How to Build Your Own PVS-14
00:00 - Intro
03:03 - Build Starts
11:44 - Purging
This is a quick tutorial on how to assemble a PVS-14 at home, with minimal tools and equipment. This was requested by several people, and since we needed to build another PVS-14 anyway, we figured it would be a good educational opportunity. Understandably, the purists in the night vision world might scoff at someone building their own devices, but we think this is valuable knowledge to have, especially in today's world of shortages and substandard quality. Not everyone will agree, and that's fine.
DISCLAIMER: This content is purely educational and does not advocate for violating any laws. Do not violate any laws or regulations. This is not legal advice. Consult with your attorney. If you break your stuff, that's on you.
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A hint from some one who cleaned and adjusted microscopes professionally, using aluminum foil as a work space covering works fantastically. When you unwrapped the foil, it is guarantied there is zero dust or lint. Also this eliminates any static charges. So lay down a layer of foil to work on. You will thank me.
Great idea
You sir are a god send. Thank you!
@@brandonthedestroyer7649 I would also use foil to seal off exposed components from air borne dust. Use it to wrap components which are removed to do the same.
guarantied
id use seran wrap cuz id think aluminum foil would make static
The amount of smart people in this comment section is giving me hope.
Hope for what?
@@noahway13ig for humanity
@noahway13 it doesn't matter what it's for. He's beginning to believe..
My fbi agent watching my youtube history become full of "how to perform a ambush", "how to build a pvs 14", "night combat", "guerilla warfare", "what materials can be used as ballistic armor?"
Just add some actual Minecraft videos to the mix....
Hahaha right. They're totally confused by my history , guns, hunting, war, accidents then blippi, trolls , kids exercise videos 😂 my algorithm is all wonky thanks to my girls.
Same timeline, same history dude. Fells good I'm not the only one who thinks the world got dangummed weird all of a sudden
Sitting in same boat with you guys
We are cooked no doubt😂
If you're going to be just using a Pvs14 you may want to look into swapping the standard battery compartment to an NL914C housing. It's lighter, allows you to use either a AA or a CR123 and has all the controls placed more conveniently.
I’d like to build one with the NL914C and an aluminum 7075 T-6 Vyper housing.
Get rid of both and get one that uses an 18650
@@saltwaterrook4638 This
Replaceable batteries > rechargeable batteries. I can buy packs of disposable batteries. I have to keep rechargeable batteries on my smart charger maintainer.
@@saltwaterrook4638 except 18650s don't have an internal level shut-off. Once a Li battery is run past a certain point, it can never be recharged, just recycled.
From somebody that has been building ANVIS units for more than 20 years now there were a couple of steps left out. Setting the infinity focus (ocular lens) and diopter (eyepiece lens) focus. That is where that little spanner wrench comes into play, you really need 2 of them. One to hold the lock ring and one to tighten the lens ring. Generally they are double sided, one side for the eyepiece and the other for the ocular lens. Simply screwing the lenses in all the way is not going to give you the ability to close and far focus. You should be able to focus anywhere from about 2 feet to infinity using the ocular focus. With the diopter set at 0 the eye lens should be somewhere about 3 and half to 4 and a half turns out. The ocular lease somewhere from 4 to 6. That is a cleaver way to get around a pressurized purge though you should do it with both else’s set to the outer most travel setting after the diopter and infinity focus is completed. That way once you plug the purge port as you adjust the lenses in there should be an increase in tension, especially noticeable on the eyepiece. If there is no increase in tension (which signals an increase in pressure inside the housing) then you have a leak somewhere and purging wont do you any good. By the way it looks like you put the retainer ring in upside down, this can damage the IT especially if it is torqued over the value of about 8 inch ounces.
Do you buy your tubes direct from manufacturers? I feel like I would get laughed at if I shot L3 an email to purchase just one tube.
@@miked7728 I get mine from the Army supply system. Building and maintaining ANVIS is part of my job with the military.
@@AirCav24 Oh haha gotcha. I knew I should have befriended the supply guys when we were getting all out 14s refurbished. At least they let me keep my broken housing as a memento. Thanks for the reply!
Uh oh, AFE ANVIS police is here. ^^ Jokes aside, as a guy who’s also AFE and has been building ANVIS units for a few years, I agree with all of this post. Trouble is, how do you set infinity and diopter without a 126A?
Cool!
I was a radio repairman (29E) in the Army back in the early 90's. In our shop we also had an MOS that repaired sundry other electronics that weren't radios. We used to call them "Flashlight Repairmen" because mostly all they did was replace Image Intensification Tubes, power switches, and IR LEDs in PVS5's and PVS7's. It's been a lot of years, but I don't recall them taking any of the care you've displayed here!
