23 replies to this topic

[vicuna]

I'm really into the night vision world (outside of astronomy also) and saw a new housing made by AB-Nightvision called the RVM-14. I started to poke around.

 

I just got this email from AB Nightvision:

 

 

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Hello Gene,

 

Thank you for your email and for your interest in the RVM!  The RVM was designed to work with standard mil-spec PVS-14 optics as well as lightweight RPO lenses.  We haven’t heard of any issues from our dealers in regard to lenses not fitting correctly.  

 

We are now offering a C-mount option for the RVM that might work best for astronomy use.  It is also variable gain, just like the standard RVM.  Here are some images below:

 

This C-mount version will be available through our dealer network by the end of the month.  TNVC and See the Night are two dealers that I believe should have them upon their release; however, they will be available upon request through any of the night vision dealers listed on our website.

 

Please let us know if you have any questions or would need any additional information.

 

Thank you,

 

Christian Thomas | Office Manager

AB NightVision Inc

When Quality Counts

 

 

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[vicuna]

here is info on the current RVM-14 housing from my preferred Night Vision dealer

 

cliffs: made of aluminum, little lighter, better battery life, smaller battery CR123 (that's what initially attracted me to this housing hoping it would be easier for the RAF Camera adapter to clear the battery housing), and looks awesome (imo)

 

https://apollogearco...harris-unfilmed

 

this is his main site in case some is reading this in the future and that link is gone: https://apollogearco.com

 

RVM-14 DETAILS
The RVM-14 monocular housing is billet machined from 7075 aircraft grade aluminum and designed to handle challenging real-world environments. The housing design accepts standard mil-spec PVS-14 lenses, or lightweight RPO lenses.

The monocular features a side mounting area to accept PVS-14 accessories and mounts with a standard ¼-20 thread. Two monos can also be attached to a bridge mount (RVM-14 Bridge) in a binocular configuration with the small dovetail incorporated into the top of the housing, or the dovetail can be used with the RVM-14 Arm for single mono use. Both the Arm and Bridge are articulating to lay back against the helmet when in the stowed position.

The monocular design features a rotary switch that doubles as gain adjustment. The switch initially turns the tube on at full brightness, then dims the MX-11769 image intensifier tube as the knob is rotated further. The unit includes an onboard infrared illuminator activated by a push button switch on the front of the unit. The button is surrounded by a protective fence to prevent accidental activation. Indicators on the edge of the viewing area show if the IR LED is actively on, or if the unit detects a low battery.

The weight of the unit with standard mil-spec lenses and a CR123 battery is 300 grams. The approximate battery life at room temperature is 75 hours. The RVM-14 weighs 15% less than a typical single AA PVS-14 with a 50% longer battery life and has a much tougher housing.

The monocular is available in Flat Black and Flat Dark Earth. The components of the monocular are media blasted to give a non-reflective matte finish, then black anodized for durability. For the FDE option, Cerakote, a proven firearms finish, is applied over the anodizing to give a tough, attractive finish.

Specifications:

POWER SOURCE: (1) CR123 SIZE BATTERY

FOCUS RANGE: 9.8” TO INFINITY

OPERATION TIME: APPROXIMATELY 75 HOURS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

MAGNIFICATION: (1X) ONE POWER

FIELD OF VIEW: 40 DEGREES

DIOPTER ADJUSTMENT: -6 TO +2

EYE RELIEF: 25MM

WEIGHT: 300g with std Mil-spec optics and battery

DIMENSIONS: 2.0” X 2.6” X 4.2”

IR ILLUMINATOR: BUILT IN

WATER RESISTANCE: SUBMERSIBLE TO 66 FT

IR LED & LOW BATTERY INDICATORS: YES

INTENSIFIER TUBES: COMPATIBLE WITH MX-11769 STYLE

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Edited by vicuna, 08 May 2024 - 03:34 PM.

[chemisted]

This is indeed an interesting development.  One detail that would be important to know about the c-mount version is the flange to sensor distance.  For example, for my Collins I³ it is 14mm and for the NVD Micro it is more like 18mm.

Edited by chemisted, 08 May 2024 - 05:36 PM.

[RaulBloodworth]

I'm also currently shopping around for a CMount housing and had a vendor that told me this was coming down the pipe. The vendor I'm talking to was supposed to give me a measurement on the Flange to Sensor distance so when I get a return email I can update everyone.

 

Seeing the housing now I'm also wondering if the battery cap extension could possibly interfere with any wider attachments people like to use (C -> Nikon, C -> 2Inch Telescope mount, etc.)

 

I was quoted $885 for the housing and PVS14 Eyepiece

[chemisted]

Most C-to-Nikon adapters should work but some C-mount lenses may not. The NVD Micro that I got from Ray had been machined down by him so that my Fujinon 75mm lens would fit.

Edited by chemisted, 08 May 2024 - 07:27 PM.

[vicuna]

This is indeed an interesting development.  One detail that would be important to know about the c-mount version is the flange to sensor distance.  For example, for my Collins I³ it is 14mm and for the NVD Micro it is more like 18mm.

