
Available to US Customers Only: All ITAR Regulations Apply
Important Information On This Product:
We have a limited quantity of trade-in BNVD-1431s available for purchase. They have all been fully inspected, serviced, and cleared for sale by our techs. This particular batch of units is in like-new condition.
Although individual run times vary, all of the Elbit XLS intensifiers in this lot have 98 to 99% of their usable life remaining. We have noted zero user induced blemishes or damage. All specifications match the original serialized spec sheets we have on file. Note that these spec sheets will be provided to you with your purchase.
For more information on our servicing and inspection procedure, please reference our night vision servicing page.
Housing Specifications:
Weight |
17.5 oz or 496 g |
Battery Type |
AA (Lithium Recommended) |
Battery Life |
Approx. 25 hours at Room Temp |
Material |
Aluminum, Glass Filled Nylon Polymer |
FOV |
Approx. 40+-2 degrees |
Glass Type |
Carson PVS 14 Lenses, +2 to -6 Dioptre Range |
Waterproofing |
20m for up to 2 hours |
Battery Pack Connector |
Fischer UltiMate 07 / BNVD / PVS-31 |
Gain Control |
Auto only |
Additional Features |
Dovetail Mount, Up-when-off |
Assembly Status |
Professionally assembled, purged, and collimated |
Warranty |
1 Year on Tube |
Elbit XLS Green Phosphor 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 |
Background On Tubes:
These units are built with USA produced image intensifiers from Elbit Systems, specifically the Elbit XLSH F9800 Series. 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.
Available to US Customers Only: All ITAR Regulations Apply
Important Information On This Product:
We have a limited quantity of trade-in BNVD-1431s available for purchase. They have all been fully inspected, serviced, and cleared for sale by our techs. This particular batch of units is in like-new condition.
Although individual run times vary, all of the Elbit XLS intensifiers in this lot have 98 to 99% of their usable life remaining. We have noted zero user induced blemishes or damage. All specifications match the original serialized spec sheets we have on file. Note that these spec sheets will be provided to you with your purchase.
For more information on our servicing and inspection procedure, please reference our night vision servicing page.
Housing Specifications:
Weight |
17.5 oz or 496 g |
Battery Type |
AA (Lithium Recommended) |
Battery Life |
Approx. 25 hours at Room Temp |
Material |
Aluminum, Glass Filled Nylon Polymer |
FOV |
Approx. 40+-2 degrees |
Glass Type |
Carson PVS 14 Lenses, +2 to -6 Dioptre Range |
Waterproofing |
20m for up to 2 hours |
Battery Pack Connector |
Fischer UltiMate 07 / BNVD / PVS-31 |
Gain Control |
Auto only |
Additional Features |
Dovetail Mount, Up-when-off |
Assembly Status |
Professionally assembled, purged, and collimated |
Warranty |
1 Year on Tube |
Elbit XLS Green Phosphor 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 |
Background On Tubes:
These units are built with USA produced image intensifiers from Elbit Systems, specifically the Elbit XLSH F9800 Series. 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.
A more than excellent entry to NODS
As a first timer to the world of glowy eyes, I was a bit intimidated. You don’t just buy a bino or mono and call it a day, it’s an entire rabbit hole of expenses and compatibility. Fortunately, these particular units haven’t given me any trouble. They fit my Wilcox G24 mount perfectly, which interfaced in my Team Wendy helmet, and with the 4 tap programming turn off when fully stowed upwards. Other than one medium sized black dot (on the left tube, right is nearly perfect) these are superbly clean and I can see well past 300yds as though it were daylight. I do wish that they had articulating shutoff when I put one tube up at a time, but for the money you get PVS14 compatibility in a kopy of a PVS31 setup. More testing will be done but my tendies have never felt safer and now mom can’t find me in the basement to make me do chores so wins all around.