I can not remember how many PVS 7's I had to take down for the main body replacement do to damage, but a few imaging tubes were replaced. Then I can remember picking up 7 PVS 5's from of of the cav units on FT Hood. Did the pricing of the damage parts and each one to repair was more expensive than getting new PVS 7's at around $3600, but the parts to make a PVS 7 were 3400.
I was a 29S back in the 80's.
this is why Aviation always did their own maintenance on their ANVIS Goggles.
As a former 19D who was issued a pvs14 that was so incredibly poorly maintained that I legitimately didn't even recognize the value of NODs until I purchased my own I can confirm the validity of opening comment.
@@Cyph3rX that stuff was big hooah as an 11c, we had good maintenance.
This is awesome. You could sell the curated part kits and spare parts, develop this channel as NV for dummies. Lots of fans of this kind of DIY stuff.
100% I'm wondering the price to build one. I know they are around $2500-$3000 to buy so I'd figure around $1500 or so to build yourself? Cheaper would be cool.
@@mediocrefloridaman the tube are around $2k on the sites I looked at. Definitely not a cheap diy project
@@jeffgayzose8129 yeah for sure. I think I'd pay $3k to have it built for me. Not feeling like a diy project to save just a few hundred bucks.
@@mediocrefloridaman bro… good nods are 10-20 grand
@@lukeknight1133 are pvs14 not good nods or what?
Purging is done because this kind of nitrogen is DRY (so is the argon). The whole idea is to remove water vapor so it won't condense on your optics when your PVS-14 goes from warm to cold environments. "Canned Air" is usually some relative or variant of difluroethane, and over time those chemicals can degrade certain plastics and rubber compounds. You do Not want to find out the hard way that a lens gasket was one of them. Tilting the gas canister too far will result in _liquid argon_ entering the monocular, which is technically not 'moisture'. It will not cause condensation inside the PVS-14 directly, but it will make the housing cold, which _could_ cause condensation if any water vapor is left inside (not likely due to the tiny volume and dryness of the gas). If it happens by accident, just let it warm up and spray the gas in there again. There is a mechanical danger, though fairly unlikely. The liquid is extremely cold, and could cause cold-shock issues like misalignment of the optics, or in extreme cases breaking a lens or the light amplification tube (not likely to happen, and would require squirting a _lot_ of liquid argon/nitrogen in there, probably on purpose).
No you will not get liquid Argon inside, for Agron to be liquid you need to cool it to -303F.
@@Thorgon-Cross That's at atmospheric pressure, but I get your point. If there's any liquid coming out of that can, it's not 100% Argon. Liquid Argon at room temperature would be under an enormous amount of pressure.
Lol I was confused for a sec. I never said any of this!
@@cwinter90 I've had the same issue with people having the same username and icon as me.
Ý
If you go the wine preserver rout remember: Argon is a Noble gas 1.38 times heavier than air. When you use the gas hold the hole in an upright position and flow the gas into the body. The weight of Argon will displace the air in the chamber helping to purge the air out.
Or just put it in a bucket and doing it in there.
…he did work off the the basics of that.
You’re leaving out a great reason for “building” your own, which is understanding through firsthand experience how these things are put together and assembled. Assembling something yourself gives you firsthand knowledge of each part within your piece of equipment and somewhat of an idea of what each piece does. Stuff like this is key to understanding your gear on a more realistic level. Keep on rockin man. You’ve done monumental work in this field 🤙
True, but you're not gonna figure out how the tube works, which is 99.2% of this device.
I've used the reverse thread trick for years, and this is the first time I've ever heard anyone else use it. Nice!
Mechanics and machinists have used it for a long time. I've been telling the Neanderthals to do it to keep from stripping the threads.
@@dannyarrowheadstalker3054 i used to work for nasa, funny how many apparently educated people don't know little tricks like this. lol....they did drop a multi-million dollar satellite using one of the tools i made and showed them how to use multiple times though....goes to show that education and intelligence can be different parameters even if they are closely related. lol
Love this trick use it all the time
I'm uneducated but always thought this was common sense.
I too use this trick. I am happy I am not the only one.
That’s insane bro! These things were like $12,000 when I was in. Scared af to lose one during field rotation 😂
Seeing as argon is quite dense, I'd consider getting a long inflation needle, grease needle, or blunted veterinary needle- Determine a route through the purge hole with which you can go deeper into the case. That will allow the argon to "push" and flood everything out in a vertical configuration. Go slow, do multiple additions over several minutes, and I bet one could get a dang good purge.
I was thinking the same thing.
Agree
Or simply place it in a plastic container/aquarium/etc.. Flood the container with the argon, and let the lighter gasses float up and out. Afterwards, you can carefully reach down into this pooled gas to put the screw back in without spilling it back out of the hole.
