Night Vision Pulsar Thermion XP 50 feedback?
- Thread starter Zback
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I happen to know someone here will shortly be doing a field test/review. So, hang on. Hopefully we will see it in the next couple of weeks.
There have been reports of recoil shutdown. So, hopefully the test will use a higher caliber rifle to give us data on this topic. I've also heard 2nd hand, that the USA support center (sellmark) has said the recoil shutdown issue(s) were a "one off". But you know about second hand data ... (aka hearsay) ... so lets see what the test results show.
There have been reports of recoil shutdown. So, hopefully the test will use a higher caliber rifle to give us data on this topic. I've also heard 2nd hand, that the USA support center (sellmark) has said the recoil shutdown issue(s) were a "one off". But you know about second hand data ... (aka hearsay) ... so lets see what the test results show.
Not at all what you asked, but the Flir PTS 536 is one very solid performer that has a pretty well proven track record now. Really excellent Thermal Scope for coyotes even at longer distances. Will hold its point of aim/ point of impact better than most competitors out there and gives a very good longer range image if you can do without sound. Will run on rechargeable RCR 123 batteries which is a huge plus and provides other external battery options that when configured correctly performs rock solid without external power cord disconnect or tangling issues. Yes, Flir Customer service was not good for a while during the Armasight transition period, but that has all been straightened out now for a while. The dedicated internal battery that a user cannot service will likely become an issue at some point down the road with the Thermions.
There are a lot of issues to consider all around when trying to decide on expensive Thermal Scopes. Just my 2 cents so hope it provides food for thought.
The Customer service was taken away from former Armasight personnel and transferred to Flir personnel whom seem to have gotten it pretty much back on track per my review of posts both old and new in the forums where owners have been discussing their experiences both old and new. Plus I am pretty good friends with a dealer that deals a lot with Flir and he also reports the same. I own 6 Flir Thermal devices with Boson Cores and my very close running buddies have another 8 Flir Thermal scopes/breeches that I can currently count. We have all had zero equipment failures or warranty issues and we run them reasonably hard. The only interaction we have had with Flir Customer service has been with some software updates and those interactions went very well.Interesting. Can you tell us how you know this !!??
They definitely had some pains related to the Armasight acquisition and we are still civi peons, however, one of the leading military suppliers of thermal devices to the US Military that has been in the thermal game longer than most is not a bad place to be, even if us peons come in 2nd in line behind their primary customer.
Aye, at the time of the merger, I owned 5 armasight thermals. But I "freaked out" and sold them, because I was worried about the outcome of the merger. I admit I've been through 5 major mergers in my career and 2 of them worked out well for me and 3 did not (culture clashes). So I might have been a bit gun shy. But since the merger, the word on the streets I frequent has been negative. Its certainly nothing against the devices. I used the Q-14 as my "ratter" and I wish I still had it. Though I wasn't as impressed with the 100m Zeus Pro.
Well glad to see some data that things are improving.
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My recent interaction with FLIR was not positive, though it was not CS related. Working with a long standing FLIR dealer, got 5 guys from the hide (including myself) lined up to buy new manufactured T75s ... and at start of July the dealer was told we would have the units in 45 days. In Mid Sept, FLIR said they would ship by end of Sept, their quarter end. And this was two levels of management saying this and the second level even used the "promise" word. We got no updates for the next 4 weeks and no units shipped or arrived. Needless to say, by the end of October, the 5 guys scattered to the winds and committed to other solutions But it was a disappointing interaction and I'm not sure how FLIR could rebuild that lost trust with me anyway.
Well glad to see some data that things are improving.
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My recent interaction with FLIR was not positive, though it was not CS related. Working with a long standing FLIR dealer, got 5 guys from the hide (including myself) lined up to buy new manufactured T75s ... and at start of July the dealer was told we would have the units in 45 days. In Mid Sept, FLIR said they would ship by end of Sept, their quarter end. And this was two levels of management saying this and the second level even used the "promise" word. We got no updates for the next 4 weeks and no units shipped or arrived. Needless to say, by the end of October, the 5 guys scattered to the winds and committed to other solutions But it was a disappointing interaction and I'm not sure how FLIR could rebuild that lost trust with me anyway.
