GSCI PVS-31- MOD night vision and Tube questions...

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MotorwayRacer

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Three part question:

- Looking into purchasing GSCI's PVS-31-MOD night vision googles. Who here has them, what are the pro's and cons' you find with them?
- Photonis tubes in white phosphor, Who here is using them, which ones? I'm trying to find out how much difference there is between Echo elite, XR5 and 4G tubes?
- If anyone knows, Late 1990's U.S. milspec. tubes would fall into what Photonis category tube today?- I'm thinking today's Photonis Gen.II?

Thanks,
 
I don't have a GSCI optic, but have a PVS14 with the Echo WP Commercial Spec tube.

From all i have read and discussed, the Echo line of tubes are fallout 4G tubes that didn't make milspec due to number of spots on the tubes. On mine, it is very hard to see the spots and they don't show up in images i take. The ECHO Green phosphor seems to have better luminescent gain compared to the White.

Are you sold on the PVS=31C or is the BNVD an option you would consider? BVND uses PVS14 optics and can be had for about $4-5000 cheaper with the tubes you are looking at.

Cheers
 
NODs

Thank you for the reply 90yjgimp.

I'm not dead set on 31c's. I go between those and a solid PVS 14.
I've used NODs (PVS 7 and 14's) in the past and ever since getting the taste I've wanted my own.

I was leaning toward GSCI 31c's for the reasons of:
-Price, cheaper than ActInBlack's DTNVG's which from what I can gather are the best available outside of the States (from their web site DTNVG's seem to be discontinued recently in favor of DTNVS)
- Most people seem to like the googles over the monocular
- 7 year warranty(limited)
- Made in Canada.

Is the quality you have on par with these?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ff-YzaDOMU (can see the blemishes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zns4sqYTVDg

As for BNVD's I'm unfamiliar with them, are they available to us as I can only find ones available to the US market?

I find that research on the net is difficult being that it all seems to be geared toward the US market and sorting out whats available to us and what's not clouds the decision.
 
I'm in the same boat pretty much. I wanted to try some Gen2+ units and went with the PVS14's. I may upgrade later on. I have a Photonis Echo Gen2+ Green Phosphor tube on order as the minimum luminescent gain is higher on the green than the WP tubes.

I would expect blemishes on the Echo and Echo+ line of tubes, but i have to look very hard to find them in mine. Not obvious like in the video, but expect to see spots in zone 2 or 3. Its why the echo line is much cheaper than the 4G tubes.

Yes the BNVD is available in Canada. I'll PM you a link to a vendor as i'm not trying to shill for them, but they have the best prices in Canada so far to get into the NVD game. The units are assembled in Canada and the BNVD housings are made in the same factory as the FLIR housings.

Once and a while ActinBlack runs a sale on Facebook on their PVS14's. They use Harder Digital tubes in their higher end devices.

I not sure it i want to switch to a goggle ATM as i may look at pairing the PVS14 with a Flir Breach. Just can't find a dual bridge in Canada yet that would work.

Cheers
 
Thanks for the PM.
Truly frustrating how expensive these are in Canada. I just want to make the right choice and be done with it. No feelings of regret.
There doesn't seem to be much info about Harder tubes and the quality. If someone has them I would like to hear you input.
 
This was taken from Actinblack site.

All specification only show the minimal specifications manufacturers will at least meet. Often enough the real specifications of each tube are above those by far.

Photonis Commercial
Res: 30 lp/mm
SNR: 12
Sens: 270 uA/lm
Photonis cheapest IIT they still sell. Here is everything that does not meet at least XD-4 specifications. Tubes will have spots or some low specifications etc. Only thing Photonis guarantees is that they will light up.

Photonis ECHO
Res: 57 lp/mm
SNR: 24
Sens: N/A
FOM: min 1600 – max 2000
Photonis Echo tubes with wide spectrum bandwidth. They see what others do not see. Echo tubes allow for more spots, but at a great value and performance.

Photonis ECHO+
Res: 57 lp/mm
SNR: 26
Sens: N/A
FOM: min 2000
Photonis Echo+ tubes with wide spectrum bandwidth. They see what others do not see. Echo+ tubes allow for more spots, but at a great value and performance. Compared to regular Echo tubes these have a min FOM.

