Is there any reason to own one of these units?
Night Vision Pvs-7???
- Thread starter g3ninfinite
- Start date
No, hold for a 14.
They were the main stay several years ago. I still like them for star gazing but hate them for navigating while on foot or driving. Severe lack of depth perception with 2 eyes looking into one lens is a big hindrance for me and others. You can get some pretty good deals on the used market for these.
Vic
Know anything about the really flat looking Norwegian and German units? We have anything like that?
Know anything about the really flat looking Norwegian and German units? We have anything like that?
We use them to great effect in long range observation with the super high quality NIGHT OPTICS 6x AND 10x. The PVS 7 lets us film (Stills and Video) through one eyepiece and direct observation through the other.
Thanks for the info guys. So even as an GEN3 entry point these are a no go?
I cut my teeth on 7b's and have 14's. I like 14's but still very much like a nice set of 7's. For some reason I find them comfortable to wear and view through bino style.
Almost everyone in my unit had 14's in 2001, but the grenadiers and one of the riflemen initially got issued 7B's or 7D's. They were upgraded and like new, but still 7's. They didn't like 'em at all and fell a lot here in the forests (lots of broken teeth, noses and injured brows, and broken NODs, etc.). It's true, they KILL depth perception. You also lose any peripheral vision you had, and it's like looking at everything through a toilet paper tube six inches in front of you --again, with no depth perception at all.
The 14's take getting used to I think, but they become natural and you can keep them on your off eye so you can aim through the other. You still have depth perception, though it does play with it a bit, you get used to this. Having a dark eye also means if the NODs bloom, you aren't totally blind. Having the dark eye also helps pick up other details once your natural night vision is established.
And for the price? Yeah, either save for the 14's you want or just get the TNVC model, which is a good one to go with and a good company to deal with, just make sure that whatever you get from whoever you get it from that you get "hand select" and get a build sheet for the at least the tube. ITT factory units have build sheets for the tube and the unit (and are the only true ISO factory built and assembled devices) but again, get hand select. The ITT hand select Night Enforcer is what I got and it's actually a much better unit than the milspec one at a cheaper price. Get the option with the soft case instead and no skull crusher, mounts, bag, etc. The military issue junk SUCKS. The soft case TNVC offers is really nice and it brings the price down so you can use that money to get a much nicer dovetail mount from Norotos or Wilcox. Also, the Crye soft cap is a really comfortable piece of gear and a cheap way get started ($150 with shroud) and even though I have a $1000 helmet, I almost always use the soft cap now. So hand select NODs + quality mount + soft cap and you're good to go with the best gear for the best price IMO. If you take fire or jump out of planes, maybe look into one of the helmets, but they're just not as attractive to me now that I have that soft cap so get that first.
Good luck! Also, if you wait until Christmas, TNVC usually runs a really nice sale. It also gives you time to save some, research, make phone calls and pick out what you want.
The 14's take getting used to I think, but they become natural and you can keep them on your off eye so you can aim through the other. You still have depth perception, though it does play with it a bit, you get used to this. Having a dark eye also means if the NODs bloom, you aren't totally blind. Having the dark eye also helps pick up other details once your natural night vision is established.
And for the price? Yeah, either save for the 14's you want or just get the TNVC model, which is a good one to go with and a good company to deal with, just make sure that whatever you get from whoever you get it from that you get "hand select" and get a build sheet for the at least the tube. ITT factory units have build sheets for the tube and the unit (and are the only true ISO factory built and assembled devices) but again, get hand select. The ITT hand select Night Enforcer is what I got and it's actually a much better unit than the milspec one at a cheaper price. Get the option with the soft case instead and no skull crusher, mounts, bag, etc. The military issue junk SUCKS. The soft case TNVC offers is really nice and it brings the price down so you can use that money to get a much nicer dovetail mount from Norotos or Wilcox. Also, the Crye soft cap is a really comfortable piece of gear and a cheap way get started ($150 with shroud) and even though I have a $1000 helmet, I almost always use the soft cap now. So hand select NODs + quality mount + soft cap and you're good to go with the best gear for the best price IMO. If you take fire or jump out of planes, maybe look into one of the helmets, but they're just not as attractive to me now that I have that soft cap so get that first.
Good luck! Also, if you wait until Christmas, TNVC usually runs a really nice sale. It also gives you time to save some, research, make phone calls and pick out what you want.
They're better than PVS-5s, from my experience
But in all seriousness, there are just more advantages to the PVS-14 and they go for roughly the same price and availability.
Man you're old!
Indeed I am - I remember when PVS-7s were the fancy new NVGs and we had to use the skull crusher to wear them. That and thermal optics were huge, crew-served only and cooled by mini-refrigerators with a compressor that would give your position away on a quiet night...and that was only the late 80s.
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