Magnetic connection

k9jones

New member
I was wondering if any of you have tried a magnetic connection on your thermal scope with an external battery pack, and if so which one, and your experience with it. I bought the TBR to go with my SY35, and the 90 degree connection, does concern me. I know my luck, and would be willing to take an occasional power disconnect over a broken power port. I believe that I read that Cory didn't like one that he had. I don't typically hunt in sub 20 degree weather or rain.

I looked on Amazon and the shortest cord on one that I could find was 1 foot.

Thanks in advance for your replies!
 
I used the foot long cord all winter on my Xm 38. The magnet is strong and the way my rest is set up I didn’t have it disconnect. It was nice to hunt 2 or 3 hours and have fully charged batteries in the scope.
 
I also use one on my Thermion xm38. I wrapped the cord up on the scope to shorten it & has worked fine. Definitely wait & see how others with different scopes have made out.
 
I used one for a few months on my r35. It disconnected several times so l was glad l also had batteries in. I now use a 90 degree 12” cable with no issues for over a year.
 
There are some manufacturers starting to make a magnetic connection that also has some support to it, so they don't disconnect as easy. I use one on my phone all the time. I wanted to like a magnetic option. During my usage of magnetic connections, I experienced the following:

1) On more than one occasion, I saw a spark when connecting the power to the scope. Now, a person could disconnect it from the power source, connect it to the thermal and then connect it back to the battery pack, but that is a lot of work. I don't like the idea of shorting out a thermal, so this made me a little nervous.

2) When it got cold, ice or frost would start to appear on the connection, so this made for situations where there wasn't a strong or consistent power supply.

3) The cord would get bumped in the most inopportune times, and I would lose connection.

4) I have helped troubleshoot enough thermal issues and many times when there were odd thermal issues reported, when a person moved to a good quality battery pack like an Anker and went to a direct connect, their problem went away.

There used to be lots of dealers selling magnetic connections, and they are getting harder and harder to find, so many dealers have stopped selling them. I am not saying don't use one, but just passing along my experience.

I have never tested this one and am not recommending it. However, it does appear to be designed to support the cable more than just the magnetic connection itself. Magnetic Connection

As for the 90° cable, what is the concern? The 90° lessens the likelihood of damaging the port if you hit it, bump it, rest the gun's weight on it, etc. When disconnecting, leave the USB C connection in the scope, and disconnect it at the battery connection. The only situation where this doesn't make sense is potentially if you are using it as a scanner and don't want the cord hanging off the unit.
 
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