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Night Vision Range Finders

my idea of affordable is 1200-1500. As for range, 700 yards? there seem to be other candidates that service the higher end market ( at higher cost, of course) im very new to this subject, im sure my naïveté shows.
 
The Radius can exceed 1000 yards in favorable conditions and they were around $1000 new. With the recent proliferation of semi-affordable long-distance 905nm devices, I don’t think there would be much market for any product like this with a sub-1500-yard range in 2022.
 
Makes sense, explains dearth of RFs in Radius segment. My use is a niche, use it for pdogs, etc. i experimented with Eliminator3,4. The Elim 4 ranged very well, but the reticle was too wide for use about 400 yards. Same for the sig scope, RF pairing. I am shooting pdogs on an industrial scale in multiple states, being able to pick a shooting lane then being able to address targets at diffrerent ranges quickly was my goal. the Elim4 wasnt bad within 400 yrds.
 
I had a Radius, daylight performance was reliable out to 800+ yards, and in perfect conditions, I was able to range out to 1200+ yards. However, I never tried using it at night.
 
My rifle with RAPTAR took a fall a couple weeks ago. We were loading gear, packs, and rifles in the back of a truck at the end of the first day of a match so we could be shuttled back to our parked vehicles. A couple rifles were handed to me, with butt pads resting on the tail gate. The person handing them to me let go of both rifles and quickly turned away before I had positive control of one of the rifles, which happened to be my rifle. It fell striking the ground muzzle first, the second impact was to the top left edge of the RAPTAR.

I immediately checked the rifle/RAPTAR out by ranging some Antelope grazing out in a field at verious distances (500 to 800 yards), and some buildings out to 1800 yards, and to my relief everything was working.

That evening I went outside behind the Hotel to check zero with the visable Laser, and the elevation on the setup was still good, but the windage had moved about .6 of a Mil and I adjusted it back.

Next day no issues with zero or ranging.

Realistically, unless I would have been ranging a very small skyline targets at a great distance, that .6-mil wouldn't have made a difference during the second day of the match.
 
I think you’ll be happy with the Radius, it sounds like exactly what you need.
Thank you. they seem to get snapped up quickly in used market. Eventually they will wear out, and there seems to be no replacement in its price segment.
 
Thank you. they seem to get snapped up quickly in used market. Eventually they will wear out, and there seems to be no replacement in its price segment.
Yep, the ~$350 that Brownells was blowing them out for back in 2017 would be a tough act to follow. I saw the incredible potential for night shooting and bought a couple, but should have gotten more. Hindsight is always 20/20. In low/no light you can range reliably out to absolutely absurd distances. ~3200 yards I think is the furthest I've been able to get a consistent reading in the dark.
 
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As an experienced electronic designer, a replacement would be very doable. Rather than reinventing the basic components, id buy what available or accesible. Laser Module with lenses, micro controller , blue tooth interface, display. The mounting bracket may need to be developed from scratch. Also . Id see a basic unit like radius, only smaller. Blue tooth could eliminate need for activation cable/switch. it also opens up other options like a display remote, and possible hud hood for scope display. open interface standard for incorporating with nvision optics.
another optiom would be buying rights to Radius, then releasing an improved version Id add blue tooth, cost reduce parts list, reduce size and perhaps improve mounting system. Or (hint) do it under contract for the oem. A big part of my business is adding capability to original equipt for oem customers who want special options. i work under NDA with OEM, who doesnt have time or resources for special features.
 
I know this is an old thread but since it got dredged up we might as well update this list for future reference right?

Weapon-mounted LRFs worth owning, if you can get your grubby mitts on one:
- SiCo Radius
- Wilcox Raptar ES, S/ES, and S
- Wilcox MRF Xe
- Armasight AMRF2200 (does anyone actually own one of these? I've never seen one in the wild)
- Newcon Seeker S/M
- L3 RULR
- L3 STORM and STORM SLX
- L3 SPEAR
- L3 SRF
- Envision MARS-L
- Rheinmetall FCS-TacRay Ballistic
- Sector Optics G1T2 (Vaporware?)
- Safran ICUGR
- IR&D Vampire Solo
- FN Elity (Vaporware?)

Have I missed any?
I owned a Armasight AMRF 2200 and sold it. I can post a picture of what it looked like.
 
As an experienced electronic designer, a replacement would be very doable. Rather than reinventing the basic components, id buy what available or accesible. Laser Module with lenses, micro controller , blue tooth interface, display. The mounting bracket may need to be developed from scratch. Also . Id see a basic unit like radius, only smaller. Blue tooth could eliminate need for activation cable/switch. it also opens up other options like a display remote, and possible hud hood for scope display. open interface standard for incorporating with nvision optics.
another optiom would be buying rights to Radius, then releasing an improved version Id add blue tooth, cost reduce parts list, reduce size and perhaps improve mounting system. Or (hint) do it under contract for the oem. A big part of my business is adding capability to original equipt for oem customers who want special options. i work under NDA with OEM, who doesnt have time or resources for special features.

If someone were to do this, please, PLEASE include an electronic anti-cant indicator like the Raptar S has. I currently use the output of the PVS-27 as a back light so I can see my tube-mounted bubble level, but that only works for <40mm objective scopes mounted low relative to the clip-on.
 
