Not what i expected. - Night Optics IR-940 Extra-Long Range 940nm IR Illuminator

I bought this illuminator to use with a Night Optics Gen 2 HP monocular. I was using a Streamlight 850 nm light, which worked very well, but gave off a faint red glow. I wanted an IR illuminator that didn't give any glow so I looked around for a 950 nm IR light. I consider the Night Optics monocular a "best bang for the buck" for Gen 2 optics, so I thought I would try one of their illuminators. I was underwhelmed with the light when I received it. The construction looked good, but the tail cap threads were rough and it was hard to reinstall the cap with batteries. There was no reflector to speak of, and the output of the light was square in shape and was not very bright. But the 950 nm was invisible to the naked eye when on. There was a disclaimer saying it works most effectively with Gen 3 NVGs, so this maybe the issue I am having. Needless to say I went back to the Streamlight. For close to $200, I expected more. I will hold onto it and see if it works better with a Gen 3, or see if I can hammer mechanic the light to work better.