Available To US Customers only: All ITAR Regulations Apply.
Important Information About This Unit:
This unit is assembled with a trade-in Ninox housing and a new white phosphor XLS image intensifier from Elbit Systems of America. The optics and housing have been thoroughly inspected and found to be in good condition with no functional issues or damage. The image intensifier is brand new from Elbit with zero hours of use.
About the AN/PVS-14:
The PVS-14 was introduced into service at the turn of the 21st Century, replacing the US Military's ageing inventory of PVS-7 units. Key advantages of the PVS-14 are size and weight reduction over the legacy PVS-7 units---the compact, lightweight design of the PVS-14 monocular cuts both by nearly half.
At a compact 316 grams, the entire unit can easily fit in your hand, providing the average soldier with robust night fighting capabilities in even the worst low light conditions. PVS-14s can be worn on a lanyard and used as a spotting scope---more commonly they are helmet mounted for hands free use. Thanks to a huge volume of military surplus helmets and head mounts, you're only 30 minutes on eBay away from terrorizing hikers at 2am.
The Monocular Question:
Although the limitations of monocular night vision are obvious, the unique strengths of the PVS-14 system are rarely discussed. The form factor of the PVS-14 enables a great deal of flexibility and modularity---allowing users to get into night vision cheaply and add capability over time.
- A single PVS-14 can be worn with a helmet, or around the neck as a monocular. This can be augmented by a second PVS-14, enabling binocular night vision.
- Bino PVS-14 setups can be split up on the fly, allowing you to "donate" a single monocular to a teammate without losing your night vision capability.
With this in mind, we consider the PVS-14 to be the best option for people looking to get their feet wet in Night Vision. If you decide night vision is something you like---congratulations, the PVS-14 is an ideal stepping stone as you move towards more complicated and expensive setups.
Equally, if you decide Night Vision isn't for you PVS-14s are easy to offload. As the single most popular night vision device in the US, there is a healthy secondary market for PVS-14s. Units like ours (which are built on US made Carson parts kits) tend to not depreciate much at all.
Background On Tubes:
These unit is built with brand new USA produced image intensifiers from Elbit Systems. Elbit Systems (formerly Harris) is one of the two manufacturers forming the current image intensifier duopoly in the US market---the other being L3 (now known as L3 Harris).
The more astute of you may have noticed something in the names there, and you would be right. When Harris merged with L3, they sold their night vision business to Elbit Systems to avoid redundancy with L3's existing product line.
What does this mean for you? Well, Elbit Systems is a bona fide military manufacturer and as such, they are currently gearing up for the latest OMNI IX contracts. Broadly speaking the maximum specs of the previous OMNI VIII contracts are now the minimum requirements in OMNI IX. As a result, we've been seeing fantastic performance out of their 2020 production image intensifiers.
One of the other key advantages in working with a reputable manufacturer is the provenance of the tubes. The secondary market is currently flooded with stolen image intensifiers. Currently there's a significant effort underway at the DHS to combat this, but the reality is that many night vision units are built with stolen military property. This can be very expensive when Uncle Sam knocks on your door and takes your NODs. This may sound a little outlandish (how would they know after all?) but I've seen this happen to people I know.
It's also worth mentioning that 'grey market' tubes can mean subpar quality and hidden faults, as most thefts occur during the decommissioning process. Unlike a factory tube, there is no warranty support when these fail.
In short, new production Elbit tubes offer unmatched quality with a 2 year warranty and no risk of your door getting kicked down.
Tube Specifications:
Grading is accomplished with a minimum standard model. Each grade of tube has minimum values for photocathode response, figure of merit, gain, halo, resolution, signal to noise ratio, and blemishes. In other words, a tube could be Aviation grade in all respects but have a 0.003" blem in zone one---making it land in XLS rather than SLGDT.
To prevent cherry picking Elbit does not release full spec sheets for each tube from the factory. Instead they just guarantee the minimum values for each grade.
In practice this means that:
- SLGDT tubes meet military aviation standards and are suitable for magnified use. In these applications even pinprick peripheral blemishes can completely disqualify an intensifier tube. Because of this, SLGDT tubes are among the most expensive on the market.
- SLG tubes meet military specifications for use in ground based systems. Particularly those where users are not highly magnifying the image (i.e. head mounted NODs). It's important to note that these are not a "compromise" over aviation grade, SLG tubes are incredibly high quality---especially so in the latest 2020 manufacturing batches
So what about XLS?
XLS tubes are physically identical to the SLGDT and SLG tubes above, however the XLS rating is a commercial specification. This makes XLS tubes an incredibly attractive value proposition for the average night vision user.
In plain English: XLS is the grade that Elbit uses to classify tubes that do not meet the milspec. Does that make them bad tubes? Not necessarily. The vast majority of XLS tubes are SLG or SLGDT spec with minor blems.
- Single small needle sized pin prick (0.003-0.006”) in zone 1? Sorry pal that’s not milspec!
- More than two of those pin pricks in zone 3? No soup for you!
