This wiki has been updated 27 times since it was first published in February of 2015. Whether you are preparing for 24-hour surveillance, planning a nighttime hunt, or simply nature watching in low-light conditions, these night vision goggles will provide you with the visibility you need. We've included affordable NVGs for amateur users, as well as military-grade glasses that can stand up to any scenario, ranked here by their brightness, image quality, and ease of use.When users buy our independently chosen editorialrecommendations,we may earn commissions tohelp fund the Wiki.Skip to. This wiki has been updated 27 times since it was first published in February of 2015. Whether you are preparing for 24-hour surveillance, planning a nighttime hunt, or simply nature watching in low-light conditions, these night vision goggles will provide you with the visibility you need.
We've included affordable NVGs for amateur users, as well as military-grade glasses that can stand up to any scenario, ranked here by their brightness, image quality, and ease of use.When users buy our independently chosen editorialrecommendations,we may earn commissions tohelp fund the Wiki.Skip to. Most people like to think of spy movies and army films when they consider night vision goggles, but my love affair with the technology reaches back to the cartoonishly large Night Vision Devices used by young Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park. They made for the coolest toy in the series of vertically integrated products released by Universal, but I never did get a pair from my parents.Looking back, the toys would never have done the job you saw in the movie.
They were essentially just giant pairs of green-tinted glasses that made the world around you look vaguely like the images produced by a pair of night vision goggles. Well, we'll get to that. But first, a lesson in light.Human beings only see a certain portion of available light along what we call the visible spectrum. Above that spectrum is ultraviolet light (the stuff that gives you sunburn), and below it is infrared light (the light your remote control uses).
NVDs are sensitive to infrared light as well as visible light, so they can collect light the wavelengths of which are too long for our eyes to detect.When that light passes through the objective lens or lenses on a pair of night vision goggles, it meets a series of plates that enhances its power. The first of these is called a photocathode, which is a negatively charged plate that further down the tube in exact correspondence to any photons of light that hit it.The next element is called a microchannel plate.
The Deadliest Night Fighter in Korea Why Douglas Skyknight crews weren’t afraid of the dark. With sophisticated radar, the Douglas Skyknight flew night escort missions, giving Navy and Marine aviators the ability to follow the cardinal rule of fighter pilots: See the enemy before he sees you. Generation 0 - The original night-vision system created by the United States Army and used in World War II and the Korean War, these NVDs use active infrared.
When the electrons from the photocathode pass through the MCP, 5,000-volt bursts of electricity accelerate them through microscopic channels in the glass. On their way through these channels, the MCP emits thousands of electrons that, again, correspond to the position and intensity of the original photons. This is due to a phenomenon called cascaded secondary emission.Finally, these newly multiplied electrons pass through a screen coated with phosphors. The energy of the electrons excites the phosphors, the electrons of which as they descend from an excited state. Those phosphorescent photons are what cast the green color on your night vision image, the light from which then travels through the goggles' ocular lens and into your eye.In short, these goggles take in all available light from the infrared spectrum up through the spectrum of visible light, convert its photons to electrons, exponentially multiply those electrons, and revert all those new electrons back into photons that your goggles then focus into a clear, night vision image. Two Eyes Are Better Than OneChoosing from among the night vision goggles on our list is likely going to come down to your intended use for them. Although there are many striking similarities from set to set, you should notice at least one or two major differences among them.For starters, there's the imaging tube, or tubes.
Some of the pairs on our list utilize a single tube that splits the image between two eyepieces. The effect is a little more like looking through a pirate's spyglass than, say, a pair of binoculars.Speaking of spyglasses and binoculars, one might expect these devices to magnify the images seen through them, as well.For that latter effect, you'd want a pair of goggles, with two tubes discreetly dedicated to each eye. This type of goggle provides significantly improved depth perception, but it also requires twice as much imaging hardware compared to its simpler cousin. That means it's usually a lot more expensive.Speaking of spyglasses and binoculars, one might expect these devices to magnify the images seen through them, as well.
While some of the goggles on our list do boast a certain degree of magnification, it isn't always included with a set, nor is it always ideal. Imagine a group of Marines in close, dark combat, the enemy a mere five or ten feet away. With 8x magnification (a relatively standard enhancement on common binoculars), the soldiers in question would never clearly see the enemy.This is an extreme example, of course, but it illustrates that any and all magnification built into the goggles you choose ought to serve the majority of your purposes, or else it might become a burden. Let Your Little Light ShineThe first night vision goggles saw use on the battlefields of WWII and the Korean War. These used a technology called active infrared, which sends a beam of infrared light outward into the environment not unlike the beam of a flashlight. Last updated on April 16, 2019 byDaniel Imperiale holds a bachelor’s degree in writing, and proudly fled his graduate program in poetry to pursue a quiet life at a remote Alaskan fishery. After returning to the contiguous states, he took up a position as an editor and photographer of the prestigious geek culture magazine “Unwinnable” before turning his attention to the field of health and wellness.
