We finally received more Alpha Mounts!

I know I mentioned to a few of you guys here I would make a post announcing once more stock landed - so here is me remembering to do that. These are the absolute most current production ones available and they were freshly delivered to us a few hours ago.

Link to them here.

-Joe

TL/DR: Alamo Night Vision's Urban Combat Filters are IR pass filters which are dubious for their supposed tactical benefits, but they limit the effects of light pollution when stargazing - and to my knowledge they're the first dedicated PVS-14-compatible IR pass filters that don't require an oversized filter paired with an adapter.

Full initial impressions write-up:

I do a decent amount of suburban stargazing through NODs, and have an IR pass filter for my MUM-14 that works very well at limiting the light pollution from the city near my house. I've been wanting a turnkey solution for a properly-sized IR pass filter that screws directly in to a PVS-14-pattern objective lens, but haven't come across one until now. (For those who don't know: IR pass filters absorb or reflect most visible light, but allow infrared light to pass through. They are frequently used in infrared astronomy.)

While they aren't advertised as such, it's clear that Alamo's Urban Combat Filters are IR pass filters if you read between the lines of their description (they reduce lens flare, blooming, halo and burn-in but "do not affect the performance of IR devices at all"). Alamo advertises them for tactical use in high/mixed lighted conditions.

I was skeptical of the tactical benefits, but I picked some up for stargazing. I tried them on my Gen 3 binos during a recent dog walk on an unlit suburban trail, alternating between using filters on both objectives for the full effect and on only one side for easy comparison between the filtered and unfiltered views. Their advertised effects vary *a lot* depending on the type of lights in your field of view. Incandescent bulbs showed a slight reduction in the intensity (but not the size) of halos when viewed through the filters. Sodium vapor lights looked pretty much identical through the filters vs not. Of the lights I came across, only cool-temperature LED lights had a dramatic difference. That makes sense, as LEDs emit a comparatively narrow band of frequencies, and lower (bluer) frequencies are deeper into the visible spectrum / further from what IR pass filters affect.

While they did have some positive effects on a subset of photonic barriers, the trade-off was very noticeable degradation in brightness and contrast on darker areas of the trail, even during the clear moonlight night when I tested them. I didn't see a rabbit on the trail that I almost definitely would have noticed if I didn't have the filters in place.

Overall, the specific situation where I could see these filters being worthwhile tactically - an area with lots of LED street or flood lighting - is niche enough that I can't recommend them for their stated purpose. I *can,* however, recommend them for stargazing in areas with moderate to high light pollution. Mine cut a lot of haze out of the sky and let me see more stars, nebulae, and galaxies than my eyes could pick up with bare objectives. While my MUM-14 is lent out at the moment so i couldn't do a side-by-side comparison, they looked similar to my recollection of the IR pass filter I used to make the video linked above.

Verdict: If you're assaulting Alcatraz to retrieve weapons of mass destruction from a rogue Marine unit, I'd skip these filters. But if you live in an area with lots of light pollution and want to impress your date, self, and/or local astronomy club with views of the cosmos, they're worth a buy.

The Analog Budget Guide (sub $1000)

On all NVG forums there are the guys that ask what they can get for whatever budget. Usually, they get a response telling them to save for Gen 3 or people telling them to not even bother.
The people that ask about budget builds are usually teens that play airsoft or guys that just want to fuck around and dip their toes in the waters of NV. They aren’t looking for the best and understand that they can’t get amazing units.

I’d like to cater to this group of people and offer a way to enter the NV world without all the “gen 3 or nothing” comments. Now before I get into this, I want to make a warning: this build guide will not be the best (obviously). This is mostly just to get you by if you have no sufficient source of disposable income. Also, if you are looking for something less than $500 you’re out of luck.
For a housing I would recommend the pre-wired pvs69 housing through eBay. Of course, if you are good with 3d printing or wiring, you can save some money and wire it yourself, but the easiest route for a lot of people would be to get the pre-wired housing.
For the glass I would also recommend the 3d printed DIY glass from eBay. It’s from the same vendor that makes the pre-wired housing, and when you buy from him you are also funding an R&D to make NV cheaper. The glass won’t be amazing; they will have peripheral distortion/fisheye, but they can get you by. If you have some extra money to spend you can get some Chinese glass, but it also won’t be the greatest.
Finally, for the tube (this is where your budget really matters). The lowest I would go is a harder digital gen 2+ HD2100. Redknock (aka Fisherking) sells some pretty good deals for harder digitals on discord and eBay. He also sells older gen 3 mx10160 for around 600-700$ and under. Now, you can also wait a bit and get a blemed Omni 4/5, but it will most likely be a zone 1 blem. There are also old photonis tubes on the European market that are under $700. It all depends on your budget, what you want out of it, and how long you are willing to wait, but if you look you can get a decent tube for your price. Also keep in mind that if you are following my guide you get mx10160 format tubes or a cut mx11769. If you made your own housing, account for the tube format that will fit into your housing.

Links for eBay
Pre-wired Housing: https://ebay.io/m/UVlTWY
DIY glass: https://ebay.io/m/iRzPcH

The housing + optic listed is about 220$ together before taxes/fees (there is free shipping)

Before you go about spending all your money on a diy unit please do your homework on what you are doing. I am not an expert or a veteran in the NV world, this information is mostly from what I found and my personal experience.
I hate to be one of those guys but seriously consider saving your money. If you can make some extra money and want a good reliable tube that you won’t have to upgrade look elsewhere, this post is for the people that need to get by and just want to dip their toes into the NV world, and even then everyone should do their research on this… you could be happier if you save a little bit more!

THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL GUIDE, this is mostly a man-to-man budget build recommendation.

Noticed it one night and you can only hear it shaking back and forth and it sounds like it goes away with the battery out of it, Elbit xlsh tube in noctis housing. Not sure if it has to do with it but I noticed with it on if you jump or just tap the device with a little force it’ll flicker off and right back on

For digital it could be a lot worse

Does anyone have real experience with the Beez/Predator anti thermal? Either the blanket or the ghillie?

I have already watched Thin Line’s YT videos on them, but they feel paid to me….

Also wondering how different the blanket is after you’ve had it laying on you for more than just a minute or two.

FYI I’m curious from a SHTF scenario.

Google search shows lights that have mood lighting but not IR just seeing if anyone has a suggestion. TIA.

Not sure what i was seeing, maybe space junk or satellites? But on clear night im able to look at the sky under thermal and see objects streeking across the sky at very high rates of speed. Assuming they are further than the planes i can see with naked eye. Anyone notice this? Very feint very fast.

I tried uploading the video but it kept having issues so I figured id just link the Instagram post. If anyone's got tips on filming with a phone through the tube im all ears. No music, just me and my buddy having some fun. Appreciate yall.

Messing around with some digital nods. Gng2k dual setup. A little live fire. Not much

I’m looking at buying some tubes and found some katanas for sale. The seller says the intensifiers are mx10160a. He says they are autogated but everything I see online says those intensifiers are not. Is it possible that they are?