Thread: Nightvision scopes

Will give it a workout when back in wellie. Move next weekend. Auck sucks for ranges etc

theres some very nice night vision stuff on ebay,fark all choice here in nz though,
that g3 14 was cheap on tm awhile back

Most of its ATN shite though

The 14 on TM was GIMPS

that elcan digi night hunter on tm aweek ago was sweet deal to

Price is sweet for 'some night vision' but compared to gen 3 you may as well use a mag light

where do you get a pvs14 in nz ,other than the rare chance one pops up on tm

I sold my GenIII (which was awesome, Omni VI tube I think it was) for a slight loss because:

- I didn't use it anywhere near as much as I thought I would
- No-one else I knew could afford it and it was super anti-social. You'd be out rabbit shooting and everyone else would want to go spotlighting and you'd be like "well I've got this nightvision..."
-It was super expensive to have tied up in something that I had no hope of ever getting fixed or serviced if it broke or wore out. I had no idea how many hours were on the tube.

And thats the prob.
If you're the only one with it, the guy behind you on the quad is shitting himself as you're hooning along in the pitch black, even though you can see and are spotlighting with the invisible spotlight

sounds horrible...everyone sell me their anti social nightvision! so just to clarify...nz labeled gen 3 isnt gen 3, anything less than gen 3 is average and you cant buy proper gen3 in nz is that about right?

Pretty much. I got mine from Australia, used.

Hi Guys,
Im new here , Was contacted by a couple of the blokes who have submitted in this thread so thought Id toss in my 2 cents worth. Ok I import NV and have done for about 16 yrs and 10 years dealing with the company I now deal with so I would like to think I know a little about this gear.
I will try to answer some of the comments on this thread.

1, Gen3 is not radio active though thats a nice thought. What makes it Gen3 is the fact it has a Galiem Arsinide thin film barrier to lenghthen tube life.

2, Yes there are 2 Gen3 units on TM at the moment. 1 is the AN/PVS-4 , a 1980`s riflescope that apperantly has had a upgrade with a U.S Gen3 tube. Can only assume on that. There is also a Newcon clip on unit. That will by all measures be Gen3 but its Russian Gen3 most likley a Russian Katoed Tube though thats not mentioned.

3, can you get AN/PVS-14 units here. In a nut shell No anything with the Designation AN/ in front of the unit is U.S Army/Navy and not for sale outside of the U.S to civilians. I can get it but only for Government departments.

4, There is no such thing as Gen2+, Yes there is!! Gen2 has around 36-40lp/mm resolution and comes in older tubes and Russian units and hold no comparison the the Gen2+ tubes. Be careful as a few dealers sell Gen2 as Gen2+ and its just market hype. Most units for sale in NZ are of EX Eastern block origin. Find out where the components come from. for example the PVS-7 units I import have housings made in nIsrail for their defence forces and the tubes come from France or the netherlands and are mainly manufactured for the NATO forces. Be careful of sellers who insuinuate their product comes from say the U.S when its actually Russian (AT...something is a good example) another good one is manufactured in Europe........ Ok is that Switserland or eastern gerkistan!!!

Tubes I import are Gen2+, they do not have galiem Arsinide, No 2 tubes are exactly the same and some of the ones I have imported have out shon U.S Gen3 OMNI III, some come in slightly under but they are still very nice units and held onto by their owners unlike alot of other equipment.

Happy to answer any questions I can and if I dont know the answer I will say so!!.

Its good kit to hunt with and the fun factor is right up there..... But damned expensive for good gear.

Having used/trialed many varients of modern NV gear with reps from the respective militarys and manufactuers as a soldier counts for bugger all I spose.
Tritium is radio active. It is used on some litton, pilkington and Israely gear that I have used. Nothing to do with the tube but denotes aspects of military class gen 3 or so I was instructed by the reps. It is also used in mortar, artillery and DFSW sighting systems. Has a nuclear symbol on each piece of equipment and protocol in case of damage in a confined area.
No I dont study it, supply it but have been instructed on and used it, as it was intended.
I have yet to see a piece of gear under 10 grand that would compare to some issue equipment. If it needs to be IR assisted to work in available ambient light it isint gen 3 period.
Nv is old school shit anyway as far as sights go.
Only useful in FIBUA situations.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. So please forgive my sausage fingers!!!

I spose my statement about Gen 2+ not existing was a bit broad

There are up to 6 'Generations' if you want to split them down
As you will know, there are 3 main defined generations of Tube, based on construction -forgetting about the prewar stuff.

Gen1

S-20 photocathode, coating from potassium, sodium, cesium, silver
Anode cone, ensures over high voltage acceleration focusing and turning the image around by 180°
P-20 phosphor screen

Gen2

S-20 photocathode, only slightly improved to Gen1
Micro Channel Plate, multiplication of electrons, starting from 2 million channels, fiberoptic-twist (glass fiber bundle twisted by 180°)
P-10-52 phosphor screen, variant of the P-20 of phosphor screen
-Improvements include a change to the Phosphor mixture on the screen and increase in channels

Gen3

Gallium-Arsenide photocathode
Micro Channel Plate, 12 Million micro channels
P-43 phosphor screen
-Improvements with autogating power supply and filmless/thinfilm tubes

OMNI 3 contract was ~1990 IIRC and built with P-20 screens
At the end of the Day, Gen 2 even though it has been improved, and called Gen2+ or SHP, or whatever you want to call it, there is not much comparison to a 3rd Gen tube made in the last 5-10 or so years.
OMNI 3 to OMNI 6 is like night and day, and it should be as you're talking almost 15 yrs difference in technology.
After using Gen2 '+' and Gen 3, I cant honestly say I'd buy anything Gen 2, especially when you can get late model Gen 3 gear for the same money.
If you're spending $5-10k on gear money obviously isnt too much of an issue and you should be getting the very best you can buy for the money.
I went with a non autogated tube in my 14 due to the fact the halo is bigger and thus more recoil resistant - as the intention was to mount it on a rifle - thats now changed.
Side by side, is there any difference between it (OMNI 6) and a autogated OMNI 7? maybe?? as you can look at bright lights with a AG without tube burn, but I could tell very little difference in pitch black in actual image quality.

My technical knowledge on the subject matter is way behind compared to yours and Tasbays.
I have however used gear from all coners of the globe during a military trial. And while in service. It was put thru its paces and the trial lasted a couple of weeks. Every concievable test and situation the gear would likely encounter was employed.
Seen some amazing gear and some that looked like it was made by chimps.
I was surprised at the final choice of both the sights and NVGs.
Very dare I say..... political.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. So please forgive my sausage fingers!!!

lots of great info. thanks guys. will give you call you next week tasbay