New Product Release-Mini Thermal!

[Delta4-3]

Armasight revealed several new products at NOCTOBER this month. One that had excellent feedback was the Q-14 mini thermal monocular. Oh yeah, monocular/tiny weapons sight.

Rather than the small screen that is on many small thermal monoculars, The Q-14 uses a large OLED display.

The image is absolutely awesome for such a small device.

It weighs 8.5oz. and is less than 4" in length. For use on a weapon, you can program 3 separate zero's so that you can move it between rifles without having to re-zero every time. (It's still a good idea to confirm BZO before you go out.) It has several ballistic reticles with hold overs, both MIL and MOA based.

The Q-14 utilizes the FLIR Quark2 17um core, with the options of 336-30Hz or 60Hz, and 640-30Hz or 60Hz.
It runs on a Single CR123A battery and is warranted for use with rechargeable batteries.

Intuitive 3-button control.
Can be head mounted, helmet mounted, weapons mounted, or handheld.
Video out.
Integrated digital Compass.
Made completely in the USA.
F1:1 19mm Germanium lens.
1x Optical magnification.
800x600 Organic LED display.
Digital zoom.
Digital Detail Enhancement.
Active contrast control.
Smart Scene optimization.
Silent Shutterless Non-uniformity Correction.
Fast time to image.
Rated for 7,62x51mm


THE STANDARD KIT (INCLUDED):
Q-14 Thermal Monocular.
Wilcox L4 G24 mount.
Wilcox Three hole shroud.
Crye Precision NightCap.
Operator's Manual.
Quick Reference Guide.
Lens Tissue.
Soft Carry Case.

Optional Kit:

Quick release weapons mount.
2x Optical Doubler
Hard Case.
Wilcox Lanyard.


Q-14 336-30Hz $5,795
Q-14 336-60Hz $5,895
Q-14 640-30Hz $7,795
Q-14 640-60Hz $7,895

There are some other absolutely awesome, innovative accessories for this unit coming this year.
Alright, I know all you guys care about is pictures, here it is.

 

[Brian Shaffer]

And there it is!

 

[Delta4-3]

And there it is!

Yuppers! I had one for 3 whole days....and it was a great 3 days! I'll have a pile of them on hand in the next 30 days.

 

[Hard_ware]

Nice, 32 degree fov for the 640 core, and 16 degree fov for the 336 core.

 

[rgilbert]

Cool I want to play with one!

 

[Chopperdrvr]

Cool I want to play with one!

For a mere 8 grand, you too can play till your hearts content.

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

Cool I want to play with one!

I got to play with the 640 at Noctober it was awesome. I can see doing a dual helmet mount with a pvs-14 and the q-14 for a blended I2 thermal effect!

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

The 336 30hz is one third the price of a MTM, smaller, lighter, and works as a weapons sight. That is greatness.

 

[Delta4-3]

Cool I want to play with one!

I'll actually send you one to play with for free, indefinitely.
















Just send an envelope packed full of cash first!

 

[Delta4-3]

I briefly tested this unit in conjunction with various dual mounts and I^2 monoculars. The first was with a MUM and the Q-14. With a green filter on the thermal, my brain actually blends the images quite nicely with a little adjusting. BUT, I did get a headache after a while. I don't think that would be true for everyone. I have plenty of problems with my right eye, brain, and spine, so it takes very, very little to trigger said brain pain.

The second was two of the thermals on the same dual bridge. That was kind of cool. I doubt I would use it like that in the field, but it was still cool.

I also used the Wilcox dual SkeetIR bridge to run the Q-14 with a PVS-14. I had a lot going on so didn't really get to play with it in that configuration.

Lastly, just to see if it would work, I tried the MOD Armory dual bridge. I use it a lot, even when I run a single 14. With the supplied shoe interface adapter, you can indeed mount both the thermal and a 14 together effectively.

 

[FrankT]

I would like to try one, I wonder if someone will send me a unit for a month to try out, each month a different one?

 

[rgilbert]

I meant I want to T & E one. But hey can blame a guy for trying!

 

[BigRedDog]

't

 

[wigwamitus]

So, with hopes similar to those expressed by some above ... I got a q-14 640(30) a few weeks ago ...

It is a decent handheld thermal monocular. On a decent thermal performance night I can see cows out to 2,200yds ... I could do this with old Apollo 42mm 336 and I can do it with new Zeuse 75mm 640.

But I have been unable to mount it side by side with a pvs-14 on helmet and this was the goal ... very usable handheld monoculars can be had for MUCH less!
Last night I received an email from Armasight telling me they are essentially giving up on trying to help me mount q-14 side by side with PVS-14. I was shocked but not surprised, if that makes sense. I guess I do appreciate the honesty.

So, I could "red neck" it up there with make shift parts and rubber bands and such ... but I could also sell it and pursue a different solution. The options under $10k are:

01 - Q-14 ... which is now being ruled out, at least by the manufacturer.
02 - PAS-29
03 - ATN Odin
04 - IR-Patrol

Will any of these work for my application? That being thermal and i2 together on the helmet?

