Ramblings on getting Night Vision Gear (2nd or 3rd gen)...

Howdy Folks,

For those of us who had the honor to serve in the military and got the chance to use the latest and greatest Night Vision Gear (NVG) it is very hard to forget how awesome they were.

When I completed my tour of duty, I missed three things... my M-16, my 155mm howitzer and my NVG goggles. An AR-15 makes a nice replacement for the M-16, and .50 caliber black powder rifle will make almost as much noise/smoke/smell as a 155mm howitzer, but nothing other than a set of the current set of NVG goggles will replace what you had in the military!

My first attempt at purchasing Night Vision was a set of Russian 3x magnification night vision binoculars. These pair run me over $600 and I thought I was satisfied until I went to visit my friend White Wolf over in TN. WW had a sweet set of 3rd generation PVS-7B goggles (one tube, but 2 eyepieces). It was then I realized that my russkie set was no match for those ITT PVS-7B.

There is only one problem with buying 3rd generation Night Vision equipment and that is finding the money to purchase them. A good pair of NVG's will run you over $3000... ouch! Are they worth it? Yes, I believe so... but ONLY after you have stored up enough food for a year, medical supplies, a piece of land of your own, dependable transportation, debts paid off, a roof above your head, and so on... Yes they are worth it, but not if you do not have all your other bases covered!!!

A good second choice is 2nd generation or 2nd generation + gear (higher end 2nd gen stuff more like 2.5 gen), which run around the $2000 mark.

All night vision works similar. They take available light and amplify it to produce an image that gives us a way to see in the dark.

All night vision requires light to work. That is why your $200 walmart specials usually will work exceptionally well when you use the IR (infra-red light invisible to the human eye, but not night vision gear) illuminator, but NEVER EVER NEVER use this to judge night vision gear! It is what night vision does with the AVAILABLE light that makes them expensive and worth the $$$.

Let me cover the DANGER of using the IR illuminator in a TACTICAL situation. First of all think of this analogy. A submarine has two types of sonar, active and passive. The submarines best defense is how quiet it is. When it is quiet, no one can locate where it is and the sub remains hidden and undetected. To locate enemy and friendly ships it uses PASSIVE sonar which allows the sub to catalog. identify, and track the tangos. Sometimes it is necessary to use active sonar which it sends out a sound wave (PING) to give it information on a target. They do not use active sonar much because while it will 'paint' the best picture, it also lets everyone else know (including the target they are pinging) where they are at!

So your night vision uses PASSIVE light (moonlight,starlight, streetlight) to help you see what is around . When there is a full moon even the cheap 1st gen NVG will work decent, but on a cloudy night deep in the woods you find out that cheap gear starts to show its true nature. When there is not enough PASSIVE light then the NVG needs an external ACTIVE light source such as an IR(infra-red) illuminator to allow you to see.

Here is where it gets interesting... with an IR illuminator (these are usually IR LED's) ACTIVE, folks with other Night Vision Gear can see you! Even the cheap models will allow you to see someone using an IR. So the reason you want 2+ or 3 gen NVG is so you will not need to use that IR often. There are some cheap units that have the IR's on all the time to allow you night vision. These work the same as low light CCTV systems with a lens surrounded by a ring of IR LED's.

These IR LED's are invisible to the naked eye, but I have found that looking at them head on I can see a faint red glow. Not usually a problem...

ACTIVE IR lighting is not a bad thing unless you are wishing to remain stealth. For viewing wildlife and walking through the woods without a flashlight they are great. However when going up against bad guys who may have night vision, you don't want to be running around with an IR on... trust me!!!

OK enough of the technical mumbo jumbo...

Now granted these pics are not perfect as they were taken with a camera phone (the lower resolution ones) and a point and shoot held up to one side of the PVS-7D.

The Woodshed.

Stars through the clouds.

Shep on the trail.

Garden area, notice the sky and the light from a town 30 miles away.

Horse shed, night light and porch lights

Another view of garden area.

Moon rise and house lights on.

Same as last pic but lights off.

I hope that you enjoyed the pics and the posts. You can be perfectly happy with 1st generation night vision. I just want folks to understand the limitations though. If you use your IR, you might as well have a flashlight in your hand if others have night vision as well.

Thanks for reading!

Later,

ZA

Ramblings on Gore-Tex...

Howdy Folks,

Been awhile but work has been brutal here lately. Not only the long hours, but lots of rain. I know just a bunch of excuses... My free time has been spent with the family as well as playing with my camera (photography is becoming one of my favorite hobbies). The pics above are some I took the other night.

Along with the internet I am surprised that Mr. Gore didn't claim he created Gore-Tex. I mean that one at least has his name on it, much more believable IMHO!!!

Well anyway in my line of work, the Mail Man has nothing on me... except that motto because I am out working in all types of weather when the mail man is at home in his/her bungalow nice and cozy.

I wear Gore-Tex boots (USA made Danners) year round and they keep me dry. Whether I am walking through high dewey grass or I stick my foot in a puddle, I know my feet are going to stay dry! For those of you who are looking to retrofit your footwear, look into those Gore-Tex socks which will keep your feet dry!

I can be soaked from the top of my head to the top of my boots, but as long as my feet are dry, I am a happy camper!!!

I also wear a Gore-Tex outer wear parka shell. In the warmer months I wear the shell only when it rains. As it gets cooler I may wear a hoodie, fleece or a warm jacket under the parka shell to layer in the warmth.

If you wear a Gore-Tex jacket or parka and it rains, that jacket will keep you dry... but where your jacket ends, your wetness begins! IOW you need some Gore-Tex pants! I usually add the pants when it is going to rain all day, rain very hard, or when the wind blows hard.

Yes Gore-Tex works great to cut the wind as well!

My original Gore_Tex setup was a set from Cabela's in forest green. These blend in without looking tactical. They are also lightweight and are very durable. I went up to the next size so I could layer very bulky if needed.

My work provided me with a Gore-Tex parka through my clothing allowance but NO PANTS! I just added my Cabela pants to the setup!

My REALLY GOOD set of Gore-Tex is a set of ECWS GenII Millitary Gore-Tex tops and bottoms in woodland camo. US Cavalry had these on clearance for $100 a few years back since the Army was going to the new digital camo. I love this set, but being TRIPLE layered they are kind of stiff and noisy. There is a set issued to the Navy SEALS that are quieter but they are very expensive! If I need quiet I will use the Cabela's Set, but in a hurricane give me the ECWS Parka! Not gonna get wet in those!!!

I treat my Gore-Tex once a year with a cleaner as well as treat the outer shell to give it water repellency so the nylon shell will not HOLD the water. Once your jacket starts to absorb water instead of repelling it, it is time to treat it!!!

The best way to stay dry during a rain storm is to stay inside, but for those of us who can't always do that, be sure to have the proper gear to operate comfortably in it. IMHO Gore-Tex (or other similar fabrics) are worth the money if you wanna stay dry!

Thanks for reading and 73!

Later,

ZA