NIGHT VISION BUYER BEWARE!
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.
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 the rigors of law enforcement and/or military requirements.
Put two and two together and you have a night vision systems 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 Quest®, and Morovision Night Vision systems including the MV-14 Ultra and MV/PVS-7 Ultra. All of these U.S. Military battle proven systems utilize factory new, Generation 3, 64-72 lp/mm resolution (Typical) Select A+ and/or hand selected ITT Night Vision image tubes, full Mil-Spec nitrogen purged housings and optics and include a comprehensive manufacturer’s warranty.
Morovision Night Vision is the sole authorized U.S. Commercial Master Distributor for ITT Night Vision. With over 50 years of technological and manufacturing expertise, ITT Night Vision is the leading manufacturer of night vision binoculars, goggles and other night vision systems for the U.S. armed and allied forces, producing more Generation 3 night vision devices per year than all of its competitors-worldwide-combined.
This article was republished with permision from Morovision Night Vision.