I weld in a cloud of argon 😁
@@macgyverpreppin4056 and can probably rent an argon bottle for the cost of the wine preserver.
That was 1000x simpler than I could have ever imagined. It is simpler than any project that was on my bench in many years. I'm shocked and disappointed in myself that I hadn't considered this route. I even have stuff that I could probably rig to purge. I fkn love you dude. Thank you. I've been selling high value items in order to fix my NVDeficiency. I assumed I was still way off. Maaaaaybe not. Fkn hero.
I agree, I will definitely be going this route
still priced out, by a LONNNG Way, but OTM, anyway
IMO shields/shoulder armor high end helmet >> night vision.
@@MobileAura no ballistic shield ?
If you need help finding a tube , I can probably help
Glad you mentioned purging. Former General Dynamics Electro-Optical Research and Development Technician here. A small amount of water vapor in the air is NOT going to hurt anything until the unit FREEZES. Water vapor is basically optically clear. ICE on the lens is VERY MUCH NOT. Do you live in Alaska? PURGE!, Do you live in Arizona? No big deal. BTW S2...Semper Fi. Sgt USMC
I'm not the type to comment on videos, I usually like and lurk. This is video is a great example of the type of content I enjoy and they're the reason why I use KZhead. The fact that creators struggle with censorship, exposure, and being fairly compensated for ad revenue makes me frustrated with the platform. I hate that I have to leave a comment just for the sake of manipulating an algorithm that doesn't even benefit the audience I'm a part of. That being said, here we are. Keep up the good work and fight the good fight.
Here is what I do for a temporary clean room while assembling NVGs. Make a box out of dollar store foam board, about 2ft by 2ft. Lay it on end so you can see through it. On the back end place a cheap 2'x2' box fan so that it is blowing towards you. On the back side of the fan, tape a 24x24 high grade furnace filter. This will create a positive pressure clean box that will have a constant flow of clean air while blowing out any dust or dirt that you introduce. It works great and you no longer have to worry about dust or hairs on the lenses while assembling. And it costs about 30 bucks and you can use it for a lot of purpose. Also works for painting if you turn the fan around.
Just the concept of this is very worth mentioning. I can think of ten ways to make the same thing but wouldn’t have considered it without this comment. Thank you, I’m putting this on my list of projects if things settle down. Kind of pissed I didn’t see this video at release; part kits probably aren’t even worth looking up right now.
A furnace filter would not come close to clean room standards. You are going to want HEPA, but it is a decent amount of filtering.
@@mattlewandowski73 It's better than nothing, and optically speaking, you don't care about objects that are smaller than the wavelength of light you're dealing with.
Today’s going to be a great day now that it’s starting with an underground vid.
Great video, I have no idea this was a thing. A ballpark savings estimate and maybe some links to where you prefer to buy parts (or trust for sourcing quality) would have been great IMO.
99% of the time I would agree that building your own whenever possible is the best way to go for many reasons others have already mentioned but the truth is that the best deal I could find for all the parts needed totaled $2,699. But, with a little more research, I found a complete device on sale for $2,499. I think if you have one already and it needs repairs, this is a great idea but buying one at this time is a lot more economical that building it seems.
Are the tubes the same quality?
Pretty good instruction. I was a sealed instrument repair specialist in the military. Primarily AN AVS-9 (binoculars for pilots), but I worked on a few PVS-14's. The comments about setting diopter are correct. Also, depends on your individual eyes (corrected vision to 20/20 or similar) where it needs to be set. I think a 3D printer should be able to make the tools you need to tighten the intensifier tube lock ring and make a screw in purge valve adapter. It is just a glorified brake bleeding tool with an adapter to screw in to the housing and a 3 way valve to put nitrogen into the system. Harbor freight sells the vacuum kit. Just need to 3D print the screw in adapter with a hose barb on the end. Suck it down to -15, open valve to nitrogen, repeat 3 times. The nitrogen is important to stop condensation from drastic temperature fluctuations and pressure changes. That's why modern cars have nitrogen in the tires because the gas doesn't compress or expand during drastic changes and you aren't constantly filling/releasing air out of your tires. Assembly with canned air (which is sterile and dust free) and acetone is what I found worked best. Never use cloth or wipes to clean the lenses or intensifier if you get smudges on them. Blow debris off with air, use a clean Q-tip with acetone in a swirl motion from inside to outside of lense.
Wow. Your content never fails to impress, guys.
I’m glad you did this video. I thought about building one before but wasn’t confident enough. Now Im gonna build it for sure
Thanks for the 100% detailed and informative video. You answered more questions about NV than I care to admit. Keep up the great work.
