New and improved - NIGHT VISION FAQ

[ThunderCactus]

The point is, if someone sells you what they say is an ITT tube, then you should double check that it's an ITT tube, and not in face a litton repot.

OMNI classifications aside, you should verify what exactly you're getting, since not all PVS-14s in circulation right now have their original tubes.

[pestobanana]

Originally Posted by BenG

This isnt about performance specs

Uh, this is all about performance specs.

[Derpystronk]

I would agree that it is entirely about performance specs, since the only thing the OMNI contracts really outline is a minimum performance. I was sold an OMNI 6 way back in the day and told it was an OMNI 7 - however I still have that tube to this day because it's better than pretty much any OMNI 7 I've looked through. I didn't go back and freak out over it because, at the end of the day, it still performs to the standards I'm buying it at.

It's a bit different if you buy an OMNI 7 and it turns out to be an OMNI 3, sure, but there is a line between "honest mistake in equipment people aren't really qualified to speak about" and a straight up scam.

[ThunderCactus]

What if the OMNI 7 you bought doesn't meet minimum OMNI 7 specs? Then it turns out it's just a civilian FOM1300 tube?
If only there were some way to determine that before you bought it....

[BenG]

How you get the performance aside, make sure that your getting what your paying for, I agree it really doesn't matter what contract/manufacture etc your getting, as in most cases tubes are usually well over the outlined spec, im not saying if youv had your tube for 3 years and you check it and its not what you thought you bought you should go after the seller, thats not fair, thats like buying a used car driving it for 3 years and then having to replace the break discs and finding they arn't OEM and then blaming the old owner for the premature wear. Im simply saying you should check your new purchase, that goes for everything. Of the 2 tubes one meets omni 7 specs the other does not, in either case both the owners are happy, I'm just letting potential buyers know that there are (some) tubes being passed along that arnt what they seem.

[AnthonyG]

Do the Canadian forces have a standard issue night vision unit, or do only the super-spooky dudes get issued that type of gear?

[BenG]

A friend of mine is doing his training, he says they get old pvs-14s for training and when I say old I mean burnt to a crisp to the point where the tube has nearly no gain and is about as sensitive to light as a blind rat. As far as what is actually issued, I have no idea, but since its CF i imagine they wouldnt give you them unless you are going out at night and then id imagine they are slightly less abused 14s

[akko]

Spoke to one guy a while ago in the combat engineers, he said he was issued pvs7s for a previous exercise.