Re: NF 1-4 & PVS14 TROUBLES???
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Victor-TNVC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">DBAL I2 Class 1 (Civillian legal) is also a great unit and they reach out to 200 yards nowadays. They are built VERY well with an aluminum machined body housing.
In the past, we have broken polymer body housing units. There is a reason some Mil folks use "zip ties" on their older PEQ-2's and some ATPIALS. ;-) Then again, we've broken a few things on the DBAL's, but never the housing itself. </div></div>
Damnit, Vic. You need to stop rappelling out of tall buildings and jumping out of perfectly good airplanes and maybe ... just maybe ... you'll quit smashing up your polymer gear!
The LDI DBAL (PEQ-15A) is a wonder of machining, no doubt, and is remarkably compact. The DBAL-A2 is, in my opinion, the best of the DBAL offerings in overall configuration and ergonomics. I like the finger adjustable windage and elevation knobs.
However, the ATPIAL (PEQ-15) illuminator is much better than the DBAL illuminator in my opinion. The ATPIAL illuminator is more even (in brightness) through its illumination field, and maintains better center alignment as the lens angle is opened and closed. This is important to me as I tend to like to align my aiming dot right in the middle of the illumination window.
The standard DBAL-A2 model is 35 mW on both designator and illuminator. While the ATPIAL is 45 mW on both, only 10 mW greater, I find its designator beam and the illuminator to project much more brightly (than what the DBAL-A2 outputs).
I do like how the DBAL illuminator can be brought back to a pencil beam to operate as a second aimer / designator. The ATPIAL illuminator remains a bit more diverged in its most narrow setting. However, the illuminator on the DBAL is kind of a pain in the ass to get back to pencil beam if you're adjusting without projecting the beam -- it will still wind down past the "zero" setting which causes the beam to open up again. Generally, the adjustable collar on the ATPIAL illuminator is much more durable, easier to operate, and easier to precisely adjust than the one on the DBAL.
The DBAL-A2's pattern generator plugs are the best in my opinion - I like the plug-in design and how you can rotate them 360 degrees, and can combine patterns by putting plugs in both the illuminator and designator output ports at the same time. However, the newer DBAL versions have gone to the bikini style pattern generator interfaces that have been standard on the ATPIAL for a long time.
The ATPIAL design with the on-chassis storage for the lock-out screw is very smart. You can see that LDI copies this feature on their later model DBALs. The ATPIAL coming standard with the neoprene plug to keep water and dirt out of the unused cable port was another convenience and user smart feature. While the DBAL has a part number for such a plug, I've never seen one personally, and I see a LOT of items that actually go into military and law enforcement operations.
Where the ATPIAL really surges ahead, in my opinion, is on the on-board electronics that allow the operator to program and store different laser pulse rates. This is much more "intelligent" technology. While the DBAL-I series proposes to be "intelligent," it does not have the programmable pulse rates.
The ATPIAL controls are considerably more simple. One dial switch hits all the output functions for high and low. The DBAL-A2 has more than one switch ... one to turn on power, and another to set function. Under pressure and in the dark, it is more things to have to fumble with when KISS counts.
The on-board pressure pad for the ATPIAL is simple and more durable than the same for the DBAL-A2. The later DBAL models have improved on-board pressure pads, however. On the remote pressure pad and cable, the ATPIAL offering is superior. Its cable is much stronger with a heavy co-axial braiding beneath the rubber wire coating, and its pressure pad has a much more positive "click" for activating and deactivating.
I have both the military contract and non-military contract production examples of the ATPIAL and DBAL. There's no difference in quality for the ATPIAL between military and non-military contract versions. The DBAL is different ... the DBAL models produced for DOD contracts are much, much more reliable than the ones they produce under non-military contracts.
Lastly, in my opinion, the rail interface on the ATPIAL has less compatibility issues with accessory rails than does the standard ARMS rail interface on the DBAL-A2. LDI has switched to an improved interface on later models, but I still find the ATPIAL vise style lock-up to be more flexible and adaptable than the lever-clamp type on the DBALs.
I own and use the ATPIAL and many variants of the DBAL, so I have no particular inherent bias for one over the other. However, in practical use, I find myself leaning to the ATPIAL over the DBALs ... and I still rappell out of helos and somewhat tall buildings with some regularity, but haven't leapt from a perfectly good airplane for some time now.
IR-V
