Posted: 11/15/2025 10:58:57 PM EDT
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Gen III white phosphor is way, way better than I expected. It’s an incredibly clear image. The garage door sensors are emitting constant IR light. My phone’s facial recognition emits blinking IR. I knew it emitted something, but I didn’t think it was in the NOD visible spectrum. There’s a blinking IR strobe on the main electrical panel for the yard that I can’t figure out. On the meter. The stars… wow. Wow is all I have to say. I wish I had pulled this out for the Aurora the other night. I’m looking forward to start running and gunning under NODs, but for now I’m just getting comfortable moving around the environment. I’m running the PVS 14 tube over my left eye, which is my dominant eye, though I’m right handed. I’m not sure how passive aiming will work for me. I need to get my tube set for my eye better. When I strap on my cheap bump helmet, the tube sits low, and slightly tilted up. It’s off my eye just enough that the field of view is slightly out of round, and I need to tilt my head slightly downward to view the horizon. There’s not an obvious way to adjust the tube to my eye. I’ll be shopping for a higher quality helmet soon, but I want to figure out what to look for by testing what I don’t want first. Attached File |
It moves to foreward and back with the little lever on the right side of your pic. Not the twisty one, that changes elevation angle. I see yours is all the way forward in the pic. No offense meant if you're aware and it's more complicated for your head/eye. Try adjusting things a while, then making them tight. I've put tape behind the norotos mounts to keep them more stable. Also, get a NERD or at least 550 cord it to your helmet. You'll be unhappy dropping a few grand in the dark. Passive aiming to cross eye works okay with a high mount, just cant the rifle. It's weird at first, but allows you to keep your head up. |
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Meteor showers are cool to catch, the hot gas trails glow pretty good in IR. I looked at the aurora last year in green phosphor, it just looked like a lot of light everywhere Attached File |
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I use a counterweight and adjust the suspension system to help keep the front of the helmet high. Then you can adjust the tilt and slide on the mount to better work for your eye. The biggest challenge for me on any of my three helmets was to get the suspension system set up, Once that was nailed down the rest was easy. |
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Quoted: It moves to foreward and back with the little lever on the right side of your pic. Not the twisty one, that changes elevation angle. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/263159/700-USGI-Rhino-mount-front-scaled-3659835.jpg I see yours is all the way forward in the pic. No offense meant if you're aware and it's more complicated for your head/eye. Try adjusting things a while, then making them tight. I've put tape behind the norotos mounts to keep them more stable. Also, get a NERD or at least 550 cord it to your helmet. You'll be unhappy dropping a few grand in the dark. Passive aiming to cross eye works okay with a high mount, just cant the rifle. It's weird at first, but allows you to keep your head up. Don’t worry, you won’t offend me! I’m a complete Noob. Thanks for that tip. Walking around last night, it seemed fine all the way out on that rail. How close to your eye do you set yours? My dome just barely squeezes past the tube with it set all the way out. Do you bring the optic in closer to your eye after the helmet is buckled on? |
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Quoted: My next door neighbor has NODS and commented once on how lit up my house is with IR cameras compared to everyone else in the neighborhood. I guess it's a good tool to find out who is paranoid on your street. Yup. Crazy how many ring cameras, security cameras, etc are out there blasting with IR when you can see it. Op you should watch a Roomba 
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Quoted: Don’t worry, you won’t offend me! I’m a complete Noob. Thanks for that tip. Walking around last night, it seemed fine all the way out on that rail. How close to your eye do you set yours? My dome just barely squeezes past the tube with it set all the way out. Do you bring the optic in closer to your eye after the helmet is buckled on? I usually move it in until the rubber eye cup makes contact. I've worked enough in the dark to have bugs fly up into the gap between nvg and eyeball, so I keep mine tight. Other environments may have different requirements. Shooting on a range where you probably want clear eyepro on will mean moving it out a bit. I can usually set mine so all I have to do is flip the norotos up or down and that's all. But depending how your head sits in the helmet, that may change things. Fiddle with things, get them set well, wear it for a while to test comfort, then jog around the house for a few minutes to see what shakes loose. Then readjust and figure out what you can live with for your purposes. I also tend to dial mine pretty dim so both eyes can adjust to low light and I can use my support eye to see nearby terrain. Different conditions will mean different applications. |
