The Batt Pack is now out for the Katana and is very nice setup. I've avoided battery packs and prefer running "slick" on my dual tube sets for years, but I really like the "Batt Pack" on my Katanas.

Basically if you order a Katana without a Lemo port, then you have no option to run a battery pack- like ever. We used to run into this with BNVD SGs, people would say "no I don't want the port". I would explain that if you think you ever in a million years may want to run a battery pack, order it with the port as it can't be "added" later after the fact.

If you want a full swap over where you can re-use the lenses - we have some RNVG anvis housings in stock.

Otherwise, most housings are made for PVS-14 objective lenses so you'll need to factor that cost in.

I recommend having someone do it for you unless you're familiar with disassembling/assembling and DIY collimating. We could do the swap for you. ARFCOM discounts apply

I always recommend to just run the -9 until you break it unless you have a desire to get a different housing.

Other than not being a ruggedized goggle it's a good device IMHO.

Lightweight, simple, and the reliable ANVS on/off function is dead nuts reliable so no worries at all about your goggle being turned on and staring at things it shouldn't be when stowed.

I have an anvis housing sitting with usps. I may just end up making a 3d printable file for the reinforcement plates - then it could be printed in carbon or glass filled or metal. In the past, i have made them out of j channel, tin snips/dremel and some industrial double sided adhesive.

I do like the anvis rnvg and i keep eyeballing the artemis every time i see one pop up on the ee. I actually like the ball detent style mount, but after running articulating housings, i am rather spoiled and hate how high an anvis rig sits on top of my head. - it feels a little unicorny.

If i get time i really want to mess with an articulating ball detent style bridge that'll fit anvis pods.

What specifically do you dislike about the ball detent?

Both the ANVS and BNVS mounting systems have their own fair share of advantages and disadvantages, and there is not one "best" answer, despite what many will claim, but its always amusing to me when I see folks blindly dump on ANVS systems and ANVIS goggles, usually without having actually spent much time using them, because the internet told them that they sucked and are too fragile to do even breathe on.

OP, not saying this is necessarily the case for you--perhaps you do have specific knowledge or experiences or requirements that inform your opinions, I'm more making a broad generalization as a means to point out what many have already noted--that there isn't necessarily an immediate "requirement" under most circumstances, to just immediately swap out an ANVIS housing.

Now, on the one hand--I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't if that's what you want, and that's what meets your needs, but based on your own self-description of: "I'm not some Tier 87 operator, just some mid 40's old guy who lives in the desert and can shoot at night," I don't really see anything to suggest that a standard ANVIS wouldn't meet your needs.

I spent years using the AN/AVS-6(v)3 (rotary wing / translational objective / "Army" variant of the AN/AVS-9 "ANVIS-9") as a ground goggle prior to joining TNVC, and without a reinforced PAS at that, and they remain one of my favorite goggle systems.

As to your side question--it depends on the eyepiece lenses. If you for some reason have the old old 18mm eyepiece lens assemblies, than no. Definitely not.

If you have 25mm eyepieces, then "maybe."

In the past, the ANVIS eyepiece assembly and AN/PVS-14 eyepiece assemblies were different part numbers. The lens cells themselves were the same, as was the vast majority of the assembly, however ANVIS eyepieces did not have a threaded portion to accept the accessory eyecup adapters to which the eyecups attach, as they were not considered necessary or useful in an aviation application.

AB Night Vision and possibly some others did at one point at least, sell glue-in threaded adapters for ANVIS eyepiece lens assemblies that would allow you to use the eyecup adapter rings, however to be honest, I'm not 100% sure if they still do.

Part of the reason that I'm sure is that oh... I wanna say around... ten years ago now? Before Army aviation adopted White Phosphor, but when all AN/AVS-6s were being updated by MWO to (v)3 standards (lobed objective lenses), the standard was changed so that both the ANVIS and AN/PVS-14 would use the same P/N / eyepiece lens and diopter adjustment assembly, which included the threaded section for the accessory ring to attach--it simply was not attached / included with ANVIS systems.

So depending on when your ANVIS system was built / whom it was assembled by / out of new parts or surplus parts, they may or may not have the ability to accept standard PVS-14 eyecups and/or other eyepiece accessories (like demist shields, etc.).

~Augee

How is this occurring - is it when you are stowing/deploying the goggle, inserting/removing from the helmet mount, or some other situation where it randomly pops out?

Not saying it is your fault but in my experience this is usually user induced by incorrectly inserting/removing the goggle from the mount.

