Serendipity and the Thermal Imager

Stalker1962

Well-Known Member
This thread is stealing developing a suggestion from Jax on another thread.

The Thermal Imager (TI) argument seems to have three distinct camps.

  1. The TI is an instrument of Beelzebub and those who use it will go blind in one eye (probably true) and hence to Hell in a handcart (not true).
  2. The TI in an invaluable tool for those professionals who have cull targets to manage or paying clients to appease.
  3. Recreational stalkers, who have more money than sense recognise that it can be an interesting and useful add-on to a day in the country.

So, notwithstanding in which camp you sit: what interesting things have you 'seen' with a TI, that you would otherwise not have done so?

I have recently enjoyed watching a young Roe Doe chasing a Hare.

I have also enjoyed watching two Roe Deer feeding with a Fox sat a still as a statute between them - neither seemed bothered by the other.

Watching an Owl "hooting" in his tree and a Woodpecker hammering away. The noises of both causing me to scan with the TI and allowing me to see stuff I would otherwise not have done so.

So, what have you seen?
 
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First time out with mine using as a hand held (XP50) early in the year walking the dogs it was foggy so not the best choice of days,Quick scan nothing,as an aircraft was passing over head it was instantly seen in the viewer proving it works!

BC.
 
This thread is stealing developing a suggestion from Jax on another thread.

The Thermal Imager (TI) argument seems to have three distinct camps.

  1. The TI is an instrument of Beelzebub and those who use it will go blind in one eye (probably true) and hence to Hell in a handcart (not true).
  2. The TI in an invaluable tool for those professionals who have cull targets to manage or paying clients to appease.
  3. Recreational stalkers, who have more money than sense recognise that it can be an interesting and useful add-on to a day in the country.

So, notwithstanding in which camp you sit: what interesting things have you 'seen' with a TI, that you would otherwise not have done so?

I have recently enjoyed watching a young Roe Doe chasing a Hare.

I have also enjoyed watching two Roe Deer feeding with a Fox sat a still as a statute between them - neither seemed bothered by the other.

Watching an Owl "hooting" in his tree and a Woodpecker hammering away. The noises of both causing me to scan with the TI and allowing me to see stuff I would otherwise not have done so.

So, what have you seen?
I recently saw mice climbing up the stems of grass and feeding on the seed heads while out foxing, very interesting!

Often see bats in my TI too which you would never see with a lamp without looking like London during blitz air raid!

Sam
 
It's simple, you'll see animal behaviour with a thermal that you won't see any other way - and if you are interested in wildlife (beyond just shooting it) then it adds greatly to the enjoyment and knowledge about how animals behave when they are undisturbed.
If you can afford one, there are very few downsides to taking a thermal along when you go into the countryside.
I've seen all sorts of animal behaviour I was unaware of but outwith watching animals, the best thing I've seen are the underfloor water heating pipes in a new build holiday home belonging to the landowner of one of my permissions where they had wired up the zone controller wrongly such that the thermostat in the bedroom made the heating in the bathroom come on!
It took an evening, but by the end of it we had all the wiring sorted and the system working correctly.
Without a thermal imager that would have taken a lot longer and been much more hit and miss


Cheers

Bruce
 
make sure you do not have a "key" model before searching for it as they do not have this feature.

I have the Pulsar Helion XQ38F.

I really enjoy using it, but am not very IT savvy.

Actually, whilst I think on, and following on from the thread about possible eye damage, I must reset the brightness settings on the damn thing.
 
Where do I start?
A little owl sitting near the caller going, wtf, I can hear the mouse but can’t see it.
A badger feasting on a dead chicken that was bait. He ripped it off from the rope in the end. And he would chase the second badger away.
A frog hopping across a field without stopping, must have been 200 yards before he went out of view. Respect.
3 roe kids having a mad 5 minutes while the mother watched on.
Badgers tracking up and down a field looking for food, bye bye ground nesting birds.
A muntie showing a fox that it needs to get lost and not annoy the muntie.
there is loads more
 
No disrespect to the Op but how much must one spend on a thermal to get a functioning focusing wheel/button?

K
Not sure which thermal the OP was using, but mine (Helion 2 XQ38F) has a very good focusing wheel.

The problem comes when you have it set up for normal stalking range, and then something appears much closer in. You can re-focus, but if you're not careful you end up all fingers and thumbs, with sticks, rifles and binos having to be managed at the same time as trying to get the thermal focused..
 
Not sure which thermal the OP was using, but mine (Helion 2 XQ38F) has a very good focusing wheel.

The problem comes when you have it set up for normal stalking range, and then something appears much closer in. You can re-focus, but if you're not careful you end up all fingers and thumbs, with sticks, rifles and binos having to be managed at the same time as trying to get the thermal focused..
So what the true cutting edge deerstalker needs is a pair of Zeiss 8X42 bins with in-built RF & Thermal? Plus a "press to record" button and USB Type C socket for Apple Lightening cable to iPhone compatibility?

K
 
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