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The standard mount doesn’t have a height adjustment, you have to mess with the pads in your helmet to get it to sit right, but then you run into, is your helmet on your head correct and comfortable. The mounts themselves are wobbly and the standard jarms break easily. I have a couple broken ones in my basement. They always fail at the screw where you tighten and loosen to switch eyes. There are tons of options for mounts. I personally prefer the Norotos INVG and dual dovetail for PVS14s. Once your PVS14 is attached to the mount, it’s pretty much a one piece system that’s rock solid, durable, and simple to use. In a pinch you can rotate it to the other eye, there just isn’t a detent in place to hold it there. https://tnvc.com/shop/norotos-invg-hyper-mount/?srsltid=AfmBOoqube7Va3OsAuHmejNGiLngPlJO2NI-Pom6QTcxbSNfrZZRgiaK https://superiortac.com/product/norotos-dual-dovetail-adapter-1837010/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21486489574&gbraid=0AAAAA-BDNS4nY1_UyHYAgeYSrihEaW1_s&gclid=Cj0KCQiAiebIBhDmARIsAE8PGNK8cZbr3y3NxF0mnXmnrrLEjmeFAvvmUtrGF3QeWZ4ykRjU8aOWOSIaAu04EALw_wcB  Norotos INVG HYPER Demo  Norotos INVG Hypermount. The best mount for your PVS-14 Night Vision.  IS THIS THE BEST PVS-14 MOUNT? The Norotos INVG Hyper Mount (+ Rhino II, AKA 2, G01 & Wilcox J-arm)  Norotos INVG & Universal Shroud Then you traditional style mounts, most are push button and not force to overcome, which I don’t like. At. All. It increases the chances of breaking the mount, jarm, your pvs 14 and/or injure your neck in a fall, getting it caught on a tree branch, etc. And you have to buy a jarm to go with it and hope tolerance stacking between different companies are close enough you don’t get any wobble. So now you have a push button on the mount to operate and then a jarm on top of that. https://darqindustries.com/collections/night-vision-mounts/products/nocturn-industries-alpha-mount?variant=42958419722305 https://darqindustries.com/collections/night-vision-mounts/products/wilcox-l4-g24-lite-breakaway-mount?variant=40382202642497 https://tnvc.com/shop/norotos-lo-sto-helmet-mount-force-to-overcome-fto/ https://tnvc.com/shop/norotos-losto-usmc-configuration-helmet-mount-push-button/ J arms https://darqindustries.com/collections/night-vision-mounts/products/max14-ultralight-j-arm https://darqindustries.com/collections/night-vision-mounts/products/noisefighters-qd-dovetail-arms-with-fore-aft-adjustability-for-pvs-14-monoculars?variant=42977733148737 https://tnvc.com/shop/wilcox-pvs-14-arm-2/ https://tnvc.com/shop/noisefighter-ax14-pro/ |
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Quoted: Don’t worry, you won’t offend me! I’m a complete Noob. Thanks for that tip. Walking around last night, it seemed fine all the way out on that rail. How close to your eye do you set yours? My dome just barely squeezes past the tube with it set all the way out. Do you bring the optic in closer to your eye after the helmet is buckled on? I set mine as far forward as possible just before you start lose the eyebox and same thing with height, to give more peripheral vision, although that’s more of a thing with duals. |
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Quoted: The standard mount doesn’t have a height adjustment, you have to mess with the pads in your helmet to get it to sit right, but then you run into, is your helmet on your head correct and comfortable. The mounts themselves are wobbly and the standard jarms break easily. I have a couple broken ones in my basement. They always fail at the screw where you tighten and loosen to switch eyes. There are tons of options for mounts. I personally prefer the Norotos INVG and dual dovetail for PVS14s. Once your PVS14 is attached to the mount, it’s pretty much a one piece system that’s rock solid, durable, and simple to use. In a pinch you can rotate it to the other eye, there just isn’t a detent in place to hold it there. https://tnvc.com/shop/norotos-invg-hyper-mount/?srsltid=AfmBOoqube7Va3OsAuHmejNGiLngPlJO2NI-Pom6QTcxbSNfrZZRgiaK https://superiortac.com/product/norotos-dual-dovetail-adapter-1837010/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21486489574&gbraid=0AAAAA-BDNS4nY1_UyHYAgeYSrihEaW1_s&gclid=Cj0KCQiAiebIBhDmARIsAE8PGNK8cZbr3y3NxF0mnXmnrrLEjmeFAvvmUtrGF3QeWZ4ykRjU8aOWOSIaAu04EALw_wcB  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jvkNwfuids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH1i4YrBXF0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBaPZ_pGzUQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzPP7y9-AWAThen you traditional style mounts, most are push button and not force to overcome, which I don’t like. At. All. It increases the chances of breaking the mount, jarm, your pvs 14 and/or injure your neck in a fall, getting it caught on a tree branch, etc. And you have to buy a jarm to go with it and hope tolerance stacking between different companies are close enough you don’t get any wobble. So now you have a push button on the mount to operate and then a jarm on top of that. https://darqindustries.com/collections/night-vision-mounts/products/nocturn-industries-alpha-mount?variant=42958419722305 https://darqindustries.com/collections/night-vision-mounts/products/wilcox-l4-g24-lite-breakaway-mount?variant=40382202642497 https://tnvc.com/shop/norotos-lo-sto-helmet-mount-force-to-overcome-fto/ https://tnvc.com/shop/norotos-losto-usmc-configuration-helmet-mount-push-button/ J arms https://darqindustries.com/collections/night-vision-mounts/products/max14-ultralight-j-arm https://darqindustries.com/collections/night-vision-mounts/products/noisefighters-qd-dovetail-arms-with-fore-aft-adjustability-for-pvs-14-monoculars?variant=42977733148737 https://tnvc.com/shop/wilcox-pvs-14-arm-2/ https://tnvc.com/shop/noisefighter-ax14-pro/ This mount is seriously the shit for a PVS14. |