Got lucky and found a guy selling 2 PVS-14s for $800 each... So I messaged my buddy and asked him if he wanted one, and shortly after he sent me money to snag him one haha The quality ended up being WAY better than we expected. Very small blems, honestly I think theyre factory blems... Might have to try this purging method though with winter coming up. We've been doing hikes or drives atleast once a week to get used to them. Definitely need some IR lights and a kill switch for the visible lights on the overcast/moonless nights.
Sometimes I don't even have a clue what you talk about, but the videos are just so well executed.
I want to thank you for sharing so much critical information for those who wish to be engaged in preserving our freedoms from threats foreign and domestic. Your ability to communicate necessary details for any given topic is above precision. I am happy to offer my services to you where applicable.
Cool. Seen vids about this before, but you raise some good points as far as availability. Usually the "nitrogen purge" is done mainly to displace moist air, the gas isn't terribly important. As a few others have pointed out, using a longer needle that goes deeper inside the device is going to be a lot more effective with the argon purge. Also, for a DIY nitrogen purge setup, probably looking at a few hundred bucks, but wouldn't be worth doing unless you were going to be doing a lot of 'em just due to storage space.
it might be a good idea to setup a clean room for this, somewhere that you can run an A/C and/or heater to set the humidity to 45 - 55 % relative to avoid static and excessive moisture, or a dry room with very low moisture below 30%. it's not hard to do with a window A/C or portable heater. running both in a small room will drop the moisture down to near 0 if you wish. HVAC 101 from an old timer in the business. welding supply has all the inert gas you need, regulators and bottles are at discount tool shops. it would not be too expensive to get a small bottle and regulator which would let you get Helium for party balloons as well. multi use tools are the best!
Nice! Thanks for the info.
Helium is lighter than air.
You can make your own benchtop positive pressure clean room with foam boards, a box fan, and a furnace filter
@@charlesmckinley29 yes it's also for filling balloons and talking funny, which is what I'm saying you should use it for not to fill your 14 with. since you can buy the tanks and reg, just get a refill with helium not argon or dry nitrogen. just get the rite sticker to use. lots of tanks get painted over time.
Look up a flow hood/box. Clean work table with a hepa filter surrounded by 3 sides blowing at your work space. This creates a positive pressure with extremely filtered air not allowing any dust in
I had a bunch of things to do but this has put a stop to it update im kinda disappointed thought this was a legit diy night vision tutorial
It’s amazing how many variables that go into the process of night vision... truly interesting... gives good insight as to why it’s so expensive...I’m common folk so my expenses can’t justify buying new but I feel night vision a necessity. A real amateur here... any help goes a long way... nice video, anyone who wants to help old frank in the comment section is greatly appreciated... God Bless
appreciate you mentioning using argon as a substitute, and the benefit of it being heavier than air. Argon is used in purging AC systems in automotive applications, maybe residential as well. As well as it's use in welding to act as a shielding gas and a purging gas with in the pipe. It get's the job done!
I recall that port with the screw would have a valve for the vacuum and purge process. This video is more in depth that my week's work of training for maintenance. The calibration test that was taught requires that expensive equipment you had referenced. Great video.
Most of the goggles do. Pvs14s usually just have a screw with oring
This is a great one right here, top-tier knowledge transfer!
As someone who works as a Night vision assembly tech purging is highly recommended 👌 good tip on the wine preserver.
Wow. Clicked on this off a whim because I recognized your channel as one I subscribed to and like making things… I assumed it was a gun build video. Really glad I found this. Thanks
The ITAR rules do more to complicate and limit us than the stated targets. Same thing (IMHO) regarding Globalist ISO "requirements". This video is another example that good ol' American creativity, ingenuity, and the ability to think, still exist out in "the wild". Keep-up the good work S2!!!!!!!!
The number of ITAR items we just left in Afghanistan for the taking is enough for me to say fuck that noise.
@@bobdole234bd I came here to say the same
To HELL with Government regulations and CONTROL.
Thanks in the UK its not easy to find a PVS14 so i got a kit and built my own because of your video. Saved some money and was happy with the results 👍🏻
where'd you get the kit? Irish here
@jam9482 agm globalvision for a empty unit and a site called deepdark in uk for the tube but agm is 1800 euro now last year was 1000 euro
How much did you spend and what were your tube specs?
Never realized these bad boys were this simple to put together thanks for the knowledge!
Welder here. Totally guessed argon the whole last half. And I noticed a few optic manufacturers use it. Thanks for the great info.
An Electro Static Displacement mat with wrist and foot connections is recommended for prevention of static buildup and discharge (Faraday cage). If you can get it (one way pneumatic valve), you want to purge with Argon (check specifications for pressure levels). I always wore a full bunny suit working in the clean room, but if you have it a hair net is also a good idea; reducing the particulates in the local air is crucial. Also, I would recommend working on a surface you can get spotlessly clean, wood is not great for optical work. Local floor and tile places will have a nice piece of polished granite you can buy for relatively cheap. (Edited for granite suggestion.)
