Night Vision New FLIR -The RS Dedicated Thermal Weapon Scope- 60mm units just arrived!

Sorry guys, i changed it to private for the time being as the RS-64 that I was using for the video is a preproduction original prototype, while the RS32 I used is an actual commercial model.

The video drivers for the two systems are different (the new production models have newer improved video drivers) and the output through the video channel out to the DVR is different for the different brightness and presets, so I am going to have to get a newer production RS64 model to be able to give them an adequate comparison when both are setup exactly the same way.

I was very impressed with the RS32-35mm though, it is a strong unit and I took out my old mil-spec FLIR GS T-50 with the older 25 micron core and 60mm lens to compare side by side to it and they match up very well out to 250 yards, covering my entire stand was a piece of cake with both units.

The RS32 has a bit lower resolution and would make for a more difficult positive ID out past 225 yards, but as far as targeting goes, not a problem. Very nice unit for the bucks IMHO.
 
Got mine today, would have had it Saturday but was gone to a match. Having read and kept up with this thread it was pretty easy to set the RS-64 up. I did read all through the manual while it was charging. For the time being it will be on a 22LR upper so I can rid myself of some skunks and Dillo's, when the bigger game is in the offing it will go on a 6 mm RAT AR.

I kind of cheated on the zeroing as the rifle has a laser so adjusted to the offset of the laser, didn't catch that the adjustment is so course at 1X so took 4 shots instead of the 1 or 2 it could have been. Also shot some steel with it as it was in the sun and showed up very well. Have no excuse to miss now so the pressure is on.

Thank you SkyPup for all your posts and info, it was very helpful! Made my life a lot easier.

Keith
 
Recieved my RS64-35 yesterday and was abele to sight it in today. Had some 4 inch steel gongs on my range and heated them with a propane torch since I did not have any hand warders. Switched my laser from IR to green and put in on a gong then brought RS to co-witness. Got pretty close but like stated above the adjustments move the scope a lot. Seemed like about an inch per click at 4 power zoom but didn't mess with it much as it was on. No trouble hitting gongs every shot at 100 yards. Will be a welcome change from the Lazer for more precise shots with the zoom. Have been shooting hogs this week with my wife spotting with the FLIR scout PS32, she always sees more hogs than I do with all the weeds growing right now. Have a feeder across a lake at my house at about 250 yards full of corn and strawberry jello. It has a driveway alarm to let me know when I have visitors. Was to far for the Lazer for me but I think this will work well.
 
Got my first varmint with the RS-64-35mm, walked around the yard just getting used to running stuff in the dark (really not very dark with a full moon). While just scanning from the patio it picked up an Opossum over 200 yd. away maybe 250 coming up the hedge to eat cat food. Kept trying to pick it up with the NV and couldn't until it was within 50 yd. It was a young one about half grown. Not bad got first kill with it in less than 12 hr. from time it was delivered.
Had gloves on and had no problems running controls. Couple more nights of practice and it will be like an old friend.
 
Good to hear all the positive feedback this scope is producing. We knew it was solid piece of kit for its price.

The Vid cables will be complete at the end of the month we're told and we will send these out free of charge to all our customers.

Thanks guys.

Vic
 
Got a nice pic of a deer out of the RS32-35mm:

RS32%2035%20Deer2.jpg
 
I was just out in the backyard filming with the RS64-35 and RS32-35 to compare them when this buck walked up on me, he's already got little nubs for his horns growing back in, usually 8-10 show up each night...they usually don't mind me since I don't hunt deer anymore.
 
Sorry guys, i changed it to private for the time being as the RS-64 that I was using for the video is a preproduction original prototype, while the RS32 I used is an actual commercial model.

The video drivers for the two systems are different (the new production models have newer improved video drivers) and the output through the video channel out to the DVR is different for the different brightness and presets, so I am going to have to get a newer production RS64 model to be able to give them an adequate comparison when both are setup exactly the same way.

I was very impressed with the RS32-35mm though, it is a strong unit and I took out my old mil-spec FLIR GS T-50 with the older 25 micron core and 60mm lens to compare side by side to it and they match up very well out to 250 yards, covering my entire stand was a piece of cake with both units.

The RS32 has a bit lower resolution and would make for a more difficult positive ID out past 225 yards, but as far as targeting goes, not a problem. Very nice unit for the bucks IMHO.




