Bringing a Night scope on Board

[Chip AZ]

I have a third generation night scope. The kind that the military uses which turns night into day. It would be great for standing on your balcony at night and looking out at the sea. I have heard that it is illegal to takes these outside of the US. The penalties are severe if customs catches you bringing yours home. Does anyone know anything about this?

[chrysalis]

no sure what you would see, anyways....but I believe you can buy them in Canada, so I am not sure there is an issue about taking them outside of the US.

[Chip AZ]

no sure what you would see, anyways....but I believe you can buy them in Canada, so I am not sure there is an issue about taking them outside of the US.

 

You see a lot, birds, stars other ships. This is an expensive piece of equipment that's made for boaters to use at night. It's military grade not a toy that you can by at Walmart

[chrysalis]

Yes, I am aware it is not a toy...I have been considering getting one in case of an emergency (we do a lot of boating and anchoring in remote places) if we had to come back to port during darkness.

 

I am not sure about seeing birds at night while at sea,...yes, other ships I guess, but what I reallly meant is that the cruise ship is highly lit-up and has lights shining down on her sides...that just might make things too bright as you look thru your scope

[Chip AZ]

Yes, I am aware it is not a toy...I have been considering getting one in case of an emergency (we do a lot of boating and anchoring in remote places) if we had to come back to port during darkness.

 

I am not sure about seeing birds at night while at sea,...yes, other ships I guess, but what I reallly meant is that the cruise ship is highly lit-up and has lights shining down on her sides...that just might make things too bright as you look thru your scope

 

I had one on a cruise a long time ago. Trust me they are well worth it. Things have changed since 911 and I want to make sure I am not breaking the law, which is why I asked the question.

[rkdahl]

Here is some info related to this. You can contact these folks and get your questions answered:

http://www.atncorp.com/ATNExportInformation

 

Export Restrictions:

The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State, Office of Munitions Control regulates our products. Due to this we kindly request that you read the below paragraphs regarding export regulations.

If you should have any questions or require additional information regarding export regulations please contact our knowledgeable and experienced staff or contact the:

U.S.Department of Commerce U.S. Department of State

Bureau of Industry and Security International Traffic in Arms Regulations

Office of Exporter Services: Office of Defense Trade Control:

PH (202) 482-4811 PH (202) 663 2714.

Website: http://www.bis.doc.gov Website:http://www.state.gov

Export Regulations:

Export of night vision equipment and optical sighting equipment is controlled by the U.S. Department of State Office of Defense Trade Controls, in accordance with International Traffic in Arms (ITAR), Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations Part 120-130 and/or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) U.S. Department of Commerce.

It is unlawful to export, or attempt to export or otherwise transfer or sell any hardware or technical data or furnish any service to any foreign person, whether abroad or in the United States, for which a license or written approval of the U.S. Government is required, without first obtaining the required license or written approval from the Department of the U.S. Government having jurisdiction.

[L2J]

He's not exporting it:rolleyes: Besides this stuff can be had from any surplus store by any wannabe.

 

For the OP. I'm not sure that it's going to be as big a deal as you may think. One thing I would do is to make sure you bring the receipt from when you purchased it.

 

I really do have to laugh though..."bird watching"....at night?...Okay.....:rolleyes:

[Chip AZ]

I have checked with customs and they say it is fine if it is not a law enforcement grade. Bought at a Marine shop your not going to get into trouble. He suggested that I bring it down to their office and have it registered.

 

Livetojump. I'm glad you got a chuckle, but remember birds do follow ships and you can see them clearly at night plus all sorts of other wildlife that you wouldn't normally know is there even in the daytime. Don't knock it until you have tried it.

[Colo Cruiser]

Whos knocking it??

 

There is a lot of wild life on some balconies at night too. :D

[L2J]

Livetojump. I'm glad you got a chuckle, but remember birds do follow ships and you can see them clearly at night plus all sorts of other wildlife that you wouldn't normally know is there even in the daytime. Don't knock it until you have tried it.

 

Yes, they do follow ships. There was a hint of sarcasm with my comment in case you missed it ;)

 

Whos knocking it??

 

There is a lot of wild life on some balconies at night too. :D

 

This is what I was thinking too....balcony animals :eek: :D

[derf5585]

1 How do night vision sights work?

from

http://www.foxshot.co.uk/FAQ.html

 

Now you can spy on people day or at night with Wild Planet!

