Theon Sensors

Background

• A large number of armoured vehicles of German origin –such as the Leopard– are equipped with binocular Night Driver’s Viewers – Night Driving Periscopes (NDP) such as the BiV or the Philips Usfa model UA1752.
• The periscopes have been prodused in the 1960s and have two identical and independent optical channels. Each channel has an objective lens, a first generation (Gen I) Phillips model XX1080 image intensifier tube, and one eyepiece lens while outside the vehicle there is a common prism.

The Obsolescence Problem

• Besides the fact that most of the NDPs are in excellent condition, there are serious problems of technical support and maintenance because the XX1080 tube is not in production any longer by Phillips.
• The dimensions of the XX1080 tubes are not optically or geometrically compatible to any tubes available in the market today and thus a drop-in replacement is not possible.
• The performance of the XX1080 tube are far below the current tubes. Indicatively it is mentioned that the resolution in the center is 27 lp/mm in comparison to the 64 lp/mm which achieved by most current tubes, having a negative effect to the total NDP performance.

Features

• Three-fold increase in system resolution and performance
• Standard 18 mm format tubes with fast phosphorus for increased driving speeds and guaranteed continuous logistics support
• Same power supply
• Same conrols and switches – No operator training required
• External dimentions of viewer remain unchanged
• No machining in the periscope or the vehicle

System Performance

The Upgrade Kit Composition

The upgrade kit developed by THEON Sensors is composed of:

• Two 18 mm inverting image intensifier tubes with housing assembly
• Two new objective lens assemblies
• One power adapter assembly