Install Steam
login
|
language
简体中文 (Simplified Chinese)
繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese)
日本語 (Japanese)
한국어 (Korean)
ไทย (Thai)
Български (Bulgarian)
Čeština (Czech)
Dansk (Danish)
Deutsch (German)
Español - España (Spanish - Spain)
Español - Latinoamérica (Spanish - Latin America)
Ελληνικά (Greek)
Français (French)
Italiano (Italian)
Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
Magyar (Hungarian)
Nederlands (Dutch)
Norsk (Norwegian)
Polski (Polish)
Português (Portuguese - Portugal)
Português - Brasil (Portuguese - Brazil)
Română (Romanian)
Русский (Russian)
Suomi (Finnish)
Svenska (Swedish)
Türkçe (Turkish)
Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
Українська (Ukrainian)
Report a translation problem
Discussions Rules and Guidelines
Report this post
They also cause everything in view to appear about 2 inches nearer to the user than they actually are, which makes aiming a firearm using sights or optics especially disorienting, and it also makes picking up objects with hands feel very awkward.
Maybe it was sleep deprivation, but I remember freaking out a bit when reaching out to flip a switch. My hand felt like reaching into an alternate dimension because it should have been in my field of view but just wasn't there, and I wasn't touching anything while my hand/eye coordination perception was telling me that I was reaching the correct distance. My actual reach was two inches short and just outside the very limited 40 degree FOV of the AN/PVS-4 helment-mounted goggles (I tried fact-checking the part number, but found nothing ... I can't honestly remember what the name for the 2009 series US Army Aviation Nods used to be, but I do remember they had a sweet HUD feature attachment for helicopter pilots).
Considering the stress of combat combined with the added strain of manually overcoming the illusion factors, NVGs trade off no small amount of additional exertion over time for the obvious tactical advantage of target acquisition in low level light conditions as well as through concealment (body temperature "glows" in IR just like a hot stove-top range glows red when heated up), and opaque materials can become transparent.
Youtube's ThunderF00t did a video with a thermal camera (similar to an IR camera) to showcase reflective and transparent materials having some unexpected properties because of the unusual behavior of infrared EM rays.
Long story short, it takes several hours of use to become somewhat accustomed or practiced to the use of NVGs.
Awesome details. Thanks for the info! In fact, I'm using only Holographic and NVG. That's fine for me. I also use the laser pointing, so that's already fine for me.
Red dots should be just as crisp and clear as it would be in daylight as long as the brightness is set to the correct setting. But unless you are in a situation where you are against opponents also using NVGs then it's best to use an IR laser for most cases.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgGP69iZGmo
IMO if users that have reached unconscious competence with their weapon system they can easily switch to NVGs at night so long as they don't try to over-complicate the processes that they are already used to. They just have to get used to the limited 40 degree FOV and being able to walk to and through places with confidence.
Realistically, your iron sights/optics would be blurry so long as the device is focused to far objects, OR vice versa. Ideally, you want that focus on far objects, unless you are trying to read a map or render first aid, or any other task that requires nearsightedness.
Additionally, night vision, even modern, current gen systems, have many draw backs that come with their inherent advantages. While they will help you to see at night or in darkness, they can do NOTHING without some form of ambient light to amplify (stars, moonlight, distant or near lights, even the lights from a nearby city on the horizon). If there is no ambient light (such as in a closed off room, or outside on a dark cloudy night, or in a thick forest/dense undergrowth), night vision devices basically become useless.
To counter that weakness, most devices also come with a small, built in infrared LED light source. These IR sources are VERY useful inside buildings where the light can reflect off of walls and windows and objects, giving the device plenty of light to amplify, but are almost detrimental in dense undergrowth or in forested areas; the light illuminates things that are very close, but diffuses rapidly, resulting in a situation where you can see clearly about 2 feet in front of you, and absolutely NOTHING beyond that. In that situation, if there is no moonlight or starlight, its often easier to move through such an environment without a NOD. Additionally, using the IR source will reveal you to any other NOD user, friendly or otherwise.
Other weaknesses include:
The inability to see into darkened, shadowed areas
The inability to see through heavy snow, fog, or rain.
Can be blinded by sudden, close range, bright light sources (burnt eyes/retinas such as seen in the cartoon "Archer" are a myth, however)
The bright green light emitted through the objective lens can potentially be seen by other devices (even with the rubber eye shield) and can also blind the user if removed (like going from a brightly lit room to a dark one; your eyes will need time to adjust to the darkness)
Strengths:
CAN see into windows.
CAN be used in darkness to read road signs or maps.
CAN be used while attempting to render first aid.
As long as there is sufficient ambient light, OR an IR light source is used, these devices can see clearly for moderate to long distances (the cliche' war story about snipers spotting a smoker's lit cigarette are TRUE. A lit cigarette CAN in fact be seen from a very long distance by a NOD. ESPECIALLY when the smoker takes a hit. It's like a beacon, and when it brightens, that means its right in front of your face.....BANG!)
The opposite is true of thermal devices. They cannot see into windows, cannot be used to read maps or road signs (unless the markings/letters are a different temperature than whatever they are printed on), and are seriously detrimental to first aid attempts. However, they CAN see through smoke, fog, rain, and snow to some degree, are not limited by any degree of ambient light, and thus also cannot be blinded by a light source. However, if the ambient air temperature matches the temperature of surrounding terrain and objects, or if there is otherwise little or no differential in the ambient temperature gradient, thermal devices are effectively blind. This is a rare circumstance, however, and typically only happens around sunup or sundown.
Lastly, and perhaps most interestingly, thermal devices can easily pick up trace amounts of heat signature from recent physical contact (within a few minutes). So if you touched the wall, turned a doorknob, etc, a good thermal optic will be able to see that. Even your SHOES can leave a "heat footprint" that could be followed...