Purging is to be done at 3psi. Never exceed 5psi
Yeah, ESD management is a crucial component missed from this video. It does not take much electro static discharge to damage a circuit board component. And the insidious thing is it might not be obvious right away. It might result in a sudden premature failure later down the road.
@@pb7087 while usually pretty important. These parts are pretty tough. But it is still a good idea to take some precautions
@@ChevTecGroup ESD is largely overrated, it really depends on the components though. About the only one I know of off the top of my head that's super ESD sensitive is laser diodes.
None of that is needed for assembling one nuit for yourself. Put it together and you'll be fine. You're not shipping 10k units, where you get to be sure none of them get returned or fail in the field.
The purpose of the nitrogen purge is not to have nitrogen, in and of itself. What you are trying to do is have moisture-free gas inside of the instrument. Your argon purge is just as good, even SCUBA air would be good as it is supposed to be free from moisture/humidity.
also tests to see if the device is water tight which the pvs-14 and 15 have can handle rain and such harsh wet conditions.
I came here to say this. Its not nitrogen for the sake of nitrogen, they use it because its known to be super dry. You could use pretty much any gas that has a low dew point.
As someone who buys compressed gasses for my company (Argon, Nitrogen, etc) I would not recommend anything besides the Argon or Nitrogen for purging the water vapor. My recommendation is Argon if you can get it; otherwise use Nitrogen.
I appreciate all your help and information. Thank You.
Thank you for this video I was just looking at doing this project last week.
My bank account is fearing for his life
Quick tip for your argon purge, heat shrink tubing is great for shrinking the ends of spray straws to be even finer. I've done purging in a similar manner and even gone so far as to shrink the tubing onto a bit of hypodermic needle to get the gas as far into the chamber as possible in hopes to drive out the air without much mixing. Maybe you find the advise useful.
Thanks for going above & beyond 2 help your fellow Americans! And thank u for ur service!
This is sooooo handy and great. Appreciate your help on saving people money for sure. Suggestion on filming lock focus and turn auto lighting off and lock at certain gain. Eliminates blur and brightness focus. 👍🏼
Just a not the retaining ring has an "up side/facing the ocular lens" also. You can tell be the depth of the notch marks in the retaining ring. Also to purge I remove the ocular lens and with the objective lens pointing up 12:00 use the Argon to push the O2 out of the bottom.
What a great idea. Love this
Proof that you only fear what you dont understand. Thank you brother for sending me down a rabbit hole
This is now officially my favorite KZhead channel
A bit of advice for watchers: don’t go on and on about how you hate dust and you’re gonna cover and protect your tube, then unwrap the tube and leave it open to the air seconds before blowing dust out of the housing right over top of the tube.
Argon purging can be done easily in a covered Aquarium full of argon. Its a common welding gas coming cheap in 4 gallon bottles
Love you for this buddy! I just got my first tube, and have been looking at options for housing it!
Thanks bro! Great video! I had no idea they required that much info just to be able to see at night! Why am I not suprised! Great info and ty!
If you have a welder friend with a 100% argon tank you could do similar as you did in the video, but maybe have it in a tall plastic ware container so it generates a bath of argon for you to work in, and likely much cheaper, while also giving you a flow control so you do not generate much turbulence.
I had no idea this was a thing. Definitely piecing my set together now
Me too.
Where do you get the parts?
@@ATruckCampbell I looked quickly but saw tubes on eBay and kits on a few different websites. Probably get kits on ebay too though
That's so cool. I might actually do this, cause I know these devices are not cheap. That's the only reason why I haven't bought one yet. Excellent video by the way ❤
Rare example where the comments are as informative as the video. A lot of experience in this community. Nice.
Pro tip for a "dust free" assembly environment: Use your bathroom! Turn the shower on nice and hot WITHOUT the fan on for a couple minutes to get the bathroom all steamed up, then turn the shower off and let the room cool for 30 minutes or so. The steam/water in the air catches all the dust and it all falls to the floor leaving the air dust free!
This is good for cell phone protective screens...but they can take the moisture..I wonder if that might actually be bad for open electronics....(I'm only thinking out loud)....I was thinking the same thing as your comment...then the moisture thing made me take a pause and wonder...
@@camdenkingsley8800 why I said to let the bathroom cool first to let the humidity drop, as the room cools the humidity drops to the same as any other room in the home. You'd be surprised what "modern" electronics and PCB's can take. They're all very well protected from humidity and moisture unless they take a full bath while energized for very long. So long as you remove the power source and dry them out quick they'll more than survive. Steam also doesn't contain much in the way of problematic minerals like tap water has, or worse lake and salt water. About 10 years ago I was kayak fishing and went for a "swim" with my old Pantech Android version 2.3 cell. I got to shore, ripped the battery out quick then let it sit in the sun for the rest of the week. It still works just fine today as an E-book reader!
