Decided to try to helmet mount a Pulsar HD 19A, and just got it done this afternoon.
I already had a Wilcox Dual PVS 14 bridge and an Integrated Technologies bridge (often referred to as a Mod Armory bridge) so when I started I was looking to more or less duplicate how an IR Patrol is helmet mounted on either bridge, or on 1/2 of a Wilcox bridge. Those bridges use a dovetail receiver to mount either a PVS 14 on a dovetail arm, or, in the case of the Patrol, an attached dovetail to directly mount to the bridge.
I ordered the Wilcox shoe used on the Patrol, Wilcox part N0.: P/N: 55801G01-B
The threaded sockets on the 19A are 1/4"-20 and there is a more or less centered through hole in the Wilcox shoe which is partially threaded 1/4"-20 as well.
A bud and I were working together on this and he cut the head off of a 3/4" brass bolt and cut a slot into the end of the shaft to accept a flat blade screw driver.
I completed tapping the partially tapped more or less center hole in the Wilcox shoe. I discovered the hole was off center and canted, and this became and issue we were able to overcome, at least so far.
Then we screwed the bolt through the Wilcox shoe and into the 19A socket on the "short side" of the 19A. The canted hole in the Wilcox shoe was an issue, and I gently twisted the shoe to line up fore and aft on the 19A. I tried an o ring accommodate the cant, but that didn't work. A thin plastic washer might be useful to help with the cant of the whole.
Here are results:
19A mounted over the right eye using a Wilcox dual PVS 14 bridge (an PVS 14 is mounted on the left side but swung out of the way.)
Here the 19A over the left eye, PVS 14 is in place over the right eye, this time on an IT bridge:
Opposite side view:
I found I could mount the 19A over either eye, though mounting it over the right eye gives easier access to the controls, when you need them, which is not often since the 19A has auto NUC. Personally, I prefer thermals over my left eye, and I am left handed.
I tried cobbled together fusion, using both the 19A and the PVS 14 simultaneously, and when everything was still it worked ok, but put the viewer or the target in motion and the delay in the thermal made it a no go.
The 19A's centerline is a bit lower than the PVS 14's, which could be cured machining, grinding or filing off some height from the Wilcox shoe, but I found that I could adjust the helmet mount up a bit to split the difference successfully.
I preferred the It bridge over the Wilcox bridge for the purpose, for the same reason I prefer it when using dual PVS 14's, and that is because it provides more eye relief. But I have buds who prefer the Wilcox bridge, and don't need the extra eye relief the IT bridge provides.
Edit: I should add that I had previously reversed the two side dovetail receivers (for the PVS 14 arms or Patrol dovetail) on the Wilcox bridge to provide more eye relief. If anyone needs directions on how to do that I will post them up.
JPK
I already had a Wilcox Dual PVS 14 bridge and an Integrated Technologies bridge (often referred to as a Mod Armory bridge) so when I started I was looking to more or less duplicate how an IR Patrol is helmet mounted on either bridge, or on 1/2 of a Wilcox bridge. Those bridges use a dovetail receiver to mount either a PVS 14 on a dovetail arm, or, in the case of the Patrol, an attached dovetail to directly mount to the bridge.
I ordered the Wilcox shoe used on the Patrol, Wilcox part N0.: P/N: 55801G01-B
The threaded sockets on the 19A are 1/4"-20 and there is a more or less centered through hole in the Wilcox shoe which is partially threaded 1/4"-20 as well.
A bud and I were working together on this and he cut the head off of a 3/4" brass bolt and cut a slot into the end of the shaft to accept a flat blade screw driver.
I completed tapping the partially tapped more or less center hole in the Wilcox shoe. I discovered the hole was off center and canted, and this became and issue we were able to overcome, at least so far.
Then we screwed the bolt through the Wilcox shoe and into the 19A socket on the "short side" of the 19A. The canted hole in the Wilcox shoe was an issue, and I gently twisted the shoe to line up fore and aft on the 19A. I tried an o ring accommodate the cant, but that didn't work. A thin plastic washer might be useful to help with the cant of the whole.
Here are results:
19A mounted over the right eye using a Wilcox dual PVS 14 bridge (an PVS 14 is mounted on the left side but swung out of the way.)
Here the 19A over the left eye, PVS 14 is in place over the right eye, this time on an IT bridge:
Opposite side view:
I found I could mount the 19A over either eye, though mounting it over the right eye gives easier access to the controls, when you need them, which is not often since the 19A has auto NUC. Personally, I prefer thermals over my left eye, and I am left handed.
I tried cobbled together fusion, using both the 19A and the PVS 14 simultaneously, and when everything was still it worked ok, but put the viewer or the target in motion and the delay in the thermal made it a no go.
The 19A's centerline is a bit lower than the PVS 14's, which could be cured machining, grinding or filing off some height from the Wilcox shoe, but I found that I could adjust the helmet mount up a bit to split the difference successfully.
I preferred the It bridge over the Wilcox bridge for the purpose, for the same reason I prefer it when using dual PVS 14's, and that is because it provides more eye relief. But I have buds who prefer the Wilcox bridge, and don't need the extra eye relief the IT bridge provides.
Edit: I should add that I had previously reversed the two side dovetail receivers (for the PVS 14 arms or Patrol dovetail) on the Wilcox bridge to provide more eye relief. If anyone needs directions on how to do that I will post them up.
JPK
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