Yep, that sucks that Flir did ya'll like that. Unfortunately, in the scheme of things for a big outfit like Flir we are small potatoes and must realize we are in 2nd place and hope they will let us continue to pilfer the scraps so to speak. We are caught between a rock and a hard place. Try to deal with Tier 1 and beg and pay the high price or deal with Tier 2 and get great Customer Service but quite often some defectively designed/built product that wont hold up under real and long term use.
Guess we need to form an "Citizens For Good Thermal Co-Operative Company" and get you and a few others to head it up so we can get some excellent built civi products at a fair price with great Customer Service. The thing I didn't understand about Flir buying Armasight is at the end of the day they killed pretty much all of the product lines and accessories and looks like to me all they really got was the outside shell/lens assembly of the Armasight thermal scopes. Would have been cheaper to probably just copy that design and stick their cores in and move along.
I can do without all of the bells and whistles. I just want units that are tough built, dependable, will hit where you aim, and can be powered with rechargable batteries and aren't sky high in price. Think German Tiger Panzer vs Russian T34. Tiger was king in a lot of ways but expensive and only can have so many vs T34, well built, but really extracted outstanding performance from limited resources and was relatively cheap. 1 is none 2 is one is the way I look at NV and Thermal.
Guess we need to form an "Citizens For Good Thermal Co-Operative Company" and get you and a few others to head it up so we can get some excellent built civi products at a fair price with great Customer Service. The thing I didn't understand about Flir buying Armasight is at the end of the day they killed pretty much all of the product lines and accessories and looks like to me all they really got was the outside shell/lens assembly of the Armasight thermal scopes. Would have been cheaper to probably just copy that design and stick their cores in and move along.
I can do without all of the bells and whistles. I just want units that are tough built, dependable, will hit where you aim, and can be powered with rechargable batteries and aren't sky high in price. Think German Tiger Panzer vs Russian T34. Tiger was king in a lot of ways but expensive and only can have so many vs T34, well built, but really extracted outstanding performance from limited resources and was relatively cheap. 1 is none 2 is one is the way I look at NV and Thermal.
Exactly ... does not seem to make business sense ... don't know what they were thinking ...
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Understood, and that's fine ! But then why tell us they would ship us some scraps ?? Just tell us to phuque off !!
We would've respected that more ... well I would've ! At least it would have been more honest !!Yep, those T75's look like a very solid unit. Never used one before. Night Vision Devices had them on clearance a while ago for about $12, 700 but they are all gone now. I have been kind of eyeing the Bering Optics Hogster C to see how it really performs at the end of the day for a say 300 yard max clip on. You have a lot of experience in that arena. I studied your work with the M300 with Magnifier etc pretty hard. By the way excellent work. Point being, do you think the Hogster C will be a true clip on such that you don't have to adjust one or the other to get a correct POA/POI solution. Not sure with that eyepiece piece you change out whether that is a Risley Prism setup or what. Haven't talked to any of the dealers about it yet.
I have never laid my hands on one yet. However, from the Youtube video's I have watched and comments I have heard from others it seems like it gives a great image. The housing is made out of aluminum instead of plastic so it ought to be very durable. The only concern I have is that it does have a dedicated battery that only the manufacturer can change out. I do not like any device that is set up that away. Batteries fail and wear out so at some point dedicated battery's always become an issue. Now the Thermion has an external battery also, and if it "overides" the dedicated battery such that if dedicated battery craps out the external will power it, maybe its not that big of any issue for me anymore. 64 dollar question for me to ask a dealer/manufacturer would be: "If the dedicated battery craps out, will the unit still run with the external only. "
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Due to its layout following a traditional scope, it would do well on a regular bolt or semi-auto style non AR style hunting rifle.
Reviving an old thread. If FLIR is eliminated from the supplier's list.... What outfit (worldwide) would be the next choice?