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Dirty Civilan talked about your phones infrared camera for facial recognition. I don’t belong to club yet but my buddy let me wear his. It’s amazing what we’re bombarded with in a developed area. So blending in might be better. But in more rural areas, you light up like an Altima’s dash board. |
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Silly story: A couple years back, I was out on our property at about 03:00. I don't sleep well at night, so sometimes I will pull on the NVG helmet, grab a carbine, and take a walk. Suddenly, my field of view through the PVS-14 was filled with light. Someone was shining a flashlight on me! I sidestepped and quickly wiped the PVS up, but when I did so, the light went off. I'm embarrassed to tell you it took a couple seconds for me to remember I had a game camera in a tree right in front of me. Perhaps I should be more embarrassed to tell you I failed to blade at 45 degrees too!
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That's funny had the same thing happened to me. Was walking to my locked gate and bam I was lite up. Took me a few minutes to remember my game camera. Definitely scary when it's so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face then a bright flash happens. Great pic of me all nodded up through 
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Quoted: Meteor showers are cool to catch, the hot gas trails glow pretty good in IR. I looked at the aurora last year in green phosphor, it just looked like a lot of light everywhere https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/586072/IMG_6409_jpeg-3659853.JPG Yeah the aurora is pretty underwhelming in NV. Much better in visible. |
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Quoted: There’s a blinking IR strobe on the main electrical panel for the yard that I can’t figure out. On the meter. Probably a linear encoder on the rotor to read the position, compare it to the last reading and you get the usage over time to bill customers. Electric meters are notorious for not being concerned about light discipline. |
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Quoted: I set mine as far forward as possible just before you start lose the eyebox and same thing with height, to give more peripheral vision, although that's more of a thing with duals. I also ditch the rubber eye cup so I can see around the tube and increase airflow between the NOD and my face. |
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Quoted: I do the same. Push forward until the image starts to constrict. I also ditch the rubber eye cup so I can see around the tube and increase airflow between the NOD and my face. Quoted: Quoted: I set mine as far forward as possible just before you start lose the eyebox and same thing with height, to give more peripheral vision, although that's more of a thing with duals. I also ditch the rubber eye cup so I can see around the tube and increase airflow between the NOD and my face. Another yep... The rubber cups seem like a good idea until you actually use them. Maybe OK if you're in a truly dark environment and need to limit any emissions but probably not too relevant when just being your normal weirdo doing midnight walks with NODs and armor. |
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Quoted: Yup. Crazy how many ring cameras, security cameras, etc are out there blasting with IR when you can see it. Op you should watch a Roomba Quoted: Quoted: My next door neighbor has NODS and commented once on how lit up my house is with IR cameras compared to everyone else in the neighborhood. I guess it's a good tool to find out who is paranoid on your street. Yup. Crazy how many ring cameras, security cameras, etc are out there blasting with IR when you can see it. Op you should watch a Roomba  Roomba Under Nods |
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Quoted: I see a meteor or two every time I go out, it seems like. Also, you can see faint galaxies that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. M33 is a good one for that. Near Andromeda too. It doesn’t come out too well in pics (blends in with the noise) but visually you can see it’s a faint fuzzy out behind the noise of the tube at high gain Crude iPhone markup, andromeda galaxy near the top Attached File |
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Quoted: Smokers make good targets.  My buddy walking in the middle of the night at a dark camp. With a cigarette at his side. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51994694664_3ee85cc2b1_c.jpg
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Quoted: I watched a guy in a foxhole with a poncho over the top of the hole smoking a cigarette thinking he was being stealthy, every time he took a drag it was like turning on a big flood light Quoted: Quoted: Smokers make good targets. My buddy walking in the middle of the night at a dark camp. With a cigarette at his side. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51994694664_3ee85cc2b1_c.jpg You're Not joking. When he took a drag it was like a lighthouse beacon. I have no doubt that had he been in a fox hole he would have been found very quickly.
