nvg's

[Ballcancer]

Let me guess for Aplpha optics you have to call them and set up an order?

[c3sk]

Just give them a call, they are very reasonable to deal with, and will be happy to take your business.

[Brian McIlmoyle]

Also... let me say,

NVG are force mutipliers... not everyone needs one.. I have seen units with a 4 in 1 and 6 in one ratio clean up at night.

the night eyes can pick out the targets and direct the fire of the others.

one or 2 NVG equipped persons in a section can make that whole section much more effective at night.

It's all well and good to have NVG but if not used to their full potential.. it really is little more than a cool toy.

[ThunderCactus]

-There's a guy laying in the middle of the field....
-Where?
-Everyone fire on my laser!

[Gato]

Originally Posted by R.I.T.Z

thats gen 4

A little more information

"US Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) is part of the governing body that dictates the name of the generation of night vision technologies. Although the recent increased performance associated with the GEN-III OMNI-VII components is impressive, the US Army has not yet authorized the use of the name GEN-IV for these components.

GEN-III OMNI-VII devices can differ from standard Generation 3 in two important ways. First, an automatic gated power supply system regulates the photocathode voltage, allowing the NVD to instantaneously adapt to changing light conditions. The second is a removed or greatly thinned ion barrier, which decreases the amount of electrons that are usually rejected by the Standard GEN III MCP, hence resulting in less image noise and the ability to operate with a luminous sensitivity at 2850K of only 700, compared to operating with a luminous sensitivity of at least 1800 for GEN III image intensifiers. The disadvantage to a thin or removed ion barrier is the overall decrease in tube life from a theoretical 20,000 hrs mean time to failure (MTTF) for Gen III type, to 15,000 hrs MTTF for GEN IV type. However, this is largely negated by the low numbers of image intensifier tubes that reach 15,000 hrs of operation before replacement.

It is important to note that while the consumer market classifies this type of system as "Generation 4", the United States military describes these systems as Generation 3 Autogated tubes (GEN-III OMNI-VII). Moreover, as autogating power supplies can now be added to any previous generation of night vision, "autogating" capability does not automatically class the devices as a GEN-III OMNI-VII, as seen with the XD-4. Another point to note is that any postnominals appearing after a Generation type (i.e.: Gen II +, Gen III +) do not change the generation type of the device, but instead indicates an advancement(s) over the original specification's requirements."

[Dirtbag]

Just a point anything above Gen 1 is not coming out of the US, so if you are buying make damm sure it is physically in Canada or Eastern European made and coming from there. You think we are bad about weapons the US is right snaky about night vision, as in a visit from the RCMP and no more cross border shopping.

Gen 2 is supposed to be possible but no one wants to do the paper work.

Just to clear for you would be smugglers it is a US federal offense to export ITAR restricted items like night vision and they will and do prosecute, and no you do not get to prosecuted in Canada you go to the US, and serve time there when you are found guilty.

I used to sell this stuff and they have no sense of humor, I gave it up as too few sales for the trouble.

[Qlong]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag

Just to clear for you would be smugglers it is a US federal offense to export ITAR restricted items like night vision and they will and do prosecute, and no you do not get to prosecuted in Canada you go to the US, and serve time there when you are found guilty.

Whoooaa, no one here said they were contemplating smuggling or even conspiring to export sensitive military technology out of the states. It's just a discussion on what technologies are available on the market.

[Dirtbag]

Just a warning, some US sites don't know the law either although that is less common these days.

[Ballcancer]

So is it illegal to actually own Gen 2 or 3 NVG's or just illegal to bring them across ... I don't really want them if there this much trouble to own...

[Rainer]

Wikipedia night vison googles and scroll to the bottom...
I'll post the link later but here's the jist.

Figure of Merit

Though image intensification technology employed by different manufacturers varies, from the tactical point of view night vision system is an optical device that enables vision at low light. The US government itself has recognized the fact that technology itself makes little difference as long as an operator can see clearly at night. Consequently the United States bases export regulations not on the generations, but on a calculated factor called Figure of Merit (FOM). The method of FOM calculation and its implications for export are briefly described in a National Defense University document called “The NATO Response Force”[23] authored by Jeffrey P. Bialos, the Executive Director of the Transatlantic Security and Industry Program at the Johns Hopkins University and Stuart L. Koehl, a Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations of the same university.

... beginning in 2001, the U.S. implemented a new figure of merit (FOM) system for determining the release of night vision technology. FOM is an abstract measure of image tube performance, derived from the number of line pairs per millimeter multiplied by the tube's signal-to-noise ratio.

US-made tubes with a FOM greater than 1400 are not exportable outside the US.

[Rainer]

Its not illegal to own. Just import.

[Ballcancer]

oh ok thanks!

[dutch13]

Just had a night op with the opfor having 4 nvg (2 being gen 3and one gen 2+) and they completely dominated. I couldn't believe how they flanked us and took the objective in less than an hour.

[mmmken]

Originally Posted by Rainer

Its not illegal to own. Just import.

Wrong. Importing these are fine. It's exporting them that isn't. If you can find an uninformed person willing to ship outside of the states, you're golden.

[ThunderCactus]

FYI they're made like computer processors. Some tubes are just better than others off the production line. Top 10% tubes go right to military application.

Brand new military gen1 just plain better than civilian bought gen1. Closest thing you can get is yukon for quality.

I know plenty of guys that have bought gen2 from the states, had no problems with US export/CBSA. If they ask, just say it's for varmint and coyote hunting lol