Nagoya Dual Band Antennas in Stock
You asked for them, you got them. A lot of folks wanted a standard SMA antenna as an upgrade to their handhelds we sell through Brushbeater Store, and I listened, getting one of the best antennas in its category for the job. The Nagoya NA-24J is an extremely lightweight but incredibly flexible antenna designed for VHF/UHF handhelds. So while these aren’t the brutes that the BNC Gooseneck antennas may be in my opinion, they have many other advantages in a lighter duty role without the need for an adapter. These directly thread to any model of Baofeng Radio (and the DMRs we sell as well).
Personally I’m still, and always will be, a strong advocate of using BNC adapters for reasons I cover in class to maximize versatility, but if you’re not changing antennas regularly or are looking for a simple upgrade in stock performance, the NA-24J is for you.
Chinese Type 81 Chest Rigs in Stock
I’ve got a stockpile of Chinese Type 81 AK chest rigs in stock. These are an improvement over the OG Type 56 that held three AK mags. The Type 81 carries 4, or could carry three and fit an AR-152 in there…just saying. But the best part about these is that they’re inexpensive – coming in at $29.99, you can certainly buy a few and stash them away for rapidly supplying a neighborhood protection team when the times get bad.
I’ve been running one as a primary rig for many years now. I’ve got plenty of other gear, but I keep coming back to the old Type 81 because of its simplicity, low profile and light weight. And for the price, you honestly can’t go wrong with have a few on hand. You know, just in case.
My original one I snagged up with a trash bag full of them when we hit an IED factory in Afghanistan (yep, the same ones in the corner of the classroom at the G-Camp) and these are every bit the same build quality we all know and love. Heavy duty cotton duck (think Carhartt and Duluth), simple fasteners and endlessly modifiable for the end user. Its certainly an old school design but one that endures for a reason – it works.
Get yours today.
https://brushbeater.store/products/type-81-chest-rig
The Rattler V2 Clip On Thermals are here!
Brushbeater Store is proud to be a major part of the AGM Rattler V2 launch! I have them currently in stock and ready to ship. These represent the most advanced thermal optics in the world, boasting a sub-20 micro-kelvin heat sensor and large capacity internal battery. What this means, in short, is that the V2 has the highest heat imaging sensitivity reducing susceptibility to thermal bloom from residual humidity, which has long been a detriment to thermal optics while greatly increasing battery life in the field.
Getting hands on with these I can say that the build quality and housing is on par with the other models in this line – the Rattler V2 scope and Clarion – which is a very, very good thing for you. Clip on enablers are the hottest selling thermals we offer due to their versatility and these boast an increase in overall capability over the older version.
BRUSHBEATER STORE: PVS-14 Retrofit Program
As stated on the last couple episodes of Radio Contra, one of the projects I’ve been working on is a cost effective solution for upgrading the PVS-14 mount. The stock mount, the bayonet that some of us know and loathe, just doesn’t cut it in 2025. Or, at least in my opinion, anyway. The dovetail style mount is significantly stronger in terms of locking surface area and material. The standard J arm (the piece that interfaces with your swing arm which mounts on your helmet) on the PVS 14 is polymer, the new ones are 7075 aluminum. But not only that the dovetail design has a much greater surface area and more robust locking design meant to support the weight of dual tubes. The standard 14 bayonet mount can’t.
The challenge previously was finding a supplier that met the standard, but we finally did. If you were in the last Scout Course and borrowed a set of NODs from me (two were running my 14s, one was running one of my 31Ds) you ran both this J Arm and the swing arm as well. And they performed to the standard – if they can survive the underbrush of the night movement to contact lane here in NC, they’re survive some serious abuse. Since I picked up the demo units at SHOT show in January I was pleasantly impressed. Items like that, if it doesn’t have an NSN, I generally look the other way on them. The lockup on these are at least on par with those at a minimum and, having substantial hands on with both J Arms, I prefer how tight these are.
Beyond that, back when I got into the world of civilian night vision I learned about all these new mounting options and how expensive they can get. When I finally jumped into dual tubes I have to admit I was a bit salty at the high price tag of the mounting solutions and I’ve heard from a few of you either in class or via email the same. My answer has consistently been “I know.”, and that’s prompted me to search for a better option.
What I’m doing now is offering a retrofit program to everyone who’s bought PVS-14s from me to upgrade that mount. Hit me up via email with your order number and I’ll get the swing arm and J arm sent to you at no cost. Its all in an effort to get you the very best option possible. In addition, ALL PVS-14 ORDERS WILL NOW SHIP WITH THEM AT NO EXTRA COST, and all dual tube night vision orders will ship with a dovetail swing arm as well.
I have an unshakable commitment to my clients to not only bring the best, but to serve our great community any way I can. – NCS
A Harsh Lesson in Communications Reality
The conflict in Ukraine has been a solid lesson in what not to do in war more often than not. A testbed, so to speak, of new technology altering the way we fight. In spite of this the basic never, ever change and there’s no shortcuts to competency. That competency question has been the linchpin of the fight on both sides for the duration of the war and in particular, communications.
