Night Vision Dual mount PVS 14 and FLIR Breach

[Ledzep]

What's the easiest/cheapest way to do this?

I have a Breach (USGI Rino mount on a wendy bump helmet) and a clip-on NV unit that I've been using a lot lately and for the 50-200yd stuff (coyotes) it works well. However, lately I've been going around friends' farm houses and getting rid of skunks, raccoons, etc.. and was thinking that a weapon mounted laser with a breach/pvs14 setup would be less awkward, especially on a pistol, for this relatively up close shooting.

Open for to suggestions for a pistol/carbine IR laser, too. I don't have a PVS14 yet, just looking to draw out the path forward.

 

[Rancid Coolaid]

TNVC has a weapon-mounted laser, I forget what they call it, but it is a decent solution, especially for the up close stuff. It is theirs, made with Steiner, a few hundred bucks, and works well with NODs. It won't work with your breach though.
On the breach, invest in the $100 5-button remote, which you can get from FLIR and a few other places. That thing will change the way you use thermal.

 

[stefan73]

There are a lot of options

TNVC has a weapon-mounted laser, I forget what they call it, but it is a decent solution, especially for the up close stuff. It is theirs, made with Steiner, a few hundred bucks, and works well with NODs. It won't work with your breach though.
On the breach, invest in the $100 5-button remote, which you can get from FLIR and a few other places. That thing will change the way you use thermal.

I hadn't seen that before. Cool deal.

 

[Rancid Coolaid]

I have one, have played around with it. My usual role is driver with NODs, supplementing shooters with thermal. I'm running an SBR with Hogster and the Tor for quick shots that thermals don't see in time. It is a good setup. Thermal usually see things first, unless they are very close range popup targets, and in that case, the IR laser plus dual PVS14 is a great problem-solver.

 

[Hoax001]

On the breach, invest in the $100 5-button remote, which you can get from FLIR and a few other places. That thing will change the way you use thermal.

Please elaborate.

 

[Rancid Coolaid]

Please elaborate.

Thermal differs from conventional NV in that changes to atmospheric conditions impact image quality. As such, while using thermal, it is often necessary to make small changes to the many image settings to better optimize for current conditions. The 5-button remote allows you to do so without touching the device. I kept mine mounted to a watchband and could make changes on-the-fly to adjust for fog or changes in humidity - changes that would otherwise require my manipulating the controls on the device (and on the Breach, the button location and use sucks.)

All that said, the 5-button remotes are not easy to find, and will become less so.

Hope that helps.

 

[TNVC_Will]

What's the easiest/cheapest way to do this?

I have a Breach (USGI Rino mount on a wendy bump helmet) and a clip-on NV unit that I've been using a lot lately and for the 50-200yd stuff (coyotes) it works well. However, lately I've been going around friends' farm houses and getting rid of skunks, raccoons, etc.. and was thinking that a weapon mounted laser with a breach/pvs14 setup would be less awkward, especially on a pistol, for this relatively up close shooting.

Open for to suggestions for a pistol/carbine IR laser, too. I don't have a PVS14 yet, just looking to draw out the path forward.

In addition to the TOR, for up close I'd add a helmet mounted IR illuminator with a wide flood, because in some conditions/settings you'll need extra IR to help the laser. Of course also helps to find critters by eyeshine. Having the illuminator head mounted gives a more instinctive type of shooting since you can look/scan and bring the laser to what you see versus scanning with your gun.

The 940nm Fandyfire on Amazon is a cheap way to keep your costs down by being low cost & it uses a rechargeable battery. It actually works pretty good with a wide flood and ability to adjust the beam as needed from flood-to-spot. You'll need an 18650 battery & charger if you don't have one. Otherwise if you don't need budget then you have a lot of great options (Surefire, Inforce, TNVC, etc.)

 

[Ledzep]

In addition to the TOR, for up close I'd add a helmet mounted IR illuminator with a wide flood, because in some conditions/settings you'll need extra IR to help the laser. Of course also helps to find critters by eyeshine. Having the illuminator head mounted gives a more instinctive type of shooting since you can look/scan and bring the laser to what you see versus scanning with your gun.