In recent years, he has worked extensively in film and music production, making him something of a know-it-all when it comes to camera equipment, musical instruments, recording devices, and other audio-visual hardware. Daniel’s recent obsessions include horology (making him a pro when it comes to all things timekeeping) and Uranium mining and enrichment (which hasn’t proven useful just yet). Thanks for reading the fine print. About the Wiki: We don't accept sponsorships,free goods, samples, promotional products, or other benefits from any of the product brands featured on this page, exceptin cases where those brands are manufactured by the retailer to which we are linking.For our full ranking methodology, please read about us, linked below. The Wiki is a participant in associate programsfrom Amazon, Walmart, Ebay, Target, and others, and may earn advertising feeswhen you use our links to these websites. These fees will not increase your purchase price,which will be the same as any direct visitor to the merchant’s website.If you believe that your product should be includedin this review, you may contact us, but we cannot guarantee a response, even if you send us flowers.
The BTR-80 was the logical evolution of the wheeled armored personnel carrier (APC) BTR series that more or less hit its stride in the 1960s with the development of the BTR-60. The BTR-80 itself was developed to replace both the BTR-60 and the similar BTR-70 models and entered production in 1986, seeing operational service soon after. The BTR-80 was based on the lessons learned from the design and operation of the BTR-70 and incorporated several key strengths of its design while bringing into the fold various technological suites as required by today's battlefield environments.Taking the BTR-70 as a starting point, Soviet engineers did away with the twin gasoline engine setup of the former BTR-60 and BTR-70 designs and instead fitted a single V-form 8-cylinder KamAZ-7403 series diesel engine to deliver 260 horsepower at 2,600rpm. The characteristic eight road wheel arrangement was retained. The implementation of the new powerplant required some restructuring of the rear engine compartment which raised the rear hull line. Modernized sighting devices (nightvision to both the driver and the commander) were installed as was an infra-red search light.
Armament was fitted to a revised, low-profile one-man turret and given 360-degree traverse and 60+ degrees elevation to counter low flying aircraft and engage targets even if the vehicle was hampered along sloped terrain. Primary armament came in the form of a 14.5mm KPVT anti-aircraft heavy machine gun supported by a 7.62mm PKT general purpose machine gun.The standard operating crew included the driver, commander and gunner while up to eight combat ready soldiers could be ferried in relative safety in the revised fighting compartment. The driver and commander were situated at the front of the hull under the shallow glacis plate while the gunner manned the powered turret system. Passengers could take part in a given firefight thanks to the inclusion of rounded firing ports complete with ball mounts located at the side (three each side) and front facings of the hull. The vehicle's operating weight was listed at nearly 15,000kg while displaying a running length of 7.65 meters, a width of 2.90 meters and a height of 2.35 meters. Independent suspension and drive power was afforded to all eight wheels and operational ranges were listed out to 600 kilometers.
Steering was assisted at the front four wheels only. A centralized tire air pressure system maintained the required levels to all eight wheel systems and was controlled by the driver for when managing varied terrain 'on-the-fly'. The BTR-80 was designed with a certain level of self-survivability in mind and could manage to lose two of its eight road wheels and still keep itself viable. Top speed was 80 kilometers on smooth paved surfaces, lesser on rough and uneven terrain. The BTR-80 was given amphibious capabilities and could traverse relatively calm waters at roughly 9 kilometers per hour with its integrated water jet propulsion system that required no outward preparation by the crew. The crew was also protected in the event of nuclear fallout and chemical weapons by a new Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) suite and a pressurized fighting compartment. Six 81mm smoke grenade dischargers were fitted to the rear of the turret and set to fire forwards for self-protection in a combat environment.
Armor was designed heavy enough to deflect or stop small arms fire and artillery spray but was not specifically designed to withstand direct hits from larger caliber weapons, rocket grenades or anti-tank missile weapons. Troops exited/entered the BTR-80 hull through split doors found on the hull sides between the forward and rearward wheel pairings (between axles two and three).
![Korean War Night Vision Korean War Night Vision](http://koreanwarcollectibles.net/upload/M1-M2-M3-Carbine-Infrared-Sniper-Scope-Korean-War-Night-Vision-09-fujl.jpg)
Each door was split horizontally with the upper portion hinged to open forwards and the lower portion folded down to become a step capable of supporting the weight of a soldier. A third door section along the hull roof could similarly flip upwards (towards centerline) for increased headroom and speedy insertion/extractions.Once in service, the BTR-80 had proven a winner for the Red Army, with off-road performance equal to that of any tracked vehicle systems coupled with excellent on-road performance.
Where it lacked in protection and firepower (not its specifically designed forte) it made up for in mobility and speed. Such was the success of the BTR-80 that it went into service with a plethora of national armies the world over including Columbia, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, North Korea and South Korea among others. The Ukrainians took initiative and branched their BTR-80 series family into further improved indigenous lines to benefit their mobile army units. The BTR-80 chassis has also proven highly adaptable to the fitting of various armament types (machine guns, cannons) as well as flexible enough for several required battlefield roles to include that of command vehicle, battlefield ambulance, signals vehicle and mobile communications station.A new YaMZ-238M2 engine was introduced into the BTR-80 line in 1993, further enhancing inherent capabilities. As of this writing, at least 5,000 BTR-80s have been placed into service with 35 countries. Site content ©2003-MilitaryFactory.com, All Rights Reserved.The 'Military Factory' name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S.
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