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 Failed To Load Title Rhino 2 with a dovetail and a Noisefighters Max 14 would be perfect (it’s what I use). |
| shooting in the dark kicks ass! I work at an indoor range in the ATL area and it's fun to black out the lights and try stuff. Amazing how things that are "easy" in light turn out to be a shitshow in the dark. I got a squib in my rattler from bad ammo and could not diagnose it by feel or under nods, wasn't until we went back to white light that I could see what was happening and rectify it. |
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I really want to get into the NODS game, but have no idea where to begin. I don't know anyone who has them, and there are no "hands on" retail places around that I know of. I kill a ton of hogs and coyotes with thermal optics, and night vision would make the navigation part a lot better. |
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Quoted: I really want to get into the NODS game, but have no idea where to begin. I don't know anyone who has them, and there are no "hands on" retail places around that I know of. I kill a ton of hogs and coyotes with thermal optics, and night vision would make the navigation part a lot better. Modern tubes beat the snot out of older generation stuff and even the digitals like the Sionyx opsin. I currently have a sionyx and it's 'okay' but nowhere near ideal for anything outside of supplemental IR or bright nights under a full moon. You can get decent specs on gen 2 stuff from TNVC, but unfilmed white phosphor gen 3 seems to the the $$$ hot stuff. You can get things like an ECOTI to add thermal overlay to a PVS-14, etc. I'm looking at (once I can afford one) just getting one of the gen 2 from TNVC and upgrading the tube later. You just to be able to get really well reviewed chinese nods like the Jerry 14 for a song, but I think they've been discontinued. |
 The Biggest Blindspot in Most Civilian Training | Make Darkness your Strength |
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Thanks, watching now. I installed a PEQ 2 on my A4, partially based on your advice in the clone thread. Looking forward to getting out and shooting it. |
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I was introduced to Thermal last night while coyote hunting..... Showing the boy the controls. Attached File Night time potato phone pic of the boy. Attached File No coyotes found, he did find a bobcat... Attached File |
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OP, I had to figure out the helmet thing too. Many people told me to not be cheap out. I got a TNVC Fast Bump for a little more than 500 and it is worth it. So, just pay for the fast bump. After you bought something like Gen III WP, dropping some ching for the proper accessories makes the user experience much more better. |
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Quoted: I really want to get into the NODS game, but have no idea where to begin. I don't know anyone who has them, and there are no "hands on" retail places around that I know of. I kill a ton of hogs and coyotes with thermal optics, and night vision would make the navigation part a lot better. The guys at TNVC or JRH Enterprises are extremely helpful. At no time have I ever felt that they are just trying to make a sale. They are night vision/thermal nerds and they are proud of it and happy to bring others into the fold. It is truly wizard eyes. Being able to see in the dark puts you far and way above 90% of the population, probably a lot more. NODS are for NAV, Thermals are for killing. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My next door neighbor has NODS and commented once on how lit up my house is with IR cameras compared to everyone else in the neighborhood. I guess it's a good tool to find out who is paranoid on your street. Yup. Crazy how many ring cameras, security cameras, etc are out there blasting with IR when you can see it. Op you should watch a Roomba https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RNbfeV7aGE Excellent use of Darude - Sandstorm
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Quoted: I ordered a Crye Nightcap. I think it will suit my NV needs better than a cheap bump helmet. Check out this thread. https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/What-kind-of-mount-for-the-Crye-Precision-Nightcap-/18-560103/ And there's a link in that thread to this thread (if you need it): https://www.ar15.com/forums/Armory/Crye-Nightcap-big-head-mod-swap-to-H-Nape/18-543756/ |
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NVG is great, but don't forget about thermal. https://youtube.com/shorts/dVqklUZulqc?si=7_2jPPrn8bGHp0tx |
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