- etc.
Now obviously nobody wants a blem in their unit, but how much usability does a small pinprick take away? The answer is very little when used as intended. Like death and taxes blems are a fact of life in night vision; even the best intensifiers will form small blemishes and imperfections with regular use. It's an unavoidable side effect of the technology.
If you're the type of person that likes to sit inside and stare at solid white walls, you will absolutely pick up a blem of any size. In more realistic field conditions blems become extremely hard to spot against dark dynamic backgrounds.
Because of this, we believe that XLS tubes offer an unmatched value to the customer. With an XLS tube you can enjoy night vision which is every bit as functional as higher-grades whilst saving hundreds of dollars. This means more money for practice and training under night vision---and believe me practice is essential.
Testing and Assembly:
Warranty and Return Policy:
Intensifier tubes are covered by Elbit System's 2 year limited warranty against manufacturing defects and premature failure.
The unit as a whole is covered by KommandoStore's standard 30 day return policy, plus free return shipping. We will also facilitate servicing and support of your night vision, including warranty repairs if needed. Please note that damage due to user error or negligence is not covered by Elbit's intensifier warranty or our return policy.
Specifications:
|
Weight |
316g |
|
Battery Type |
AA (Lithium Recommended) |
|
Battery Life |
Approx. 50 hours at Room Temp |
|
Material |
Glass Filled Nylon Polymer |
|
FOV |
Approx. 40 degrees |
|
Glass Type |
Ninox |
| Waterproofing |
60' for 2 hours (Milspec) |
|
Battery Pack Connector |
None |
|
Gain Control |
Manual |
|
Assembly Status |
Fully assembled and purged with nitrogen |
|
Warranty |
2 Year Limited on Tube |
Elbit XLS White Phosphor MX-11769 Tube (Thin Film Auto Gated)
|
Parameter |
Min |
Max |
|
|
Photocathode Response |
1350 |
N/A |
|
|
EBI |
N/A |
2.5 |
|
|
Gain 2x10^-6 fc |
40,000 |
80,000 |
|
|
Halo (mm) |
N/A |
1.25 |
|
|
Resolution (lp/mm) |
64 |
N/A |
|
|
Signal to Noise (SNR) |
21 |
N/A |
|
|
Blem Spot criteria |
- |
- |
- |
|
Blem size (in) |
Zone 1 (max) |
Zone 2 (max) |
Zone 3 (max) |
|
>.015 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
>.012-.015 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
>.009-.012 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
>.006-.009 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
.003-.006 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Available To US Customers only: All ITAR Regulations Apply.
Important Information About This Unit:
This unit is assembled with a trade-in Ninox housing and a new white phosphor XLS image intensifier from Elbit Systems of America. The optics and housing have been thoroughly inspected and found to be in good condition with no functional issues or damage. The image intensifier is brand new from Elbit with zero hours of use.
About the AN/PVS-14:
The PVS-14 was introduced into service at the turn of the 21st Century, replacing the US Military's ageing inventory of PVS-7 units. Key advantages of the PVS-14 are size and weight reduction over the legacy PVS-7 units---the compact, lightweight design of the PVS-14 monocular cuts both by nearly half.
At a compact 316 grams, the entire unit can easily fit in your hand, providing the average soldier with robust night fighting capabilities in even the worst low light conditions. PVS-14s can be worn on a lanyard and used as a spotting scope---more commonly they are helmet mounted for hands free use. Thanks to a huge volume of military surplus helmets and head mounts, you're only 30 minutes on eBay away from terrorizing hikers at 2am.
The Monocular Question:
Although the limitations of monocular night vision are obvious, the unique strengths of the PVS-14 system are rarely discussed. The form factor of the PVS-14 enables a great deal of flexibility and modularity---allowing users to get into night vision cheaply and add capability over time.
- A single PVS-14 can be worn with a helmet, or around the neck as a monocular. This can be augmented by a second PVS-14, enabling binocular night vision.
- Bino PVS-14 setups can be split up on the fly, allowing you to "donate" a single monocular to a teammate without losing your night vision capability.
With this in mind, we consider the PVS-14 to be the best option for people looking to get their feet wet in Night Vision. If you decide night vision is something you like---congratulations, the PVS-14 is an ideal stepping stone as you move towards more complicated and expensive setups.
Equally, if you decide Night Vision isn't for you PVS-14s are easy to offload. As the single most popular night vision device in the US, there is a healthy secondary market for PVS-14s. Units like ours (which are built on US made Carson parts kits) tend to not depreciate much at all.
Background On Tubes:
These unit is built with brand new USA produced image intensifiers from Elbit Systems. Elbit Systems (formerly Harris) is one of the two manufacturers forming the current image intensifier duopoly in the US market---the other being L3 (now known as L3 Harris).
The more astute of you may have noticed something in the names there, and you would be right. When Harris merged with L3, they sold their night vision business to Elbit Systems to avoid redundancy with L3's existing product line.
