Flickering tube

Good afternoon gents. I just bought a brand new ENVIS monoc and, upon testing it w/ the supplied energizer industrial batteries, the image flickers. Light tapping on the side of the housing worsens the flickering. I tried it w/ brand new duracell batteries and there was no flickering even while I tapped on the exterior. I know that a flickering tube is BAD NEWS, but can it be due to nearly dead batteries? I don't have a meter to test the batteries but I might try to insert them into my digital camera as that has a low-battery indicator which I think the ENVIS does not. My next question is this. If it is nearly dead batteries, can the flickering caused by them damage the tube? I have a three day return period so no big deal if it is a deal breaker at this point, but I need to know ASAP. Thanks guys.

ETA w/ update: just tried the suspected batteries in my digital camera and it would not even power on.
ETA w/ update: it also only seems to happen w/ greater light levels. W/o illuminator on in a completely dark bathroom it does not seem to do it. Cracking the door or activating the illuminator, however, causes it to flicker wildly. Any thoughts about that?

Clean the bathroom and quit doing crack?

Is it an autogated tube? I believe that autogated tubes act like that on very low power or with a single battery in a dual battery unit. Somebody mentioned using a single AA in a dual battery unit (with spring as a filler) to test if a tube was autogated or now.

I would agree with the comment that it is probably an autogated tube and the batteries are very low on voltage, if it doesn't act the same with fresh batteries then it would appear to me that all signs point towards low battery...

Just by an ANVIS setup, that way when the batteries start getting low power the led starts blinking at you!

We must be on the same wavelength cause that was my exact first thought!

Exactly what I thought, but there's a lot of knowledge on this board and I've only got 72 hours to determine whether or not I will be sending it back. If there's something other than the battery that could be the etiology here, I need to know soon, hence posting despite my thinking it is probably just the batteries. I appreciate the responses guys!

I have NEVER ever seen an Envis with a AG tube. I have bought many an Envis scope and never seen an AG tube. I don't believe one exists and if it does and is original to the scope you will have my apology. I have bought over 20 Envis scopes and even with the newer ones I have not seen one AG or milspec.

Getting that out of the way the flickering is one of two things in my mind. Bad power supply or weak battery's. Easy to tell. Put fresh battery's in and see how it acts. No rocket science involved.

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse, really I'm not, but I just want to make SURE that this thing isn't a lemon before I let the 3 day inspection period expire. Is there a way I can check to see if it is autogated or not? I've owned 20+ gen3 units but, believe it or not, I've never (that I've known of) owned an autogated unit. At this time I completely default to the knowledge of those who know more than I do, my knowledge only goes so far. Yes it makes perfect sense, batteries that are essentially worthless still power this thing up but they make it flicker. I put some batteries in that I know are near dead (apparently not as dead as those supplied w/ the unit as these actually power on my digital camera) and it worked fine. Brand new batteries have no issues, no matter how much I tap on the unit. The ENVIS is completely brand new as far as I can tell, there is one blem but I realize that has nothing to do w/ functionality. I bought this to use for my buddies as they are pretty much blind compared to me when using my regular stuff, and doing this w/ more than one person is 10,000% more fun than solo. Still, I don't want to wind up w/ a lemon. The batteries supplied have an exp date of 2013 (old batteries) so this all adds up perfectly, I get that and I know that the principle of Occam's razor apply here, I just need to rule out anything other than dead batteries. At this point, I'm pretty much convinced it is simply a battery issue, but again, if there is something I'm overlooking here, I BEG YOU, tell me. I appreciate your expertise gents.

Ford, put new batteries in. The Envis usually has an ITT failed silver bullet. Seen many a tube but is what I most often see

Seems like to me if it works well with new batteries you're good to go. Stop by a radio shack and get your battereries checked and buy a cheap tester while you are there! Last thing you might try is to call the vendor and let them know that there is a flickering with the supplied batteries and that you'd like to keep the unit , but with the stipulation that if the flickering continues you'd like a replacement. Seems like if you have something on record(prior to the expiration of the 72 hour limit) it would help your cause if you tried to return it in the near future?

That's exactly what I did as soon as I tested it. By the looks of it I'll probably just keep it, it's a nice unit w/ a great image aside from that one blem. Going to test more tonight to confirm. Thanks again guys.

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.