The 940nm Fandyfire on Amazon is a cheap way to keep your costs down by being low cost & it uses a rechargeable battery. It actually works pretty good with a wide flood and ability to adjust the beam as needed from flood-to-spot. You'll need an 18650 battery & charger if you don't have one. Otherwise if you don't need budget then you have a lot of great options (Surefire, Inforce, TNVC, etc.)

I've got a UNV-20 illuminator, and also ordered a Torch Pro from TNVC. I had a Torch Pro a few years back with a different setup and remember it focusing light tighter than what the UNV-20 is doing. We'll see when it shows up. I think the wider beam of the UNV-20 will be good for helmet mounting, though. Don't most PVS-14's have onboard IR illum. as well?

I'm going to attempt to borrow a 3D printer to make my own bracket from Rhino to Flir/PVS. I'm going to borrow a buddy's PVS some time to get measurements for CAD. The $550-800+ price tag on the available mounts is hard to stomach for what they do. Not dogging American made, not saying they're not good, but all I need is for it to hold the units in front of my face and offer a little adjustability.

 

[TNVC_Will]

I've got a UNV-20 illuminator, and also ordered a Torch Pro from TNVC. I had a Torch Pro a few years back with a different setup and remember it focusing light tighter than what the UNV-20 is doing. We'll see when it shows up. I think the wider beam of the UNV-20 will be good for helmet mounting, though. Don't most PVS-14's have onboard IR illum. as well?

I'm going to attempt to borrow a 3D printer to make my own bracket from Rhino to Flir/PVS. I'm going to borrow a buddy's PVS some time to get measurements for CAD. The $550-800+ price tag on the available mounts is hard to stomach for what they do. Not dogging American made, not saying they're not good, but all I need is for it to hold the units in front of my face and offer a little adjustability.

You'll be good to go with those two.

The onboard PVS-14 illuminator isn't strong enough to use it for anything other than low power IR signaling or for very short distances/enclosed areas.

DIY solutions are awesome and if that works for you - awesome. Different strokes as they say. What you're paying the higher $$ for are turn key solutions made out materials to handle hard and prolonged use.

 

[stefan73]

PVS-14's do have on board illum but it is extremely anemic and lends itself more to reading a map IMO. You could also look at a Luna ELIR, then just de-neuter it.

 

[Hoax001]

Thermal differs from conventional NV in that changes to atmospheric conditions impact image quality. As such, while using thermal, it is often necessary to make small changes to the many image settings to better optimize for current conditions. The 5-button remote allows you to do so without touching the device. I kept mine mounted to a watchband and could make changes on-the-fly to adjust for fog or changes in humidity - changes that would otherwise require my manipulating the controls on the device (and on the Breach, the button location and use sucks.)

All that said, the 5-button remotes are not easy to find, and will become less so.

Hope that helps.

Thank you. I had no idea those remotes were compatible with the Breach. Now I want one and can't find one anywhere as they are discontinued. I will keep a lookout in case one shows up somewhere. Great info thank you!

 

[stefan73]

Thank you. I had no idea those remotes were compatible with the Breach. Now I want one and can't find one anywhere as they are discontinued. I will keep a lookout in case one shows up somewhere. Great info thank you!

That sucks, I didn't know they were discontinued.

 

[Ledzep]

For those curious... the Torch PRO on the tight end is probably half as 'wide' as the UNV-20. If we can believe 3 degrees from TNVC, I'd guess 5-6 degrees on the UNV-20. On the wide end, the UNV is huge, outside the FoV of my clip-on NV unit (AGM Comanche). The Torch Pro is just inside the FoV of the clip-on.

I think the UNV will be good for general observation, walking around, etc.. I'll probably mess with helmet mounting it when I get a PVS 14. Torch Pro is going on the gun.

 

[Ledzep]

Got a couple of tweaks to work out but this should end up working fine. Just walking around the back 40 it seems to work well. The thermal takes over in the shadows and the NV takes over in the "bland" temp spots.