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Are Budget Thermal Monoculars Any Good?

I have an ATN OTS-XLT which is a very budget thermal monocular. It is great for Air rifle ranges, & even sensible rimfire ranges, but when I am out with the centre fire rifles it is as good as useless. My mate has a 35mm Hik model & it is like night & day looking through his & mine together. My advice is get the best one you can afford, but for rats that might well be overkill.
 
Sparkshot said:
I had an LE10 and at 12m that wasn't detecting rats that my £60 trail camera was showing clear as day
Click to expand...

Something wrong there, I used an LE10 for rats at over 12m (my LRF only ranged down to 10m) with no problems. It was comfortably spotting rabbits across the width of fields.

The LH15 is in a different league and shows insects flying across the fields, and tiny mice/voles scampering about. But I had no issues with the LE10 as a relatively cheap spotter. Rabbit hiding in the hedgerow circled here ... of course the resolution isn't good enough to know what it is at that distance, but no problem seeing a heat source. As always what you see on-screen looks a bit better than captured images.

1752323531670.png
 
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Chorleyboy said:
Hiya Sparkshot,
That's interesting though slightly sad to hear as the LE10 is/was one of the models i've been looking at.
Rick😜
Click to expand...
Hello,

I read the first line of your opening and thought you'd copied/pasted one of my thoughts! Except I don't have any perms so restricted to shooting critters in my garden. Like you, I found peering through he scope - especially at night time - tiring and I did, at least once, nod off over the rifle! I bought the LE10 as it was within my budget and the LE06 seemed pointless. First couple of evenings, I saw nothing but that could be ratty have a quiet night. One evening, I had I had a trailcam linked to my phone and LE10 to a ten inch tablet. The trailca showed a rat as clear as day, so did the scope but the LE10 was not showing anything.
 
Apart from the cost implication there are other pros and cons with a cheap spotter like the LE10. I have the LE10 and FQ35 and the 10 still gets out for short range rats because that's where it excels.

The advantage of better spotters comes with viewing over distance and target identification, My FQ35 tends to be used at 50 yards plus where being able to identify and place a target in the surrounding scenery in relation to a backstop in the dark would not be possible with the LE10. Better quality also gets you nicer views and a generally more rewarding experience.

On the other hand, none of that really applies to ratting, range is short, your backstop should be obvious and recognition less of an issue apart from the odd mouse you might encounter. The X1 magnification also helps with situational awareness and compensates for the lack of detail to help find the target in the scope. However for best results you need to fine tune the settings and I tend to do it every time because the thermal environment is always changing and cheaper units are less forgiving. Don't tune for best view of the scenery but adjust your brightness and contrast to bring out any hot spots while still retaining some detail in the background. Be prepared for the low refresh rate, it takes time to build the picture so scanning is start, stop, edge to edge of the screen. I find white hot works best with the LE10.

The LE10 is pretty much bottom of the pile at the moment and I don't think there have been any firmware updates for a couple of years so I'd set your budget and have a look at what else is out there, get a taste and you will want something better but the LE10 will do what you are asking of it.
 
JoeHeugh said:
Apart from the cost implication there are other pros and cons with a cheap spotter like the LE10. I have the LE10 and FQ35 and the 10 still gets out for short range rats because that's where it excels.

The advantage of better spotters comes with viewing over distance and target identification, My FQ35 tends to be used at 50 yards plus where being able to identify and place a target in the surrounding scenery in relation to a backstop in the dark would not be possible with the LE10. Better quality also gets you nicer views and a generally more rewarding experience.

On the other hand, none of that really applies to ratting, range is short, your backstop should be obvious and recognition less of an issue apart from the odd mouse you might encounter. The X1 magnification also helps with situational awareness and compensates for the lack of detail to help find the target in the scope. However for best results you need to fine tune the settings and I tend to do it every time because the thermal environment is always changing and cheaper units are less forgiving. Don't tune for best view of the scenery but adjust your brightness and contrast to bring out any hot spots while still retaining some detail in the background. Be prepared for the low refresh rate, it takes time to build the picture so scanning is start, stop, edge to edge of the screen. I find white hot works best with the LE10.

The LE10 is pretty much bottom of the pile at the moment and I don't think there have been any firmware updates for a couple of years so I'd set your budget and have a look at what else is out there, get a taste and you will want something better but the LE10 will do what you are asking of it.
Click to expand...

Hiya Joe,
Thanks for a very informative post mate.
The refresh rate does seem to be something to bear in mind at the budget end of thermals.
Rick😜
 
BTB 500 said:
Something wrong there, I used an LE10 for rats at over 12m (my LRF only ranged down to 10m) with no problems. It was comfortably spotting rabbits across the width of fields.

The LH15 is in a different league and shows insects flying across the fields, and tiny mice/voles scampering about. But I had no issues with the LE10 as a relatively cheap spotter. Rabbit hiding in the hedgerow circled here ... of course the resolution isn't good enough to know what it is at that distance, but no problem seeing a heat source. As always what you see on-screen looks a bit better than captured images.

