Turbo DV8
Flashlight Enthusiast
Hi, all. After an eighteen year hiatus, I decided to play with night vision again. See what's out there, and all, in an inexpensive package. On impulse I purchased a new Night Owl NOCX3 at Big 5 yesterday for $129. Searching here shows posts going back to 2003, so I guess it's definitely not the latest and greatest! It seems pretty good for my uses, which is playing around with. Is the audible buzzing normal? Seems quite a bit louder than others I've tried. Last night when I put it away, I had a concern whether the unit would drain the 123 cell when off, and sure enough, I just found a post where an owner stated that the electronics do actually drag the cell down even when off. Frankly, the purchase was so much of a rushed impulse (late to work) that I did not notice it used a 123 cell, which I would have avoided in preference to an AA cell NV. I come here to basically ask if this is a decent unit for casual playing around, nothing my life depends on. But even more, I want to relate my experience with a very special NV monocular back in 1992 or 1993.
That was my first dabbling in NV. I purchased it from Sportsman's Guide in the neighborhood of $400-$500. Back then, all the gen1 was going in that price range. It was large for a monocular, had quite a large objective compared to this Night Owl, and also had a handle hanging off the bottom. It did have an IR illuminator, and the unit ran off a russian proprietary rechargeable with both contacts at one end, similar to the configuration of a cheap fluorescent light starter. What made this unit so special was the clarity and sharpness throughout almost the entire image. It was amazing, and even more so because I have seen no other gen1 that good since. Alas, some defect occured deep inside the battery contact, and I had to return it. They had no replacement at that point, so I ended up with the previously mentioned various pairs of russian binoculars, but after the crystal clarity of that monocular, I was spoiled. Now I find this Night Owl, although better than some other gen1's I've tried, just doesn't come close, either. I'll check if I have a copy of the manual I had for it (I keep paperwork forever, even things I no longer have!
) but I am wondering if, based on my timeline and meager description, if anybody might have any idea what I had.
That was my first dabbling in NV. I purchased it from Sportsman's Guide in the neighborhood of $400-$500. Back then, all the gen1 was going in that price range. It was large for a monocular, had quite a large objective compared to this Night Owl, and also had a handle hanging off the bottom. It did have an IR illuminator, and the unit ran off a russian proprietary rechargeable with both contacts at one end, similar to the configuration of a cheap fluorescent light starter. What made this unit so special was the clarity and sharpness throughout almost the entire image. It was amazing, and even more so because I have seen no other gen1 that good since. Alas, some defect occured deep inside the battery contact, and I had to return it. They had no replacement at that point, so I ended up with the previously mentioned various pairs of russian binoculars, but after the crystal clarity of that monocular, I was spoiled. Now I find this Night Owl, although better than some other gen1's I've tried, just doesn't come close, either. I'll check if I have a copy of the manual I had for it (I keep paperwork forever, even things I no longer have!
) but I am wondering if, based on my timeline and meager description, if anybody might have any idea what I had.
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