Hi Mr. Rawles,
I read your novel Patriots for the first time a few months ago and wanted to tell you that it was one of the most educational and eye-opening books that I have read. Plus, the plot made it difficult to put the book down once I started reading! Patriots really opened my eyes to many survival and self-sustainability issues that I hadn’t considered previously and for that I want to thank you. I think it is a true service what you have done to those just learning about these issues and so I have been recommending your book to everyone I know. I also recently came across your blog and have found this to again be a great source of information.
I sent an annual payment for the ten cent challenge a couple of days ago and wanted to help contribute with a bit of information for anyone looking for night vision devices (NVDs):
I was looking for a night vision monocular and after researching several of the sites, I came across an interesting offer on www.opticshq.com. They carried all of the popular models plus a device called the “Mini-14”. This is a Gen-3 device, which in comparison to the PVS-14, is 1) smaller and lighter, 2) waterproof to 66ft, 3) uses only one AA battery (or smaller lithium battery) instead of two, 4) comes with several additional accessories, and, 5) is comparable in price or even slightly cheaper.
The only feature that it lacks in comparison is that it doesn’t allow manual adjustment of the gain, which I’ve read might be an issue in urban environments (the gain does adjust automatically though). Now, the interesting offer on this site was that they had obtained some ‘Select’ versions, which included the [amplification tube manufacturer’s] data cards and were guaranteed to be above certain thresholds in features such as line pairs per millimeter (LP/mm), signal to noise (S/N) ratio and sensitivity. Moreover, they offered a hand-select service which assured receipt of the very best of these units. “Mike” is the one to talk to there. He was very helpful in educating me about the differences between the various models / brands as well as some of the more general NVD information. There is a also a nice forum on their site where users discuss the different units.
I decided to purchase the unit and have to say that it is by far the single most amazing acquisition that I have ever made (truly worth every penny). The clarity and brightness at night is jaw-dropping! And, I would have to believe that this is one of the finer examples of a Gen-3 device. So, I just wanted to pass along this information in case it would helpful to anyone interested in these devices.
Thank you very much again for what you have done in educating everyone and I look forward to many more daily blog updates! – Scot
Letter Re: A Source for Night Vision Scopes
