The Canadian Job
Born from a collaboration between Northern Tactical Defense and Rayxagon, the UNVB NTD, aims to fill the gap in modern day 3D printed binocular devices, addressing key issues that are commonly found in such systems.
Bringing noticeable design improvements to the table, the UNVB is a Canadian triumph of modularity, reliability, reliability and cost effectiveness.
Overview
The UNVB is an MX-10160 compatible, 3D printed, articulating, night vision binocular housing, made out of SLS polymer (PA-12), brass and aluminum.
Powered by a single AA battery, the UNVB is able to operate for up 48h depending on IIT’s and ambient conditions, with the possibility to install an external battery pack to further increase operation time to 72h.
Furthermore, the UNVB is equipped with an IR floodlight to help you navigate extremely dark environments such as underground structures, where not even the most powerful image intensifiers are able to operate without supplemental illumination.
The Breakdown
The UNVB is one of the most feature rich device in its class and price range, and comes with unique characteristics and features, some of which are native and not implemented in any other system available out there.
For starters the UNVB is the first and only 3D printed binocular to feature a metallic internal skeleton made out of brass, making it an extremely reliable system, able to sustain blunt force trauma and abuse far better than its competitors.
The mounting interface is characterized by an reinforced aluminum dovetail to provide utmost toughness and modularity, allowing the user to choose any of the most popular mounting systems on the market such as Cadex, Norotos or Wilcox style mounts. In addition, the NTD UNVB features two bungee cord attachment rings, to keep your device secured to your helmet.
Right below our mounting shoe, the UNVB is equipped with a standard Grayhill rotary switch, providing on/off and IR control, just like in a PVS-14. Power to the PCB is provided by one AA battery, or external battery pack connection to increase operational time, unlike most 3D printed options, which usually provide power thanks to one system or the other, but very rarely both.
Moving down we can take a look at the articulating bridge system, featuring fully reinforced metal hinges (brass), which extend from the back of the device all the way through the front, ensuring great resistance against impact trauma, making it much harder for pods to break off.
Such hinge reinforcement system is unique to the UNVB, an is not found in any of the current 3D printed housings on the market
IPD stops, allow the user to easily adjust their inter-pupillary distance by simply tightening or loosening the adjustment screws located right above the pods.
A simple yet, highly effective system, ensuring reliability, comfort and ease of use.
Moreover, the UNVB also features focus stop rings, giving you the opportunity to set your infinity focus to your preferred distance, making quick focus changes an easy task.
Moving on, one of the most important features found on our UNVB is independent automatic pod shutoff, which makes operating the device even more seamless to the user, as it allows you to turn off either one or both your pods, just by articulating them to the side, without the need to operate any power controls, which is very helpful when having to perform tasks with naked eyes, such as checking maps, instruments or other devices, something very frequent during missions, hiking and other LARPesque activities, such as going to the bathroom at night without turning on the lights.
Final Takeaways and Price
Our goal when designing the UNVB, was to create the most affordable, system on the market, while keeping it reliable and feature rich, in order to fill the gaps in the housing market when it comes to 3D printed systems, which have become increasingly popular over the last few years.
Retailing at 1575 CAD (roughly 1150 USD or 1070 Euros), the UNVB is our love letter to beginner Night Vision enthusiasts, who don’t want to sacrifice features and capability for cost.
With that being said, if you are looking to get into the night vision game or upgrade your old monocular setup, the UNVB is the perfect system for you, and our staff at Northern Tactical Defense will be happy to help you out in choosing tube and optics options, provide build, and maintenance service, and answer any of your questions.
Get your UNVB today at northerntacticaldefense.com