@@macgyver5108 Cool...yea...I thought the same thing as this is how I install screen protectors...thanks for the info.
I suppose so. If all of the parts were tHen at the same temperature perhaps the extra humidity would not collect on surfaces. You might seal the components on air tight and water tight bags or containers and place them in the same area while the room was de-linted so to so speak. The hvac system would need to be filtered or turned off but hey, you this is a possibility of a cheap clean room. Maybe add a filtered dehumidifier system. Interesting idea. Thanks
@@crawford323 what is this "HVAC" you speak of?🤔 LOL, I don't have one of these "mythical creatures" you speak of where I live! What I suggested CERTAINLY beats the alternative of any other dusty room in your place though. The only issue with using "bags" that are plastic is the static cling which can attract dust, UNLESS perhaps you used the static shock proof plastic bags like electronics ship with and blew them down really well first.
You left out what makes a good parts kit or tube and which ones are desirable. I’m new to this and have no idea what to buy
This was fascinating! Thanks. Regarding the wine preserver, I'm pretty sure it's to avoid oxidation. I don't drink wine but I know oxidation can lead to a metallic taste. In fact searching for how to prevent wine oxidation shows the product you used in the video. :)
Been doing this for over a decade. Kind of regret not starting a business off it but moved onto other things. Figured others were more worthy of picking up on this. It’s already been mentioned on what you covered and didn’t say (e.g. reverse threads, alum. foil, Ar density, dust, purging). A word about purging is that the N2 kits are criminally priced. The hand pump is something I could literally still get from any mechanic shop. Valves, tubing, and switches are easy to engineer too. The adapter is easy to machine and even buy for cheap. N2 is easy to come by any gas company for torches/welding or med/lab supply. Regulator too is easy to get. Never understood why N2 kits were $1000s other than being a juicy govt contract. Worse off is the “optics testing kit”. Reduced to $5000 (from $10000s) last I saw years ago. I just stuck with the basic field tester kit and some optics know how for $300. The AN/PVS-14 was a great optic. I wish the AN/PSQ-20 could have lived up to it. Low weight, small profile, multiple mount options in handheld, rifle, head/helmet. Fusion just can’t compete to this day with its proprietary components, limited mounting and bulky appearance. I mean the I2 tube itself is not easy to make either hence expensive but that’s the rub. It’s one small unit to assemble around upon. Making it easy to service/repair. Kinda apples to oranges though cause thermal requires additional circuitry/components. Maybe more into the future fusion may compete. IMHO it does not in this day and age.
Hey boss , if someone wanted to get into this , where would you suggest buying the actual lens and housings
nitrogen purging is not about purging the air itself, it is about purging the moisture in that air.
Harbor freight counter top sand blasting cabinet would work great for setting up a clean room that you can set up with a stable atmosphere of argon. You can get a large tank of argon from a welding supply for a fair price and now you have a clean room environment for sensitive electronics without having to mortgage the house.
That's frigging smart! Never thought of that.
@@xcyted4now also would need to set up some form of dehumidifier to make it a true Inert environment.
@@devinmanderson Just throw a bunch of those silica beads packs in there for the more budget minded.
And attach a grounding cable to eliminate any static charges.
Also you would want a vent valve at the highest point possible for conducting the purge and a accurate flow meter/regulator.
Awesome information! Best channel on YT!!
Thank you for your information sir
Hey, you're right I can make the tool out of my credit card because that's all it'll be good for after buying a image tube for £1500 😂
Maybe give us a hint on what parts to buy and from where?
Yeah I know how to build one already, I don’t know where to reliably source the parts.
Agreed.. I just tried looking & was like... fuhhh
@@ctrip34 Ebay is apparently where you go, but from what i've seen it would cost you 2k for just an intensifier.
11769 tube, PVS 14 kit
One of my favorite gun accessories purchased in the last few years is an electric computer duster. They are about the size of a can of canned air so it fits in a range bag and usb recharges.
I will say this, working with and crosstraining with 94Fs my entire Army career, we were never this careful with our parts and everything worked just fine (no dust or fingerprints/oil).
I hear there's a fire sale on the latest night vision in Central Asia
What model do they use is it digital?
Yep, same with full power Peqs and full auto lowers
Helicopters and APCs also
@@lililililililili8667 It's a joke about how Biden left behind billions of dollars in equipment in Afganistan that got sold by terrorists to Asia.
If you get a Eisco Hand Operated Vacuum Pump ($44 at fishersci and comes with the PVS-14 purge kit), a t-fitting, and Night Vision Nitrogen Purge Kit Adapter ($30 at Opapug), you could draw a vacuum on the nod with the pump, and then pressurize it with your bottle. It may not be perfect, but it could help a bit. Just a friendly suggestion, and would not cost the $1.2k for the whole kit.
