peq15 clone no built in IR
side

out of focus

pretty clear

the ir spot works pretty good too but no photos as a storm was coming in

edit to add that I had to mount it really forward otherwise I get reflection off the front site post
photos I took with it resting on a fence post (ones on rifle came out out of focus and I will have to try again another night)

Posted: 6/21/2010 8:31:06 PM EDT

[#32]

Out of curiosity, can you always see the full beam of the laser, or was it the atmospheric conditions that contributed to that? Thanks for your review, by the way.

Posted: 6/21/2010 9:41:49 PM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:
Out of curiosity, can you always see the full beam of the laser, or was it the atmospheric conditions that contributed to that? Thanks for your review, by the way.

the two different nights I tested it out I could see the beam. Indoors I did not see it the one time I tried. Hope that helps

Posted: 6/22/2010 8:41:38 PM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Out of curiosity, can you always see the full beam of the laser, or was it the atmospheric conditions that contributed to that? Thanks for your review, by the way.

the two different nights I tested it out I could see the beam. Indoors I did not see it the one time I tried. Hope that helps

finally got some shots of it on the rifle (trees about 75yds)

Posted: 6/22/2010 10:52:15 PM EDT

[#35]

is there an IR illuminator on the PEQ

Posted: 6/23/2010 9:32:24 AM EDT

[#36]

The PEQ-2A has both a IR Pointer and Adjustable IR Illuminator. Hope this helps.

Posted: 6/23/2010 11:19:04 AM EDT

[#37]

is the dot supposed to be that large? is the camera affecting the image?

Posted: 6/23/2010 2:52:42 PM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:
is the dot supposed to be that large? is the camera affecting the image?

It's probably the camera causing the dot to bloom. If not, yes, the dot's too big. Looks more like my laser illuminator set to a narrow beam than any of my IR pointers.

Posted: 6/23/2010 5:00:28 PM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:
The PEQ-2A has both a IR Pointer and Adjustable IR Illuminator. Hope this helps.

sorry, i was referring to the clone, i'm guessing no because that would be a lot more money.

Posted: 6/23/2010 8:35:58 PM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:

Quoted:
The PEQ-2A has both a IR Pointer and Adjustable IR Illuminator. Hope this helps.

sorry, i was referring to the clone, i'm guessing no because that would be a lot more money.

the clone does have the illuminator and it looks like a giant laser when used. the Laser does not look as big through the nvgs but is pretty large where it hits an object. Camera makes it look much more bigger because it's brighter (over exposed I guess)

Posted: 7/2/2010 11:00:31 PM EDT

[#41]

Quoted:
The realt tape switch from the PEQ-15 doesn't use a locking collar or anything, the springs on the connector just seem very strong. That mixed with smart tolerancing make it a pretty solid connection. I wish Surefire would make an SR07 with the Insight connector on it as I don't really like the feel of the Insight one. Doubt that will ever happen. I might buy one to take apart to see if I can Wile E. Coyote one together.

Surefire does make a switch with an Insight compatible plug. It's called a SureFire SR09-D-IT Dual Switch for Insight (PEQ15/16) and SureFire Light. It's got two leads & two buttons, 1 for the SF light & one for the Insight laser.

Posted: 7/19/2010 9:12:14 PM EDT

[#42]

i have one of the SF dual tape switches and it works great but will not work with a knock off PEQ because they don't use a real PEQ plug.

Posted: 7/20/2010 2:25:28 PM EDT

[#43]

Quoted:

Quoted:
The realt tape switch from the PEQ-15 doesn't use a locking collar or anything, the springs on the connector just seem very strong. That mixed with smart tolerancing make it a pretty solid connection. I wish Surefire would make an SR07 with the Insight connector on it as I don't really like the feel of the Insight one. Doubt that will ever happen. I might buy one to take apart to see if I can Wile E. Coyote one together.

Surefire does make a switch with an Insight compatible plug. It's called a SureFire SR09-D-IT Dual Switch for Insight (PEQ15/16) and SureFire Light. It's got two leads & two buttons, 1 for the SF light & one for the Insight laser.

I'm aware of the dual switch but it doesn't solve my problem. I want a single SR07 with an Insight end.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - finaly stepped into the NV world.... few qusetions

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