My apologies, Lenno! Definitely appreciate your input. As I said, I don't know much in this realm so I need all the help I can get :)
Citizen
My apologies, Lenno! Definitely appreciate your input. As I said, I don't know much in this realm so I need all the help I can get :)
Judge
All good points.Originally Posted by Phillip Bromley
I don't know what the ground folks used back when (mid 89s - early 90s), I started out with PVS5s and we later upgraded to ANVIS6. With both systems both eyes are NV aided.
When I became aware of 14s (much much later) I thought "now this would have been great in the cockpit (I think), being aided yet able to monitor instruments".
O.W.
Judge
:) thanks (no more brother wars!)
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
“As a general rule, the earlier you recognize someone is trying to kill you, the better off you’ll be.”
"You think a wall as solid as the earth separates civilisation from barbarism. I tell you the division is a sheet of glass."
Citizen
You're welcome. This forum is certainly a better format for discussions like this, since it is easier for other people to find later and also benefit from. So thanks for HW for letting us Wurfers in!
As I said before, that unit seems okay for the price. But I have no experience with that vendor and cannot vouch for them. The $3300 package is essentially giving you $200 off the OTAL. But remember that at the end of the day, we're looking at a $3000 unit. I'd just as soon put up an extra $500 and get the L3 thin-filmed unit from TNVC for $3500. That's only a little bit more, and will be a far better unit. Even when you consider the extra $200 you're gonna pay for the OTAL, I consider it worth it.
However, if $3300 is all you have, then I'd feel okay buying the package. It's going to be at least as good as your average PVS-14. Like I said before though, make sure you verify that it is waterproof. The TNVC units are submersible to 60 feet, for reference. Also, the specifications say "Gate: Manual Gain", which makes no sense. It should be autogated and have manual gain control. Verify all of this with them before you drop the 3.3k.
Also, as far as the whole package is concerned, if you're going to go cheap, the actual PVS-14 is not the place to do it. I'd rather have a $4000 TNVC PVS-14 with the L3 filmless tube on a $100 airsoft helmet and $75 rhino mount, rather than a $3000 unit with a $250 helmet and $750 Wilcox mount. Remember Bob on the SSFK with his rhino mount shoe-gooed to a skateboard helmet? This is the way.
And always remember: We all have an unneeded safe queen or two that could be sold to finance better night vision equipment.
Judge
I don't know what earlier versions were like but the PVS-14 is not perfect (for a pilot) as the image is 2D w/no depth perception even if it it is focused correctly. Switching between long and close objects (while flying) is neither easy nor fun! But then I guess that is what co-pilots are for. Even driving roads at night is better with a navigator; oh, and BTW make sure your windshield is spotless.
On a full moon night I can drive my ATV cross country at 8MPH but it's a Hell Ride and can cost you your life. I can drive a rig on pavement (full moon) at about 45MPH but like I said you have NO depth perception so you need to TRAIN in controlled circumstances!
Last edited by Lenno; 01-17-2021 at 01:00 AM.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
“As a general rule, the earlier you recognize someone is trying to kill you, the better off you’ll be.”
"You think a wall as solid as the earth separates civilisation from barbarism. I tell you the division is a sheet of glass."
Judge
Lenno Bro, some folk are under the impression that a dual tube system will provide for depth perception ... they do not.
In my time, ground folk were using PVS-5s. Aviation branch got hold of some, modified them
and off into the darkness we went. ANVIS-6 became available and the night became a much brighter, clearer place.
PVS-14s, to my limited knowledge, weren't available then and I don't know that they would have been approved of for aviation use anyway.
Thinking back, UH-60 critical systems instrumentation was all Marconi strips with caution and maximum ranges marked with a tritium index. Quantities weren't viewable but the ranges were easily noted.
There is no true depth perception while aided. Training and experience will provide for a fair guestimation though.
O.W.
Senator
As mentioned above, the task, outside of not bonking into nearby stuff, is becoming accustomed to the loss of stereoscopic perception as the natural eye performs so well. With practice the mind will learn to substitute relative size for depth, and with one eye unaided, even in the dark, some amount of natural perception will return. Of course if you use the pvs-7 you’re not going to have that option.
I know no way for this to be aided by talk or text. Only time in the field will work.
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
George Orwell
Police dog 1, bad guy nothin':
Citizen
Got it. I'll note all of that in my "NV For Dummies" guide I've started :)You're welcome. This forum is certainly a better format for discussions like this, since it is easier for other people to find later and also benefit from. So thanks for HW for letting us Wurfers in!
As I said before, that unit seems okay for the price. But I have no experience with that vendor and cannot vouch for them. The $3300 package is essentially giving you $200 off the OTAL. But remember that at the end of the day, we're looking at a $3000 unit. I'd just as soon put up an extra $500 and get the L3 thin-filmed unit from TNVC for $3500. That's only a little bit more, and will be a far better unit. Even when you consider the extra $200 you're gonna pay for the OTAL, I consider it worth it.
However, if $3300 is all you have, then I'd feel okay buying the package. It's going to be at least as good as your average PVS-14. Like I said before though, make sure you verify that it is waterproof. The TNVC units are submersible to 60 feet, for reference. Also, the specifications say "Gate: Manual Gain", which makes no sense. It should be autogated and have manual gain control. Verify all of this with them before you drop the 3.3k.
Also, as far as the whole package is concerned, if you're going to go cheap, the actual PVS-14 is not the place to do it. I'd rather have a $4000 TNVC PVS-14 with the L3 filmless tube on a $100 airsoft helmet and $75 rhino mount, rather than a $3000 unit with a $250 helmet and $750 Wilcox mount. Remember Bob on the SSFK with his rhino mount shoe-gooed to a skateboard helmet? This is the way.
And always remember: We all have an unneeded safe queen or two that could be sold to finance better night vision equipment.
Judge
Remind me to tell you of the 1st time I inserted through two barbed wire fences and into an abandoned double wide w/my poorly adjusted PVS14. I dang near walked off the edge of a deck!
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
“As a general rule, the earlier you recognize someone is trying to kill you, the better off you’ll be.”
"You think a wall as solid as the earth separates civilisation from barbarism. I tell you the division is a sheet of glass."
Citizen
Sounds like a fun time!
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