Quote:
Originally Posted by R.I.T.Z
thats gen 4
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A little more information
"US Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) is part of the governing body that dictates the name of the generation of night vision technologies. Although the recent increased performance associated with the GEN-III OMNI-VII components is impressive, the US Army has not yet authorized the use of the name GEN-IV for these components.
GEN-III OMNI-VII devices can differ from standard Generation 3 in two important ways. First, an automatic gated power supply system regulates the photocathode voltage, allowing the NVD to instantaneously adapt to changing light conditions. The second is a removed or greatly thinned ion barrier, which decreases the amount of electrons that are usually rejected by the Standard GEN III MCP, hence resulting in less image noise and the ability to operate with a luminous sensitivity at 2850K of only 700, compared to operating with a luminous sensitivity of at least 1800 for GEN III image intensifiers. The disadvantage to a thin or removed ion barrier is the overall decrease in tube life from a theoretical 20,000 hrs mean time to failure (MTTF) for Gen III type, to 15,000 hrs MTTF for GEN IV type. However, this is largely negated by the low numbers of image intensifier tubes that reach 15,000 hrs of operation before replacement.
It is important to note that while the consumer market classifies this type of system as "Generation 4", the United States military describes these systems as Generation 3 Autogated tubes (GEN-III OMNI-VII). Moreover, as autogating power supplies can now be added to any previous generation of night vision, "autogating" capability does not automatically class the devices as a GEN-III OMNI-VII, as seen with the XD-4. Another point to note is that any postnominals appearing after a Generation type (i.e.: Gen II +, Gen III +) do not change the generation type of the device, but instead indicates an advancement(s) over the original specification's requirements."