AN/PVS-2

⚠ This page is a stub. Feel free to contribute more information here.

The U.S. Army AN/PVS-2 is a first generation night vision device, first developed during the Vietnam war era, which quickly went through several different revisions. One of the most commonly seen variants is the Israeli model, which is nearly identical to later US models (but with labeling typically in Hebrew, not English, and usually sporting the later style tubes which do not require a high voltage oscillator, and instead typically use a "plug" in place of the oscillator to simply pass voltage from switch, to tube)

INSERT IMAGE OF OSCILLATOR HERE

While very large and heavy by "modern" standards, the 6 pound passive starlight PVS 2s were considered state of the art when it came to the capabilities of U.S. troops fighting at night. This has earned it a serious reputation, and leads to its commonplace depiction in media.

These scopes first entered service at the height of the Vietnam War, and despite their cumbersome size and weight, they did prove its use among Soldiers and Marines in their patrol bases. It was generally too heavy to carry out on many patrols, but as a rifle equipped with one on a post at night where mobility wasn’t an issue, it could be a force multiplier, especially for repelling attacks at night.

These do not feature any IR emitter, and do not emit any light of their own, relying on incoming light. As they emit no light of any kind (IR/UV/etc) they are not detectable, however this also means that they are of limited use when there is no ambient light, which is why they are usually termed "starlight" scopes. Clear nights with star or moon light are optimal, while a cloudy night with no moon far from a city can render them ineffective.

The AN/PVS-2 was intended as a rifle scope, and has a standard mount on the bottom for attaching to rails, Most commonly the m14 Rifle (side of the receiver mount), the m16 (via the carry handle), and on the 50 caliber M2, via a large receiver wrap around mount. Typical construction is a cast aluminum body, with most other components, including battery cap (to the rear, above the ocular) and oscillator cap (on top, towards the objective) being machined aluminum.  

INSERT MOUNT IMAGE HERE

Some of these scopes will feature an additional green ring with piece of glass, that fits over the ocular lens, between it and the eyecup. Allegedly, this is a piece of leaded glass, added due to alleged radiation being emitted by the scopes ocular lens (The ocular lens of the device is thoriated.), with troops being told the green ring addition was leaded glass to prevent the user from being irradiated. As of writing this, no primary material showing this has been made available showing what this green ring lens does, but the rumor is commonly spoken about.

INSERT GREEN RING PHOTOS HERE

This scope was in service for years, and the data label on the side of the scope gives information regarding the version. Israeli versions will have Hebrew for On/Off engraved into the housing.

Basic use: Most models feature a simple on/off lever-style switch on the top left side of the device, some have "wings" to prevent the switch from being inadvertently toggled.

INSERT IMAGE OF WINGS HERE

For daylight use, an IR filter is Used, it does not feature a pinhole, and is instead a darkened lens.

The rubber eye shield has an internal "flapper" closure that prevents light from escaping the back of the scope, preventing light from spilling out across the user. Press your face to the rubber eyecup, and continue to press, keeping the eyecup compressed, to see through. When you pull back, the flapper will close. This eye shield is nearly identical to the one later used on the PVS-4, with the color being changed from grey to black for the PVS-4.

For the objective focus, simply grab the objective lens, and rotate the entire lens assembly. be careful, as rotating it too far, will unscrew the objective lens, though this requires a significant amount of rotating, the objective has significant threading, and its unlikely this will be done by accident.

Focus on the ocular is much like other devices, with a rotating diopter ring.  

Tube models(all are 25mm, 3 stage, generation 1 intensifiers with built in reticle, engraved into the rear output of the tube)

MX-8501A/UV: Features ABC (automatic brightness Control, prominently noted on the side of the tube in white text). Boot is typically black in color. This Style tube will also have no silver pin on the positive power terminal, and will instead feature a hole, where the pass through plug "ABC adapter"

8586/3: high voltage oscillator required, features silver pin for the oscillator to plug into. Tube is typically white in color. Because the oscillator is external, it will not have the internal oscillator present like on the 8501

Both tubes have significant edge warping sue tot he cascade tube setup. the engraved fixed  position reticle. Zeroing is achieved by moving the whole scope on its mount, which features adjustment wheels like on most modern optics, but instead of the reticle moving during adjustment, the entire scope moves instead.   

INSERT IMAGE OF MOUNT AND RETICLE HERE

PVS2 basic specs:

4x optical magnification

Battery is 6.5 volts, BA1100/U, many have been replaced with 4 AA batteries, or 2 CR123's.

Diopter adjustments from +4 to -4

Tube: MX-8501A/UV (no high voltage oscillator) or 8586/3 (high voltage oscillator required)

Weight is approximately 6 pounds (depending on mount installed)

IWS (Weapon-Sight, Image Intensified)

The IWS is the British analogue to the US AN/PVS2. It uses a different objective lens and could be mounted to a variety of weapons, including the L1A1 SLR and Enfield L42A1. Later models made use of the more advanced P8079HP tube.

Further Reading

A deep dive by YouTube channel "Our Own Devices":

AN/PVS-2 Starlight Scope: Night Vision Comes of Age