I just emailed him and asked and invited him onto this thread

Edited by vicuna, 09 May 2024 - 07:05 AM.

[vicuna]

Not to completely derail but I think this is gonna come up:

 

Can someone please tell me what specific Envis lens to look for that would fit this? I see Envis Monoculars sometimes for sale…(ENVIS M703E Night Vision Monocular SCOPE). If I buy that and take the ocular and just sell the rest for parts, is that the lens I would need?

 

or what is the most current favorite lens to use for C-Mount

 

just wanna start looking now if I’m going to proceed and hopefully get lucky.

[vicuna]

 

 

I was quoted $885 for the housing and PVS14 Eyepiece

So I guess to compare on price it would be:

 

~$885 plus adapters plus front lens (no idea what the cost on adapters and lens is)

 

vs PVS-14 housing + PVS optics + RAF adapter (plus if you care voiding your warranty and whatever tools you need…there is some value to a warranty). Tnvc has the housing and optics listed at $1,100…the RAFCamera adapter is $75

 

I think the price is gonna be ~ same

[Mazerski]

First Item: Battery Cap / Interference... A few years ago, I talked to Christian Thomas as the cap did interfere with the Obsession 15 Classic focuser so I asked if Adam could remove the button on top the cap and that did the trick. Attaching photos and hope you can see the blue color on the battery cap. The blue is paint tape just to cover the slight burr where the button was cut.

 

Second Item: ENVIS Lens. I live sort of between Baltimore // DC and the sky is always bright. I sold 2 ENVIS lens a few years ago and still have one (not sure why, maybe I'll try Afocal one day?) But at 1x and f/1.8, so much light comes thru even with 685nm IR the view is too bright so I don't use 1x. If you do go for the c-Mount, get a camera adapter and use camera lenses. What you see in photo is a Nikon F --> C adapter and Nikon Nikkor lens (135mm f/2.8 which = 5x and provides great views and the focal ratio is variable if I need to darken the view.

 

First photo shows the button on cap

 

Second photo is my MOD3 with button removed

 

Third photo shows the blue tape 

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Edited by Mazerski, 08 May 2024 - 08:07 PM.

[ButterFly]

Glad that cap could be filed down.

 

Do you happen to know whether it has a Paracorr II position in prime mode?

[Mazerski]

Adam did a nice job slicing / sawing the button off. I don’t have the tools for this.

The AB in Nightvision is Adam B ( can’t recall his last name ) and he was happy to help me. 
 

Butterfly, if your Paracorr question is for me I don’t own one and cannot comment on this. 

[AB_NightVision]

This is indeed an interesting development.  One detail that would be important to know about the c-mount version is the flange to sensor distance.  For example, for my Collins I³ it is 14mm and for the NVD Micro it is more like 18mm.

Hello, I am Adam Barker and our company AB NightVision Inc makes the RVM-C.  I thought it might be good if I tried to answer a few questions. 

To start with, the flange to sensor distance.  On a C-mount lens the accepted standard is .690" or 17.53mm.  So I target the distance from the front face of the mono to the inside focal plane of the image intensifier cathode to be .670" or 17mm to allow a little wiggle room.  Is that good for astronomy needs, or do we look at other options to fit your applications?

We intend to include a second battery cap with the C-mount monos that has the button removed from the battery cap.  That said, the cap will still protrude about 0.11" or 2.8mm forward of the mounting flange.  A diameter larger than 1.73" or 44mm will start to overlap the cap.

Can anybody give me some feedback on whether or not this will play well with your mounts?

Thank you!

Edited by AB_NightVision, 09 May 2024 - 03:32 PM.

[chemisted]

Hello Adam and thank you for stopping by the NV forum. I think those values look like they would play well. The 17mm figure is totally OK as most here with C-mount experience have your earlier device - the Mod-3B. If the cap didn't interfere at all, that would be best.  I don't use a 2" nose for my prime viewing since a 1.25" works perfectly well.  Perhaps someone who does will chime in with their opinion. The only lens I have that wouldn't fit well is the Fujinon 75mm and I have an alternative to that one. 

 

Thanks for coming out with another C-mount housing!

Edited by chemisted, 09 May 2024 - 04:54 PM.

[Mazerski]

Hey Adam, thanks for tuning in. Post #9 shows my Mod3 from May 2017 and it’s used only in prime mode at the telescope. I use it with ScopeStuff c-mount to 1.25” and c-mount to 2” adapters (with 1.25” filters). I don’t know any dimensions, what I do know is with an 8” Newtonian Astrograph and a 12.5” NewMoon Dobsonian, the device comes to focus with both ScopeStuff adapters, with / without filter wheel, with 2” Powermate (2x and 3x) and with 2” 0.7x and 0.5x focal reducers. 
 

Note: the one exception to the above is with the 2” ScopeStuff adapter, I have to rotate the black ring such that the adapter doesn’t touch / hit the Gain knob. Others have mentioned this over time and for whatever reason I can adjust the black ring while others say the ring on their unit won’t move. I can unscrew the ring completely off and this has been useful (see Red Arrow in photo).