If you listen to the so-called social media influencers, who mostly sat out the Global War On Terror, and in the rare chance they did make it to the dust bowl were well insulated from any danger, communications is a simple affair. The good idea fairies of mesh networking and its retarded offspring, ATAKs, is a plug and play wet dream. It looks cool, after all, and makes combat just like playing Call of Duty. Activision plans on installing the SIGINT exploitation updates in the next version I guess. Of course they’re dead wrong and they deserve open mocking for the cowards they are, but I digress and dozens of cheeto eaters are ready to lend their experience to the contrary. Communications realities in combat are a far cry from what you’re served on Instagram, especially in a large scale combat operation better known as a peer on peer war. Let’s take a look at one such example:
It’s the third year of war and we still don’t have a system of comms where I can hop into a sector and get radio communications without having to spend a week trying to figure out who the fuck programs X Y Z units radios, get permission for it to happen and then find them to do…
— Ryan O’Leary (@RyanO_ChosenCoy)May 22, 2025
Ryan, the commander of one of the international units, is airing out very real frustrations here. Ukraine has made continuous and heavy use of Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) based systems for tactical communications. It provides a relatively turn key solution for communications security while being inexpensive enough to source common, off the shelf (COTS) solutions. It is not perfect, mind you, and I’ve discussed DMR’s potentials for exploitation at length in the past and in The Guerrilla’s Guide to Signals Intelligence. But that said, a better solution by and large doesn’t exist. Mesh networking is a near absolute death sentence for calling in drones with an electronic warfare capability. That’s how all those war porn kill videos get started.
The primary problem presented here is a lack of handoff during what we used to call a battlespace check in. Ryan’s unit wasn’t being briefed on the communications protocols and, to be fair, there’s some very real reasons for that. Fight another man’s war and you’ll realize he doesn’t entirely trust you. But that said in order to prevent fratricide having at least one common traffic or mutual aid channel set is a requirement. It does not appear that’s the case. Either way, this underscores the absolute requirement of front panel programing capability of a radio being used in a tactical role. You may or may not have access to a computer on the fly and from the looks of things they, more often that not, lack that luxury.
This leads me to another humorous point that gets thrown my way from time to time: the over-reliance on the very same programming capability not present here. I wrote The Guerrilla’s Guide to the Baofeng Radio for a specific audience and the roll here being one of them. While its perspective was more aimed at stay behinds and partisan forces, 90% of the book’s principles directly apply here and would (and have, in many cases) changed the communications game for the better in Ukraine. I didn’t write the book for the ham radio crowd and give it a catchy title, it is in fact written for people going into harm’s way with what they’re handed.
Last, and this point needs to be shouted from a mountain on high yet again, is that a LSCO looks absolutely nothing like a guerrilla war or insurgency. Simplicity rules the day as does concealing anything of exploitative value. The more complicated you make a system, the easier it is to break down. Know how to configure your equipment on the fly and get after it.
I teach the best courses on the topic.
TinySA Ultra: the top SIGINT tool
SIGINT Course and Interview with NC Scout
Panic Buying Night Vision? Don’t…
Alright folks, I’d planned on doing a podcast on this today and will speak on it tomorrow, but since I’ve been inundated with emails on the topic today its imperative we shed some light on it. There’s a serious number of threat vectors currently – domestic discord in the US that I predict will get worse over time and a very hot war between Iran and Israel that doesn’t appear to be going well for either side. Both of which are cause for concern on an already strained market, in particular, L3 and Elbit.
Brushbeater Store carries products primarily built by both companies. Our PVS-14 tubes are built by Elbit, which is an Israeli owned company but production for the US market (both civilian and military) are done domestically. Its no secret now that L3 has cut the civilian market on night vision, a move which has come due to contract requirements, despite rumors to the contrary.
It is also no secret that the supply of PVS-31A (L3) and PVS-31D (Elbit) have become in short supply among dealers. We have an extended wait time on additional 31Ds and I have one 31A currently in stock. We also fully recognize these are out of the price range of most buyers’ justifications of need and I wanted to specifically put the rumor to rest that they’re vanishing completely. They’re not. And like a game of telephone this has somehow morphed into NODs vanishing due to an expanded war on the horizon. Also not true.
That said there are things going on in the market and have been for some time – expanded replacement contracts for government agencies which take priority in manufacturing. The material strain from sourcing components during the height of the global trade war in the last several months have delayed manufacturing times as well and some prices have went up on the supply side. This may be the culprit for the rumor mill. The great news is that our suppliers have taken the bull by the horns and there’s no shortage of tubes, especially those in the mid price range, on the market. On top of that I absolutely refuse to pass a cost onto you, a practice I see as unethical.
In addition we also have entry and mid-level Gen 2 units featuring Pinnacle and NNVT image intensifier tubes. Those are NOT going to dry up anytime soon. So while there’s a ton of uncertainty in the world which necessitates your ability to observe at night, there’s also no reason to panic buy. Make an informed and patient investment. Stay away from the numerous gimmicks on the market, digital night vision in particular. And if you have any questions, shoot us an email or feel free to drop in the store.
The team is here to help. -NCS