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Shot my first hogs with the FLIR RS64-35 last night. First encounter was a large boar comings across a big field where I have a feeder. Positioned myself with the wind in my face and waited. He got downwind of the feeder and spooked, probably smelled blood from hog I shot 2 nights ago. I took several long range running shots but did not connect that I could tell. It became apparent as SkyPup had mentioned that I needed a suppressor wrap, heat messed up image after several shots. Found another group in a wheat field and managed to get 2, first one dropped, but second one took 2 shots as he had ran off a ways at sound of first shot. It is amazing how quick you can scan and pick up other animals for follow up shots. I had it on red or insta alert and they really jump out at you. Not quite sure about the adjustments on scope yet, on 8x zoom 1 adjustment seems to move the POI about 1 1/2 inches. The chart that was posted indicated at 1X Zoom would move 1.67 in, at 2X 0.84 in, at 4X 0.42 in.. Not sure I understand this a normal scope moves POI same at any magnification. What I get from the chart is at a higher magnification you could make smaller adjustments but that does not seem to be the case, from me sighting in at 4X, or 8X seems like I am getting the 1.67 in adjustment.
 
It is a digital scope and not an optical scope, therefore adjustments can only be in relation to the individual pixel size.

Each "click" can be no smaller than a pixel in size and a pixel size in MOA will depend on the magnification of the system. This is in essence a digital device and not an analog optical scope.

Here is where I got my suppressor thermal mirage cover, works great, interior is Nomex like the race car drivers suits to be flame resistant.

https://www.riflesonly.com/pro-shop/tactical-gear/tab-sas-suppressor-anti-mirage-shield.html
 
This is why I changed it to private for now.��


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I got to see the video before it went private. The video with the 64 looked really good, given the humidity that night. I played around with my thermals that night too. The LWTS image was good, but the MUM had a little problem with the humidity. Thanks for sharing.
 
Thanks for your help SkyPup, does this mean I can make a smaller adjustment by being at 4X zoom than by being at 1X zoom? I was getting about 1 1/2 in movement in 3 shot groups with a 1 adjustment at 8X zoom, would like to fine tune it.
 
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Yes RS64-35, not doing very good posting photos but here is a sight in photo. First photo I drew in second group approximately to measure, second photo shows second group. Had scope at 8X zoom shot 1st 3 shot group, moved scope 1 adjustment right 1 adjustment up. This moved group about the 1.67 right and at least that much up. Would have thought would have been a smaller move at this level of zoom. This was to far off so moved back to original settings and went hunting. Chart does not go to 8X zoom but would have thought it would be an even smaller adjustment. Will have to mess with some more but seemed like original zeroing at 4X also gave me about the same movement. Love the scope for the pigs and thanks for the tip on the wrap going to go measure my cans and order some, big help not to have to figure this out from scratch.
 
Finally got the skunk that has been lurking around the farm the past month or so. Came across an open field headed for a hedge row, when he got in range hammered on him with the 22, first shot must have been to the head (where I was aiming) as no stink. Was using the instalert 1 and picked him up coming across the field as soon as I scanned by him, around 75 to 100 yds. Been after this particular varmint for a while.
 
I got my 1.1-8. Im very much satisfied with the quality of the image. Externally the build quality seems top notch.


If I were to change one thing about this device it would be the view of the image (not the image itself). The screen seems tiny and far away. Here is an image taken holding my camera(phone) right up to the eyepiece:


Cropped phone pic of the image of my dog (daytime!)
 
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Will the view from the R32 2.25-9 in 1x digital zoom be the same as the R64 1.1-9 in 2x digital zoom? Other than the increased field of view (major upgrade), I am trying to justify the R64 vs the R32. I like a little magnification.

I just want to make sure I understand the specs before I buy. Thanks.

John
 
hey skypup,
I've been following your posts on here and at predator masters. I got the flir rs 32 35mm based on what i saw. I've had a real hard time getting any use out of it due to the automatic image correction feature. It really screws up the image on anything besides a flat homogenous background. looking at hills and rises or even in trees I get lots of variable white out, mostly oversaturation of the images. I've called customer support, and tech support at flir, but not really gotten anywhere. I love the hardware, the sensor and optics are well worth the money to me, but if I can't get a way to freeze the gain or control it manually I'm gonna have to send it back and ask for a refund. I am even willing to get into the software myself, but they tell me it is proprietary. I would sign a legal non-compete or whatever, I just need to be able to shut off that poorly functioning image autocorrect feature. and yes, I've tried all three pre-set scenes. I've tried talking to angelo but i reckon he is busy at the moment, I wonder if you can get somebody's ear and get that bit of code moved to a manual gain or able to freeze it, i'm sure it's an easy fix just a software tweak but it's killing the scope which is really an awesome piece of kit from a hardware perspective.
 
and just to say one more thing, the autocorrect feature DOES work really well, but only if I have a live or hot target that occupies about 50% of the screen, and this means something like a coyote has to be about 60feet away to get the feature to work correctly. scanning ridges, sage and trees oversaturate and cause dogs to disappear in all that visual white noise. that even happens on flat ground at about 100 yards or so.
 