 

My comment about on you slicing the cap button off, this was due to the battery cap bumping into the Feathertouch focuser outer flange. 

 

 

 

 

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Edited by Mazerski, 09 May 2024 - 05:36 PM.

[WheezyGod]

Great to hear this! Couple January’s ago one of the vendors I was talking with had mentioned there was going to be a replacement for the Mod3 possibly being introduced in several months. I bet this is it.

[The Ardent]

This is interesting.

I sold my NV a while back and want to get back into it with manual gain and prime/c-mount capabilities. This looks like a good fit.

[vicuna]

thank you Adam for stopping in

 

1) Do you happen to know of how we can acquire front optics similar to the PVS 14 that we can use with the C-Mount. say if we wanted to use the optic with a PVS-14 front optic? (Carson / Noctis Technologies). There used to be a company called ENVIS who made c-mount monoculars with optics that work great for night vision...but they are out of business. That seems to be the best for certain situations...specifically when we want to mount the monocular to a specific eyepiece that is often used (Tele-Vue 67).

 

2) can you confirm is the gain knob infinitely adjustable? or does it go in steps?

 

3) do you have any bridge options for if people want to get two RVM-14s for binocular viewing? (or would current bridges that fit PVS-14s work like the Noiseifighters panobridge?

[Mazerski]

In case my note in Post #14 is not clear, here's 2 photos from 2017:

 

== 1st shows 2" ScopeStuff adapter hitting the Gain knob (the knob is on left side)

 

== 2nd photo shows the adapter seated on Mod3 and clearing the Gain knob (on right side) as I accidently discovered that the black ring is rotatable, and this did (and still does) work

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[chemisted]

This is interesting.

I sold my NV a while back and want to get back into it with manual gain and prime/c-mount capabilities. This looks like a good fit.

As demonstrated by a recent post by TheKnuckle, Elbit now has a tube designated F9415M24MH5 with truly 'stellar' specs.  One of those would fit nicely into this new C-mount device.

[Jeff Morgan]

Hello, I am Adam Barker and our company AB NightVision Inc makes the RVM-C.  I thought it might be good if I tried to answer a few questions. 

To start with, the flange to sensor distance.  On a C-mount lens the accepted standard is .690" or 17.53mm.  So I target the distance from the front face of the mono to the inside focal plane of the image intensifier cathode to be .670" or 17mm to allow a little wiggle room.  Is that good for astronomy needs, or do we look at other options to fit your applications?

We intend to include a second battery cap with the C-mount monos that has the button removed from the battery cap.  That said, the cap will still protrude about 0.11" or 2.8mm forward of the mounting flange.  A diameter larger than 1.73" or 44mm will start to overlap the cap.

Can anybody give me some feedback on whether or not this will play well with your mounts?

Thank you!

 

For astronomy use, space ahead of the NV chassis is generally tight, so anything would be helpful.

 

One idea that might play well with astronomy as well as your larger tactical market: have the gain adjustment knob face rearward as the on/off knob currently does. I use my Mod 3 both for astronomy and on my rifle and my experience is once I set the gain, I don’t change it much. But spacing sure makes it awkward on the telescope.

 

If you could face the on/on, gain, and battery cover all rearwards, that would be the trifecta.

 

If it were ever economically feasible to do a purely astronomical unit, you wouldn’t be constrained to make the battery and controls align to the optical axis of the device. The axis of those items could be aligned at a right angle (radially) to the optical axis.

[chemisted]

Jeff,

 

A user has reported on this and it sounds like just what you are proposing.  See post #3 in the following:  https://www.cloudyni...c/931371-rvm-c/

[Jeff Morgan]

Jeff,

 

A user has reported on this and it sounds like just what you are proposing.  See post #3 in the following:  https://www.cloudyni...c/931371-rvm-c/

 

An even better idea!

[pwang99]

Just seeing this thread now... Amazing that AB_NightVision stopped by here!!

 

As long as we are talking about wishlist for astronomy use, the thing I would LOVE to see is some kind of "cold finger" or Peltier cooler mechanism to cool the device down and reduce EBI and scintillation.  We don't have the portability or tactical requirements of LE/hunter use cases, but being able to attach a battery-powered cooler seems like it would be a game changer... :-)

[cnoct]

So wish AB NightVision would have turned to past, highly adaptable systems, and produced a system with an inter-changeable lens flange e.g. Litton M944/942, Star-Tron MK-880, ITT F6010, Intevac/Varian Scout etc...

 

Those systems allowed end users to swap a c-mount flange for one with PVS-14, ANVIS, or PVS-7 lenses.  Maybe even a flange that allowed for both cs and c-mount spacing and aforementioned NV lenses. 

 

A system like that would mean no hunting down a legacy NV lens like that from the NVEC M703E (ENVIS).  One could enjoy both the wide assortment of camera lenses, c-mount or adapted to c-mount and get the optimum image quality provided by NV optimized lenses designed specifically for image intensified systems.  

 

For now, those aforementioned systems are still king in this regard.

 

Despite what I'd like to have seen, the RVM-14 (c-mount) is still a huge win for NV astro and/or those who like to use camera lenses.