However a worn/damaged helmet mount may be the culprit. Check for damage/wear (without the goggle inserted) at the 9 & 3 o'clock position where the notches are for the goggle's ball-detent interface inserts into.

Another potential culprit can be weak detents in the goggle's ball detent interface but this is much rarer in my experience. If the goggle is a refurb from ASU-NVG then I doubt it is the goggle because they won't send out a defective device. ASU-NVG is super solid and they are aviation specialists.

I think an AB Night Vision Storm mount will resolve your issues.

Lastly, if you are running a lanyard and there is too much tension then that can cause problems and especially if it is pullin at an angle that's a recipe for a jam.

Will’s got most of the important bits covered, but if I could ask a couple more clarifying questions:

Is your “clone” mount a “replica” of the Wilcox GSGM / DPAM?

If so, is the issue that the “balls” are getting caught / locked between the power contacts, rather than in the appropriate locking channel?

If the answers to the above are both “yes,” then on the one hand—unfortunately, while not common, getting the ball-detent assembly stuck hard between the contacts of the GSGM and needing to use what’s sometimes a scary amount of force to remove them is a “known” issue due to the design of the GSGM / DPAM in and that it can happen from time to time (of you think it sucks with an ANVIS, imagine it’s a brand new set of ANVS GPNVGs stuck in there ) if the goggle / mount get out of alignment and under the right conditions, so don’t worry—it even happens to the top-level SOF guys from time to time.

The issue is that because the GSGM / DPAM are so rigid and rugged, and designed for a much higher degree of serviceability, where a simpler, plastic aviation mount may have a little more “give” when it comes to moving and removing the goggle, the GSGM / DPAM is pretty rock-solid, and I’ve seen / had guys shear the contacts getting the goggle out, though that is even more exceedingly rare even when it does happen.

All that is to say, is that I usually see this type of malfunction under one of three circumstances:

- Simple improper insertion: a guy will just force the goggle into the mount in the wrong position / wrong angle, and the goggle gets locked into the wrong location.

- As Will mentioned, too much tension from bungees or a retention system, particularly when moving between the stowed and deployed positions (and vice versa), which can cause the goggle to “slip” and lock into the contact gap while it is between positions / the locking mechanism is not engaged,

- Or, and sometimes in conjunction with the above, when trying to force or “muscle” the mount to function like a Force-to-Overcome (FTO) mount, rather than depressing the engagement release when moving between the stowed and deployed positions, which the ANVS mount system, unlike more rigid BNVS push-button systems like the G24, is designed to be able to do in a limited capacity for operator safety / prevent damage to the goggles.

Using the mount as an FTO system is particularly ill-advised with the GSGM / DPAM and other ruggedized ground mounts because the engagement paddle (the “flapper” in the center of the mount with the cross-shaped engagement lugs for the ball-detent mount) is made out of metal while the ball-detent “barrel” on most ANVS-format goggles is usually made from polymer, so too much forcing of that interface will eventually chew up the interface and can induce unwanted play and loosening of the mount.

Moreover, while forcing the mount against the resistance of the engagement paddle, many users are almost always applying asymmetric force to the goggle, once again increasing the chances of it “slipping” while rotating and “falling” into the wrong position and getting wedged between the contacts (or pulled, if strong elastic tension like bungees / retention lanyards is being applied)—you should always be using the release button when moving from stowed to deployed and vice versa, even though the mount can be forced to work like an FTO.

In your specific case, it is again highly likely that the unauthorized replica mount is slightly out of spec, particularly the dimensions between the locking jaws and channel where the “balls” are supposed to slide into—in this case, both too tight or too loose could be contributing to the problem, and this is a fairly critical dimension, too loose and the mount interface may be “slipping” much more easily, while too tight can increase the chances of it “jumping” as it moves, if that makes sense, both being caused because the mount is not encouraging smooth travel between positions (and if the tolerance is really bad/loose—simple elastic tension or even bad jarring could be causing it to slip even in when locked in position).

To be clear (if it wasn’t already ) I am and always have been a huge fan and supporter of the ANVS-format mount for a ground application, and it has a lot of great advantages over the BNVS format, however it is an admittedly more complex and potentially “finicky” mount that requires some more knowledge and care on the part of the end-user to operate properly and effectively—in that respect is kind of like running a 1911 / 2011 versus a Glock (and I use and enjoy both in both cases for different reasons / different applications) in and that in the hands of skilled user and are somewhat of a specialists’ tool, it can be hugely capable and have a lot of upsides, however they can also have / cause a lot more problems if not used or maintained properly and are a little more labor intensive, whereas both the BNVS and a Glock are a little bit more “grunt friendly.”