I'd have to talk to you about it, thermal does not work in all situations at all times, but works in a majority of situations most of the time, sometimes you have to wait later on into the night for things to cool down depending on what time of the year it is and what the environmental conditions are.

Your best bet is to try using the Preset #2:


The Current Pre-sets change the Automatic Gain Control Region Of Interest; for S1, S2 & S3 they have distinct Regions of Interest.

The AGC is applied over the Region of Interest, ignoring any heat signatures (like the sky) outside of this area when AGC is calculated.





RSRegions_zpsfd80bb30.jpg



You can perform a manual NUNC of the foal array using the ON/OFF button momentarily to lock it in.
 
is the nunc the shutter down calibration for ambient conditions?

if so, will that also lock in the agc settings? that's what i'm really after.
im in the idaho foothills and mountains, very good conditions for flir, it always cools off at night and is dry. thats why i left the swamp down in lower alabama. to find cool and dry.
 
Yeah, NUNC is the focal array calibration, it is automatic on the RS series scopes, however you can perform a manual one yourself whenever you feel like it by pressing down the ON/OFF switch momentarily.

If you use the PreSet #2 and put your target in the center of the crosshairs and perform a manual NUNC, that will lock it on.
 
will give that a try tonite. i'm in nc this week, so conditions are a little different than back in idaho, but the lockin should work anyway. thanks alot for the tip. btw i used to BAC recombineer dna viruses too. more fun than a barrel of thermals and a two wheel bike.
 
I too have found whiteout to be an issue depending on atmospheric conditions, but I've found S2 to be the most "whiteout-prone" of all the settings. S3 seems to work well the majority of the time, but I do try to be sensitive to the pitch of the unit to let it get a good "read" on target.


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Will the view from the R32 2.25-9 in 1x digital zoom be the same as the R64 1.1-9 in 2x digital zoom? Other than the increased field of view (major upgrade), I am trying to justify the R64 vs the R32. I like a little magnification.

I just want to make sure I understand the specs before I buy. Thanks.

John

Hi John, sorry I missed this in the shuffle.

Yes, when on 2x E-zoom the RS R64 1.1-9 will be identical to the R32 2.25-9, both will have a FOV of 9* and 320X240 resolution. Thanks John.

Vic
 
FLIR RS scope firmware upgrades are located here for all of you who own RS scopes:

Personal Vision Resources

Bookmark this site for future upgrades too...


Ver 01.17.00 May 06 2014

1. Fixed bug that prevented RS24 models from adjusting zero.
2. Modified algorithm to support equal MOA adjustments for a specific model.
3. Lowered continuous zoom speed to Improve lag between zoom and reticle position update.
 
FLIR RS scope firmware upgrades are located here for all of you who own RS scopes:

Personal Vision Resources

Bookmark this site for future upgrades too...


Ver 01.17.00 May 06 2014

1. Fixed bug that prevented RS24 models from adjusting zero.
2. Modified algorithm to support equal MOA adjustments for a specific model.
3. Lowered continuous zoom speed to Improve lag between zoom and reticle position update.

This is why we're proud to be a major distributor for the FLIR line and why we will continue to recommend this FLIR product due to their continued customer support and constantly improving their product line. This is now the 4th software improvement in just a few months of product release. I am told officially these updates will continue based on real world feedback from the end users. Thanks guys.

Vic
 
Well been playing with these things for a few weeks now, getting ready for a coyote hunt in TN in the next few days. Here are my 2-centavos.

1. Packaging is top notch. Ended up getting 3 of the 35mm 640 1-9 units. One of the units came with a slight imperfection in the rear ocular glass. FLIR is sending out a replacement and letting me use the one in hand until it arrives. So, I am pretty impressed with the customer support. Video cables are still on hold, but I can live without them for now i guess. Unit size and build is also impressive.

2. Charge takes a few hours or so. Have been goofing with them off and on for a few weeks now and just topped them off tonight. Power saving function works great and is a must have. I really do not think an external battery is needed unless you plan on doing some 8 hours stake outs. Unit makes no noise except for the reset now and then which is a click.

