Hi
Is anybody using a Micro Thunder mounted on front of day scope ?????? Whats it like please.
Cheers Steve.
Is anybody using a Micro Thunder mounted on front of day scope ?????? Whats it like please.
Cheers Steve.
Hik Micro Thunder
- Thread starter white van man
- Start date
If you absolutely must have a thermal front add-on then it's probably the best bang for your buck.
I have one (but use it as a pure riflescope) and I also had a Pulsar Krypton FXG50
In the end I just found front add-ons too much bother.
Comparing the HIK and the Pulsar
HIK advantages:
a. Light weight and size
b. Once zeroed you can position one of the thermal scope reticles to align with your glass scope reticle to make sure the add-on will be zeroed when fitted
c. Excellent when used as a spotter
HIK disadvantages:
a. Converting from a spotter to front add-on and fitting the add-on is a complete PITA. The chances are that if you see something using the HIK as a spotter there's a good chance it will have gone by the time you get it converted and fitted to the scope
b. Short battery life
c. Display resolution is lower in add-on mode than in scope or spotter mode resulting in pixellation at lower magnification
Pulsar advantages:
a. Very fast and easy to convert from spotter to front add-on
Pulsar disadvantages:
a. Very heavy and bulky
b. The eyepiece used to make it a spotter is dreadful
c. No way to check if zero is being maintained when removed and refitted
The Pulsar uses a much higher resolution display which should give it a sharper image - but it doesn't
The HIK image is brighter and sharper at low magnification, but the pulsar will still give a usable image at magnifications higher than the HIK
The scope being used with a front add-on must have a low base magnification - x2.5 - x3 is good, anything x5 and above is a waste of time
Maximum usable scope magnification (the add-on has no optical magnification) will depend on how much pixellation of the image you can live with but typically won't be much above x8
Unless there is absolutely no other thermal option available to you, I'd stay away from thermal front add-ons
A rifle with a decent picatinny rail plus a glass scope and thermal scope on QD mounts is a much better solution
Cheers
Bruce
I have one (but use it as a pure riflescope) and I also had a Pulsar Krypton FXG50
In the end I just found front add-ons too much bother.
Comparing the HIK and the Pulsar
HIK advantages:
a. Light weight and size
b. Once zeroed you can position one of the thermal scope reticles to align with your glass scope reticle to make sure the add-on will be zeroed when fitted
c. Excellent when used as a spotter
HIK disadvantages:
a. Converting from a spotter to front add-on and fitting the add-on is a complete PITA. The chances are that if you see something using the HIK as a spotter there's a good chance it will have gone by the time you get it converted and fitted to the scope
b. Short battery life
c. Display resolution is lower in add-on mode than in scope or spotter mode resulting in pixellation at lower magnification
Pulsar advantages:
a. Very fast and easy to convert from spotter to front add-on
Pulsar disadvantages:
a. Very heavy and bulky
b. The eyepiece used to make it a spotter is dreadful
c. No way to check if zero is being maintained when removed and refitted
The Pulsar uses a much higher resolution display which should give it a sharper image - but it doesn't
The HIK image is brighter and sharper at low magnification, but the pulsar will still give a usable image at magnifications higher than the HIK
The scope being used with a front add-on must have a low base magnification - x2.5 - x3 is good, anything x5 and above is a waste of time
Maximum usable scope magnification (the add-on has no optical magnification) will depend on how much pixellation of the image you can live with but typically won't be much above x8
Unless there is absolutely no other thermal option available to you, I'd stay away from thermal front add-ons
A rifle with a decent picatinny rail plus a glass scope and thermal scope on QD mounts is a much better solution
Cheers
Bruce
Hi Bruce
Thanks for the in-depth reply. Some good advice there for sure.
I have been using the Thunder as a spotter for some time and as you say it is excellent as a spotter. I have the adapter as well but not the actual scope mount, so the outlay is somewhat reduced.
Somehow when fiddling with the settings I managed to turn off the reticule setting, which is great for the spotter, I'm assuming if I used this as a front mounted on scope I wouldn't need to align the reticules which would make life easier.
When on my foxing permission I try to get there an hour or so before dusk so I can get on any Muntie that show themselves, hence the reason for using a day scope and then mounting the Thunder for night use.
I would not be faffing about using it as a spotter and scope as I have a Hik 35 owl for spotting now.
My thoughts are for the sake of £150 or less I can set it up and if not happy I am only £150 out of pocket.
Thanks again for your time with the input.
Steve.
Thanks for the in-depth reply. Some good advice there for sure.
I have been using the Thunder as a spotter for some time and as you say it is excellent as a spotter. I have the adapter as well but not the actual scope mount, so the outlay is somewhat reduced.
Somehow when fiddling with the settings I managed to turn off the reticule setting, which is great for the spotter, I'm assuming if I used this as a front mounted on scope I wouldn't need to align the reticules which would make life easier.
When on my foxing permission I try to get there an hour or so before dusk so I can get on any Muntie that show themselves, hence the reason for using a day scope and then mounting the Thunder for night use.
I would not be faffing about using it as a spotter and scope as I have a Hik 35 owl for spotting now.
My thoughts are for the sake of £150 or less I can set it up and if not happy I am only £150 out of pocket.
Thanks again for your time with the input.
Steve.