Photonis 4G
Res: 64 lp/mm
SNR: 27 or 28
Sens: N/A
FOM: min 1800 and 2000
Wide spectrum image intensifier. Exceptionally high SNR and resolution. A much wider range of the light can be used with these tubes enabling them to beat Generation 3 in most environments.

Harder Gen 2+
Res: 64 lp/mm
SNR: 21
Sens: 700 uA/lm
Same price as the Photonis Supergen, but superior specifications. Great for rifle sights and other NVDs that are mounted on rifles. Also just a great option with a great value at a comparably low price.

Harder Gen 3 Alpha
Res: 64 lp/mm
SNR: 24
Sens: 1800 uA/lm
FOM: min 1600
Harder Gen 3 counterpart to the Photonis Echo line, however with significantly improved spot table.

Harder Gen 3 Alpha+
Res: 64 lp/mm
SNR: 25
Sens: 1800 uA/lm
FOM: min 1800
Harder Gen 3 counterpart to the Photonis Echo+ line, however with significantly improved spot table.

Harder Gen 3 FOM1400
Res: 64 lp/mm
SNR: 23
Sens: 1800 uA/lm
Very good quality for an affordable price. Specifications are mostly close to the minimal specifications, Around US Gen 3 OMNI5 from its performance/specifications.

Harder Gen 3 FOM1800
Res: 72 lp/mm
SNR: 25
Sens: 1800 uA/lm
Great specifications and sensitivity usually around 2200 uA/lm. Mostly slightly above the minimal specifications. Around US Gen 3 OMNI 6-7 from its performance/specifications.

Harder Gen 3 FOM2100
Res: 70 lp/mm
SNR: 30
Sens: 1800 uA/lm
Ever heard of great OMNI7 or OMNI8 tubes? This is beyond that! Amazingly calm picture through high SNR and sensitivity usually above 2200 uA/lm. You want the best – there you go.

Harder (HD) Gen 3 FOM2400
Res: 72 lp/mm
SNR: 33
Sens: 2100 uA/lmThe best Harder manufactures. It simply doesn’t get better than these tubes. Extremely high light sensitivity, resolution and SNR.
Military / Law Enforcement restricted Image Intensifier Tubes available on request:
Photonis 4G min 2200FOM and 2300FOM
Harder Gen 3 min 2600FOM

Aviation Image Intensifier Tubes available on request:
Harder (HD) Gen 3 FOM1800 to 2400All the best features of Harder tubes but with extra shielding for fixed and rotary wing use. These are ANVIS type Intensifier Assembly with EMI shielding meeting MIL-STD-461-E.

Photonis XR5 and 4G FOM1800-2100Build to aviation specifications and fully suitable to bring the best of Photonis in the air.
 
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I should be getting a gsci pvs-14 with a green 4g tube in june sometime. If i remember i will tell how they are preforming. From what im told the 4g tube aren't supose to have any spots/ blemishes from gsci.

From all i have been able to find the 4g's in the US look very close to L3's gen 3's and will out preform them in a higher light enviroment. In low light is where the 4g's will suffer. An easy fix is get an IR illuminator for that.

Green vs white is mostly personal preference it all depends on your eye. If you go with 31's first im jealous and second try your best to go with the highest specs you can afford.

From gsci the white will be somewhere around $1000 more then green if i remember right. I could be wrong its been a while since i checked
 
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Boon20 said:
I should be getting a gsci pvs-14 with a green 4g tube in june sometime. If i remember i will tell how they are preforming. From what im told the 4g tube aren't supose to have any spots/ blemishes from gsci.

From all i have been able to find the 4g's in the US look very close to L3's gen 3's and will out preform them in a higher light enviroment. In low light is where the 4g's will suffer. An easy fix is get an IR illuminator for that.

Green vs white is mostly personal preference it all depends on your eye. If you go with 31's first im jealous and second try your best to go with the highest specs you can afford.

From gsci the white will be somewhere around $1000 more then green if i remember right. I could be wrong its been a while since i checked
Click to expand...

Does the PVS14 you ordered come with Manual Gain...or is it the PBS14 model that uses 10160 format tubes? Please send a quick review when able, I hve my Echo GP tube arriving next week.

Res 72
SNR 24
EBI 1.4
Luminescent gain 13000
 
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