When bagging food, manufacturers just waft or drop N2 into the bag as the food drops in ... don't feel bad this is a great way and good idea. If you can get N2 used it argon I would think works good for getting moisture out.
I built a small enclosure to help service one of my buddy's NVGs. I put all the parts in and all to tools needed, then filled it with nitrogen for a few minutes to purge out all the regular air. When it was all ready, It was a dust free environment was filled with nitrogen, so there was no need to purge since almost all the air inside the enclosure was replaced with nitrogen. It had those incubator style gloves to be able to put the NVG together. Once it was put together, it could be removed from the enclosure, and boom, NVGs with nitrogen without traditional purging. It was a temporary one made of that plastic corrugated signboard and hot glue and duct tape. We did this in my garage with the door open to outside and I had a fan blowing across it so that I wouldnt be breathing in much nitrogen while the regulator was keeping positive pressure inside the enclosure, just to keep any air from actually getting in. It was pretty easy to make so I didnt keep it since I didnt have room for it at the time. Eventually I want to build a proper one out of sheet aluminum and get it all sealed with a pressure gage and a valve system so I can service all my stuff and friends stuff, be it NVGs or binoculars, electronics, etc.
You sir, just made my night. Awesome video! Are there more trustworthy sites to find pvs kits and tubes?
To add to the topic of nitrogen purging a bit - the idea behind nitrogen purging is to eliminate atmospheric moisture that leads to fogging. Nitrogen is one of a few gasses that can be used and it typically used over argon because of its abundance. A solution I've used for nitrogen purging is to use an inexpensive vacuum pump from harbor freight, a pressure cooker and a thick plate of Lexan and a rubber gasket the diameter of the pressure cooker. Drill and tap at least two ports on the Lexan, one for the vacuum pump and one for purging gas. The additional hole in my application was for a vacuum gauge. Place the device in the pressure cooker, place the lexan and gasket on top, attach the gas line and vacuum pump lines, purge the gas line, pull a vacuum for about an hour (or more if you'd like) to ensure all the air and moisture is evacuated, slowly introduce gas until you meet or exceed atmospheric pressure, quickly seal the device. I'll eventually upload a video detailing the process and design of the chamber when I have time.
Great video, very informative. I'm curious as to what one could expect to pay all in, given this method.
Didn't know this was a diy thing. Awesome you answered my argon question.
you know what might work the best for dust? I used to do pharm research in a lab and we would often buy $10-20k/gram reagents from a chemical supplier, sometimes made to order, a few dozen mg at a time. I dont know if youve ever tried to weigh out sub milligram quantities but it takes an analytical scale and high mass block and a lot of patience. When I started we had these anti static "guns" that I think just use some kind of a spring and magnet that jumps through a coil and disrupts the EM field? idk how it works but let me tell you those things never worked. Try to take out a quarter of a mg and you end up loosing 100$ worth due to the ultra high static once humidity starts doin its thing to the bottle. (also for this use i could see those guns messing up the electronics) What I ended up finding is a product called the "static master brush", specifically the refillable cartridges. They have the only authorization (i think?) from the US nuclear regulatory committee to use a polonium isotope in their product which sends out a good amount of positrons? or something which will truely neutralize any static charge if the source is held close enough to something for long enough. we would take the radioactive source out of the cartridges and just glue it onto the end of a dowel which could be held in a mount or even by hand if youre patient and that is basically like a beam that will neutralize any static in about a 5 inch sphere. This is assuming you get a fresh source, half life is like 4-5 months i think. Im guessing with covid its going to be impossible to get something fresh and amazon says theyre out of stock for now. but theoretically every time you puff air across the housing of the optic its creating a static charge which is trying to neutralize itself by pulling dust from out of the air. when they were available i think they were about 60-80$ for the cartridge. hope this helps
Awesome. #1 channel
Great I needed one for school supplies but this saves me a lot of money
This is a GREAT guide, thank you
An easier why to purge is to get a 5gal plastic bucket, place your disassembled kit into it. Then fill it with argon, and since argon is heavier than air it will displace the air then screw everything tight.
k but the bubbles of air that rise to the top of every nook and cranny inside the device are going to take days to diffuse out this way.... not that it matters lol. gases dont just instantly mix, they follow ghrams law of diffusion across an interface of two dissimilar density pockets
@@vevenaneathna that is why you fully disassemble it before dumping the argon in.
You know, next time I'd try unscrewing the housing before doing the argon purge: you will allow most of the trapped air to escape the housing and be displaced by the argon. Perhaps you could have your buddy continuously spray the argon through the port while you re-tighten the housing -> this may allow a more complete purge.
