Need help picking first thermal


Originally Posted By: varminter .223 What happens when this one takes a dump when its 3 days out of warranty????? I'm gonna ask. That could be a problem.
My understanding is they are pro-rated, similar to a car battery. Of course with a battery you pay for the used amount of time whereas a scope is replaced at no charge. For instance, say you bought a new scope with 3-year warranty and used it for 10 months and had to return it. You have 2 years and 2 months warranty left on any new scope they send you. If that one goes bad after a while, whatever remaining time you have left is what is counted. I have asked a couple of times over the years about warranty on other scopes and trail cameras and that is what I was told. If anyone has different experience I would like to hear.

 
Yes this scope was purchased on October 2017 so that means of October 2020 am I sol? If this one becomes unrepairable after 3 years of my original purchase what do I do throw it in the trash can and shell out 4 plus k again?

I don't understand how something can be non-repairable. Maybe the guys at sellmark just couldn't repair it? That would be like buying a new car from a dealership and 3 years later you have to crush it because it is not repairable LOL that seems insane.
 
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An xp50 makes n excellent scanner if the only problem is that it wont hold zero. Somebody will want to buy it. I wonder what they are really doing with all the ones that are sent back and I'm thinking there have been a bunch. Germanium lenses are supposed to be real expensive.
 
Originally Posted By: varminter .223Originally Posted By: varminter .223I had to send my xp50 in yesterday. It suddenly started shifting poi bad. However I did learn that they have techs in house now to repair them. They said turn around time would be quick. He did say the thermion is a much more difficult design to work on and those still have to be sent to Europe for repair.

Called Sellmark yesterday for an update on my xp50.....lady said they declared it nonrepairable. They are sending me another new one. That's 3 unit in 2 years. What happens when this one takes a dump when its 3 days out of warranty????? I'm gonna ask. That could be a problem.


I had the same luck with their scanners 3 in 2 years hd19a, xd19a, & now an xq23v, at least it still works That is why I never bought any of their scopes.
 

These reports echo what I have been saying for some time now, that there are issues with different brand scopes / monoculars and not just ATN. Someone on the forums recently boldly proclaimed that ATN is no good and a waste of money, yet made no mention of other brands that have issues too. ATN seems to catch all the heat and hate, and in truth they have to own it since some of it is true. Pulsar on the other hand has basically received nothing but praise on the forums, yet they too have had and continue to have a multitude of problems. Remember when the Trail models first came out? They were pushed hard here by certain members / vendors and everybody had to have one, but as time has elapsed it has become more evident that they too have been very lacking and people are upset, rightfully so. The high end (over $1,000) Pulsar digitals have not made a very good showing either, yet Pulsar continues to receive such high praise. I think one difference is that ATN (in the past at least, and maybe some still) had rather poor customer service whereas Pulsar has been much better in that regard. Flir CS is not up to par either from what I hear. It may sound like I am a defender and promoter of ATN, but in reality I am a defender of truth and fairness. I owe no allegience to any company, and I have owned scopes from Sightmark, Armasight, Pulsar, ATN and a Gen 2 M845. All were good in certain ways and all had problems of one sort or another.

No matter how you slice it or stack it, these high dollar scopes still are not up to the kind of quality that they should have, given their hefty price tags, or that the colorful and creative advertising suggests. When the scopes work, they are a pure joy and unbelievable technology to behold while helping increase the hog and predator count, but when they don’t they are a real source of frustration and loss of a wad of money that could choke a horse. Once the warranty period is over they become an expensive paperweight.

Do I love thermal? Heck yes. Will I purchase thermal again? Probably. I just have to understand and accept the nature of the products right now if I want to play, and be prepared to swallow a hard lump when they go bad. Being well informed before making a decision involving a rather large sum of money is prudent, and that goes for all of them and not just ATN.

 
Having owned two Helions I'm not a Pulsar fan. They are manufactured in Europe (Russia?) and Sellmark has the USA distribution rights. All Sellmark can do for you is send you a new unit, if they have it in stock, and maybe make some simple repairs. And that is dependent on Sellmark keeping the distribution rights. If they give it up or loose it, what do you do then?

Trijicon and Flir are both American companies. They build and repair their units in house.

I have a Trijicon MK 3. It developed a problem and Trijicon fixed it and paid overnight shipping both ways.
I have owned a couple of the Flir Scout scanners with zero problems.
I know a few guys who own the Flir PTS536 and 736 and as far as I know they are very happy with them.
Pulsar and Flir are pretty close in price. I would look real hard at the Flir line before I spent that kind of money on an imported scope.
 
Sorry to resurrect this from page 2, but I thought I would let everyone know my final decision. After way to much back and forth I went ahead and ordered the Flir PTS 536. Though I really wanted the PIP and LRF Pulsar has to offer, there were a few deciding factors that led me to go with Flir.

1. Mostly row crop open country hunting - 4x will shine here and I can add a scanner later if need be.
2. Familiar with most hunting areas - no LRF
2. Slightly less expensive - can get a nice tripod, save for scanner
3. 10 year warranty - The nail in the coffin.

Spending that much on a scope I really felt the 10 year warranty, even if that means dealing with the so said bad Customer Service and having to mount a battery pack. Regardless being my first thermal I'm excited to have it on the way and for the opening deer season to calm down to get out and give it a try. I highly doubt I'll be disappointed with my decision, but if so you will here about it!
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Thanks to everyone who gave their input. I usually lurk and read up on a lot of things, but glad to be apart of and receive the help of the community.
 