View attachment 766937
Click to expand...
it could be a fresh horse crap lol
 
I'd spend £800 minimum on a thermal to get something half decent and usable...

Pixfra offer some good value entry level models, we are premium dealers so can offer decent deals and advice on these units.. just drop me a message

www.blackwoodoutdoors.co.uk

Pixfra Thermal Imaging & Night Vision • Blackwood Outdoors

Pixfra thermal and night vision specialises in thermal monoculars and scopes, for applications that include, fieldsports, wildlife and the ecology sector.
www.blackwoodoutdoors.co.uk www.blackwoodoutdoors.co.uk
 
Just my thoughts - think about where you're going to be using thermal and for what. What you can use effectively in a barn will be a lot cheaper/lower spec than what would be useful in large open areas
All thermal has some of the same limitations -
if it's misty or has been raining for a while, you will still spot quarry due to the heat difference - what you may not see is any surrounding detail as the temperature of everything else is the same - not really an issue with a spotter, but with a sight where you need to identify your surroundings, what's behind your target and range it can be tricky

My first thermal was/is a HikMicro LC06 the smallest, cheapest Hik available.

Pros
very wide field of view - effectively 1 - 1 with your eye so you can scan a large area quickly
lens is so small no focus to worry about
does what it says - it spots things well
Cons
not very sharp picture - even under ideal conditions appears grainy
small sensor

at most distances (I've detected rabbits at 100m with it) identification is more a case of knowing how different animals move, especially on smaller ones - i.e. until they move a hedgehog and a rabbit squatted down will both look similar - a glowing blob
View attachment 768484
rat at 8yds - damp conditions

View attachment 768487
squirrels at ~50yds
View attachment 768488
rabbits at 20 - 30yds

Last year I purchased a HikMicro Thunder 2.0 19mm sight just after launch
this was purchased mainly to help deal with very skittish rats in the garden - with the 6mm spotter I'd see a rat, raise the rifle with NV and it 50% of the time it was gone, wait 10 min on the NV, no show back to thermal and it would come back out, pick up rifle again....rinse and repeat, very frustrating.

Much sharper picture and range but considerably smaller field of view (about 2.5x),, but back to scanning and shooting with a rifle (it does make a very good spotter if not on the rifle) and a more sensitive sensor - you can see heat reflecting off animals and where they've been sat. Need to focus for sharp picture

you can see the heat of the approaching rat and it reflecting in this video before it appears
View attachment 768490
rat at the same 8yds - similar conditions - misty and damp
View attachment 768491

same range - better conditions
View attachment 768496
rabbits 70 -80yds - not quite focused (and not on rifle)

And finally at the weekend I picked up a second hand Guide TrackIR 50mm spotter - it's a couple of years older than the Hiks with a larger but slightly less sensitive sensor - not had chance to do much yet. A smaller again field of view and again need to focus - quick comparison between the Hik 19mm and it both at 25yds - £400 2nd hand
View attachment 768500
Hik
View attachment 768501

Guide

One thing to bear in mind is that the output video never looks as good/sharp as what you see through the scope/spotter.

So what would I change ? weirdly probably the Hik 19mm scope - but that would only be to a model that had a built in LRF (with or without BC) - it's plenty for sub 12 and rimmie but with sub 12 where ranging is all important, the flat digital screen has the same issues as digital NV scopes in the dark (you are looking at flat screen at your aim point with few reference points between you and target) compounded with thermal's limitations based on conditions. If I'd bought it as a spotter I probably wouldn't have picked up the Guide (although at the price it was a bargain)

One thing though I won't get rid of is the little 6mm, it's light and I can scan way quicker without having to worry about focusing - and if you're shooting with NV all you need to know is where the little buggers are
 
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Hiya
stevew71 said:
Just my thoughts - think about where you're going to be using thermal and for what. What you can use effectively in a barn will be a lot cheaper/lower spec than what would be useful in large open areas
All thermal has some of the same limitations -
if it's misty or has been raining for a while, you will still spot quarry due to the heat difference - what you may not see is any surrounding detail as the temperature of everything else is the same - not really an issue with a spotter, but with a sight where you need to identify your surroundings, what's behind your target and range it can be tricky

My first thermal was/is a HikMicro LC06 the smallest, cheapest Hik available.

Pros
very wide field of view - effectively 1 - 1 with your eye so you can scan a large area quickly
lens is so small no focus to worry about
does what it says - it spots things well
Cons
not very sharp picture - even under ideal conditions appears grainy
small sensor

at most distances (I've detected rabbits at 100m with it) identification is more a case of knowing how different animals move, especially on smaller ones - i.e. until they move a hedgehog and a rabbit squatted down will both look similar - a glowing blob
View attachment 768484
rat at 8yds - damp conditions

View attachment 768487
squirrels at ~50yds
View attachment 768488
rabbits at 20 - 30yds

Last year I purchased a HikMicro Thunder 2.0 19mm sight just after launch
this was purchased mainly to help deal with very skittish rats in the garden - with the 6mm spotter I'd see a rat, raise the rifle with NV and it 50% of the time it was gone, wait 10 min on the NV, no show back to thermal and it would come back out, pick up rifle again....rinse and repeat, very frustrating.

