An Introduction to Night Vision Astronomy 

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Happy to hear you found it useful. :)

Thank you James.

@@DakotaStarryNights I wonder, having seen some of your other videos, whether you have considered opening a startup that would implement these ideas. I think Explore Scientific might be interested in your mount improvements. Just a thought.

@@JamesAdams-ev6fc Thanks for the vote of confidence. ES did contact me after the my first review on the Ultra Light 12 to discuss its problems and possible solutions. But that's as far as it went. Honestly, though, I wouldn't know where to begin to implement these ideas into a business model.

@@DakotaStarryNights It would be some work to go from your ideas to production mode, and of course you would want excellent prototypes to attract advance orders from persons who can understand the improvements, like Scott Roberts would. Add-On items that only you can make seem the most promising--remember the Telrad for example. To get it into production mode you would need to test reliable materials with the help of a workman who is...well, workmanlike. Every item has to follow a very precise tolerance and it has to pass initial tests, including tests of durability under different climatic conditions. It's a challenge, but then again, your ideas are good ideas. By the way, I showed my wife your videos and she was impressed. I also mentioned them to High Point Scientific, an excellent vendor. And finally, one of my most beloved teachers came from eastern South Dakota. It may be cold in the winter, but the flora and fauna and landscape are unforgettable. I wish you the best working on these creative fixes to the gear used in our hobby.

Glad to hear folks are finding it useful. :)

You're welcome. :)

Thanks Ryan.

Thanks! Yeah, like most things with astronomy, it's spendy. But you know I'd buy it again if I had to.

Thanks. Glad you found it useful.

You're welcome. :)

Hey Paul, yeah they're spendy. But I've seem them on sale at times for just under 3 grand at JR's. Still not cheap, but a thousand dollars is nothing to sneeze at. Clear skies & Happy New Year!🥳

It's difficult to know with the complexity of the bino, adapter, 55mm, and a coma corrector. One thing for certain, long focal length telescopes are at a disadvantage. You really want f5 or f4. And below f4 is better still. 💫

Generally speaking, the white phosphor PVS14 tend to cost more. Some folks feel they can see more with the white phosphor. I can't say as I've never tried one. But JRH, link above, has a really nice Harris/Elbit systems thin filmed White Phosphor tube Pinnacle that's autogated. That's pretty much top of the line. Now I don't receive any money from them or anything like that. But if a guy was in the market for a PVS 14 I'd take a good hard look at that one. As for myself, once I got my PVS14 (green version) and a fast f/4.5 16" dob I sold all my astro imaging equipment. Didn't need it no more. I'm satisfied every time I go out now. Best investment I've made in astronomy. Thanks for posting. Clear skies!

Yes it is. There are things I am able to see now that I thought only imaging could produce. It's a different world for sure. Thanks for posting. Dakota

Yes, I do it all the time. Check out: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-N5MpPCtwzZE.html (starts at 6:30 in the timeline) Clear skies!

Night vision would be best. Thermal vision works by amplifying a heat signal. I doubt there would be much, if any, readable heat signal emitted from satellites or potential UFO's. Unless the UFO had some kind of alien hot warp drive we don't know about. :)

It's actually an adapter that connects the NV monocular to a TelVue eyepiece of your choosing. The NV monocular doe not load into the focuser tube itself. See the description for the link. It's called Tele Vue TNVC Night Vision A-Focal Astronomy Adapter. Cheers!

I'm using Gen 3 which is pretty amazing. The combination of real-time viewing and the simplicity of the platform made it an easy choice for me. It runs on just one double "A" battery too. Still on the one it came with! I've since sold off all my imaging gear as I don't feel a need for it anymore. Not to say NV yields the high full color images of astrophotography. No way. But I'm spending more time looking at DSO's instead of working on problems like polar alignments, laptops, software, guide cams, power generators and the rest. I've recently got a Hubble UL16. (Look for an upcoming review here on DSN) The UL16 takes NV to a whole new level. I am so spoiled now. Anything else "visually" just doesn't cut it for me anymore. As far as the near future... Here's something you might like: www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-researchers-develop-infrared-film-for-smartphones-self-driving-cars/ Clear Skies, Dakota.

​@@DakotaStarryNightsI agree, I'd rather spend time viewing objects like DSO's in real time, rather than waiting for exposures and computer processing! Night vision without needing a CCD, CMOS, amplification tube, cathode, etc? Wow! It would seem the low cost coating not only upconverts the IR to visible light, but maintains a high degree of the photon's direction. I would think such a thing would have improved resolution compared with the current offerings. Very interesting. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for your input on the UL16! I greatly enjoyed your video overview and efficient modifications that you did on the ES truss dob. I've been cutting my teeth modifying/restoring 8 and 10" dobs and would like to go big, but get the absolute most from my light polluted skies.

I only use TeleVue eyepieces so maybe there's something there. That said, for higher magnification I use a TeleVue 35mm Pan Optic and have gotten great results with a UL16 dob.

A PVS14 was originally designed to be use for the military for observing the field and night sky. It's great for watching meteor showers and is used without out a telescope for that application. Mounted on a helmet, as seen in the beginning of the video, will allow hands free operation. If you connect to a TeleVue eyepiece it can be used in a telescope for visual work, as demonstrated in the video. I was pointing a camera at the eyepiece to take pictures in order to demonstrate it's capabilities. But you typically used it for visual real time observation when connected to an eyepiece and telescope. Clear Skies!

