Night vision on the sea

[fisherdiver]

What would be the best and most reasonibly priced night vision for when one is out on the ocean (in the middle of the night)and you can't see any lights??? i do like the prices of the gen 1 stuff but if its going to be no good for being out on the ocean (sometimes stary nights sometimes pitch black)then theres no point in wasting money on it? Any suggestions? is it true that if you have night vision goggles or binoculars and they look into bright light that it can harm them?? is looking up to distances of up to say 1000 metres or 1100 yards(i think) out of the question with out spending big bucks?? thanks

 

[paulr]

Um, if it's pitch black and you're on the open ocean, what's there to look at? Maybe you really want radar instead.

 

[fisherdiver]

i already have radar, but unless you spend say $10000 dollars on the most up to date radar, you are not able to pick up bouys, fish schooling and working, a hook stuck in your finger, Marlin/gamefish behind the boat, small rocks sticking above the ocean surface, and even then with a ten thousand dollar radar you would be lucky for it to pick some of these up, its just not the same as seeing things with your own eyes

 

[paulr]

I thought you were asking about looking at stuff 1 km away. For nearby stuff, use flashlights; for underwater nearby stuff, use sonar.

Anyway, the gen II/III stuff is a lot better than gen 1. There was a recent thread about an ITT gen 3 unit in the $2k range, I think.

 

[Frangible]

Gen 1 isn't any better than your dark adjusted eye. You can get an ITT Night Mariner designed for boating for $1600 new or about $1000 used.

Recognition range depends on generation and quality of the scope.

 

[fisherdiver]

yeah well i thought that if you got something that looked UP TO a k away for say birds workin/fish schooling, little rocks sticking up in a running swell (which a radar will not always pickup) then surely it would be able to say look as closely at say a hook in the finger or somthing like that?? or would that take a lot of time refocusing or do they do that automaticlly? So would you say that i would definatly need gen2 or gen3 gear for this sort of application?

 

[fisherdiver]

Thanks for the little graph that would have to be the most handiest thing i have seen on the net, espeically when you are green about this gear like myself!!

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I've had a few terrifying moments at sea, dodging things at just the last moment that didn't show up on the radar at all. One was a GIANT uprooted tree, roots and all, right in front of me. Another was a very large and expensive fiberglass sailboat (60') without a radar reflector. One was actually a Mexican fisherman in another fiberglass boat. Nutty as it sounds, I only saw him because he could see me bearing down on him and...he was flicking his BIC to get my attention. If ever there was a guy in need of a flashlight...

Can anyone who has used NV gear at sea tell me if they have had any problems with the luminescence caused by plankton in warm water? The Red Sea is the warmest and under some conditions a wake there can generate quite a bit of light. Is it enough to cause problems for the NV gear?

 

[fisherdiver]

Interesting you say that, we see the same thing here in New Zealand if the waters the right temp?

 

[Frangible]

[ QUOTE ]
Can anyone who has used NV gear at sea tell me if they have had any problems with the luminescence caused by plankton in warm water?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've not used it at sea, but even the LED light from a smoke detector can cause blooming. If it's pretty bright, it will hurt its visibility, to what degree, I don't know.

 

[Unicorn]

The only question I can answer with any certainty is that GEN III goggles almost always have shut off circuitry that will cause them to shut off after a certain exposure time to bright lights to prevent damage. If this is something that your life might depend on, I have to suggest someting in GEN 3. Couple that with some sort of IR light, most likely a spotlight or bright flashlight with an IR filter. Depending on how far away the light source is, it can help or hinder your viewing. If the plankton is close, it can cause interference or blooming, if it's further out, it can actually help by giving a light source to amplify.
One thing to remember is that all NVG's need some light to amplify. On a completely dark night (I'm assumeing something like a new moon, and enough clouds to block the stars) you're visibility will be very short.

 

[Frangible]

[ QUOTE ]
n a completely dark night (I'm assumeing something like a new moon, and enough clouds to block the stars) you're visibility will be very short.

[/ QUOTE ]

On the above chart I posted, the conditions are: full moon, quarter moon, starlight, cloud cover. The worst condition for night vision is no moon + cloud cover which is what the last column represents.

 

[Unicorn]

Oops. I should have read the chart better.

What's fourth generation by the way? I haven't heard of it before.

 

[Frangible]

Fourth generation isn't a term officially adopted by the military yet-- it refers to Gen 3 tubes that have been made autogated and filmless, which improves the fast-response to bright light and sensitivity. As a result, they have a little better gain than Gen 3 and less blooming around bright light sources (ie: urban environments). The military uses AN/PVS-7 and AN/PVS-14 devices that are Gen 3.

However, I hear there are some concerns about the tube's lifespan from doing that. It's also pretty expensive.

I'm not sure how big of an impact gen 4 will have on night vision's future. I think the military is more concerned about improving thermal imaging at this point and just making everything smaller. They're trying to integrate both thermal and an intensifier into a single unit, but all attempts have resulted in something too unweildly and power hungry so far.

 

[Lightraven]

I use night vision equipment often--ITT PVS-7 and -14 Gen III+. I used to carry it on a boat. Looking towards San Diego shore is no good--way too much light. I switched to binoculars. Looking out to sea works, especially for lighted objects--boats (properly lighted), aircraft, lighted buoys, man-overboard lights, long-line, etc. Not as effective for dark objects unless close. Problems also include overly bright instrument panel and deck lights on the boat and flashes from airports and lighthouses. Night vision works better at closer range, but these make good boat and buoys spotters from miles away that no light could touch. I have also used thermal imaging on boat, but stabilization and short range were too iffy for regular use.