(Ages 6 and up)

from

http://www.mastermindtoys.com/store/product.asp?product%5Fcode=51641&brand=0&cat=0&subcat=701&agecat=&showcat=

I'm at a loss for words

[Cathy p]

Just another http://www., no interest on that one.:D

[h2obaby]

Whos knocking it??

 

There is a lot of wild life on some balconies at night too. :D

 

That's exactly what I was thinking when I read the original post!;) Nightscope users on the high seas will not see much unless they are looking down on balconies below them.

[derf5585]

What about bringing a periscope so I can see around corners

 

A periscope, is a optical device for conducting observations from a concealed or protected position.

from

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blperiscope.htm

[Cathy p]

Did you go to school to learn all this stuff? That was a good one.:D

[Chip AZ]

I also plan to use the night scope so I can report cruise educate infractions to PETI (Passengers entitled to be insulting). It never ceases to amaze me on this board when you ask a simple question all sorts of helpful comments appear. Who would of guessed the people talking about having a vacation could be so opinionated.

[Cathy p]

On behalf of myself, I do apologize if I have offended you in any way. I felt your question was answered by several people which I thought would be to your satisfaction. Just a little humor in a otherwise dreary day (at least in Va. Beach it is dreary) should put a smile on your face not a :mad:

[Chip AZ]

Sorry I got flamed about answering a question about 2 way radios too. There is an aspect about these boards where there is the few that make comments. Don't do that on MY cruise. Jeeze.

 

I'm not talking about looking into other people's cabins posts, those are funny. (there is too much light for that, wouldn't work)

 

But the why would you want to do that posts with the :eek: Really.

[Chip AZ]

By the way if really want this night scope I've got some x-rays glasses I would be glad to sell you.

[Cathy p]

That's ok, sometimes I really get irratated when you look a see it was someone's first post and people just eat them alive. Some people can really by nasty and that is ashame. I guess they have nothing better to do than to pick on poor newbies. I guess they have no life and nobody to bark at:( so they take the opportunity to bark on here.:mad:

 

A :) is worth a thousand words.:D

[Joedog]

This is not a flame or meant to be insulting but, do you really see stuff at night at sea with the nightvision scope? I have spent A LOT of time at sea, more than most people ever will and I never saw that much during the day and most of what I did see was small and far away, even with binoculars.

 

I would suppose that near land you might see something on the land but out in the open sea it just doesnt seem that likely, at least not so likely as I would want to bring a special item with me to facilitate my watching.

 

As to your original question, I dont think customs (or anyone) cares what kind of scope you bring back into the US, it is just illegal to export certain ones that have a military use, so I dont think you have to worry about that at all.

[Chip AZ]

You do, every little star. If your close to coast or some islands with a full moon, well you just have to experience it. It's not something your going to stare at for hours but it's worth it, just like having a pair of binoculars to check out a passing ship from time to time.

 

It's is useless while the ship is docked in a port with lots of lights.

[chrysalis]

I am trying not to be mean either, and as you have seen from one of my previous posts, I have been considering buying one of these scopes, but I am really curious about what you have said......

 

plus all sorts of other wildlife

 

what are the all sorts of other wildlife that you see, besides the birds following the ship?

[Chip AZ]

Mine were made by the an outfit called ITT. I was checking their website and they no longer make civilian models that available to the general public. You can Google night scopes or star scopes and there are a few companies that make them. They come in 4 generations now and mine are 3rd. Mine are made for Marine use and somewhat waterproof. The higher the generation the more expensive. Mine were around 2 Grand. I would research the ability to get them repaired for something that expensive. You can get models that have camera adapters too.

 

There are cheap ones and they are like the night feature in some video cameras. There is no comparison to that and what mine can do. With mine you practically see your way around a photographic darkroom with the lights off.

 

I saw what looked like sparrows one night on the way to Hawaii from LA. Somebody said that those could be flying fish. I don't know if that what it was, but believe me it was pretty interesting.

 

There was a restriction on taking them out of the country two years ago. The US was afraid that they would fall into the wrong hands and would be used as gun sights. That has apparently been lifted per my conversation with customs today.

[chrysalis]

i doubt about sparrows (where would they land? feed?).......yes, probably flying fish unless they were flying more than a foot or so off the water. Easy to see them in the day time, also.

 

thanks for the other info.