3. Larue mount is also top notch. So far I have one unit on a scar 17s and the others on a pair of 300 blackout rifles. 300 blackout doesnt seem to affect the video. 308 jogged it a couple times while in the lead sled. Hand held seemed to work just fine. Repeatable zero works very well. All 3 units were only slightly off at 100 meters. Very impressed with that. Horizontal and gertical adjustments seemed to affect each other slightly when sighting them in. The scope really isnt meant for fine adjustments. The hand warmer 2x4" seemed to be obtainable at 100 meters with no problems. Also found that duct tape reflects plenty of heat on warm targets, so the hand warmers really were not needed in florida weather.

4. For the money I do believe that the 35mm 640 1-9 is the unit to go with. The 1x and 2x resolutions are very clear and crisp. Focal distance in 1x should be at least 15-feet. Used the unit to find ac ducting leaks in my house the other night. So that helps. Spying on the wife at night requires a little more distance than im used to with night vision. :) 2x in 340 res is very nice and used the most. So the 340 res 1x units are prob worth the cash if your trying to save a little. 4x still works pretty well but starts to get grainy. Still can identify animals and bipeds no prob. 8x is def the units end point. Used this for sighting in at 100 meters with no issues. Pixel size is still okay but at distances of 200 to 400 meters may be to much. At the 640 and 340 res the unit has no issues detecting animals and bipeds at 500 meters. Will have more info later this week at further distances. If anyone is trying to touch out past 500 meters the adjustable 640 may be the ticket. Still, not really needed IMHO since you have xray vision and can get pretty close.

5. Eye cup works pretty well for day time ops. Plenty of light in the scope. Eye cup is needed in day time unless you want a black eye from recoil. Picture has a little distance but is not noticed after a few hours on the scope. Buttons are also nice. Menu function is fast and easy to use. Reticles are great. Would love to see an option for custom ballistic drops as this is a full digital scope and should be easy to do. The reticle off function is also nice for hand held spotting. Goofed with the function set s1 s2 and s3. All work very well different uses.

6. Pallet settings are a must. White/black hot are great for regular use. The magenta and yellow bring out fine details in everything and are great for scanning tree lines and brush where the others tend to wash. The insta settings are amazing and are used the most for game and picking up hidden critters. Everyone i show these settings to are amazed at the level of detail and how critters stand out. Even found a few in the back yard that i didnt know were there all the tine. I finally have a way to spot the wipper wills now that keep me awake at night. Moles are now gone as well thanks to the insta setting and my suppressed 22.

7. My next purchase will be a 32 1.5 to 5 unit as it is most likely the budget unit and in florida will be the most used in the 1x feature with the occasional zoom. 4k goes a long way for this scope. Is the extra 2.5k worth the next size up? Yes, if you are going to use the scope at distance. But i truly feel that both can do the same job in the 50 to 400 meter kill zone. Night vision is a must for the spotters. All 3 FLIR rifles are equipped with PEQ units to help the spotter identify the targets at distance. Makes NV kills very easy with the IR splash.

8. I havent had any can heat issues yet. Started using a wrap to see if it made a difference, but for hunting wasnt really an issue. Do get some minor heat signature in 1x but with the s2 setting it nixes it pretty well.


If anyone is close near the Ocala area and is on the fence shoot me a PM and ill try to meet up with you to seal the deal. Believe me once you see it your done, so beware. Im really not a picture guy, but ill see if i can bring something back from the hunt this week. I really think ill be coming back with zero units as deep pockets and toys dont last long around my friends. So ill be pushing yet another order next week some time. Hope this helps someone out.

Regards,

Jesse James
 
Nice comprehensive review, I am in HogTown just north of you, be sure to bring a ThermaCell and 100% DEET with ya when you nail some porkers!

I like the RS64-35 the best for what we do but the RS32-35 is a close second if price if of primary concern.....

BTW, one of the FWC game officers that we work with told me there are hogs on the tussock islands floating out in the middle of Orange Lake now, gotta get some before the gators do!!!

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flir superior customer service

Just wanted to post an update, been talking to FLIR and they have taken my input very seriously, and are working on code that will render white-out AGC (auto gain correction) issues a thing of the past. I am very impressed with the level of customer support and their work on continuous product improvement. I'm just a single end user, they spent way more time on me and were way more accessible than they needed to be. This is the kind of american company I want to give my money to, and support innovation. Amazing tools that will keep getting better.
 
