inexpensive night vision monoculars...

[midnite oil]

anyone have any experiance with the cheaper night vision monoculars....i would like to stay under $300 ...and have it use readily available batteries...

I have been looking at this one for quite some time

http://www.amazon.com/Armasight-OPMOD-Limited-Edition-Vision/dp/B00EQ4CUGI/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1401739099&sr=1-1&keywords=opmod+night+vision

i realize that this uses different batteries than i would like
thanks

[chosos]

It really isn't worth buying a gen1 device unless you get a gen1 cascade tube device, which you can do within your budget, but you'll need to build it. If you aren't comfortable with that, I would pass on a Gen1 device, and just get a digital device, or save up some cash for a Gen2+ or Gen 3 device.

I say this having owned all of the above. If you watch ebay aggressively, you can probably pick up a Litton commercial gen 2/3 monocular (ex: M8xx, M94x, etc) cheap, but it will likely still be ~400-600.

Gen 1 really isn't impressive, and it is hardly better than your own vision at night, unless you have lots of IR light, in which case, you could save $200, and instead buy a nice $50 flashlight.

[midnite oil]

Thanks for your reply.......sounds like you know about them......if I use a i.r. filter over a million candle power spot light the gen 1 should work....I used this set up on a cam corder with nite vision but the ir emitter was very weak...it would only work across the room by itself....outdoors with the spotlight it worked pretty well...and I did have a soft glow to the filter..which I really don't care about too much....
What are your thoughts with this setup with the gen1...
I have never used a "store bought" ir emitter so I don't know how well they work....
Thanks

[chosos]

Well, if you are on the ultra cheap, you can cut up an old floppy disk and use the internal media as a diy ir filter on the cheap.

I have an actual surefire ir filter on one of my surefire lights, and it works fine for me. The problem is... If you are using a million candle power light, you will need a better ir filter so you dont melt it.

I cant tell you how well it will work. I had a night owl gen 1 device. I was largely unimpressed and ended up selling it, because the field of view was tiny, it didnt work very well, and it was easier to use a flashlight, than the gen 1 nvg+ ir
Light.

The increase in gain from gen 2 or 3 is amazing. Technically what you want to do will work, but now you're talking 300 on a gen 1 nvg, plus the cost of an ir filter, plus the cost of a million candle power light (unless you own it).

[midnite oil]

well i have the good ir filter and possibly mate it to a 500 lumen led just a matter of turning down some aluminium in the lathe......wish i could swing a gen2 or 3 but thats not going to happen for a while as this would only be for entertainment up north

[chosos]

if you can turn aluminum in a lathe, buy a Gen 1 Cascade Tube. There is a whole thread on DIY Gen 1 Cascade devices in the Night Vision forums at ar15.com, which is one of the better NV forums out there. For $200-$250 and some DIY ingenuity, you can build a really functional Gen 1 cascade device to use with your IR light. The only drawback with Gen 1 is that whole fish bubble effect, but it really isn't *that* big of a deal.

If you can get a Gen 2 or 3 device for under 400, I'd so go for it - but if you are truly on a budget Gen 1 cascade is usable. If you need to use a gen 1 non cascade, just save your $ and use a flashlight.

[DV8r]

Search hear too, they sometimes have some good deals: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/productlist?k=Night+vision