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√ Night vision devices (NVD)
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Military optical night vision devices
Initially, NVD night vision devices or in English the Night Vision Device were supposed to work for peaceful purposes, but they did not come to much success “in civilian life”. The reasons are simple: the device was far from ergonomic, large in size and of considerable weight. Its price was just as high.
1. Night vision devices: the beginning or the war as a push.
USA 20-30s. The development of precision instrumentation, the influx of "brains" in the United States and the arms race have inscribed night vision devices in their interests. And like many of the inventions, the night vision device was patented by an emigrant. Vladimir Zworykin fled the civil war, and NVD became one of 120 patents and inventions of this engineer - a pioneer of television technology, the inventor of a scanning electron microscope and a television-guided bomb. Zworykin worked for the United States as head of the electronics laboratory of the Radio Corporation of America.
Europe 30-40s. Date -1935, country - Germany, company - AEG. AEG is the first in Europe to develop night vision devices.
1939 - Germany will use night vision devices for military purposes, this will happen for the first time.
1943 - all the same Germany actively uses devices, they are attached to Panther tanks. Such devices needed a powerful backlight. Later, also during the Second World War, the so-called "Vampir" appeared. Vampires were attached to Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifles. 
The Vampire set, among other things, included huge batteries that had to be carried on the back in unloading . The total weight of the entire set, including the device and sight, approached 35 kg.
The charge of such a novelty was enough for less than 30 minutes, but the Germans, using even such NV devices, had an advantage over the enemy, who did not possess them.
USA 40-50s. In the 1940s, the military production of night vision devices continued its active development in the United States.
The reason is the same: World War II. During these years, the Americans introduce their own night vision sight for M1 and M3 rifles to help snipers, which became known as the "sniperscope" (from the English sniper - sniper) or AN / PVS-2 Starlight scope (from the English. Starlight - Starlight).
1950s Korea (Korean War)
Later, the Americans use the same device in the Korean War, or, as the States officially called it, in the "police operation", Starlight scope was used quite actively.
2. Night vision devices - from generation to generation
Generation 0 (GEN 0)
Yes, in fact, the devices of the zero generation themselves were of the active type - they were equipped with a large infrared searchlight. The main function belonged to the S-1 photocathode. The process involved cesium, silver and oxygen. The main disadvantage was the fuzziness of the image and, in the literal sense of the word, a vital minus - you could easily be noticed by the enemy, of course, with special equipment.
Generation 1 (GEN I)
The Vietnam War became the springboard for the development of the first generation of night vision devices , the so-called passive devices. It was an adaptation of earlier GEN 0 technologies. They could work in natural light, which is available at night (the light of the city, cars, lamps, the moon, etc.). In complete darkness, such devices are useless. The basis of these devices is a photomultiplier tube, which looks like a glass bulb under vacuum. Unfortunately, such amplifiers distort the image and quickly wear themselves out. 
Generation 1+ (GEN I+) - here the optical fiber, which was invented in America in the early 60s, formed the basis for the changes. It changed the device constructively and made it possible to use it in the conditions of the city, with side illumination, without “illuminating” the image with the lights of lanterns or car headlights.
Generation 2 (GEN II)
Second generation devices: they are especially noticeable changes for the better. They used an improved S-25 photocathode and a microchannel plate (MCP) - it does not accelerate electrons, but increases their flow. This affected the durability of the device, the quality of the image - it became brighter, the resolution of the image. Manufacturers have achieved significant contrast. Improved signal-to-noise ratio. 
The signal-to-noise ratio is used for audio and video signals and is measured in decibels. The higher the signal-to-noise ratio for the video signal, the better the image quality, the less distorted the picture, the less interference.
Tip: choose products with high image contrast. Before you buy, check the purity and clarity of the picture. Black specks that can be seen on the screen are usually not a hindrance to observations, small dots are not a sign of a defective device, but if the dots do not go out, if they are bright, or if there is a white spot in the center on the monitor, this is a defect. The buyer himself can check the clarity of the picture, the absence of interference.
Generation 3 (GEN III)
In devices of the third generation of night vision devices, the same basis remained - microchannel technology (MCP), and an expensive photocathode with gallium arsenide (AsGa) was added. The high manufacturability of production determines the considerable cost of these devices; the assembly of the main element is carried out in a vacuum under special pressure. At the moment, US troops are equipped with this generation of night vision devices. It is characterized by exceptional image clarity.