I've been told by a person that has 01, 02 and 04 and 02 and 04 will work, even on my dual bridge and this person has the same dual bridge. But I've been told by this same person that cows at 800yds by 02 will only happen on a "good" thermal performance night. I do believe that helmet mounting will work for the PAS-29 ... just not sure I want to give up so much thermal performance.

Same person has said IR-Patrol is "almost perfect" on the MA dual bridge side by side with PVS-14. So I interpret that to mean ir-patrol will work for my purpose but with greater than zero issues ... more length and more weight will certainly be among the issues.

ATN Odin 61BW (30) seems to have the same "screw hole" we have on pvs-14 which should mean any pvs-14 mount will work. The reason I ruled out ATN was because I don't know anyone who sells them and hence to meet my price point I would have to step down from 640 to 320 ... though if necessary I'm willing to do that.

Thoughts welcome, though we should probably move the discussion to the "practicing" thread to not clutter up this product announcement thread. I posted my problem statement here, to pull in the older material showing expressed hopes of others that were similar to mine.

 

[JPK]

I have tried a PVS 14 and a Patrol side by side. My advice is to try what Aaron said would work in his post above.

You can use a Patrol or a PVS 14 alternating on the MA bridge, because of the swing away feature, but using them together for a make do "fusion" arrangement doesn't work well.

The Patrol is greater than unity, i.e. 1X, magnification, a PVS 14 is 1x, that is a problem out the gate. In my basement messing around, if there was a strong thermal target then the eye with the Patrol took over, if not the eye with the PVS 14 took over...

A MA bridge will work for most people, but those who wear glasses or for whom there is minimal clearance with a PVS 14 fore and aft with the mount adjusted all of the way out will have some issues.

A Wilcox bridge will also work for most, if the arms are reversed.

I will try to take some photos tomorrow.

JPK

 

[wigwamitus]

Here is the summary of pro and con I am aware of today, please feel free to embelish !!

01 - Q-14 (640)

issues:
01 - Shoe won't fit.
The armasight shoe will not lock into the MA bridge, it is just barely the wrong shape. This could be corrected by carving on the shoe, or by replacing the shoe with a Wilson shoe. So this issue seems to be correctable.
02 - For-eaft alignment.
The q-14 is too far to the rear relative to the pvs-14. This looks correctable also, there is another screw hole, that is probably for the purpose of moving the shoe support when changing q-14 from left eye to right eye.
03 - Verticle alignment.
The q-14 is almost 1 inch lower than the pvs-14 when mounted to the MA bridge. I do not see how this could be corrected given the nature of the provided armasight interface. So this is the show-stopper issue.

Pro: FOV 33 degrees


02 - PAS-29 (320)

Issues:
01 - Detection range reported by user of PAS-29, Q-14 and IR-Patrol is relatively poor compared to the other units.
02 - FOV shown to be 20 degrees, which is less than all other units (01, 03, 04)

Pro:
11 - Known to work with PVS-14 on MA bridge.
12 - Known to work as weapon sight behind EOTECH.

03 - ATN Odin (320)

Issues:
01 - Cost is higher, driving me to have to go down to 320 unit, to stay in my price range.
02 - FOV 24 degrees

Pro:
11 - Form factor seems to match PVS-14 exactly so should mount anywhere a PVS-14 will mount.

04 - IR-Patrol (640)

Issues:
01 - Greater length gives rise to reports of fore/aft alignment problem, though might not be of show stopper severity..
02 - Base magnification reported as 1.2 does not match PVS-14 1.0
03 - Must mount on left on dual mount with PVS-14 due to Patrol battery compartment.
04 - Users report more frequent FFC/NUC required vis-a-vis q-14.


Pro:
11 - Users like image through BAE core.

 

[JPK]

Here are some photos, hope they help. [I tried to post but was rebuffed for more than five photos, so see my second post for the rest.]

This is the Wilcox bridge, BUT - the arms are reversed to move NODs further from the eye. For me, the Wilcox bridge is unusable in it's OEM configuration, even with dual PVS 14's and with my mounts' fully adjusted out.:


Patrol and PVS 14 in Wilcox bridge with Wilcox arms reversed:


An IC/MA bridge provides greater eye relief than the Wilcox, even when the Wilcox arms are reversed.

Patrol and PVS 14 mounted in an IC/MA bridge (I managed to loose the Patrol eye cup last week while using the Patrol to find a deer I killed with a crossbow) :


Patrol and PVS 14 mounted in IC/MA bridge, Norotos RHNO II D mount on TW helmet. In stowed position. Counter weight is surplus magazine pouch with 2 loaded 15 round 6.8SPC II magazines, plus two AA's and two CR 123A's.:

 

[JPK]

In deployed position:


Stowed position, from rear:


The Patrol must mount on the left because of the battery compartment.

I have become so fond of running dual PVS 14's that I prefer to use the Patrol hand held, and just swing the left PVS 14 out of the way to scan with the Patrol.

Also, FWIW, the only time I find 30htz too slow is when I use the Patrol helmet mounted.

JPK

 

[FrankT]

I want a tour of your trophy's!! and the stories!

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

Yes you can play ping pong in my game room...no you can not get mad and throw the paddle and break my stuff.