The night of Friday is upon us and that means more Night Chenanigans. Last week we took a look at a somewhat uncommon FLIR thermal clip on. Well today we take a look at the Low Light Innovations (LLI) MH-1 binocular housing. Thanks to Bradley and Claude of LLI for sending this out for this review.
Low Light Innovations MH-1
For those of you not familiar with Low Light Innovations, it was founded by Claude Riccoboni. He started with his very popular Aeternus as an entry level binocular housing. LLI's offerings started with 3D printed housings to help keep initial costs low and that savings was carried over to the end consumer. The continued that business model with their articulating goggle, the LLUL-21. One of the lightest weight articulating binocular hosuing on the market. Well now they have stepped up to offer machined metal housing, the MH-1.
I saw a prototype of the MH-1 at SHOW Show last January and it has gone through some changes. The most noticeable one is that they are gone wireless. The prototype had cables running from the pod into the bridge. The current MH-1 uses pins and copper contacts in the bridge to deliver power as well as control manual gain and LED indicators for IR illumination and low battery.
When you flip the box open, the lid has a diagram of various upgrade parts that LLI plans to make for the MH-1. For those who do not know, the MH-1 was designed from the ground up to be modular. Look at the image below. This is what they have planned for the MH-1.
Inside the box, is closed cell foam cut for accessories and the MH-1 housing. This one came with an offset dovetail which I will explain later in this article.
When you pull the MH-1 houskng out of the box, the first thing you will notice is the weight, or lack there of. I weighed the housing and it is just 5.7 ounces. That is remarkable for a machined housing. What also sets the MH-1 apart from other milled housings, is that it is made of magnesium. Magnesium is about 1/3 lighter than aluminum and both metals have a high strength to weight ratio. The only concern with machining magnesium is that the Magnesium is flammable.
The MH-1 uses D-Collar objective focus stops. So you no longer need to use a close focus stop ring on your objective lenses.
Another feature, of the MH-1, that stood out to me are the screws they use. A lot of night vision housings use small hex screws and they can strip. LLI uses robust torx screws
Building The MH-1
Assembling the MH-1 is rather straight forward. If you noticed, their board uses pogo pins so it is easier to remove the pod from the bridge and install your image intensifier.
Looking at the board in the articulation knuckle shows how easy it is to install 11769 for manual gain. The board has four pins (circled in blue) that allow you to simply plug and play the EGAC of your 11769 tubes. The only aspect you need to be mindful of is how you route the ribbon of the EGAC. There is not a lot of room and the ribbon. See the photo below. You can see how the ribbon is off to the side and has to come up at an angle to come out of the pod.
Then you simply plug the EGAC plug into the board. Be careful tucking the wire back into the pod as you bolt the bridge back on.
I found it best to tuck the excess ribbon forward under the pod, inbetween the tube.
Once you install the image intensifiers and their tube retaining rings, you can install the lenses. Fully built with light weight lenses and CR123, the MH-1 weighs under 1 lbs.
There is one issue with building the MH-1 and that is how your purge the pods. LLI is using the same pods for both sides of the MH-1. So they positioned the purge screw hole at the top inbetween the ears of the pods. Unfortunately the nut that holds the axle screw blocks access to the purge hole. So you need to unscrew the axle screw and nut in order to fit your purge nozzle.
I had heard some online rumors that the MH-1 has a hard time holding purge. So I tested this with a vacuum test.
The left pod held vacuum just fine. But when I tested the right pod, it would not hold a vacuum. Bradley of LLI recommended using soime lube on the pod o-ring. I also checked my lens o-rings. My objective o-ring had slipped the track in the lens but the pod still leaked after I fixed that issue. I ended up trying Carson lenses to elminate any issues with the lenses I was using and the pod still would not hold purge.
Bradley thinks the o-ring may be out of spec. I am not too concerned as LLI has a lifetime warranty.
Warranty: Here at Low Light Innovations, we stand behind the quality of ourproducts. Any Low Light Innovations original product comesstandard with a lifetime warranty. This warranty will cover any accidental damage/manufacturing defect to your product.We will not cover damages to any product that is intentionally caused.This warranty does extend to second-hand products, with no proof of purchase required.
Using the MH-1
The MH-1 is an articulating binocular housing and it has power cut off when you swing the pods out 90º.
Articulating the pods when the MH-1 is flipped up is a lot more comfortable.
When I use the low profile dovetail, I find i have to move the mount sled all the way back to get a full sight picture through the MH-1 using Argus light weight lenses. This causes a minor problem. I found the power switch and manual gain knobs are too close to each other for my liking. Add on top the NVG Mount is positioned all the way to the rear so the overhang of the mount somewhat blocks my fingers from grasping the controls on the bridge.
The MH-1 comes with a spare offset dovetail. You need to unscrew the low profile dovetail and then the four torx screws holding this plate on the bridge.
There is a hole at the top of the bridge. I suspect this is for future mounting options like ANVIS.
I installed the offset plate as per Bradley's recommendation. This adds height between the bridge and dovetail. It also repositions the dovetail more forward.
With the offset dovetail, it is a bit easier to access the controls on MH-1.
One issue that I saw online was that the arms of the pods are only held in place at the back of the bridge. This is true. See the two black circles at the far ends of the bridge? Those are IR illuminators. There is nothing behind that to hold the articulating knuckle onto the bridge.
See the screw and nut on the back side of the knuckle? That is the only think holding the pod onto the bridge.
Since the front of the pod is not held in place with a screw. It is possible to flex the pods and cut off power to the pods.
There is some concern that if you hit your MH-1 or drop it, that the metal can bend or break. Well if it breaks, you have bigger concerns. But bending magnesium until it stays bent? It is possible but highly unlikely. Again, if it was done intentionally then you have other concerns. Could you drop them and cause the metal to bend? Highly unlikely and if that happened, you would be covered by their limited lifetime warranty.
Final Thoughts On The MH-1
I like how easy it is to assemble the MH-1. The EGAC is plug and play, the only challenging part is getting the EGAC ribbon to cooperate as I try to bolt the pod back together. The bending of the pods relative to the bridge is a little concerning but any issues, outside of deliberate misuse, should be covered by the warranty. If you want a manual gain, articulating binocular housing, the MH-1 could fit your needs. I am excited to see where LLI takes this design as they have some interesting ideas like quad tubes.
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