Tip: The 3rd generation of instruments performed well in the field in low light conditions. The picture is contrasting, detailed and clear. Among the shortcomings: there is no fiber-optic lens at the input of the image intensifier tube, which means that there is no protection from side light sources. Therefore, devices of the 3rd generation should not be used for urban battles.
Generation 4 (GEN IV)
As for the most advanced night vision devices , they showed themselves perfectly in any lighting - sufficient and poor.
Video shooting through a generation 3+ night vision device (or GEN IV)
Sensitivity is one of the main indicators that you should pay attention to when buying, if you are not sure of your knowledge, then it is better to entrust this indicator to a professional. In addition, the sensitivity can be checked by comparing the readings of instruments in the dark.
The main characteristics of image intensifier tubes of different generations
Brief overview of prices for night vision devices of different generations from Sheriff
Prices in our store of night vision binoculars from Yukon Generation 1 (GEN 1) are on average from 2 thousand ₴ to 8 thousand ₴.
The cost of an electron-optical converter for night sights and night vision devices fluctuates around 3-13 thousand rubles. dollars.
3. Thermal Imager VS Night Vision Device, devices with different “viewing angle”
Any object, without exception, animate or not, whether it is warm or cold, has its own temperature: stones, trees, a person or an animal heated in the sun during the day. The thermal imager's antenna collects infrared light, its indicators make a temperature pattern, a few more rather complex machinations - and the image appears on the monitor. Everything happens instantly. The device spends only 1/13 of a second to create a thermogram.
Image intensifier night vision devices absorb the available visible light, amplify it, convert it and display the image on the screen. If the reflected light is not enough, then there will be no high-quality picture. The performance of the night vision device depends on the light source.
In transitional time periods - in the evening and early in the morning - night vision devices are not effective due to excess light, the excess light will be amplified with the help of an image intensifier tube and as a result, the image will look like a continuous spot of light.
The operation of a thermal imager is based on infrared radiation, which does not depend on light in any way - the heat emitted by living and non-living objects, in the light of the sun or in complete darkness, always gives a clear and clear image.
Cryogenic thermal imagers are advanced devices that scan an image at a distance of 300 meters, are very sensitive to temperature, and can be used to distinguish whether a militant has a rifle in his hands. 
But they cost money and require literally a delicate and attentive attitude. Devices without cooling have their advantages: they are somewhat cheaper , have a built-in battery and are easy to maintain, silent.
With the help of a thermal imager, you can see through thick smoke or fog, a night vision device is not an assistant in this.
In addition to these devices, night sights with infrared illumination have long been on the market for observations at night. Such devices can be used even in poor lighting conditions. If the light of the moon, lanterns, etc. there are not enough sources for passive mode, built-in infrared lighting is used.
Regular IR illumination of most of the devices gives a visible effect at a distance of no more than 100 meters. Further, the spotlight simply does not reach. If the sight is supplemented with an external more powerful emitter, this distance can be increased.
Tip: in combat conditions, you can be easily detected on the ground, but only on condition that your opponent also has a night vision device , because the IR spectrum is not visible to the human eye. With the help of an additional searchlight, you can outwit the enemy. Turn on not the regular IR illuminator, which is on the device, but an additional one, which is located 20-30 meters away from the observer, and even better, placed 50-70 meters ahead of him.
4. Professional optics Yukon - leaders in the night vision market
Yukon Advanced Optics Worldwide is a company with more than 15 years of experience in the production and sale of professional optics . In the late 90s, a joint venture was created, consisting of a manufacturing enterprise of the Republic of Belarus (specializing in the production of optics) and a trading company that was engaged in sales (Texas, USA).
The assortment, the level of sales increased, and the company already in the 99th produced night vision devices , and a few years later, night sights . By 2005, the company was manufacturing and selling so many night vision devices (Generation 1) that its global market share reached 60%.
The line of optical night vision devices from the Yukon company is presented in the Sheriff store (Dnepropetrovsk). We recommend night sights and devices of this brand also because the price for them is unreasonably low.
In 2008, Yukon registers its own subsidiary brand Pulsar.
The Yukon developed rapidly, and by 2012, digital night vision riflescopes, laser rangefinders , thermal imagers, add-ons to daytime sights were added to the range, making them night-time. Yukon enterprises are located in Lithuania, Belarus, Russia, Great Britain, Korea. It is one of the major manufacturers and developers of amateur and professional optics in the world.
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