Use a brake vacuum pump to suck 3 pounds negative then back to zero with argon
food saver reusable bag, fill another bag full of argon over the valve, open the valve and boom. You replaced the air sucked out with argon. Maybe?
Nice! Downloaded and stored just in case KZhead eventually decides it doesn't like you~
Where do you get the parts for the housing and tube intensifiers ? Thanks for the video.
who doesn't need night vision honestly the digit is quite cheap and reasonable now a days.
This is great gonna give this a try with my cousins
Some older optics I have tinkerd with use a thick clear grease for water/dust proofing, I was wondering if you could use something like that around the lense threads . My thought being that it would help seal it, and the stocky grease will trap any dust that does get in the housing.
I’d me happy to supply the DIY community with tubes and parts! I have pvs14 white phosphor tubes starting at $1400 with data sheets. We also offer cleaning and purging service starting at $149
What is the pricing for full kits? Tubes prices for green and white, parts kit and housing? That all that is needed?
@@BradMillsOK new WP tubes start at 1400 and kits are 700-800 depending on quality
@@TechSavvyOptics awesome! Thank you! Was curious what funds I needed.
Do you have a web site?
@@TechSavvyOptics what would a fully assembled unit cost?
Another comment on the nitrogen/argon Purge- I work with gases for a living and that's the basis for my comment here. It's very difficult to get complete displacement unless the gas also has an exit point separate from where you're pushing the nitrogen or argon in. My suggestion is to mostly unthread another connection, thereby providing another point for the gas to escape. As you said do it several times and then tighten up the connections. I hope that helps. I just had another thought- if anybody's game for this. Another technique to reduce the oxygen inside the unit. Take a large Ziploc type bag, flatten it to remove all air, inflate with gas like argon or nitrogen to fill the bag with your parts inside, do all your assembly inside the bag. Then do the purge as previously described. They make ziploc and other brands in above average sizes like 2 and 2.5 gallon bags. Something around that size seems workable.
"Food Saver" vacuum sealers (and like items) have both bags and hard containers in which the unit could be placed and vacuumed and left for any air/moisture to cook off. They even have plastic straws that attach to the vacuum line. Slip it into a zip lock bag and vacuum it down. Slip the end of the wine preserver straw into the vacuum bag *before* starting vacuum. Then, when it's time, just insert the tip of the straw (obtain a finer size straw from a different can, like penetrant, and insert into the larger, wine preserver straw) into the optic purge port and fill it up. Let enough gas into the bag that it's got some pressure and won't suck the argon back out. Bob's your uncle, you've got a fully purged optic. 😀 I'm sure you could get an AC or airbrush vac pump to work if you're clever but, the Food Saver had everything you need, especially if you already have one. 😉
@@MtnBadger I love that idea! Definitely another example of thinking outside the box. I don't have a vacuum sealer so I wasn't thinking about that. Between your idea and mine that's it's a great set of ideas for people to pick from depending on what they have available. I see you have your own channel. You might want to do your own video on this. Feel free to use my idea well.
bubbles of less dense air rise to the top inside the device and dont instantly mix bro. thats why my honda keeps overheating after i just poured in radiator fluid without letting the bubbles out. mixing across the interfaces of two dissimilar gases will occur at rates proprotional to the sqrt of the average mollar mass ratios. graham's law
@@HeatGeek1 I know I need to do some. You don't just have to be limited to a vacuum sealer and some are just a hand pu.p and very inexpensive. And the compressor from an otherwise defunct refrigerator makes an excellent vacuum pump that will draw-30hg easy. There's always options. 😀
Used to use Argon for polymer processing in the the summer time - heavier than air. Nitrogen in the winters, because the air was so dry anyway. Argon is much more expensive, but much more effective of an inert gas. Window companies caught on years ago by having double and 3x pane windows with N2 and Ar in between the panes as an inert layer...
Excellent vid. Thanks for making! 😁
My question is what websites/locations are you going to for finding these items and what are their relative prices
Agreed. That's pretty important info.
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Agreed! Anyone find any parts for this build? Or know of a decent place to start????
EBAY, you cab put together a beater pair with a zone 1/2 blem on the tube for under 1400
+1 on where to get tubes. With the pricing I see on eBay, you may as well buy a complete gen 3.
Need links to parts parts list (highly specific nomenclature that can be cut and pasted into a search bar) and tool list for starters my man this was really awesome maybe you can speak on how to construct dual tubes in the future I think we’d all want to see/ frantically take notes on that one as well. Forget paying 12k for dtnvs if you don’t have to. Mahalo and god speed
Argon is superior to nitrogen in use where there is electromagnetic activity, electrons are ''happy with this too within the case'' . Great videos, thank you !
Bro we needed this! Thank you!