Your opinion of it? Why did u sell it? Did u pik a replacement?
It is a cool unit, I have a SICO now. I sold it because the gentleman that wanted it has a Armasight Thermal and wanted to run it with it (the AMRF is supposed to be able to range and display the range in the thermal). It would be cool if he got it working like it is supposed to (my AMRF didn't come with the docking cable). I had mounted it once to check it out but I never really used it. The AMRF I had bought was a demo unit for a Israeli contract if memory serves me correctly. Cool unit, a bit tall/boxy.

20210526_195407.jpg
 
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Great info here. For any looking at thermal scopes with lrf here is my experience. This is in order of my ownership for use on coyotes at night. You'll see I went the wrong direction!

Pulsar XP50 LRF = good to ~ 400
Radius = good to ~ 1,000
NVision Halo XRF = did not work at all
iRay Rico IRL 1000 = does not work at all

I found the the radius to be by far the best but a kind of a pia to use hunting.
 
Great info here. For any looking at thermal scopes with lrf here is my experience. This is in order of my ownership for use on coyotes at night. You'll see I went the wrong direction!

Pulsar XP50 LRF = good to ~ 400
Radius = good to ~ 1,000
NVision Halo XRF = did not work at all
iRay Rico IRL 1000 = does not work at all

I found the the radius to be by far the best but a kind of a pia to use hunting.
I thought they had some resolution on the Halo XRF? Sounds like they did in a thread that @SkyScrapin put together.
 
I'd like to feel confident in that but wouldn't gamble 10K of my money on it! I did speak with a guy who had "warrantied" his before I dumped mine. His was returned with no improvement.
That sucks to hear!

I'm hoping maybe something like the SICO comes around again. Right now it seems for the pricing they are the best thig if you can find one.
 
I'd like to feel confident in that but wouldn't gamble 10K of my money on it! I did speak with a guy who had "warrantied" his before I dumped mine. His was returned with no improvement.

i along with wig were heavily involved in the software/firmware changes to the XRF laser that was causing people to have issues. we spent a few months on it testing various changes and i can firmly say it functions excellent.
 
i along with wig were heavily involved in the software/firmware changes to the XRF laser that was causing people to have issues. we spent a few months on it testing various changes and i can firmly say it functions excellent.

I'm with P&Y on this one.

Having been heavily involved in the original
shit show and seeing how it was handled, I can firmly say I'll never take that gamble again.
 
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Trybe is garbaggio in QC. That’s not a bash post either, just fact of the matter.
Thanks for this. I want the capability, but don't have the pocket book, the ~$1200 was tolerable. Not taking the chance. Somebody make a rock solid, adj mount for a $500 SIG handheld and 1913/MLOK, LOL.
 
I have a L3 STORM that’s up for grabs. Used it on my .338 LM for awhile but I don’t use it enough to justify holding onto it. Comes with case, dual pressure pad and quick reference guide. Asking $4k
 

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I have a L3 STORM that’s up for grabs. Used it on my .338 LM for awhile but I don’t use it enough to justify holding onto it. Comes with case, dual pressure pad and quick reference guide. Asking $4k
Dang that is a gorgeous beast! What does that thing weigh?
 
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Update: sold
Putting in the thread bc I’m an idiot and I can’t figure out how to edit my post 🤦‍♂️
 
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I'd love to have a rifle mounted LRF but they stopped production on the Radius, right? And the Wilcox is just too expensive for me, especially with the watered down illuminator. That just won't fly with a PVS30. Those two are the only real contenders, right? Really should've bought a couple Radius when they came out, didn't see that coming.

I went through a divorce so it changed what I was gonna be able to do regarding a spotting setup. I wanted a Hensoldt and a Vectronix but wound up with a USO observation scope in 10-40x and an LRR-104 MK5 LRF good to six miles, both for $1000 shipped. So far I'm pleased with it. I'd still like a nicer spotter but I don't think a better LRF for the price can be had, not at $400.

A few members on the 'Hide kicked in some support and help and made the SS mount it all connects to, another fellow made an industrial plastic USO to PVS14 adapter and I threaded it with helicoils and installed polymer bolts. Some other mods were made and it's not finished but here's what I have so far:
View attachment 7006620
The idea is to take the PEQ's laser and zero it to infinity on the observation scope's reticle. It'll all be off a little, but I'm hoping at range it won't matter. Eventually a kestrel and a PDA will be added for ballistics calculation.

So the idea is to look through the observation scope with the PVS14 and when I can laze the target with the PEQ, I should be able to tap the LRF and get a reading despite not being able to see through it. So far it seems to need some work as at 100m it came close to burning in. Not sure if the scope magnifies the laser radiation or if it sat in one place too long. But it's a solid idea, if I can get it to work like I want at night. During the day it's a very solid setup indeed. The LRF has a 7x day viwer and a Class 4 laser, an Nd:Yag @1064nm and 500mW to 1Watt I'm guessing in power. It's capable of ablating the retina completely off, has an optical density of 14 on the viewer, and at that power it's just dangerous to anyone around. The 1550's and others came literally the year after mine was made, so they stopped issuing these. But that powerful laser did solve the problem of lasing a truck size target at 10,000m within +/- 10m and it not be visible w/night vision. I just have to be careful as hell with it. But it's not something you see everyday. Was like winning the Ebay lottery IMO.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

These things turn up from time to time, if you buy one just be damn careful with it.
Litton LRR-104 Mk V Range Finder can you tell me how it worked out so far?