Really useful for cruisers would be cheap price, reasonable quality
night vision. I don't buy $300 or $700 binocs and wouldn't consider
those $$$ for night vision either. I see Harbor Freght has one at $69
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45372

Any experiences or others available?

Really useful for cruisers would be cheap price, reasonable quality
night vision. I don't buy $300 or $700 binocs and wouldn't consider
those $$$ for night vision either. I see Harbor Freght has one at $69
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=45372

See my comments in Alt.Saling.Asa and read reviews on Amazon. I'm using a under
$200 Night Owl that works very well.

RB

On 28 Nov 2003 20:28:35 GMT, (Bobsprit) wrote:

Really useful for cruisers would be cheap price, reasonable quality
night vision. I don't buy $300 or $700 binocs and wouldn't consider
those $$$ for night vision either. I see Harbor Freght has one at $69
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=45372

See my comments in Alt.Saling.Asa and read reviews on Amazon. I'm using a under
$200 Night Owl that works very well.

RB


Those things are absolute junk. Not worth having on board. The field
of vision is so small you might as well look through a 1/4 inch tube.
The only place you can see anything is in the very center of the
screen and that is poor. You can not scan the horizon and find very
much.
If you happen to look toward any light they will bloom and blind you
for 10 minutes. The automatic gain control is very bad.
If you know where to look through them then they do enhance the light
a little but not much. And if you already know where to look then you
don't need it in the first place. You can see just about as well with
the naked eye.

Compare that to a good one like the ITT. You will be amazed. Those are
very worthwhile but expensive.

Just my opinion

Gary

Those things are absolute junk. Not worth having on board. The field
of vision is so small you might as well look through a 1/4 inch tube.

This is clearly someone who hasn't used much NightVision. FOV is actually wider
on the NightOwl. I've used new Gen 4. The main difference is that the Gen 4
provides far better detail and usable range. For boating a good gen 1 from
Night Owl or Newcon will give you 600-1000 feet of very illuminated night
vision, capable of showing objects in the water, moorings and so on.
I tested several of these units. While the Gen 3/4 are awesome, the average
coastal sailor will be fine with a generation 1.

RB

On 29 Nov 2003 15:23:06 GMT, (Bobsprit) wrote:

Those things are absolute junk. Not worth having on board. The field
of vision is so small you might as well look through a 1/4 inch tube.

This is clearly someone who hasn't used much NightVision. FOV is actually wider
on the NightOwl. I've used new Gen 4. The main difference is that the Gen 4
provides far better detail and usable range. For boating a good gen 1 from
Night Owl or Newcon will give you 600-1000 feet of very illuminated night
vision, capable of showing objects in the water, moorings and so on.
I tested several of these units. While the Gen 3/4 are awesome, the average
coastal sailor will be fine with a generation 1.

RB


Pardon me, I should have said "usable field of view". Awful distortion
when off center.

Regards
Gary

Pardon me, I should have said "usable field of view". Awful distortion
when off center.

Gen 1 suffers from some distortion at edges of FOV. However, this does not
limit the ability to see in th dark and you mearly center an object when you
want a clearer view. In no way is FOV usability compromised.
When boating you want to see an object to know it's there, not make an accurate
sketch of it. For the purposes of nightime sailing, these inexpensive scopes
are amazing. I suggest that anyone reading here ignore Gary's comments AND mine
and try one for yourself. I was also told the Gen 1's were useless and then a
few sailors proved otherwise when sailing on the LIS. I even tried a pair of
those ancient gen 1 Russian binocs, 15-20 years old I think, and even they were
a revalation.

Capt RB

Pardon me, I should have said "usable field of view". Awful distortion
when off center.

Gen 1 suffers from some distortion at edges of FOV. However, this does not
limit the ability to see in th dark and you mearly center an object when you
want a clearer view. In no way is FOV usability compromised.
When boating you want to see an object to know it's there, not make an accurate
sketch of it. For the purposes of nightime sailing, these inexpensive scopes
are amazing. I suggest that anyone reading here ignore Gary's comments AND mine
and try one for yourself. I was also told the Gen 1's were useless and then a
few sailors proved otherwise when sailing on the LIS. I even tried a pair of
those ancient gen 1 Russian binocs, 15-20 years old I think, and even they were
a revalation.

Capt RB

The field
of vision is so small

And just to show that people shouldn't talk when they know so little,
FOV of the NightOwl = 628 at 1000 yards.
Narrow? Not even close. It's VERY wide. In fact its so wide at 3.1x that they
sell an add on lens to increase mag.

Capt RB

On 29 Nov 2003 15:23:06 GMT, (Bobsprit) wrote:

Those things are absolute junk. Not worth having on board. The field
of vision is so small you might as well look through a 1/4 inch tube.

This is clearly someone who hasn't used much NightVision. FOV is actually wider
on the NightOwl. I've used new Gen 4. The main difference is that the Gen 4
provides far better detail and usable range. For boating a good gen 1 from
Night Owl or Newcon will give you 600-1000 feet of very illuminated night
vision, capable of showing objects in the water, moorings and so on.
I tested several of these units. While the Gen 3/4 are awesome, the average
coastal sailor will be fine with a generation 1.

RB


Pardon me, I should have said "usable field of view". Awful distortion
when off center.

Regards
Gary

The field
of vision is so small

And just to show that people shouldn't talk when they know so little,
FOV of the NightOwl = 628 at 1000 yards.
Narrow? Not even close. It's VERY wide. In fact its so wide at 3.1x that they
sell an add on lens to increase mag.

Capt RB