Much sharper picture and range but considerably smaller field of view (about 2.5x),, but back to scanning and shooting with a rifle (it does make a very good spotter if not on the rifle) and a more sensitive sensor - you can see heat reflecting off animals and where they've been sat. Need to focus for sharp picture

you can see the heat of the approaching rat and it reflecting in this video before it appears
View attachment 768490
rat at the same 8yds - similar conditions - misty and damp
View attachment 768491

same range - better conditions
View attachment 768496
rabbits 70 -80yds - not quite focused (and not on rifle)

And finally at the weekend I picked up a second hand Guide TrackIR 50mm spotter - it's a couple of years older than the Hiks with a larger but slightly less sensitive sensor - not had chance to do much yet. A smaller again field of view and again need to focus - quick comparison between the Hik 19mm and it both at 25yds - £400 2nd hand
View attachment 768500
Hik
View attachment 768501

Guide

One thing to bear in mind is that the output video never looks as good/sharp as what you see through the scope/spotter.

So what would I change ? weirdly probably the Hik 19mm scope - but that would only be to a model that had a built in LRF (with or without BC) - it's plenty for sub 12 and rimmie but with sub 12 where ranging is all important, the flat digital screen has the same issues as digital NV scopes in the dark (you are looking at flat screen at your aim point with few reference points between you and target) compounded with thermal's limitations based on conditions. If I'd bought it as a spotter I probably wouldn't have picked up the Guide (although at the price it was a bargain)

One thing though I won't get rid of is the little 6mm, it's light and I can scan way quicker without having to worry about focusing - and if you're shooting with NV all you need to know is where the little buggers are
Click to expand...
Hiya Steve,
Thanks for the input mate.
My thermal will only be for locating rats in & around barns, max 25 yards but usually a lot closer ie 5 to 10 yards. I've a Sytong ir add on on my set up for administering the coupe de grace!
Rick😜
 
Chorleyboy said:
Hiya

Hiya Steve,
Thanks for the input mate.
My thermal will only be for locating rats in & around barns, max 25 yards but usually a lot closer ie 5 to 10 yards. I've a Sytong ir add on on my set up for administering the coupe de grace!
Rick😜
Click to expand...
think you'll find the 10mm absolutely fine for that - and it should still give you a pretty decent field of view and that model having a better sensor (over 50% better) you will get better definition than my 6mm
 
Quick update -
this morning weather has been 'less than ideal' for thermal - constant steady rain so I thought I'd do a side by side comparison with all 3.
Video is at 25yds ans I enlisted the help of a very obliging rat who kept coming back every couple of minutes so all 3 thermal videos are within a few minutes of each other.....
View attachment 769828
View attachment 769829
View attachment 769830

so even the 6mm picked up ratty in adverse conditions at 25yds fine - it didn't see the sparrows in the bushes the other two did though (a pigeon was visible on it but only as I knew where it was by eye - it's shape on the shed roof was visible but not as a 'hot spot' - it appeared the same temperature as the shed roof. This is due to it's lower spec sensor.
 
stevew71 said:
Quick update -
this morning weather has been 'less than ideal' for thermal - constant steady rain so I thought I'd do a side by side comparison with all 3.
Video is at 25yds ans I enlisted the help of a very obliging rat who kept coming back every couple of minutes so all 3 thermal videos are within a few minutes of each other.....
View attachment 769828
View attachment 769829
View attachment 769830

so even the 6mm picked up ratty in adverse conditions at 25yds fine - it didn't see the sparrows in the bushes the other two did though (a pigeon was visible on it but only as I knew where it was by eye - it's shape on the shed roof was visible but not as a 'hot spot' - it appeared the same temperature as the shed roof. This is due to it's lower spec sensor.
Click to expand...
the first is obviously the 6mm what are the next two?
 




More cheap thermal paid a penny under £200 with 12 months warranty 😂, infiray affo13
Sold my hik pro 15 as this suits my needs
 
Just on the subject of thermal sensors, obviously the resolution in pixels is important but the NETD rating plays a big part too. This is the sensitivity i.e. what difference in temperature it can detect - the lower the figure the clearer and more detailed the image will be, particularly if there's mist or rain. So look for this in the specs. when comparing devices.

Also ... it's quite common for a rage of spotters to share sensors. For example the Hik LH15, 19 & 25 all have *exactly* the same sensor:

1752748691970.webp


The difference is just the lens - they have a progressively higher magnification and narrower FOV.
 
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