Any of you guys use this or the 19 in the field? Just ordered a 38A from Aaron. From his testing and comments they sound like really nice units for the price. Maybe he'll chime in and throw in his $.02. Hopefully I'll have it by the end of next week.
Pulsar hd38a
- Thread starter Taco
- Start date
Here is a little summary video I made when I had a chance to use the HD38s last year.
Overall I found it to be a very capable spotting scope, though I am not sure if they are rugged enough for the likes of me.
Overall I found it to be a very capable spotting scope, though I am not sure if they are rugged enough for the likes of me.
Sorry Taco, that was over a year ago and I don't recall the specifics.
Hunt TXHogs
LSB Member
Taco -
The S series has an OLED screen and the A series has an LCD screen.
This is simply a matter of choice between higher resolution of the near eye display between the two models.
I'm a HD50a owner after moving up from the HD38s and would say that I'm happy with either screen technology.
HTXH
The S series has an OLED screen and the A series has an LCD screen.
This is simply a matter of choice between higher resolution of the near eye display between the two models.
I'm a HD50a owner after moving up from the HD38s and would say that I'm happy with either screen technology.
HTXH
Thanks, Ben!
Lancer
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I picked up my 19A from the people holding it hostage at the Post Office yesterday. We hunted last night with it and even though we only saw a couple hogs that we couldn't shoot, it was amazing. I'll certainly offer up that i'm no expert having only looked through 1-x320 monocular and 1- Zues scope but i could easily identify anything i saw. I really liked the adjustable brightness and contrast. I'm super happy with the price and performance, i think it will be even better once the temps drop and the ground isn't super-heated. And Aaron was great to deal with! Sorry i have no way to record video...
Bob Abbott
LSB Member
Hi guys first post here...Ben told me about the forum. While I have no experience with other thermal units I can say that I am blown away with the HD38a. It's smaller and lighter than what I expected and that was a pleasant surprise as I plan on using it for scanning. I have a Pulsar N850 mounted on my rifle. No hogs here in Michigan but I have plenty of coyotes and hunt primarily at night. I should be having a lot of footage from both the HD38a and my N850.
Have fun and shoot straight!
Bob
Have fun and shoot straight!
Bob
Bob Abbott
LSB Member
Thanks guys looks like the weather this weekend here will be decent so I am due to get in some night hunting.
Picked up the pulsar hd38a this morning. Been playing around with it looking at cattle in the sheeting 100 degree heat. I really like this thing so far. Crisp, clear, image with a nice 2x zoom. Controls are easy to learn and operate. Maybe not the most robust unit, but I'm careful with my stuff. Lanyard going to be a must. Everyone keeps asking me if I got laid twice this morning because I'm being so pleasant. I've got that new thermal vibe, that cool tasty buzz. Thanks Aaron at NCS.
They are pretty amazing, even if they were $1k more.
I have been putting them through their paces lately. I don't like to sell stuff that I haven't personally got to use fairly extensively and decided that I like it. For shear image quality comparison, I set up a little blind test. I had a few friends come over that don't own thermal and don't really know anything about them, so they don't have brand bias....because they have never really heard of any of them. I also brought the wife out and had all of them look through the Pulsar HD19A, FLIR PS-32, and an EOTech X320. All of them picked the Pulsar HD19A for image quality.
Next I gave them a rundown on controls. The pulsar controls are what I have tried to get other companies to do; set them up like a military device. Simple, and not too many functions per button/wheel. I really like that you have a dial for brightness and contrast on the pulsar, a button to NUC, a button for power, and a button for zoom, all laid out nicely for actual use in the dark. So, out of the 3, the Pulsar came away as a very clear winner by a large margin....and keep in mind, I sell all 3 units. What is even more impressive is that it does so for $1000 cheaper than the FLIR, and $1500 cheaper than the X320! You can bump up to the 38mm lens and get a really awesome image and better performance in foul weather, and still be cheaper than either.
As has been mentioned before, the housing on the Pulsar does not seem as robust as some other units. However, my dominant arm has poor dexterity due to taking a large chunk of metal in a nerve bundle. So, I accidentally test the durability of about everything I grab at some point. I've managed to drop the 19A on concrete once and on tile once, without damaging it. However, that is nowhere near a comprehensive durability test, but at least it will handle some minor abuse. Some polymers are incredibly strong. While I don't know what they use, I would imagine it will have a long life if taken care of and subjected to minor drops and bumps, etc. of normal hunting use.
As small of a thing as it is, my absolute favorite physical quality of the monoculars is the lens cap. How innovative is that!? You simply rotate the lens cap 1/4 or a turn and the lens cap, which looks like a shutter, closes and opens.
My least favorite thing is the eye cup. It is very poorly designed.
I have been putting them through their paces lately. I don't like to sell stuff that I haven't personally got to use fairly extensively and decided that I like it. For shear image quality comparison, I set up a little blind test. I had a few friends come over that don't own thermal and don't really know anything about them, so they don't have brand bias....because they have never really heard of any of them. I also brought the wife out and had all of them look through the Pulsar HD19A, FLIR PS-32, and an EOTech X320. All of them picked the Pulsar HD19A for image quality.
Next I gave them a rundown on controls. The pulsar controls are what I have tried to get other companies to do; set them up like a military device. Simple, and not too many functions per button/wheel. I really like that you have a dial for brightness and contrast on the pulsar, a button to NUC, a button for power, and a button for zoom, all laid out nicely for actual use in the dark. So, out of the 3, the Pulsar came away as a very clear winner by a large margin....and keep in mind, I sell all 3 units. What is even more impressive is that it does so for $1000 cheaper than the FLIR, and $1500 cheaper than the X320! You can bump up to the 38mm lens and get a really awesome image and better performance in foul weather, and still be cheaper than either.
As has been mentioned before, the housing on the Pulsar does not seem as robust as some other units. However, my dominant arm has poor dexterity due to taking a large chunk of metal in a nerve bundle. So, I accidentally test the durability of about everything I grab at some point. I've managed to drop the 19A on concrete once and on tile once, without damaging it. However, that is nowhere near a comprehensive durability test, but at least it will handle some minor abuse. Some polymers are incredibly strong. While I don't know what they use, I would imagine it will have a long life if taken care of and subjected to minor drops and bumps, etc. of normal hunting use.
As small of a thing as it is, my absolute favorite physical quality of the monoculars is the lens cap. How innovative is that!? You simply rotate the lens cap 1/4 or a turn and the lens cap, which looks like a shutter, closes and opens.
My least favorite thing is the eye cup. It is very poorly designed.
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Also, if you are on a budget, their thermal rifle scopes are very nice for the money. They provide a better image than 320 units with a similar lens size and a cheaper price. I am pretty impressed. However, if you can swing it, an Armasight Zeus 640-75mm is still the bee's knees and has the best image vs. price on the market today.
Bob Abbott
LSB Member
Hey guys thought I would share a video I took with my HD38a Sunday morning about 2...I called in 2 coyotes. One was we believe a miss and my bud scored on one. I know it's shaky but I did what I could to keep it half way decent. Also this video is not even close to what I was actually seeing through the occular lens.