Although "auto-gain" is most commonly used, a name to better describe it is fixed-gain.

The gain level will essentially be at the tube's maximum gain. The "auto" part is the tube's ABC (automatic brightness control). ETA: So, even manual gain 11769 tube's have "auto-gain" if that makes sense

I always recommend having manual gain with a monocular but it is the user's choice. Manual gain allows you to lower the brightness which will make it easier for our brain to use the image from the unaided eye.

Better is subjective and so for new users (or users in general) who haven't developed a preference from the experience of using both, then the better choice is a quality housing with manual gain control. There are some good options this year such as the DTNVS-MG and the Manticore-R. We don't have them listed yet but we are building these systems.

Speaking for myself, I used to strongly believe that manual gain was 100% necessary. This was when all I had used was manual gain and with what what be considered "lower spec" tubes by today's standards.

After getting much better unfilmed WP tubes (whose specs most would now consider to be "low" LOL) I found that I always left them on maximum gain. So, I put them in an "auto gain" housing and since that time they've been installed into about 4 different "auto gain" housings. This was before I joined TNVC.

I've used many systems now of both types (manual & auto) and I still prefer "auto" but that is my personal preference. I have co-workers who will only use manual gain.

That'll do it. You can demonstrate the ABC with Moon light by stepping under over hang to block it and then stepping out you'll notice it dim, or looking into a dark area and then quickly looking into a bright one.

L3 tubes transition pretty quick so you may have not noticed this before but once you spot it you'll know what is now. I've seen many folks including industry people mix up ABC with autogating

ETA: And to clarify, when I say I prefer "auto" that also applies to using a manual gain housing but leaving it at maximum gain.

GreenMushroom has a ton of time under NODs and thermal, I think he definitely means auto gain aka "no gain."

Check out the RVM-14

We have those listed online and housings in stock

If he is looking for just a monocular, I would look at a standard PVS14 or a LW14 if the weight savings is important.

I'll build a Tanto up and weigh it in the next few days. I think we have a Tanto housing in stock (we don't normally carry them).

Any reason he doesn't want to bridge two 14s?

That's the big one for me.

Let me know if we can help him, have thin filmed high grade WP and Unfilmed 20UM high grade WP in stock and shipping out same day ordered.

To be clear, the actual failure rate of modern, quality night vision devices not related to user error or external “trauma” is extremely low, so in terms of overall failure rate, no, I would not call manual gain failures statistically significant.

However if you are going to have a true system failure, again, not related to use or physical damage, it is almost always going to be related to the gain control and/or the power supply / battery compartment, and we do see a slightly higher rate of failures (again, still extremely low) with manual gain systems, though to be fair, most manual gain-capable goggles tend to be a little bit more complex in general.

In comparison, tubes and tube power supplies (which controls the ABC function, as opposed to an external circuit) are actually extremely reliable, again and not to sound like even more of an ANVIS-cheerleader, again short of external factors ANVIS systems which have no manual gain and no onboard battery compartment, and is basically just a frame for a set of tubes with some wires that apply external power to them very rarely have any kind of systemic failure, to where I would say that tube failures are more common than system failures.

All of that being said, while I am and have long been a fan and advocate of ABC goggles for my personal use, I have also come to find that I may be kind of a freak insofar as loving my tubes to be as bright as possible at almost all times, even with 3000 FOM SuperGain. I also keep my iPhone screen at full blast 99% of the time.

As tubes have steadily increased in performance, including the wider and wider adoption of SuperGain tubes both in the private sphere as well as DoD, the number of people who may find tubes “too bright” due to light sensitivity has also increased—not just as a matter of preference, which many people have already had, but to the point of actual pain and discomfort.

This, coupled with the increasing use and adoption of fusion systems and HUDs, the intensifier gain control has also become an important factor in maintaining proper contrast of the display. While some fusion systems and HUDs do also have their own brightness and contrast control systems, they tend to not be anywhere near as reliable or effective as the analog ABC, which can cause visibility issues with the signature and symbology, particularly in transitional environments, a HUD / fusion display that is clearly visible and has good contrast in a very dark environment, like movement to the objective, may end up being too dim once you transition into a more brightly lit urban or suburban area and get washed out by the overall image brightness, and it is easier and more effective to simply reduce the analog I² gain so the display “pops” more, versus fiddling with the display brightness and contrast because it adapts far better to changing light conditions.

In fact, the F-BINO / BNVD-FUSED is designed as standard to power up at 50% gain, which actually kind of annoys me personally, as it breaks my streak of “I rarely ever touch the manual gain,” because I immediately need to crank it up to full every. single. time. as a part of normal startup procedure.

However again, this is done primarily so that you can properly adjust the display contrast and brightness to a good, median level for most environments, so that it will still be generally visible in higher light conditions, but will not be so bright that it blows out the I² image in extremely dark lighting conditions.

~Augee

While in general I think the EMP consideration may be a little overblown (probably a discussion for a whole other section of the website ) to the best of my knowledge, a manual gain or ABC-only configuration should not make a huge difference, but I cannot say that I am really an expert in EMP effects, so if I’m wrong surely someone will come along to say so, rules of the internet and all.

However it’s worth noting that generally speaking, and MX-10160 format / spec tube, because they are “intended” for an aviation application will typically have EMI shielding standard, while an MX-11769 format “ground” or “monocular” tube will not.

With non-L3 tubes that are not as readily converted from one format to the other (10160 = ABC-only / 11769 = MG EGAC) this means that most ABC-only configured systems will have the EMI shielding, while MGC tubes may not.

With L3 tubes it’s a little bit less of an issue because of the configurable EGAC. With the L3 tubes especially, the P/N “code” will actually tell you a good bit about the specific features of the tube, e.g.,:

10160UW-SA-C00-18UM/1121

10160 = base tube spec (even minus the EGAC, 10160 and 11769 tube specs differ slightly with 10160s generally being tighter all around, e.g., center image shift tolerances)

U = Unfilmed / F = Filmed

W = White / G = Green

S = EMI Shielded / E = either shielded or unshielded / N = unshielded

A = Autogated

C00[ x ] = configuration code / EGAC configuration, e.g., C00 = “standard” (no EGAC), C001 = PVS-14 ribbon EGAC, C009 = L3 BNVD-style EGAC

18 = base tube series “maximum,” generally more relevant with export tubes, but does designate tube base performance minimums in ~200 FOM increments for export / country classification. 18 = 1600 (1540) Min. FOM, 20 = 1800 (1792) Min FOM, etc., generally only goes to 24 base because 2200-2400 (2160-2376) is the highest “general” export classification. See below:

U = Unlimited, i.e., tubes may (and almost always do these days) exceed series “maximums,” which is how you end up with 3000+ FOM 18UM tubes / L = Limited [to stated series maximum performance]

M = Ground MIL-SPEC tube cosmetics (spot count) / A = Aviation tube cosmetics

1121 (xxxx / numerical) = May or may not be present and/or replace series designation, Contract or Order Identification (OID), indicates a contract-specific performance spec (e.g., -1610 or -1595) or a contract-specific modification to the baseline spec, which in some circumstances can be pretty extensive.

~Augee