u/OrdinaryChimp

Exactly one year ago today we released the KB DT-2™. A lot has happened since then. The KB DT-2™ has been through several military trials, by both special and regular forces all across Europe.

We have been collecting rigorous feedback from these trials, and been paying close attention to the fleet of DT-2 devices sold. We stood ready with a full parts catalogue for any eventual repair inquiries. The DT-2 was built with reliability, dependability and repairability as its core pillars. And it turns out, to date, we can confirm our goal was met and exceeded our expectations. We have so far not had a single device from our production batch break or malfunction. And we are eagerly awaiting the day the first device comes in for repair/ replacement. So far this has not been the case. Not one device has been returned. And we have not had a single order for any spare parts this far.

Soon after the KB DT-2™ was released people began asking us for more features. The most popular ones were:

• Manual Gain
• External Power
• Onboard IR

KB DT-M™ Front View

For the last 8 months we have been busy working on those and incorporated them in the KB DT-M™ (Dual Tube Modular).

When we first set out to draft this new device, we looked at our compiled database of feedback and realised there is a mismatch between what our customers want and what is currently available on the market.

Ever since the PVS-31 was released there’s been a relentless trend of adopting its design philosophy. It has been treated as the ultimate standard to go by. The safe, low risk design choice. The one public tenders would end up eventually pointing towards. But the PVS-31 was a special purpose built device, tailored towards the needs of a small group of customers more than 10 years ago. And since, its been shown to have some considerable flaws.

The most critical one, the one ironically being adopted the most, being the rotary control knob.

For us there was no clear reason why this would be the prime choice. The feedback we got was that this knob was unintuitive to use, complicated and flimsy. But manufacturers keep choosing it, because instead of asking what is the best solution, they asked, what is the cheapest, simplest and easiest solution. As it turns out, the rotarty knob is nothing more than a cheap off the shelf potentiometer/ digital rotary encoder. It has two distinct advantages: It weighs and costs next to nothing.

In our eyes, these advantages don’t outweigh its disadvantages. Being:

1. Complex operational sequence requiring hours of drills and training to build some resembles of muscle memory, which might still fail on the first attempt in high intensity conflict situations.
2. Valuable seconds are spent going through the sequence code to activate the feature in question. Be it turning off or on the device which is often done by pushing the knob for a certain amount of seconds, activating or deactivating the IR is also associated with some sort of push/ twist sequence which needs to be carefully executed.

Unintuitive even during low pressure, critical and unacceptable in high pressure environments.

KB DT-M™ Rear View

This is where our Patent Pending AsymMCS™ enters the picture, and which forms the core innovative advancement of the KB DT-M™.

MCS stands for Magnetic Control System. Its a robust and cutting edge interface standard. It unlocks two critical advantages for the DT-M and future product line:

1. Individual switches at no extra cost in weight.
2. The device says completley hermetically sealed without introducing new points of potential failure.

On its surface the AsymMCS™ consists of an internal solid state sensor and an externally situated movable switch with a tiny magnet. But its a lot more than that. We developed a novel way to arrange multiple internal magnet sensors to account for any potential external interference and subsequently error correct them. This neutralises an otherwise unacceptable weak-point and this ultimatley unlocks the technology for us.

Thank to this advancement, we were able to introduce intuitive, easy to control interface switches for the KB DT-M™ feature set without adding any additional weight. Our military trials have been overwhelmingly positive.

The KB DT-M™ gives the operator a platform which is optimised in a way no other NVG is in todays market:

Each function having a distinct placement location on the device, no button clustering or encoding sequence.
Each function has instant response, you feel it click in place or slide along, there is no engagement feedback or activation delay.
Each function maps into distinct placement muscle memory:
Left arm switch for IR, Center switch for Power, Right slider switch for Manual Gain.
Each switch responds with haptic feedback and intuitively placed with ergonomic design for under water use, cold weather use and while wearing gloves.

IR is flipped on by the flick off a switch on the left side and the manual gain is seamlessly adjusted via a slider on the right arm while the power remains the same as on the KB DT-2™ via a central switch. Each taking just a mere fraction of a second to engage. In high pressure situations this is the determining Asymmetric Advantage.

Then there is the final major addition to the KB DT-M™, the external power and data port. Using a waterproof and USB compatible connector we’r able to feed in a wide range of power sources. We have available a distinct set of adapter cables for the different use-cases. There’s a cable for standard Fisher connector style battery packs, for ANVIS Lemo connector style battery packs and for USB-C battery packs.

Full Specs of the KB DT-M™:

• Battery Type: 1x CR123 or 1x AA
• Battery Life: 25hrs @ 18°C (65°F)
• Remote Power: Standard and USB compatible
• Auto-Off On Stow: Yes (configurable)
• Image Intensifiers: 18mm and 16mm
• Lens system FOV:
  • for 18mm IITs:
    • 40deg or 47deg
    • for 16mm IITs: 42deg
• Individual Pod Shut Off: Yes
• Interpupillary Stop: Yes Friction Based
• IR Illuminator: Single IR with highlight-cutoff or Dual IR or Triple IR
• Manual Gain: Yes 3 and 4 pad tube configuration
• Manual Gain left right calibration: Yes
• Weight with RPO PVS-14 Optics: 496g
• Operating Temperature: -30°C to 50°C
• Storage Temperature: -50°C to 70°C
• Water Immersion: 20 meters for 2 hours
• Low Battery Indicator: Yes Approximately 30 Minutes
• IR Indicator: Yes
• Full Electromagnetic Shielding: Yes
• Environmental Standard: MIL-STD-810H
• Dedicated Interface for IR Illuminator: Yes
• Dedicated Interface for Manual Gain: Yes

Power and Data Connector Details:

• Internal + external, automatic switchover (1.5V-5.5V) + USB Data and power port adapter
• The KB DT‑M™ provides a service interface on the external power connector, supporting diagnostics, configuration, calibration, feature management and firmware updates by a certified technician without opening the device. This keeps maintenance simple and supports readiness across the service life.

Service Interface Details:

• Brightness adjustment curve tube fit
• Brightness calibration between left and right tube
• Flip up tilt detection with tube safety (includes configurable tilt angle)
• No motion detection and power save mode, device turns off if left on the table without movement (timeout and motion threshold configurable)
• Encrypted firmware updates (no drivers, no software installation necessary)
• Tube and device runtime counters and maintenance telemetry
• Low battery LED with configurable threshold