This is probably a stupid question....how do you tell if the external IR illuminator is working or on? I put the battery in mine and turned it off/on and I can't tell.

Can you visibly see any of the light?

Sorry for the newb question...

THanks!

Doc,

OK, by external illuminator, I take it that you mean one purchased separately from the scope. Not knowing which one or the type of battery, I will assume it is a UNV 20 IR or T20 style with an 18650 battery because you said battery, not batteries, and something like the torch pro uses CR123's. Following that, I would make sure I have charged the battery and installed it correctly.

Otherwise, just taking the question straight forward, if the light is working you will not see a visible light as with a flashlight. That is the point. The IR is meant to be invisible (for the most part) to the human eye....and to animals in general. You can look into the light and see a red glow to know it is on. Beyond that, if it is working properly you will know it when you look through the scope as there will be a marked improvement in your ability to see....assuming it is properly aligned with the scope...

Beat me to it. Also, make sure if it is a 20IR that you have the the battery going in the tube positive end first. The positive end will be touching the spring, which is a little different than common battery orientation so it can be one of those things that goes unnoticed. Also remember that the 20IR has a low, medium, and high setting. If you turn the light on and are not getting the results you want try focusing the light down and tapping the tailcap switch to toggle through low medium and high. If it's on high, there is no way to miss it looking through the scope. If that doesn't work feel free to shoot me an email. Thanks


Tyler

Is it safe to look directly at the UNV 20IR? If so, is that because it has a filter? I heard about the Luna flashlight from Ident being dangerous to human eyes without the filter.

Another question was asked on AR15. I'm curious about that too. It said:

"The Photon XT 4.6 has a focus ring on the front. When the lens cover is on during the daytime, the image is always focused, and you don't have to fool with the ring. Everything is just always clear. However, when you take the cap off, on a dark day or especially at night, all of a sudden you are required to constantly adjust the focus ring in order to get a clear picture.

Why is that?"

A smaller aperture will increases your depth of focus. Same principle that you see in photography.

The Luna is a laser, and will fry your eyeball. The 20IR is an LED and not a laser. It has not fried any eyeballs yet but I still suggest not looking at the LED because there is no evidence it is not hurting you in the long term.

After reading this entire thread, I found one available last week on eBay and jumped on it. Being new to world of hunting pigs at night, I did a lot of research in the weeks leading up to the purchase. I have to say, for $500 cash the scope is an amazing piece of equipment. Even without the external IR and doubler(which I have ordered already), its an awesome view. Shot my 1st pig at 80 yards Sunday night behind the ear and dropped her in her tracks with a .223 69gr ppu.

Earlier posts indicate some confusion on rings. I used some Burris "high" rings from gander mountain and they work great. Kinda pricey at $70, but, oh well. Had to use something.

If anybody's on the fence about this scope, buy it. You won't be disappointed. And if you have one and don't like it, shoot me a pm, I'll take it off your hands.

one more thing. Apparently sightmark has addressed the cap issue as mine came with the cool flip out with the pinhole. However, the owners manual is as bad as previously posted. I had to learn it as I went but by the time I had it sighted in, I was a pro with it.

I like reading posts such as this, the benefit of forums is to share information with others so they can make informed decisions. It isn't a foolproof process but often times the results speak for themselves.

We have ALOT of good folks on this forum, to include vendors, that is tapped into and available.

To all of you who contributed here and elsewhere I have to say THANKS!

Angler - Let us know how you get along with the PhotonXT in the coming months.

With the UNV20IR illuminator will that take some of the grainy resolution that I am seeing at night with it. Daytime its great for a lower end day/night scope but anything after about 70 yds it gets iffy. I dont mind spending the $$$ if it helps with the above.

It is a whole new world. Completely different.

Oooooh! Can't wait for mine to come in. I have to quit reading these.

Well had a little time at the lease to play with it for a couple days.

This thing is pretty neat. I look forward to some load developments for predators on our place.

I like it with the doubler on it. Did it seem a little more clear to you?

I got my doubler and unv 20 mounted and took it out for a trial run. So far I'm not impressed with the external ir. Its supposed to have 3 separate settings for brightness and they all look the same. I can tell its changing because of the little flash you get when you tap the button. Playing with the spot feature is the only thing I can see changing on the screen. Then I added the doubler and it doubled my frustration. I'm aware that its user error and I'll eventually figure it out, but right now, to me, the way it comes right out of the box has been just fine with me. These last few nights of full moon I used it without any IR at all and could see clearly out to 150.

Has anybody done a usage video (guide) on the UNV200IR ?

I can't recall.

Would probably benifit quite a few folks regardless of scope system being used in conjunction with.

On another note that is impressive to hear that a doubled PhotonXT can render an image to 150 yards in full moon with no IR !

HTXH

regarding the UNV 20ir... I've thought about it and could if anyone was interested. I do have a couple of ideas where it could be improved upon. However, it would be so short, I was just going to add it into my future review of the XT itself... .

Getting the touch down on the button is the key on the IR. It is easy to see that you can't appreciate the difference on a full moon night, though it still makes a significant difference. Once you get a dark night, that is where you'll see a huge difference. On the doubler... Some people like mag, some don't. Younger eyes tend to be able to do without it better than older eyes. The standard 4.6 on the scope is not enough for me at around 100 yards and above. The doubler allows me to be very accurate with this scope. I like the Photon XT....it is a good value.

Ok folks, if you had the choice between the ATN or the new Photon which would you choose? Reading all the threads I'm confused. I want the monies well spent, can't afford both.

Owning both and having hunted both a reasonable amount....X-Sight, hands down. The XT is a great value and I really like it for what it is. Mine does flicker during the day and the day image is not in the same zip code as the X-Sight. You don't see that mentioned much on here, but it need to be part of the discussion. Another thing that is often overlooked is that if you want to record your hunts, then you will need to add a dvr recorder which will cause the pricing to be basically the same.

The X-Sight has a handful of real glitches and some perceived that I believe ATN will remedy sooner than later. However, color day vs black and white, one touch onboard HD recording vs a standard defintion DVR add-on, 5 - 40X (currently) zoom vs fixed 4.6X zoom, a very easy to use one shot zero on the ATN and all the other stuff (GPS, wi-fi, etc.)....the choice is easy for me.

Your mileage may vary...

I go for the second year (revised version) model scope with a 3 year warranty - PhotonXT

No question in my mind. I bought the Photon XT. It is a proven night scope. If I want to hunt in the daytime, I use regular optics (no battery issue). The Photon is great in that transition time from dusk till dark and continues to do well at night. This is prime coyote time and that's what I use mine for and very successfully so far. There are no quality issues with the Photon XT except the lens cover and that is an easy fix with a good Butler Creek and a pinhole. I've heard that Sightmark has already fixed that too. They are pretty good about backing up their product. I say go with the Photon, you won't be disappointed.

What's a decent monocular/spotting device to use, so I'm not having to use the rifle to check for targets?

Thermal is the ticket and game changer for spotting. Everything else pales...

\


If you happen to be at Neiman Marcus you can buy a digital monocular.....

http://www.neimanmarcus.com/Pulsar-Recon...mp;cmCat=search

The Pulsar Recon 325 and Recon 550 would pair well with the Photon XT 4.6X.

Took it out last night and man, the unv 20 ir was pretty impressive once I figured out the mount wasn't aligned properly with the xt. It was really dark and I could see the deer that always hang out next to my house at night. I need to set up yardage stakes to get an accurate measurement, but I'm guessing 150 and it was really clear.