What does this mean for you? Well, Elbit Systems is a bona fide military manufacturer and as such, they are currently gearing up for the latest OMNI IX contracts. Broadly speaking the maximum specs of the previous OMNI VIII contracts are now the minimum requirements in OMNI IX. As a result, we've been seeing fantastic performance out of their 2020 production image intensifiers.
One of the other key advantages in working with a reputable manufacturer is the provenance of the tubes. The secondary market is currently flooded with stolen image intensifiers. Currently there's a significant effort underway at the DHS to combat this, but the reality is that many night vision units are built with stolen military property. This can be very expensive when Uncle Sam knocks on your door and takes your NODs. This may sound a little outlandish (how would they know after all?) but I've seen this happen to people I know.
It's also worth mentioning that 'grey market' tubes can mean subpar quality and hidden faults, as most thefts occur during the decommissioning process. Unlike a factory tube, there is no warranty support when these fail.
In short, new production Elbit tubes offer unmatched quality with a 2 year warranty and no risk of your door getting kicked down.
Tube Specifications:
Grading is accomplished with a minimum standard model. Each grade of tube has minimum values for photocathode response, figure of merit, gain, halo, resolution, signal to noise ratio, and blemishes. In other words, a tube could be Aviation grade in all respects but have a 0.003" blem in zone one---making it land in XLS rather than SLGDT.
To prevent cherry picking Elbit does not release full spec sheets for each tube from the factory. Instead they just guarantee the minimum values for each grade.
In practice this means that:
- SLGDT tubes meet military aviation standards and are suitable for magnified use. In these applications even pinprick peripheral blemishes can completely disqualify an intensifier tube. Because of this, SLGDT tubes are among the most expensive on the market.
- SLG tubes meet military specifications for use in ground based systems. Particularly those where users are not highly magnifying the image (i.e. head mounted NODs). It's important to note that these are not a "compromise" over aviation grade, SLG tubes are incredibly high quality---especially so in the latest 2020 manufacturing batches
So what about XLS?
XLS tubes are physically identical to the SLGDT and SLG tubes above, however the XLS rating is a commercial specification. This makes XLS tubes an incredibly attractive value proposition for the average night vision user.
In plain English: XLS is the grade that Elbit uses to classify tubes that do not meet the milspec. Does that make them bad tubes? Not necessarily. The vast majority of XLS tubes are SLG or SLGDT spec with minor blems.
- Single small needle sized pin prick (0.003-0.006”) in zone 1? Sorry pal that’s not milspec!
- More than two of those pin pricks in zone 3? No soup for you!
- etc.
Now obviously nobody wants a blem in their unit, but how much usability does a small pinprick take away? The answer is very little when used as intended. Like death and taxes blems are a fact of life in night vision; even the best intensifiers will form small blemishes and imperfections with regular use. It's an unavoidable side effect of the technology.
If you're the type of person that likes to sit inside and stare at solid white walls, you will absolutely pick up a blem of any size. In more realistic field conditions blems become extremely hard to spot against dark dynamic backgrounds.
Because of this, we believe that XLS tubes offer an unmatched value to the customer. With an XLS tube you can enjoy night vision which is every bit as functional as higher-grades whilst saving hundreds of dollars. This means more money for practice and training under night vision---and believe me practice is essential.
Testing and Assembly:
Warranty and Return Policy:
Intensifier tubes are covered by Elbit System's 2 year limited warranty against manufacturing defects and premature failure.
The unit as a whole is covered by KommandoStore's standard 30 day return policy, plus free return shipping. We will also facilitate servicing and support of your night vision, including warranty repairs if needed. Please note that damage due to user error or negligence is not covered by Elbit's intensifier warranty or our return policy.
Specifications:
|
Weight |
316g |
|
Battery Type |
AA (Lithium Recommended) |
|
Battery Life |
Approx. 50 hours at Room Temp |
|
Material |
Glass Filled Nylon Polymer |
|
FOV |
Approx. 40 degrees |
|
Glass Type |
Ninox |
| Waterproofing |
60' for 2 hours (Milspec) |
|
Battery Pack Connector |
None |
|
Gain Control |
Manual |
|
Assembly Status |
Fully assembled and purged with nitrogen |
|
Warranty |
2 Year Limited on Tube |
Elbit XLS White Phosphor MX-11769 Tube (Thin Film Auto Gated)
|
Parameter |
Min |
Max |
|
|
Photocathode Response |
1350 |
N/A |
|
|
EBI |
N/A |
2.5 |
|
|
Gain 2x10^-6 fc |
40,000 |
80,000 |
|
|
Halo (mm) |
N/A |
1.25 |
|
|
Resolution (lp/mm) |
64 |
N/A |
|
|
Signal to Noise (SNR) |
21 |
N/A |
|
|
Blem Spot criteria |
- |
- |
- |
|
Blem size (in) |
Zone 1 (max) |
Zone 2 (max) |
Zone 3 (max) |
|
>.015 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
>.012-.015 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
>.009-.012 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
>.006-.009 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
.003-.006 |
1 |
2 |
3 |