Night Vision

[illumeo]

Anyone used the cheaper Gen1 NV kit from Bushnell or Yukon, is it a toy or a good bit of kit?

Cheers

 

[Sniper]

Doc has the new Yukon one and it's a crackin bit o kit, I have a gen 1 russian machine which I love to play with out in the woods. If you hear something and can't identify it that's when these things come up trumps. It allows you to see even when there is no light from the moon or stars ie cloudy conditions as most of them have a built in illuminator, most definately a good bit o gear.

 

[Squidders]

I have an older gen 1 scope and it's brilliant.

 

[Oblio13]

I've had this ITT PVS-14 for several years. (I know some people here are upset by the sight of firearms, and I'm not trying to worry anyone, these are my only pics of it.) Not sure what generation it is, but it sure is fun. It's allowed me to see a lot of wildlife I wouldn't have otherwise (hiking, snowshoeing and dog mushing with it on a head mount), it's kept my boat off rocks, and I've used it to hunt feral pigs, in conjunction with the Aimpoint red-dot sights in the second pic.

 

[w00dsmoke]

Please bear in mind that there are at least 40 different grades of Gen 1 intensifier tube out there. Anyone that says Gen 1 is fantastic for watching things in the night hasn't tried using them enough in the field for proper fieldwork. They only are good IF the tube is good quality and ONLY if you have a shooting lamp with an infrared filter operating from motorbike battery packs to give you the time you need. I battery =roughly 1 hour of full power on a debon electronic. This will transform gen 1 equipment but bear in mind from manufacture the tube constantly deterioates and the usability of the tubes are roughly 2-3 years after this they generally become unusable due to noise. The inbuilt infrared torches are gimmicks for close up work and are next to useless for anything serious like badger watching in the dark or even better otter watching.


The pvs-14 from ITT will be minimum of Gen 2 possibly Gen 3 very good kit indeed and with no need for any infrared, makes for a truly passive system. My set of pv's Gen 3 goggles were excellent.

The best accessable nightvision equipment these days are cheap camcorders with night mode, use with a debon shooting lamp or similar with infrared filter and this will increase the range considerably. Other than this go for the digital night vision devices, yukon make one. These do not have intensifiers but operate the same as camcorders but are more user friendly for obs at night.

 

[Sniper]

The russian military one I have is pretty good gen 1 and runs on 2 standard torch batteries, it's as good now as it was 25 yrs ago and does'nt need any more illumination than the in built one on the scope. It's a 1 x magnification so you need to be reasonably close I have to say but the range is around 30 - 50 mtrs at a guess. Whilst I was with the ACF this thing was used almost constantly when out at night with them whether it was night navigation exercises or fieldcraft. Much better for keeping night vision intact than running around with a torch to ensure safety. I do agree there are some real crap out there which is no more than an expensive ripoff but some of the gen 1 stuff, especially the ex military kit is really good. If you were using it for hunting then I can see the need for an IR hunting lamp but mine is more used for interest and fun nowadays. Must say though I was well impressed with Doc's Yukon at the New Years meet.

 

[Peter_t]

i had a yukon gen1 scope (the waterproof one, never tested that thow) and it was OK, nothing special. it was 2 or 2.5X magnification, i dont remember but one thing that was annoying was that the depth of focus was tiney! i would say that only a few meters were in focus at one time. it cost around £160 which was quite cheep at the time.
about a year later after next to no use the image started to flash brightly like a strobe light. i dont know what caused it as it hadnt been droped etc. in fact it was very carefull with it. so as it was still under garentee i sent it back after an e-mail saying they would replace it.... over 6 months and many more e-mails later which had mostly gone ignored they sent me a replacement hopeing to shut me up. it didnt even work another few months of frustrating e-mails and they eventualy admitted they couldnt give me one because they had gone bust and sent me a second hand zenit NV scope which is actualy worse than useing your eyes alone at night. was not a happy bunny

im not sure if yukon has changed hands since but i wouldnt get annother one. unless you can get a military grade scope cheep i wouldnt bother.

pete

 

[w00dsmoke]

The russian military one I have is pretty good gen 1 and runs on 2 standard torch batteries, it's as good now as it was 25 yrs ago and does'nt need any more illumination than the in built one on the scope. It's a 1 x magnification so you need to be reasonably close I have to say but the range is around 30 - 50 mtrs at a guess.

My first image intensifier was a Russian military binocular. 4.2 x 40 or so if I can remember. Bear in mind that these were designed to detect tanks at ranges in excess of 400m's (without infrared), I'd say 30-50meters is pretty poor. I would try yours with an infrared filter with a very strong shooting lamp and you should be able to identify foxes, badgers, deer etc out to 350 meters or so and get close enough to watch them without spooking them. The infrared light will illuminate their eyes in the scope and by observing how the eyes move in relation to the terrain you can id things instantly and get very close. When watching badgeres or foxes at 100meters or so with this gear at night when they are stalking rabbits or watching a badger eat a hedgehog, you would not believe the difference in detail you can see than when you don't use the infrared.

 

[Sniper]

Possible misunderstanding here mate, I was referring to the in built illuminator, it only provides enough illumination out to about 50 mtrs roughly, through the scope it's like the old right angled torch beam, not great but works well enough in complete darkness. The scope itself works well beyond that but remember mine is only 1 x 40 or similar so no great distance detail, and your absolutely correct, with a hunting lamp it would expand the scopes usable range no end. I tend to use it without as I no longer hunt and use it more to identify what's around my camp at night, specially those things making strange noises.

 

[Bothwell_Craig]

I have the Yukon NVMT2WP Night Vision Scope. It's a pretty good bit of kit tbh although dont expect fine detail like you would in daylight with a good set of binos! The illumination is pretty good for close in although if neccessary I illuminate using a Cluson Clubman CB2 with an infra red filter.

 

[illumeo]

Thanks guys,
so it seems the gen 1s are ok close in or with a ir lamp. Gen 2 and 3 good under star light. Seems i am going to be saving up for a long time if i want a Gen 2 or 3 one.
while i am on anyone know anything about range finders (or should i be starting a new topic).

Cheers

 

[burning]

I got a gen1 Russian mil scope off fleabay for £90 it works great in starlight/moonlight without
firing the IR lamp up.

If you are 'handy' at making things http://www.anchorsupplies.com/night_vision.htm does gen1 tubes for £34.50. (no affiliation, just knew they sold em)

hth