After reading the first few blog posts I shared, do you already have a general understanding of night vision devices? Below we will give a general introduction to different models of night vision devices.

pvs-7 vs pvs-18 vs pvs-14 vs pvs-15 vs pvs-31 vs dual tube

First of all, night vision devices are composed of two most important parts, Housing (housing) and Tube (imaging tube). In the military and civilian markets, there are various housings and tubes for night vision devices, and different tubes have different adaptations. Housing, here we pick out a few common ones to introduce to you to help you identify different night vision devices.

(1) PVS-5 mainly appeared during the Gulf War in the United States and is now very uncommon. Technology is relatively backward.

(2) PVS-7 mainly appeared during the Gulf War in the United States. It has two eyepieces, but only one tube and one objective lens. The technology is relatively backward, but it is still issued by the Canadian Army and is adapted to the MX-10130 Tube.

(3) The PVS-14 night vision device is the most widely used housing model among civilian night vision devices and is currently distributed in the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army, Canadian Army, and Canadian Special Forces. It is the most common monocular night vision device and the basis for all later binocular night vision devices. The main material is Injection Molded Plastic. Compatible with the most advanced MX-10160 and MX-11796 Tubes.

(4) MUM-14 is a lighter monocular night vision device designed based on PVS-14, but its reliability is not as good as PVS-14.

(5) PVS-15 binocular night vision device, the combination of two PVS-14s, upgraded the original PVS-14 lenses, and was widely used in the US War in Afghanistan. The pupillary distance is adjusted by the upper swing frame. Reliability was good, but was later eliminated due to excessive weight.

(6) PVS-18 is basically the same as PVS-14. The difference is that it adds a built-in Dovetail Arm, so there is no need to add an Arm when connecting to the Dovetail Mount, and the lens of PVS-18 is changed to the lens of PVS-15.

(7) AI Sentinel Sentinels produced by Adam Industries are currently used by many members of NATO special forces. The materials are CNC aluminum alloy and polyacetal resin. They are extremely reliable, but do not have many functions. They are slightly lighter than PVS-15. Unable to adjust brightness (Fixed Gain). All tubes used by PVS-14 can be used.

(8) AB Mod3 is very similar to Sentinels and can be considered a lightweight Sentinels. And based on Sentinels, a separation function is added, which can transform from one binocular night vision device to two monocular night vision devices. Compared with Sentinel, the reliability is slightly lower, but the weight is much lighter.

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(9) ACT DTNVG is a binocular night vision goggle housing produced in Luxembourg, Europe. Compared with the housing produced in the United States, DTNVG is the lightest in weight (even similar to a monocular night vision goggle) and can be turned up on one side (the binocular night vision goggles are The vision device becomes a single eye), and its reliability is slightly worse than that of American night vision devices. All tubes used by PVS-14 can be used.

(10) L3 PVS-31 After realizing the problem of excessive weight of PVS-15, L3 modified it on the basis of PVS-15, thus giving birth to PVS-31. Currently the most equipped night vision device for the US military special forces. Extremely reliable.

(11) L3 GPNVG-18 looks very powerful. The FOV has been increased from 40 degrees for ordinary eyes to 94 degrees, which is suitable for driving vehicles or helicopters. It is very heavy and not suitable for individual combat use. GPNVG-18 is relatively rare in the civilian market, but there are many fake GPNVG-18 made in Taiwan and Hong Kong.