Just wanted to post an update, been talking to FLIR and they have taken my input very seriously, and are working on code that will render white-out AGC (auto gain correction) issues a thing of the past. I am very impressed with the level of customer support and their work on continuous product improvement. I'm just a single end user, they spent way more time on me and were way more accessible than they needed to be. This is the kind of american company I want to give my money to, and support innovation. Amazing tools that will keep getting better.

I cannot agree with you more on the customer service and a true American company who listens to the end user. Their level of commitment will continue with more product lines and continued outstanding CS is impressive.

Vic
 
Well, got back from a rather large coyote hunt last week and thought I would add to my previous comments in regards to the scopes. Overall, we had a great weekend with numerous coyote kills. The majority of the kills were taken with rifles mounted with the FLIR's. As stated before, I have a unit that has a slight imperfection on its ocular lense and it is being replaced with a new unit compliments of FLIR. The unit in question also is slightly out of focus past 75-feet or so and will no doubt be corrected with the swap out. Since the location of our hunts had engagement distances from 50 to out past 800 yards we were able to see the full abilities of this system in action. Weather was quite crappy the first two nights and was extremely humid. However, the scopes performed to our expectations. Here is what we have compiled from the hunt as stated below:

1. Performance in rain and extreme humidity drastically cut down the performance of the units while in white and black hot modes. This is where the Insta settings came in very handy and saved the day (Or Night). Targets were instantly identified with a nice red dot and allowed the hunt to continue.

2. On a humid night with targets at 300-meters it became slightly difficult to distinguish coyotes from other small four legged creatures, which is hard enough with night vision. However, night vision is a must to allow for proper target identification. Our sponsor owns a fairly large cattle ranch and was having very large issues with coyotes hunting and killing his infant deer, horses, and cattle. The coyotes were very bold and would stalk very close to the infants making it difficult to confidently take kill shots. Because no one wants to make a bad call on a shot, our rule was to have three hunters confirm the shot before taking it. This worked excellent and made for some great shots. To the untrained eye in humid situations I would suggest engagements within 150 to 250 meters, where these scopes shine.

3. On a clear night with close to no humidity the scopes performed excellent and target identification was drastically improved. We were able to make one shot at 175-meters through light brush as a coyote bounced between trees. The detail at this distance was unreal and Insta settings were used the majority of the night for successful engagements. As the night progressed less and less of us utilized the night vision and found ourselves loaning out our FLIR equipped rifles to become expensive night vision toting caddy's. And believe me there were some very nice NV setups out there. Trades were offered on numerous occasions.

4. Most shots were taken at 2x or 4x-Zoom on the 64-units. This aligns with my thought that both of the 32-units would make great budget scopes for this sort of shooting. 8x-zoom was used now and then, but it was more like playing Wolfenstien-3D at that level. I even dabbled with the idea of trading the blemished 64-unit with 2 of the 19mm 32 units to have more eyes on the ground. But the 64-unit at 4x resolution is hard to beat. Still a tough purchase call, but in my opinion the 32-unit may be the way to go here in Florida.

Will update as time goes on. Good luck on your purchases. These are very hard toys to put down.

Jesse James
 
The 32-35mm units will perform almost to the same range as the 64-35mm units, but with smaller FOV and less ID capacity, however for shooting here in Florida both of them work very well.

The 32-19mm unit you mentioned would have about 1/2 the shooting range of the above mentioned instruments.
 
I've been on a couple of hunts with my RS32 2.5x's and they performed perfect. Was able to rig up the external battery to it and hunt all night not having to worry about batteries! Here are some pix of my setups and some kills.

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To all our valued customers who ordered the FLIR RS scopes from us... The long awaited video cables have arrived to TNVC. We will begin to ship these cables to each of you whom have ordered. You do not have to do anything, we are shipping these free to you all. Based on your shipping addy, you will probably be receiving these cables late this week or early next week.

Thank you for all your orders and patience!


Vic

20140602_105245_resized_zps8571b7b0.jpg
 
here is a pic out of the tube. I bought them for work (LEO) and it has been a game changer at night. The 60hz refresh rate makes it easy to scan on the move so I know what Im looking at when I arrive on scene.
 
FLIR is currently working on a sub-pixel zeroing firmware upgrade to the RS series scopes that is a major improvement in accuracy above and beyond what is currently available. I will post link to the upgrade when it is soon finalized....
 
Next firmware upgrade will be to improve image quality.

Another is going to be multiple reticule zero presets.

Certain upgrades have to be performed first in order for others to be enhanced later on down the line.....