wildflights
Member
I'm curious about NV/Thermal mounted on a helmet. Is there anyone running both NV & Thermal at the same time? Or is it primarily one or the other? Is NV easier to walk around and navigate with?
Helmet guys - NV and/or Thermal
- Thread starter wildflights
- Start date
NVO
New member
I've had several bridged thermals (MTM, FLIR Breach, NOX18, iRay Rico Micro, IR Patrol, etc.). Personally I don't find it to be overly useful. I can't use thermal and NV at the same time, so it was always one or the other. It is handy if you're trying to drive slow and scan in a side by side, but its not that hard to just have a mono on a lanyard and pull it up as needed. Bridged setups get a bit heavy too over time. Some folks love it but personally I like running dual articulating goggles and then pulling up the thermal mono on a lanyard as needed.
So my helmet rig is double duty. I run a L3 WP with a FOM of almost 2800. An outstanding unit on my right eye for driving and sometimes walking in. I also plan on running a NOX 18 on my left eye. The bridge allows you to use one or both.
While driving I run the PVS-14, roll down window and easily scan with left eye or scan while stalking in.
Big thing is don't try using them together, only look through one at a time.
While driving I run the PVS-14, roll down window and easily scan with left eye or scan while stalking in.
Big thing is don't try using them together, only look through one at a time.
skinney
Director
Originally Posted By: wildflightsI'm curious about NV/Thermal mounted on a helmet. Is there anyone running both NV & Thermal at the same time? Or is it primarily one or the other? Is NV easier to walk around and navigate with?
Yes sir,
I just did an IG live covering my rig. I'll also be doing a Youtube video going over all details.
I've been running a PVS 14 Gen 3 filmless WP tube I hand picked, with the RH25 on my non dom eye.
If you use both technologies alot, you can use them both at the same time. Trick is to balance the scale of brightness between units and dominance of eyes. I remember having guys tell me you can't navigate at night with thermal, no way. Truth is you can, I do it almost every night. It's just like anything, it'll take you hours to get good, but hours come quickly at night.
For ex. I no longer have to kill or fold up one unit to run both, I adjust the gain in my 14 over my dominant eye so that I can just barely see what I need to, and then adjust the brightness of the RH25 just enough so that my non dominant eye tries to "over dominate my dominant". If you get what I'm saying.
Once you get it down, lot's of things can be done.
I drive into sets with no light, we've canoed for hours down our river, rode dirtbikes etc, and would say easily walked hundreds of miles with both technologies at the same time.
I do often switch between the two though. With the RQE bridge it's easy with it's articulating pivot (Wilcox SkeetIR bridge does this also) allows you to fold either unit up at any given time in a second.
Lastnight we killed three in our calving lot and I used the PVS14 to drive in, while driving I was using my RH25 on my left eye to check the cattle to my left and scan. When we got into set, I used the IR on my princeton tech to pull my call and remote out of my pack and set it out.
Then swapped over to thermal for quick easy hands free scanning.
If you have any questions on helmet set ups, I rigged about 20-30 up this (last) year for fellas who didn't quite know what they needed or wanted. Same position I was in, until I started using it all and figured it out!
You'll enjoy it. I'll be sure and post up the video link to my Youtube video once I get it finished, going into details on hardware, thermal selection, Hearing pro, integrated beanie for cold weather,tube choices regarding filmed vs unfilmed, S/N ratio, Center and Light res. Gain, what unit's are better than others and at what cost.
Yes sir,
I just did an IG live covering my rig. I'll also be doing a Youtube video going over all details.
I've been running a PVS 14 Gen 3 filmless WP tube I hand picked, with the RH25 on my non dom eye.
If you use both technologies alot, you can use them both at the same time. Trick is to balance the scale of brightness between units and dominance of eyes. I remember having guys tell me you can't navigate at night with thermal, no way. Truth is you can, I do it almost every night. It's just like anything, it'll take you hours to get good, but hours come quickly at night.
For ex. I no longer have to kill or fold up one unit to run both, I adjust the gain in my 14 over my dominant eye so that I can just barely see what I need to, and then adjust the brightness of the RH25 just enough so that my non dominant eye tries to "over dominate my dominant". If you get what I'm saying.
Once you get it down, lot's of things can be done.
I drive into sets with no light, we've canoed for hours down our river, rode dirtbikes etc, and would say easily walked hundreds of miles with both technologies at the same time.
I do often switch between the two though. With the RQE bridge it's easy with it's articulating pivot (Wilcox SkeetIR bridge does this also) allows you to fold either unit up at any given time in a second.
Lastnight we killed three in our calving lot and I used the PVS14 to drive in, while driving I was using my RH25 on my left eye to check the cattle to my left and scan. When we got into set, I used the IR on my princeton tech to pull my call and remote out of my pack and set it out.
Then swapped over to thermal for quick easy hands free scanning.
If you have any questions on helmet set ups, I rigged about 20-30 up this (last) year for fellas who didn't quite know what they needed or wanted. Same position I was in, until I started using it all and figured it out!
You'll enjoy it. I'll be sure and post up the video link to my Youtube video once I get it finished, going into details on hardware, thermal selection, Hearing pro, integrated beanie for cold weather,tube choices regarding filmed vs unfilmed, S/N ratio, Center and Light res. Gain, what unit's are better than others and at what cost.