Originally Posted By: NEHuntSorry to resurrect this from page 2, but I thought I would let everyone know my final decision. After way to much back and forth I went ahead and ordered the Flir PTS 536. Though I really wanted the PIP and LRF Pulsar has to offer, there were a few deciding factors that led me to go with Flir.

1. Mostly row crop open country hunting - 4x will shine here and I can add a scanner later if need be.
2. Familiar with most hunting areas - no LRF
2. Slightly less expensive - can get a nice tripod, save for scanner
3. 10 year warranty - The nail in the coffin.

Spending that much on a scope I really felt the 10 year warranty, even if that means dealing with the so said bad Customer Service and having to mount a battery pack. Regardless being my first thermal I'm excited to have it on the way and for the opening deer season to calm down to get out and give it a try. I highly doubt I'll be disappointed with my decision, but if so you will here about it!
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Thanks to everyone who gave their input. I usually lurk and read up on a lot of things, but glad to be apart of and receive the help of the community.

Congrats on the purchase. You're going to love hunting with the thermal.

My hunting has come to a sudden halt as my Trail XP50 has to go back... started shifting zero on me again.
 
Originally Posted By: NEHunt After way to much back and forth I went ahead and ordered the Flir PTS 536. The Flir PTS536 is my main coyote thermal scope. It has been a very accurate thermal for me. Congrats.

Originally Posted By: NEHunt1. Mostly row crop open country hunting - 4x will shine here and I can add a scanner later if need be.I don't consider a scanner optional especially with a 4x base magnification on the thermal scope. Hard to sit on a stand for 15-30 minutes scanning with a 4.5x3.5 degree FOV.

Originally Posted By: NEHunt3. 10 year warranty - The nail in the coffin. Spending that much on a scope I really felt the 10 year warranty, even if that means dealing with the so said bad Customer Service and having to mount a battery pack. I just want to make sure everyone reading this realizes the 10 year warranty is on the sensor only. Here is the link to the Flir Warranty. I agree this is an important feature but just clarifying so others don't think it applies to the entire thermal device. As far as their support, Flir did have some serious growing pains after acquiring Armasight. Most of the recent CS reports I have been reading have been fairly positive so hopefully this is getting better. Enjoy your new purchase.
 
Not trying to be a smart a$$, but that scope only gets 3-31/2 stars on amazon and op. That said, a scope that you can hit what you’re aiming at is better than a 5 star scope thar won’t hold zero.
 
Originally Posted By: cmateraNot trying to be a smart a$$, but that scope only gets 3-31/2 stars on amazon and op. That said, a scope that you can hit what you’re aiming at is better than a 5 star scope thar won’t hold zero. If you actually look at the Amazon reviews, there were only 5. 3 gave 5 stars saying it is awesome and best money they ever spent. One gave it 3 because FOV is too small. If they would have done their research or talked to a good thermal dealer, they would have known that, so to me that is a user issue not a product issue. There was one person who gave it 1 star because it wouldn't turn on. There was a power switch issue with the PTS series when it first released a few years ago. Any of the negative reviews on OP also seemed to mention the power switch and again there were only 8 reviews total. I honestly haven't heard of an issue with power switch for some time. I am not saying the PTS536 is the answer for everyone or that it is perfect. However in the Amazon example, one bad review with 5 total reviews, kills a rating and is what has seemed to happen. I buy my fair share of items off Amazon. However, a $3-4K thermal will not be one of them. A good quality thermal dealer can help a person pre-sale as well as post-sale.

I believe Flir missed an opportunity by not releasing a scope between the PTS233 and the PTS536. The PTS233 suffers in high humidity due to the small lens, and for people who don't hunt wide open plains, the PTS536 may not have enough FOV. They should have also released a PTS scope somewhere between the 2-3x base mag range, and I believe it would have been their best seller.
 
I do agree that one or two bad reviews can really skew the results on Amazon or elsewhere. I also agree that some items are good to buy on the Big Box websites and some are not. Unfortunately, I do not trust NV dealers either. I look at reviews on places like Amazon, because I am looking for actual buyers with unbiased reviews. I know that the reviews on Amazon, Ebay etc is no guarantee of an unbiased review. but the items sold come from various sellers, and Amazon is not a NV dealer. I never take advice from anyone who has something to gain from what they tell me. Night Vision dealers want to sell me something so they obviously fit that description.
 
Originally Posted By: cmatera I never take advice from anyone who has something to gain from what they tell me. Night Vision dealers want to sell me something so they obviously fit that description. If the term "Night Vision" dealer is supposed to apply to me, I can tell you that I am not trying to sell you anything. My relationship as a Prostaff member for Night Goggles is not sales related. You can choose to believe this or not but it is the truth.

Is it possible that some dealers are looking to make a quick dollar, the answer is yes. However, companies doing business like this, will not be in business for long. The reason I stress talking to a good dealer is the fact that thermal and night vision is very expensive and there are so many options. How many people have used 10, 20 or 30 different thermals? Most people, if they are lucky, have maybe used a few or looked through a few. Now add the fact that the needs of a person hunting hogs in dense cover is very different than a person hunting coyotes in the open plains. Bottom line is a dealer who has used, sold, and supported various brands is a wealth of knowledge. This is a benefit pre-sales. I haven't even started talking about what if you have questions on the device or have problems. Yes, most of the night vision/thermal manufacturers have decent CS departments, but a dealer can help out with many post-sale questions and issues as well.
 
No it does not apply to you. It applies to the plethora of online dealers. You are an actual user. Plenty of them are there to sell and have little actual real world experience with what they are selling.
 
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