~Augee

Augee (as usual) was spot on with his assessment.

That's a knockoff GSGM. The real GSGM's are $1,700 so they definitely didn't throw in a real one with an Anvis 9 I was expecting you to have a USGI ball detent helmet mount.

I would follow Augee's advice regarding using it and see if that does the trick but if it continues to be a problem then I recommend getting an AB Night Vision Storm. It really is a great mount and I think you'll be super happy with it.

Yup! That’s 100% an unauthorized GSGM replica.

It’s also broken.

There’s supposed to be a sliding cover plate on the right side that protects the toggle switch, which is used to switch between onboard power (the mount should accept a lateral CR123 behind the mounting socket) and external power—after all these years, I still can’t remember which is up and which is down, and I usually just keeping flip it until I get the desired effect.

Also, based on the amount of wear on the metal plates in the mounting socket / jaw where the “balls” are supposed to sit and ride in and stay retained, that it’s almost certainly out-of-spec, either from day one, or has been worn / has become that way through use, and most likely the cause of your mounting woes, as it’s allowing the goggle to slip or jump out of the socket and lock into the contact pins. Between that and the broken switch cover, probably why they threw it in for feee.

I have authentic GSGMs that I’ve used for years, (including one that had the contact pins sheared on one side in the exactly the manner I was talking about by an ARFCOM pro-staffer — it’s all good, Wilcox fixed it and it happens) that don’t have half as much wear. I’m not 100% sure what those jaw plates are made of on the authentic mounts, but I believe that they’re some sort of hardened steel, and I’m pretty sure on most ANVIS systems the balls are steel as well—my guess is that the airsoft replica makers are surely not using the same quality / hardness of metal there, and they’re probably taking a beating, and maybe even getting deformed as a result of continued use.

If you were so inclined, I would either pick up a good, ground hardened mount like the AB Night Vision STORM if you didn’t want to swing for the $1,700-$1,800-ish the real GSGM costs, or even just pick up a cheap[er] aviation mount and helmet adapter off eBay or something. Between that and a little more experience, your problems would go away.

https://tnvc.com/shop/ab-night-vision-storm-mount-for-anvis/

USGI ANVIS mount and adapter:

eBay: Used Aviation Mount with ACH Adapter Bracket and Battery Pack

A little pricey, I think for a used surplus part (and possibly clone adapter plate), but you could also snag it and see if it solves your battery pack problem from your other thread too.

~Augee

I run one of these with an Anvis setup. The whole mount can be taken apart & serviced. I have not had any quality related issues with mine, but I did get mine with the pogo pins sheared off because the prior owner just refused to press the release button and made it a force to overcome pull down mount instead until it wouldnt go back up. On a positive note, it was $20 and easy to fix.

I've also owned a bunch of other anvis mounts as well. The AI Sam mounts aren't bad if you can find one cheap on ebay - I've picked up some in the past $100-$150ish. The largest problem with Anvis is that everything new is stupid expensive and almost isn't worth buying for an aging non-flight rated goggle system.

And ultimately, if you trash the mount, I'd be interested in it for $20.

Excuse me, sir, I've spent quite a bit on support items for ANVIS even prior to joining TNVC and have been quite happy with it.

Things like the GSGM, and even the EOTech riser / FTS systems truly are the result of what you get when an organization with a laundry list of hyper specific and often unrealistic... or at least extremely challenging requirements sits down in a room full of engineers and says: "build me something that does this. I will accept no compromises, and cost is not a factor."

They've got some wild and awesome and obscenely expensive widgets, which, for sure are in many cases far superior to existing and available COTS items, but no one else in their right minds would have paid that amount of money, not just the per unit cost, but simply in iterative development costs for such a numerically small requirement:

"We just kept building them prototypes, then they'd go use them, and a little while later they'd bring us a box of broken parts, and we'd go back and re-design everything that broke, and we just kept doing that until they were happy with it."

That being said, a lot of times we all end up benefiting from it, because they end up getting a seemingly unsolvable problem solved or impossible requirement fulfilled, and then that knowledge and experience often ends up being applied or adapted to more broadly available and accessible products and solutions that get used much more widely, but would have never been able to exist without that initial investment, which I guess is why's more or less a part of their mandate, and they get to spend that money.



~Augee