Thermal "spotting scopes" - the experience thread (1 Viewer)

[bioscope]

Yes, that was a very interesting experience shown with a thermal-scope. The technical side going further, so meantime there are 12-micrometer sensors available. (I'm looking for news most in a forum for hunters)

The post is from twelve months ago, but it described the difference between detecting and identifying of so little birds with so much less heat than a big mammal. But the shown common snipe detecting is awesome, I wished this can happen with Jack snipes… But beside the size of the sensors, also the sensitivity increase - perhaps they can use also in spring-time for birds.

Detecting bats may be successful also with thermal units, which are not state-of-the-art. So look at this vid , but I don't think this is very favorable, because detecting bats is better with bat-detectors. But shurely it looks funny. There are a lot more videos for 'thermal-scopes and bats' on youtube.

You've to decide, if detecting birds and bats is enough for you, because in most cases the identifying of the animals is needed.

thermal greetings
Manfred

 

[wllmspd]

New compact units coming out, have to see what they cost. They look to have higher power than some existing handheld spotters so maybe a bit better for small things at distance.
https://www.pulsar-nv.com/glo/products/33/thermal-imaging-scopes/axion

Peter

 

[Bartgeier]

From what I have read, the Pulsar Helion XPs are the state of the art thermal imaging scopes right now. Looking forward to future devices and prices coming down someday.

I do bat surveys from time to time but with a bat detector only I always feel a bit detached from the action. Yes, I can identify bats with it but don't really know whether they are hunting just outside the reach of the detector or where they are going. So I would like to use a flir to see what the bats are doing, where they hunt or cross roads, where they roost, etc..
Using it for searching Jack Snipes or Mountain Hares would be nice, too.

 

[stuarta21]

Thermal spotter in daily use: some samples

Hi there again,

meanwhile I could try out my new toys during a one week trip along the German North Sea coast. The following posts will show three images each: an overview made by my iPhone first, the view through the thermal imager (green rectangle) second and the last image phonescoped (red circle, Kowa 883 w/ iPhone SE).

First sample: common shelducks on a sunny afternoon. Note the numerous tiny white spots on the thermal image.

Apologies for bumping an old thread, currently looking into possibly getting a Thermal Spotter as an aid to my birdwatching. Appreciate all the images you've shared they've been really helpful, I was wondering how you mounted the Spotter and scope side by side?
Thanks in advance

 

[MiddleRiver]

Very interesting.
What is the sight attached to spotting scope?
thx

 

[Hauksen]

Hi,

What is the sight attached to spotting scope?

A simple and inexpensive red dot sight for airsoft guns etc.

It's virtually the same type I used with the rigs described in this other thread:

Red Dot Sights (Reflex Sights) on Spotting Scopes

Hi everyone, After trying a red dot sight (also known as reflex or reflector sight) on my Nikon ED50A both from a tripod and when held in the hand, I'm pretty enthusiastic about the technology! Here is a picture of my test rig. It combines a "flash grip" mounted between tripod and scope base...

www.birdforum.net

Vollmeise made the adapter shown above from milled aluminium, but was not entirely happy with it as the adapter was not perfectly fixed in rotatation and tended to go out of alignment. My attempts at 3d-printing variations of his concept gave me similar results.

This adapter style works works quite well, but the low sightline is not so good ergonomically, and it's also specific to the quick release type:

Quick release plate adapter to mount a "red dot" (reflector/reflex) sight to a spotting scope

Hi everyone, After designing a couple of different solutions for mounting a reflex sight on a (Kowa 883) spotting scope, I've tried something new now and decided to create a mount that is part of the quick release plate rather than mounted directly to the scope. The challenge with designing a...

www.birdforum.net

I'm still working on improvements

Regards,

Henning

 

[Vollmeise]

Stuarta, the used rig is an arca-swiss compatible rail w/ two
quick release bases mounted on top.

The thermal scope is mounted on a leveling cap (kind of a
flat bowl head), so that You can both sync the center view
of your spotter and thermal once before first use.

Once the center of those views are aligned, You'll easily
find any target detected with Your thermal by looking in
Your scope.

Without that setup, it's often impossible to find
thermal detections with your handheld bins or not aligned
scope, due to camouflage issues.

Cheers)

 

[stuarta21]

Thermal spotter in daily use: some samples

Hi there again,

meanwhile I could try out my new toys during a one week trip along the German North Sea coast. The following posts will show three images each: an overview made by my iPhone first, the view through the thermal imager (green rectangle) second and the last image phonescoped (red circle, Kowa 883 w/ iPhone SE).

First sample: common shelducks on a sunny afternoon. Note the numerous tiny white spots on the thermal image.

What accessories have you used to mount your Thermal side by side with your scope please? I also use a Kowa 883 and would really like to mount my Thermal next to it.

 

[Vollmeise]

What accessories have you used to mount your Thermal side by side with your scope please? I also use a Kowa 883 and would really like to mount my Thermal next to it.

Well, as shown in some of ghe images I mounted both the scope and the thermal imager on an Arca-Swiss mounting rail.

As a fine alignment of the thermal and scope's image center is compulsory, the thermal itself is mounted on a leveling unit.

The alignment is done by centering a landmark with the scope at highest mag first, thightening the tripod's head, loosing the thermal's leveling unit, centering the same landmark with the thermal at highest (digital) mag and last step thightening the leveling unit again.

 

[stuarta21]

Well, as shown in some of ghe images I mounted both the scope and the thermal imager on an Arca-Swiss mounting rail.

As a fine alignment of the thermal and scope's image center is compulsory, the thermal itself is mounted on a leveling unit.

The alignment is done by centering a landmark with the scope at highest mag first, thightening the tripod's head, loosing the thermal's leveling unit, centering the same landmark with the thermal at highest (digital) mag and last step thightening the leveling unit again.

Thanks for the reply. I don't know anything about Arca-Swiss, levelling units etc how long is the mounting rail?

 

[Vollmeise]

Thanks for the reply. I don't know anything about Arca-Swiss, levelling units etc how long is the mounting rail?

the mounting rail is around 30 cm long.

Arca-Swiss is a dove-tail shaped system which enables mounting those parts directly on top of a dedicated tripod header without any further accessories.

Anyway, You can choose any mounting rail You lke.

A leveling device is a kind of very flat ball head that usually is used to quickly and easily align a camera to the horizon.

In my case I use this leveling unit to align the thermal with the scope.

Once you have discovered an object with the thermal camera, you can find it in the center of the image of Your spotting scope.

Without this fine adjustment, it is hardly possible to find the often hidden or well camouflaged bird with the scope at all