I am at the point where I can drop $6000 on NV and want to purchase a system as soon as possible. My familiarity with NV is confined to what I learned in line infantry battalions, so probably close to 100 night patrols in Iraq and Afghanistan and many night qualifications. So I know how to employ night vision but know little about what has changed since I retired nine years ago.
I’ve been trying to educate myself about the finer technical aspects of NV and researching the best PVS-14’s on the market but have found myself lost in the weeds. At this point I just want to purchase the best PVS-14 that 6k can afford and then continue to learn from there.
You are really not new to NV, sounds like you have quite a bit of real world experience. With that TNVC super gain you are paying $1 to 1.5 K more for a very, very, very small percentage gain in performance that is unlikely to ever even be noticeable and looks like there is a wait time. I also think the performance gain from high grade film less over thin filmed is over hyped when it comes to real world applications. With your budget I would look for either a Elbit or Harris mil spec 2200 + FOM for around 4K or less and spend the rest on helmets, illuminatiors etc. Right now JRH has some high grade Elbit YH units on sale for $3,500 which is a killer deal.
I will also say that JRH is good to go. I purchased a 14 and pano bridge from him last year. Communication was great and very fast service and shipping.
I’ll add to the comments about JRH… he absolutely puts on a clinic, regarding customer service and professionalism… top notch.
Side note… I purchased PVS-14 with the Photonis ECHO 4g tube… Don’t sleep on this optic… I’ve trained/operated with .mil issue NVGs later .gov issued L3 equipped devices…. These Photonis tubes are pretty amazing (comparing the costs… I think most will be better served with them, and spending the other funds on a laser/mount/helmet and ammo).
With the JRH Elbit YH high grade PVS-14’s marked down from $4,600 to 3,500 right now no way would I go with Photonis. The Elbit and Harris tubes are going to out perform the Photonis in really dark areas.
I went with TNVC RNVG’s in L3 filmless, and spec’ed my tubes pretty solid. I’ve been very happy with it, and it only cost a few $k over what you’re planning to spend. I’d say get some good Elbits if you want to stay in budget, or save up more and snag L3 filmless.
I will echo checking out JRH. Robert was very helpful with my pre purchase questions and offers great customer service.
He is also active on this board and will often pop in and offer help.
That L3 unit you linked is legit top of the line. When I worked on this sort of stuff professionally, we used one of those in our optics lab as a reference device for testing prototypes against.
That being said, you can definitely spend a couple thousand less and get something that is like 99% as good.
Call JRH. I bought a Photonis from him a couple years back. It’s VERY good and was quite a bit cheaper than the L3
I’m looking to upgrade to duals myself from my PVS14 and I can’t decide on L3 or Elbit and pvs1531 or DTNVS….it’s not an easy decision because it’s not easy to try before you buy.
Plus weight, two 14’s and a bridge are going to weigh 26 + oz a good bino is going to be around 18 or less, those extra oz hanging off the front of your head are going to be very noticeable. I do see bridging a 14 and a lightweight thermal as being useful. For bino’s I like the PVS-31D by Elbit, it has the feature set I was looking for, articulated, pods shut off when you swing them up and turn back on when you swing them down and adjustable diopter, the PVS-31A has neither of these. Plus the D’s are Marine issue, if they can handle that…
The D’s are pricey but mine came with a Wilcox G24 which is a $400+ mount.
Intensifier tubes are Gen III White Phosphor Auto Gated Tubes
2400 FOM Minimum
Industry-leading, close-focus technology
Vertical viewing ability
Adjustable diopter lenses
Integrated IR illuminator
Adjustable Gain Control
Submersible up to 20 meters
Interesting, I didn’t know that the Marines had PVS-31s, I can only imagine the street price in the In and Out parking lot off of mainside Camp Pendleton. I know it weighs much more for the bridge but I still like the field of view it offers, granted I don’t have my hands on this yet to complain about the weight, but the 40 degrees of my PVS14 works, just not ideal for when you are trying to find those sharp cutback trail heads in the woods and trying to avoid those branches which seem to come out of no where.
Ha, night vision walking off is like M-4’s walking off, we had a guy drop a M-16 out of a helo while we were returning to base during training, turned around and stayed in the field until we found it in the woods.:mad:
We had some night vision and sapi plates go missing on the boat in the middle of a MEU, they had us doing PT in the hanger deck in that awful dragonskin plate carrier, while they did a sweep of our birthing, after a week it was swept under the rug until a Navy E6 was later charged with stealing that and a ton of other gear from that deployment