Equipment "?"

[MidnightRider]

Played my first only scenario game this past June at CPX, MXS's Armies of Armegeddon. It Rocked!!! Now that I am hooked I really hope this forum survies. I know I will try and help with that goal.

Now for the question. Night Vision... what do you use? Marker mounted, or hand held? Or do people have setups that are allowed to be worn even with a legal paintball mask? If you would be so nice as to post specs/brands and possibly pics that would be a great help.

Anything from the cheap end of the spectrum all the way to what a civilian can legally own.

Thanks in advance

Peace

MR

[Meph]

Night vision?

Screw that, just find some newbies and use 'em as bait! After they're picked off, you know where they're at.

Or if you can't find one, grab the 2mil candle watt spotlight and blind everybody in front of you.

Much cheaper alternatives than NV.

[laxkid]

I would do what Meph said with the blinding spot light but if I had to have night vision I would get one of the ones that strap to your head http://cgi.aol.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI...category=40970

[HoppysMag]

Originally posted by Meph
Night vision?

Screw that, just find some newbies and use 'em as bait! After they're picked off, you know where they're at.

Or if you can't find one, grab the 2mil candle watt spotlight and blind everybody in front of you.

Much cheaper alternatives than NV.

i agree on both ideas. the easyes would be a combo. put the newbie er.. um bait, in the middle of a ring of guys and atleast 2 lightsand everyone hold until enemy goes for the bait and lightem up ( in more ways than one)

[killa2564]

or just find a tree and put the flashlight on the tree. once everyone starts shooting at the light go around and destroy them

[chizle97]

na man glow sticks! me and my friends errr "borrowed" a whole case of those things when we helped a holloween move out. we crack them and throw them in every direction, yess it give away your position but it luminates them so they are the easyer target.

[rikkter]

Originally posted by chizle97
na man glow sticks! me and my friends errr "borrowed" a whole case of those things when we helped a holloween move out. we crack them and throw them in every direction, yess it give away your position but it luminates them so they are the easyer target.

yeah but in scenarios only the refs are allowed to use the glow sticks.

its always good to have nightvision, and the flash lights, find them with the night vision then shine the light on them, they stop like deers in headlights. its funny.

[Lawrence TB Wright]

Posted from ITT Industries website. I have both a PVS-14 and a PVS-7. But for the people wondering about night vision.

How Night Vision Works

Night vision technology consists of two major types: light amplification (or intensification) and thermal (infrared). Most consumer night vision products are light amplifying devices. All ITT Industries Night Vision products use light-amplifying technology. This technology takes the small amount of light that's in the surrounding area (such as moonlight or starlight), and converts the light energy (scientists call it photons), into electrical energy (electrons). These electrons pass through a thin disk that's about the size of a quarter and contains over 10 million channels. As the electrons go through the channels, they strike the channel walls and thousands more electrons are released. These multiplied electrons then bounce off of a phosphor screen which converts the electrons back into photons and lets you see an impressive nighttime view even when it's really dark.

All image intensified night vision products on the market today have one thing in common: they produce a green output image. But that's where the similarities end. ITT Industries Night Vision is the leader in night vision technology, and we want you to know that all night vision is not created equal.

In the night vision world there are generations that reflect the level of technology used. The higher the generation, the more sophisticated the night vision technology. The first units were Gen 0 and 1, and they were used through the 1960's. The "Starlight" scope used by many U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War was a Gen 1 device. Gen 2 was introduced in the 70's for military use. Gen 3 was developed in the mid 80's and remains the highest available technology today. Most of the very inexpensive consumer products today use Gen 1 technology developed nearly 40 years ago.

If you're using night vision to find a lost person in the woods, locate boats or buoys on the water, or stargaze out in the wilderness, you need Generation 3 because it creates the best images when there is very little ambient light.

Night Vision Generations
Generation 3 is the most sophisticated night vision technology available. The photocathode is coated with sensitive gallium arsenide, which allows for a more efficient conversion of light to electrical energy at extremely low levels of light.

Generation 3 ULTRA-When you need a clearer, sharper image than the standard Generation 3 viewer provides at night. The ultra units have a higher-performing image intensifier tube with a minimum 51 lp/mm resolution, compared to the 45 lp/mm minimum of a standard Generation 3 unit. Line Pairs per Millimeter (lp/mm) are units used to measure image intensifier resolution; the higher they are the clearer the image gets. Check our product pages to see if the night vision viewer that fits your needs is offered in an ultra version.

