Thermal scopes ease of use

Heymartay

Active member
I see all the therm guys talking about firmware , Bluetooth and video, don't they have a thermal scope you can just turn on and use like night vision?I have a pulsar ld 19 easy to use , turn it on play with the settings to see what's best that night and go hunting. The computer stuff just turns me off. Am I wrong ?
 
I went with a Trijicon for this exact reason. I just wanted to flip a switch and hunt. I had a few thermals prior to that with all the bells and whistles and found myself never using that stuff.
 
Trijicon is definitely one of the more expensive but they are also the gold standard in the thermal industry. If you provide an idea of budget, terrain you hunt (wide open field, tight cover, or both), target species (coyotes, hogs, small game), etc, we could provide a little better information. However, what everyone has said is true. You don't have to use features like recording, bluetooth, wifi, etc. All thermals are turn on and use. The only thing you need to do is sight in your scope/gun and hunt. You also don't have to do firmware updates even if they are available. However, if you are having issues, it could allow you to fix something with your device vs having to send it in. Even if you don't want to do it, my guess is you have someone you know who has a smartphone or computer that could help.
 
Originally Posted By: HeymartaySo what's the life of a top of the line thermal to amortize the cost ? They do last longer than night vision don't they? This is a difficult question to answer. It is a piece of electronics which is subjected to the elements on a regular basis, so nothing lasts forever. For instance the Pulsar warranty on Night Vison and Thermals is the same (3 years), so they are not warrantying them differently.

Night Vision is not my area of expertise but just doing some reading, I've seen articles that state Gen 3 Night Vision life expectancy is around 10,000 hours. If a person hunted a full night around 8 hours, this would be 1,250 full nights of hunting. That would be around 4 years of hunting if used every night. This is a lot of hours. I am not aware of any limitation like this for thermal, but if I got 10,000 hours of hunting out of a thermal, I would be very happy.

For most thermals, it is going to work at least 3 years, or they will fix/replace it. Beyond this, it is anyone's guess. How abused is the thermal, exposed to harsh elements? I am sure there are guys who have thermals that are 5+ years old on this forum, but many are just starting to get into thermal hunting with the increase in popularity as well as decrease in pricing.
 
My FLIR T-50 has received the harshest use imaginable for nine years and is still one of my favorite scopes, Just turn it on and shoot, which it has done ten thousand times without fail or any deterioration of image quality.

MTBF of FLIR TAU2 microbolometer is 30,000+ hrs of use, usually buttons break, germanium lens chip, or battery boxes become contaminated before the microbolometer fails.

Be sure to keep the battery compartment clean and dry, battery contacts clean, and remove batteries when not in use and it will last over a lifetime of use.


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I have had a thermal unit for 5 years now with no issues. I too don't care for all the bells a whistles, but with that being said I just upgraded from a 320 core to a 640 Thermion XP38. I've been running this ATN for 5 years now and the only issue is when I pulled the video hook up cable out of the unit. I know ATN is not a much liked company but as for me I have had no problems with them as for as customer service. I use video recording for my hunts and that's about all, no wifi, I just turn mine on go to white hot and hunt, I don't even zoom in, as most of my shot are 100 yds are less. I don't care for the color pallet, laser range finders and all that stuff. I've had night vision Gen 3, and it was great, then I went to thermal and its a game changer. When you can set on a stand and see mice running around in a field at 50 yds and more you realize what you've been missing. At 68 years old now and I'm sure this new scope will out last me, I hunt every week from Wednesday to Saturday for hogs, sometimes out all night sometimes just 3 or 4 hours. Like it has been said previously you don't have to use all that stuff, but it's there if you decide to try it. I wish the prices would come down and maybe they will, that's usually how this technology works, time will tell. In the mean time gets what you can afford and go enjoy night hunting, you'll become hooked as I have....
 
"The uncooled Vanadium Oxide FLIR Tau 2 core was designed with a mean time between failure (MTBF) >30,000 hrs operation."

"Assuming a usage duty cycle of 80% across all fielded Taus (actually includes many environments and use cases) the MTBF is calculated at 12.1 years (operating hours) with a 90% confidence level."


With a 30,000 hour MTBF 90% confidence interval on the microbolometer, you'll be spending an awful lot on a ton of replacement batteries, changing them out over 6,000 times with only a 10% chance of failure...so be sure to buy some stock in a profitable battery plant.
 
Originally Posted By: SkyPup"The uncooled Vanadium Oxide FLIR Tau 2 core was designed with a mean time between failure (MTBF) >30,000 hrs operation."

"Assuming a usage duty cycle of 80% across all fielded Taus (actually includes many environments and use cases) the MTBF is calculated at 12.1 years (operating hours) with a 90% confidence level."


With a 30,000 hour MTBF 90% confidence interval on the microbolometer, you'll be spending an awful lot on a ton of replacement batteries, changing them out over 6,000 times with only a 10% chance of failure...so be sure to buy some stock in a profitable battery plant.

That's good stuff! I'd like to know the "MTBF" of Pulsar Trails.. maybe they calculate by minutes of run time vs hours! Just kidding, kind of. Sure seems like they are almost treated like disposal units.

Great question OP I was looking for the same type of scope to just turn on and hunt but could only afford one with all the extras, go figure.
 
I did just fine last winter with my nemesis and my pulsar ld19,WHY do I want more,can you ever get enough. Aaaagggggghhhhh their just coyotes I can't justify 6 grand or so just to have fun with coyotes that in Illinois just aren't worth much.But I want too!
 
Originally Posted By: HeymartayI did just fine last winter with my nemesis and my pulsar ld19,WHY do I want more,can you ever get enough. Aaaagggggghhhhh their just coyotes I can't justify 6 grand or so just to have fun with coyotes that in Illinois just aren't worth much.But I want too! If it works, there is no need to. There are lots of people using a thermal as a scanner, and night vision for the gun.

However, on the justify part, the only person who can justify it is yourself. However, how much do people spend on boats to catch a few fish, or UTVs to go 4wheeling, or carts, clubs, and green fees for golf, and the list goes on? My hobby is coyote hunting. It was hard to justify for me as well, but for me, it was worth every penny. In your case, you are already using night vision, so just a decision if thermal is worth the extra money.
 
.............And then you have to buy a buddy thermal scope so your friends can go too and not just sit in the dark..............haha. Night hunting sure has become an expensive hobby for me!
 
Originally Posted By: Bocephuss.............And then you have to buy a buddy thermal scope so your friends can go too and not just sit in the dark..............haha. Night hunting sure has become an expensive hobby for me! Yes, I know of many people who have had to do this.

Another option is they could always watch via StreamVision if it is a Pulsar scope or Pulsar Monocular. It's a lot cheaper (ha, ha). Seriously though, I have heard of lots of hunters who take along a guest (maybe kids, friends, etc) and they watch via a smartphone or tablet. It is a neat feature of the Pulsars. Once they see it in action, they will buy their own very quickly.
 
They are simple to use, just turn them on, kill and grill....

Ruger #1 7mm Rem Mag for long range:


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KRISS .45 ACP for short range:


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