Hello,
I have been lurking in the NV forum quite a while while I am trying to figure out how not to be a poor. Over X-mas I am renting both a Halo-LR and an MH25. I have some questions about these units in hopes to reduce the learning curve and have the best experience possible.
A little about what I am doing with these. I am trying to accomplish two objectives. 1. To start to get a feel for these two units as somewhat of a try before you buy type deal and 2. to schwack some predators. We are renting the Halo-LR to sort of evaluate how a Halo XRF would work for us. We are also considering a rico alpha assuming a LRF can be put on it and I am interested in some of the clip on options as well. The MH25 is obvious as I think the best way to move around in and out of the forest is with a hybrid helmet setup. The mh25 is what I had access to but will be doing a lot more research to evaluate the nox18 vs mh25 vs whatever the new "micro" is from iray. I have been doing a little night hunting with an old NV scope and also realize that scanning on a gun even with a tripod can be awkward. I have been able to tell critters have come in and hung up in the tree line at 2-300 yards away due to being able to see the shine from their eyes.
I live in Wyo and will be hunting both in and out of the forest. I will have visibility on stands typically from 500 yards and in or so. We have snow on the ground, although not near as much as normal for this time of year. Conditions expected are 12-25 degrees, with 13-24% chance of snow, humidity of 40-60%, and wind of roughly 24 mph predicted every night. The Halo will be setup on an AR tripod mounted and used by one guy to scan and shoot with. While we have two people I will use the mh25 to scan and have an old NV scope I can shoot with if more than one critter comes in under 150-200ish, also tripod mounted. If we don't have two I will take the halo tripod mounted and will also have the mh25.
I don't intend to get into a what to buy post yet, rather get a couple questions answered about these two options. My noob level questions regarding these are:
Starting with the Halo-LR
I will be using it on a TW bump helmet with an external anker battery pack. It is coming with a G24, wilcox folding arm, offset rail adapter, and k-clip. I was told it also has the PVS-14 eye piece. This will be my first experience with head mounted anything.
Thanks!
I have been lurking in the NV forum quite a while while I am trying to figure out how not to be a poor. Over X-mas I am renting both a Halo-LR and an MH25. I have some questions about these units in hopes to reduce the learning curve and have the best experience possible.
A little about what I am doing with these. I am trying to accomplish two objectives. 1. To start to get a feel for these two units as somewhat of a try before you buy type deal and 2. to schwack some predators. We are renting the Halo-LR to sort of evaluate how a Halo XRF would work for us. We are also considering a rico alpha assuming a LRF can be put on it and I am interested in some of the clip on options as well. The MH25 is obvious as I think the best way to move around in and out of the forest is with a hybrid helmet setup. The mh25 is what I had access to but will be doing a lot more research to evaluate the nox18 vs mh25 vs whatever the new "micro" is from iray. I have been doing a little night hunting with an old NV scope and also realize that scanning on a gun even with a tripod can be awkward. I have been able to tell critters have come in and hung up in the tree line at 2-300 yards away due to being able to see the shine from their eyes.
I live in Wyo and will be hunting both in and out of the forest. I will have visibility on stands typically from 500 yards and in or so. We have snow on the ground, although not near as much as normal for this time of year. Conditions expected are 12-25 degrees, with 13-24% chance of snow, humidity of 40-60%, and wind of roughly 24 mph predicted every night. The Halo will be setup on an AR tripod mounted and used by one guy to scan and shoot with. While we have two people I will use the mh25 to scan and have an old NV scope I can shoot with if more than one critter comes in under 150-200ish, also tripod mounted. If we don't have two I will take the halo tripod mounted and will also have the mh25.
I don't intend to get into a what to buy post yet, rather get a couple questions answered about these two options. My noob level questions regarding these are:
Starting with the Halo-LR
- Battery life of the four CR123s in the cold. Tracking this thread it was mentioned battery life in the cold was a complaint. How long should I expect the batteries to last? The renter doesn't supply the USB cord so I won't be able to hook up an external power pack.
- Reticle. The nvision website says the halo-lr has 8 reticle options while the manual says six.
- Are the two mil reticles on the halo-lr? Obviously it probably depends if the rental company has it updated with the latest software if they were added later.
- Do the reticles scale with zoom, i.e. do they behave like a FFP reticle?
- How often, roughly, does the manual calibration need to be done? What sorts of changes in conditions makes you decide to do calibration?
- Are you adjusting ROI at all? The tips sheet says when using as a scanner to leave ROI on full but can be adjusted for better image in the center of the image.
- What palette do most use?
- What other quirks or things should I know about the Halo and setup in general? What are the best practices while scanning with it on the gun?
I will be using it on a TW bump helmet with an external anker battery pack. It is coming with a G24, wilcox folding arm, offset rail adapter, and k-clip. I was told it also has the PVS-14 eye piece. This will be my first experience with head mounted anything.
- How often are you NUC'ing these? Is there a difference in doing the silent NUC vs shuttered NUC?
- For head mounted use, are you changing the sharpness, contrast, or brightness? Should it be run in automatic or manual NUC mode?
- What else do I need to know and are there any quirks to think about? I have seen that some can and cannot navigate with just thermal alone.
Thanks!