Would you buy a used light bulb?
The answer is probably not. Then why spend thousands of dollars on discounted knock offs, used, blemished or rebuilt night vision equipment that may prove to be useless?
Not all night vision equipment is created equal. Some discounted Generation 3 equipment available on the internet may be cheap for a reason.
Night vision systems consist fundamentally of two parts;
1) the core technology i.e. the image tube; and
2) the housing kit i.e. the housing and optics.
Image tubes are like diamonds - no two are the same. Film defects, excessive cosmetic blemishes, sub-standard specifications and surplus tubes that have been "repotted" with new power supplies can all lend to potential system failure. Many low priced Generation 3 night vision systems utilize image tubes that have been scrapped and/or rejected by the manufacturer and/or its distributor as being unfit for their proprietary systems.
European and/or Russian Generation 2/+ technology is not comparable to U.S. Generation 3 technology in overall performance. The latest U.S. Military contract (Omnibus VII) demands U.S. Generation 3 which is the state of the art in night vision technology.
See: ITT Night Vision Image Intensifier Tubes
See: ITT Night Vision PINNACLE® Image Intensifier Tubes
Housing kits can be likened to a wrist watch; many are cheap Russian imitations. These knock-offs use similar nomenclature to battle proven U.S. Military specification systems but use inferior optics and substandard poorly machined materials that do not stand up to the rigors of law enforcement and/or military requirements.
Put two and two together and you have a night vision system that might look good on paper - but when it reaches the front line end user - beware! Saving a few hundred dollars per unit could cost a life.
What to look for:
Demand only U.S. name brand, factory warranted systems direct from the primary U.S. manufacturer and/or its authorized dealers. Name brand systems include ITT Night Enforcer® NEPVS-14, and Morovision Night Vision systems including the MV-14P PINNACLE® Monocular and PVS-7 Goggle Gen 3 PINNACLE®. All of these U.S. Military battle proven systems utilize factory new, Generation 3, 64 lp/mm resolution (Typical) SELECT ITT Night Vision image tubes, full Mil-Spec nitrogen purged housings and optics and include a comprehensive manufacturer's warranty.
Look for the manufacturer's I.D. label with serial # located on the side of the system housing. Don't accept substitutes that use similar nomenclatures such as AN/PBS-14 or NB-14.
Morovision Night Vision is the Authorized U.S. Law Enforcement Distributor and a Commercial Tube Distributor of ITT Night Vision.
ITT Night Vision (www.nightvision.com) is the world's leading developer, producer and supplier of Generation (Gen) 3 image intensifier technology for U.S. and allied military forces as well as the homeland security market. ITT has served the U.S. military with premier night vision solutions for nearly 50 years and delivered its one millionth Gen 3 image tube in 2007.
ITT Night Vision systems such as the popular NEPVS-14 monocular have successfully provided the U.S. Military with significant advantages in night time operations and continue to give domestic law enforcement officers, investigators, and homeland security professionals those same advantages.
See also: How Night Vision Works
Please Note: This webpage is the sole and exclusive content of Morovision Night Vision, Inc. and may not be republished or rewritten without the prior written consent of Morovision Night Vision, Inc.
See Also Response Article Below Regarding Generation 3 Night Vision:
Response to Night-Vision Article Law Officer Volume 3 Issue 1 2007 Jan 1
See LAW + ORDER Magazine Article: Selecting Image Intensifiers, Thermal Imagers & Night Sights by Charlie Cutshaw, January 2008
