Night Vision Questions about PVS-7

[lennyo3034]

There is a PVS-7 for sale locally, and I was looking for info on them. He said it was made by ITT, and was happy to provide a SN to verify it's legal.

I am new to night vision, and am wondering what to look for as far as condition. Do these have a tube life? If so, how can I tell if it's on it's way out?

 

[Delta4-3]

The tube life is usually no issue. There are however, many, many variables. There are several iterations of the PVS-7, and several tubes that it could have, all which change the value. There doesn't seem to be a ton of hot 7's out there, but it is worth checking out. Are there any non factory markings on the housing? Does it have a label on the housing? Can you get a picture of the housing? And finally, can you get him to pull the tube out (very easy) and take a picture of it? That would give some idea as to what level of performance it may have.

They do have a life span, but at a minimum of 10k hours, it's long enough that I wouldn't be too worried about the tube dying of old age unless it is a really old Mi. unit. If you can get all the above questions answered though, then this will also be answered for you.

Good luck!

 

[lennyo3034]

Here's a couple pictures. He says it has autogate. I asked him about the other questions. I haven't seen it in person yet, but definitely will be before making any deal. Thank you for your help