Before the innovations of Generation 3, there was Generation 2. Generation 2 marked the development of a microchannel plate, which multiplies the number of electrons by the thousands. This produces a clear image in nighttime situations without the distortion of Gen 0 and Gen 1.

Generation 1 has problems with distortion and short-lived intensifier tubes. It uses materials that are better than Gen 0 to convert light to electrons. These units were able to operate at lower light levels than the Gen 0 and became known as "starlight scopes." Imported night vision viewers usually use Gen 1 image intensifiers even though they may be advertised as Gen 2.

Generation 0 technology depended on external light to increase available light energy. After the light was converted to electrons, electrical components focused these electrons through a cone-shaped device (anode) and accelerated them so they hit the phosphor screen with greater energy, creating the visible image. Unfortunately, accelerating the electrons in this manner caused distortion in the image and decreased the tube's life.

All Generation 3 products sold internationally require an export license from the US Department of State, Office of Defense Trade Controls, in accordance with International Traffic in Arms (ITAR), Title 22, Code of Federal Regulation. Most Generation 2 products are controlled by the US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Export Administration, Commodity List Number 6A002.

Technical Explanation
Characteristics of Night Vision

Using intensified night vision is different from using regular binoculars and/or your own eyes. Below are some of the aspects of night vision that you should be aware of when you are using an image intensified night vision system.

Textures, Light and Dark
Objects that appear light during the day but have a dull surface may appear darker through the night vision unit than objects that are dark during the day but have a highly reflective surface. For example, a shiny dark colored jacket may appear brighter than a light colored jacket with a dull surface.

Depth Perception
Night vision does not present normal depth perception.

Fog and Rain
Night vision is very responsive to reflective ambient light; therefore, the light reflecting off of fog or heavy rain causes much more light to go toward the night vision unit and may degrade its performance.

Honeycomb*
This is a faint hexagonal pattern which is the result of the manufacturing process.

Spots*
A few black spots throughout the image area are also inherent characteristics of all night vision technology. These spots will remain constant and should not increase in size or number. See the example below of an image with black spots.

* Do not be concerned if you see this feature-it is an inherent characteristic found in light amplification night vision systems that incorporate a microchannel plate in the intensifer.

Performance Attributes
There are three important attributes for judging performance. They are: sensitivity, signal, and resolution. As the customer, you need to know about these three characteristics to determine the performance level of a night vision system.

Sensitivity, or photoresponse, is the image tube's ability to detect available light. It is usually measured in "μA/lm," or microamperes per lumen. ITT's advanced technology and processing enable us to give our customers products with outstanding sensitivity. That's why many of our products do not come with standard IR illuminators. With many applications illuminators aren't necessary. Our competitors put IR illuminators on their products to get acceptable performance under low light conditions.

Signal plays a key role in night vision performance. ITT's microchannel plate technology is unsurpassed in its ability to transfer a strong signal from input to output. Just as high-end stereo equipment gives you quality sound, ITT Night Vision gives you a quality output image without "noise."

Resolution is the third major consideration when purchasing night vision. This is the ability to resolve detail in your image. High quality optics and the latest processing methods give ITT Industries Night Vision the edge. Some of our competitors put magnified optics in their systems to give the illusion that they have high resolving systems. In the trade-off, field of view is sacrificed. ITT gives the option of higher magnification, only so you can have it if you want it - not because your system needs it to function effectively. Our technology offers a uniquely formulated phosphor to create the highest contrasting images, thereby generating the highest resolution products available to the consumer.

ITT Industries Night Vision provides you with the best night vision performance on the market. That's because we have highly trained engineers dedicated to continuous process improvements in state-of-the-art development of night vision image tubes and systems. We are the world's leader for Gen 3 image intensified (amplified) night vision products for the U.S. military. Ensuring that our military remains the best in the world requires excellence in product and technology development, and we pass that excellence on to all our customers. You get the latest technology and the assurance that our products meet or exceed all others on the market.

For the money buy Gen 3, it is the best and used properly can make you a ruthless and effective night time hunter.

[rikkter]

and to think that civilians aren't allowed anything more than 40% effective than what the government has.