Looks like the Europeans have circumvented your ITAR regulations and made a better product that can be used in prime and a focal modes. Check it out here 👍🏻😊astrograph.net/epages/www_astrograph_net.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_astrograph_net/Categories/Shop/Night_Vision

It's more to do with the f ratio. Longer focal length scope typically have higher f ratios of 10 or more. In your case, with 508mm of aperture @ 2400 fl you be at f/4.7. That's fast and will be great for NV with the 55mm TV plossel.

Thankyou for your assistance good sir ✅👍🏻

If you are referring to the long pass filter, I got it on EBay: www.ebay.com/itm/48mm-630nm-IR-Filter-Infrared-Optical-Grade-R63-Filter-for-Camera-Len/172524510553?hash=item282b431d59:g:OZcAAOxyAc1STY5a

It's not something I've used so can't really make a recommendation. Cheers!

@@DakotaStarryNights Well, if that's the only answer you have to offer to my question, then I need to unsubscribe to your channel. Cheers!

@@JohnTaylor-ne2kz Sorry you feel that way. But it's an honest answer.

@@JohnTaylor-ne2kz You get internet access in the nut house?

Bonjour! I'm not sure if the NV adapter will fit the ES eyepieces. I do know that some of the ES eyepiece designs are very similar to TeleVue's and may work. If not the price of a 55mm TeleVue Plossls are the lest expensive of their eyepieces. I have the Hyperion mk4 8-24, too. Great eyepiece. But for night vision you want low power and I wouldn't think it would couple with the night vision adapter. The Televue 55mm Plossl, along with the Televue 35mm Panoptic, are the only eyepieces I use for night vision astronomy. The 55mm is the workhorse for me as it allows the most light, lowest power and widest view for extended objects when used with a PVS-14. If you've haven't see it already, in this video I use the TeleVue 55mm Plossl for all the objects presented. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-N5MpPCtwzZE.html Clear Skies!

Dakota Starry Nights Hello .... Thanks a lot for your very quick answer 👍 ..... I would like to try this kit one of these day. Do you know if the manufacturer get a reseller in France or Europe ?

@@jbnitpou9942 I don't really know. But send them an e-mail. He's pretty good about getting back to folks who ask questions. Cheers.

Dakota Starry Nights ok. I will do that, for sure. Thank you again. I’ve check the price for the Televue 55 plossl and it’s currently around 270 € in France, an almost affordable price for such a good eyepiece. I just have to find 3500€ for the signal booster ..... 😊

@@jbnitpou9942 Just found this. Here's a NV dealer in France: www.ovni-nightvision.com/en/content/11--ovni-m-

Hey Jay; It was back in 2017 that I got mine: PVS-14 HP+ Pinnacle Autogated Night Vision from JRH. As far as white vs green, I asked Robert that question myself. He said, "It's really mostly a matter of personal preference. I am regular user of this type of gear and I have not seen the need MYSELF to get any WP units. I'm more than happy with my HP+ units in green. Studies have shown that the human brain picks up images better this way and that's why green was chosen to begin with." (Which was pretty honest considering most outfits would want you to spend the extra money.) All that said, I never had a white unite to do an actual comparison but I'm a happy camper with the one I got in green. Dealer's choice here. Clear skies.

@@DakotaStarryNights Thanks for the reply, good info! One other question that I'm having a hard time resolving is if Televue is the only game in town in terms of mating the eyepiece to the PVS-14 with the specialized adapter they have. Definitely adds to the cost of things when getting into night vision. Ideally I would like to use some of my Baader eyepieces and threaded camera adapters and potentially a 56mm Meade Plossl but I may have to just invest in the Televue lineup which is not a bad thing just spendy. :-)

@@kermitzforg Due to the need for speed, you only need two eyepieces really; a Televue 55mm Plossl and/or a Televue 35mm Panoptic. That's what I use 98% of the time. Some of the Explorer Scientific eyepiece are TV colons. If you have one of those it may work. The key is the top of the eyepieces where it connects to the adapter.

Often what looks good on paper doesn't necessarily work in the field. As I haven't tried it myself I'm not able to confirm one way or another. But if it didn't pan out you could always pick up a fast 8" newt for much less than the price of a 11" Edge. Cheers.

@@DakotaStarryNights Thanks again!

The fastest was the ES 8" carbon fiber imaging newt, f/4, as shown in the video.

f7.4 is a bit slow but a PVS 14 would improve it's reach. But it may be better to pick up a fast 8" newt for NV.

Dakota Starry Nights Thank you very much for the fast answer !!!

Or Velcro to my arm. lol

No doubt they are spendy. But when you consider the alternative, lugging around a 24"+ mirror and what they cost, you come out ahead. I don't believe I could ever go back now to looking a faint fuzzies anymore. I've put down my CCD camera and been doing nothing but NV now. The views are what you thought your were going to see when you got your first telescope. lol Thanks for posting. Dakota

Yeah, it's a chunk of money. That's for sure and for certain. But sometimes JRH Enterprises, link above, has them on sale. Even so, a pair of good binoculars will show you a ton of stuff up there. Clear skies!

Yeah, there spendy all right. But I'd probably buy it again if I had to. lol DSN

You gotta pay to play. These things don't grow on trees.

@@bowrudder899 ITs absolutely too much for me so i wont play , you knock your self out

Too rich for me too.

The long focal length of a typical SCT puts you at a disadvantage right from the start. Better to start out with something around f/5 or faster and 8" (203mm) or more of aperture. A buddy of mine tried one out with his 11" Edge and was disappointed. Thanks for posting. It will help others.

@@DakotaStarryNights Thank you for the reply... but... with the .7 dedicated reducer (making the scope F-7)... are my numbers correct? and isn't a final F3.3 out of my PVS14 pretty good? Thanks again... I really appreciate your help with this! Mike