IWS "Tube" Spares

Fellow Members:
Hoping you all had a very Merry Christmas and wishing you all a Healthy, Happy New Year!
Christmas came a little early in my household this year as I managed to aquire an IWS to fit to my L42, ending an epic search spanning many years.
The sight is in excellent condition, and has been recently overhauled, if the ad is to be believed, however I thought it prudent to search for spares while the unit is still functioning as it should.
As luck would have it I found a seller on a very popular auction sight in the UK A mil surplus seller advertising GENUINE EX MILITARY IMAGE INTENSIFIER TUBE 1ST GEN of the right type ( see Peter's interesting and informative articles on the IWS) at a quite reasonable price (buy it now). These seem to be selling like hot cakes for making, night scopes out of drain pipes , camera lenses and other sundry odds and sods (instructions supplied).
Sacrilege!!
Those fellow members who are lucky enough to have an IWS might like to cast an eye over the ad, and line up a spare while still available, I hasten to add that I have no connection with the store owner, but have posted the thread as helpful information only.
Hopefully haven't trodden on any toes with this post, as that is not the aim Good luck fellow IWS owners and Enfield enthusiasts.
Keep the Faith!
Regards
Dave
AKA Bushcreature

VERY good info there Bushy. Even if you haven't got an IWS, make sure you get some of the important spares because when, in a few years time they do become more plentiful, it'll be because the spare are no longer available. Remember what I said about the seals etc. Even if you just download the info, do it now.

Getting the tubes across the pond might be a bit of a bother...Its tempting, though, and I don't even have an IWS, yet!

Daaaaang, affordable, even!

Here's the eBay auction site "store: that the vendor mentioned by "bushcreature" sells this item from:

Quote:

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GENUINE EX MILITARY IMAGE INTENSIFIER TUBE 1ST GEN on eBay (end time 26-Jan-10 13:42:06 GMT)

NIGHT VISION IMAGE INTENSIFIER
GENUINE EX MILITARY
TYPE 8079HP
3V-6V DC OPERATION
18.5CM LONG
6.25CM DIAMETER
20MM DIA OPTICS
YOU SIMPLY ADD A 35MM CAMERA LENS OF YOUR CHOICE ,AN EYEGLASS (JEWLLERS EYEGLASS IS OK), 3V-6V BATTERY
NO SPECAIL TOOLS REQUIRED FULL DETAILS SUPPLIED WITH EACH TUBE

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Regards,
Badger

Talk of adding a camera to get a night vision camera made me laugh! I took a NV sight out one night with my little boy, then only about 8 or 9 to see some of the wildlife around the little village we live in. We stopped at the big playing field and pavillion to see the wildlife. But the only wildlife we saw were two rabbits going like there was no tomorrow on the verandah of the pavillion..................

I took him to see the foxes on the golf course instead!

Peter,

In the pictures that the seller has on the auction sight, it appears that he had the covers off the tube when taking the pictures.

Is there a chance that he ruined the tube by taking off the covers and taking a flash picture?

Thanks,

Brian

Those were two legged rabbits, eh Peter?

Brian, not to steal Peter's answer but you can definitely damage the image intensifier by removing the caps in daylight. I'm not sure about a flash picture but it probably isn't a good idea.