OK, If you only need to buy the scope mount then go ahead and give it a try
A few things to note
The adaptor contains a small magnet and when the adaptor is fitted to the Thunder body, it causes a different version of the software to run
These differences include:
a. The menu now appears in the middle of the display rather than at the left side of the display
b. The "live" area of the display becomes smaller (hence reducing resolution)
c. Some functions are disabled including digital zoom
d. A display calibration function becomes available. This function is accessed by pressing the up and down buttons together and allows the display to be shifted so that the point of impact with and without the add-on can be made the same
When the scope mount is attached to the adaptor and the whole add-on fitted to the scope (using rubber insert that best fills the gap between the outside of the scope and the inside of the scope mount) I suggest you try the following:
(I am assuming your glass scope is already zeroed)
a. Bring up the main menu and go into reticle. Bring up reticle 1 and, with x=0 and y=0, adjust the position of the the add-on such that your scope reticle and the Thunder reticle are as closely aligned as you can get them and then lock the add-on in position and then switch the reticle off
b. Fire a shot at a target at your normal zero range and note the point of impact
c. If the point of impact with the add-on fitted is close enough to the POI without the add-on that you don't feel the need for any adjustment - then it's your lucky day!
d. Assuming that adjustment is needed then it's the add-on display that must be adjusted - do not touch your scope dials
e, Press the up and down buttons together to bring up the display calibration screen. This should show x=0 and y=0. IIRC increasing x moves the display to the right and increasing y moves the display. Basically, adjust the x and y values until the scope reticle is aligned with the point of impact.
f. Fire another shot to check if the adjustment is correct. if not, continue making adjustments to the x and y values until the point of impact is where you are aiming
g. OK, so now we have the add-on zeroed to your scope, but we need to make sure that when the add-on is removed and then re-fitted, that zero is maintained
h. There are 2 ways to do this.
The first is to leave the scope mount on the scope and remove the Thunder body and adaptor from the mount. This pretty much guarantees that you won't lose zero but the scope mount does reduce the amount of light getting into the scope plus there is potential for the scope mount to get damaged.
The second and I think better method is as follows:
1. After successfully zeroing the add-on to the scope, switch on reticle 1 (or any reticle you prefer) and adjust it's x and y values so that it is perfectly aligned with your glass scope reticle
2. Remove the complete add-on from the scope (body, adaptor and mount) and then refit it to the scope
3. Manually adjust the position of the add-on such that the add-on reticle and your glass scope reticle are as closely aligned as you can manage and lock the add-on in position
4. Fire another shot at the target to confirm that the add-on is still zeroed
Hope that helps
Cheers
Bruce
A few things to note
The adaptor contains a small magnet and when the adaptor is fitted to the Thunder body, it causes a different version of the software to run
These differences include:
a. The menu now appears in the middle of the display rather than at the left side of the display
b. The "live" area of the display becomes smaller (hence reducing resolution)
c. Some functions are disabled including digital zoom
d. A display calibration function becomes available. This function is accessed by pressing the up and down buttons together and allows the display to be shifted so that the point of impact with and without the add-on can be made the same
When the scope mount is attached to the adaptor and the whole add-on fitted to the scope (using rubber insert that best fills the gap between the outside of the scope and the inside of the scope mount) I suggest you try the following:
(I am assuming your glass scope is already zeroed)
a. Bring up the main menu and go into reticle. Bring up reticle 1 and, with x=0 and y=0, adjust the position of the the add-on such that your scope reticle and the Thunder reticle are as closely aligned as you can get them and then lock the add-on in position and then switch the reticle off
b. Fire a shot at a target at your normal zero range and note the point of impact
c. If the point of impact with the add-on fitted is close enough to the POI without the add-on that you don't feel the need for any adjustment - then it's your lucky day!
d. Assuming that adjustment is needed then it's the add-on display that must be adjusted - do not touch your scope dials
e, Press the up and down buttons together to bring up the display calibration screen. This should show x=0 and y=0. IIRC increasing x moves the display to the right and increasing y moves the display. Basically, adjust the x and y values until the scope reticle is aligned with the point of impact.
f. Fire another shot to check if the adjustment is correct. if not, continue making adjustments to the x and y values until the point of impact is where you are aiming
g. OK, so now we have the add-on zeroed to your scope, but we need to make sure that when the add-on is removed and then re-fitted, that zero is maintained
h. There are 2 ways to do this.
The first is to leave the scope mount on the scope and remove the Thunder body and adaptor from the mount. This pretty much guarantees that you won't lose zero but the scope mount does reduce the amount of light getting into the scope plus there is potential for the scope mount to get damaged.
The second and I think better method is as follows:
1. After successfully zeroing the add-on to the scope, switch on reticle 1 (or any reticle you prefer) and adjust it's x and y values so that it is perfectly aligned with your glass scope reticle
2. Remove the complete add-on from the scope (body, adaptor and mount) and then refit it to the scope
3. Manually adjust the position of the add-on such that the add-on reticle and your glass scope reticle are as closely aligned as you can manage and lock the add-on in position
4. Fire another shot at the target to confirm that the add-on is still zeroed
Hope that helps
Cheers
Bruce
Once again many thanks.
I shall print it off and once I get the adapter will follow your advice.
Many Thanks
Steve.
I shall print it off and once I get the adapter will follow your advice.
Many Thanks
Steve.
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