Pulsar XQ50, moving with temperature, with pics

whitehotmist

LSB Member
So someone had the idea to set the scope up on a solid base, and use the remote to take pics as the unit went through temperature changes. These pictures are horrifying.. I had set it up on my deck first, with the scope coming from a 60'ish safe to about 30 degrees outside. Scope cooled for about 30 mins then I decided I should have done it on the concrete pad, so moved it and started over. These pics are all from the concrete pad. It was in the shade before I moved it, so the first pic is with it in the sun again, and somewhat in the middle of the 'head' of the IPSC target at 85 yds. At 11:59 on the clock I put a box to the side to give it shade.. Total movement is a bit over 7" at 85 yds. UGLY! Don't know what I'm going to do..
aa.jpg bb.jpg cc.jpg dd.jpg ee.jpg ff.jpg gg.jpg hh.jpg ii.jpg
 

Bowfisher

LSB Member
Very interesting...keep us posted on what Pulsar says. Does it hold POI zooming in, from 2.7 to 5.4 and up? I have just been using mine to scan, but have been curious.
 

Tmm

LSB Member
How did you manage to take the pictures without moving the scope at all? Serious question, not doubting what you’re saying. Or were these images from video?
 

whitehotmist

LSB Member
I used the remote control to take the pics, and zoom.. so never touched it the whole time.

Yes, I did zoom in/out a few times (again using remote) and it did keep poi on zooming. Also, i calibrated (with the remote) before each pic, and there was no shift from just NUC'ing. The shift between each pic happened over the time between photos.
 

Wildfowler

Mis'sippi
SUS VENATOR CLUB
Is this occurring due to the core temperature heating up from leaving unit on over extended periods of time?

Or is this affected by external environmental temperatures changing over the course of this test?

Thanks.
 

whitehotmist

LSB Member
Also posted this on another forum.. also did this later in the day, reposting here.

So temperature has been pretty stable outside for past 3 hours. I put it out about 2:45pm and let it sit till about 3:15. Then turned it on and started taking pics every 5-10 minutes for an hour. The concrete pad was in the shade the whole time. Not going to go through the pain of posting pics, but it didn't actually do too bad. Overall in the hour it moved only about an inch or less at 85 yds.

First half hour, very little movement.

About half way through, since there wasn't much movement, I turned on the wifi to see if the added amp draw would warm it up more. Then over the next 30 mins it moved a little under 1 inch and stabilized again.

So, sounds like if you keep it out of the sun, and in stable temps, it does ok (well my scope did in this test anyway).



Is this occurring due to the core temperature heating up from leaving unit on over extended periods of time?

Or is this affected by external environmental temperatures changing over the course of this test?

Thanks.
 

FrankT

Destin FL
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Thanks for your time and patience to do this
 

Wildfowler

Mis'sippi
SUS VENATOR CLUB
Thank you for the reply but I am still not sure I understand what’s causing the issue?

So if you keep your unit out of the bright sunlight for hours at a time which causes a more rapid heating up internally of the unit, are you good to go?

Like conditions found when using the scope only at night?

I generally keep a thermal with me, wonder what happens if it heats up in the backseat of the truck during the day?

I’m just asking questions. I’m not trying to argue with you or defend pulsar above anyone else. I happen to have an XP50 in my arsenal

Thanks.
 

whitehotmist

LSB Member
Yes, it seems in my case that as long as I let it stabilize it's ok. But out in the sun with changing conditions is wobbles around quite a bit.

I have some .75 moa or better ammo, I'm going to do a shot every 20 mins or so from taking it out of the house at 65 degrees, down to whatever the outside temp is.. and see what happens.
 

Wildfowler

Mis'sippi
SUS VENATOR CLUB
I did a test on mine this afternoon. I’m using a DPMS LR308 rifle and I’m shooting at 100 yards, with a moderately high crosswind.

My scope is an XP50 with the aftermarket dloc mount that I have torqued to 44 inch lbs (spec from manufacturer)

The last time I shot mine on paper and made adjustments to the scope it was approximately 55 to 60° outside which is what the temperature has been for the most part in my area each time I’ve used it until today.

Earlier today it was partly cloudy or mostly sunny and I put my rifle on my dashboard for approximately one hour. I used a digital barbecue thermometer and got a reading of 105° on the receiver when I drove to the bench which is shaded a quarter of a mile away.

Did not start shooting immediately, but when I did I could feel the warmth of the stock against my cheek.

First three shots resulted in this group which should be consistent with my last zeroing in, the only difference being the high wind I am shooting in today. A little left of center due to the wind.

E306130C-7900-4F41-B908-01D5EF1E0A1E.jpeg

Took about 20 to 25 minutes for my rifle to cool down to ambient temperature of 74°. Shot three more times and this is what I got.

C1704A51-73E6-4A7F-BA56-8606860EC897.jpeg

Friend came up and we got to talking for a while, as the sky became more cloudy and I left the scope on the whole time for a total of about an hour, and at least 30 minutes to 40 minutes after the last group. I saw the temperature of the radiator go to about 89° at its highest point, but with the wind and now more cloud cover I guess it was able to cool back down to about 84 when I pulled the trigger the last three times as shown here.

And in true wildfowlers rifle form, I did jerk the shot on one of these last shot, not following through my trigger pull.

Believe this one shot was operator error and not some mechanical problem with the scope.

9A582827-3E63-48D5-9F05-99361D8034A1.jpeg

This is about as capable as I am able to shoot with this type of scope at this distance on paper.

Not saying that my scope does not have this problem, but I did not see it while using it from a shaded environment with falling external temperature.

What scope mount are you using?
 

TEXASLAWMAN

Lone Star Boars Owner
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I habe not been able to duplicate the poi shift with any of mine. I know pulsar has been test units there is less than 2% of units with the issue.
 

TEXASLAWMAN

Lone Star Boars Owner
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Fredhorace77

New Member
I habe not been able to duplicate the poi shift with any of mine. I know pulsar has been test units there is less than 2% of units with the issue.
Todd, thanks so much for replying about this issue. I value your opinion and experience you have associated with thermal scopes. I really hope this turns out to be a small limited number of units that are effected by this. And if it is indeed a firmware problem that the newest update release will correct this issue.
 

Bob Capps

New Member
Hello all... well I was one who came forward recently as my XP50 started shifting on me almost immediately upon getting it and using it.

I initially saw about 2" of shift and then on a later range trip where all shooting was done the same day w/o temp changing I saw over 5"+ shift. I zeroed in low 60's and had POI shift in the same temp. I tried to zero in low 80's... same thing... but way worse. Within 30 minutes of shooting several groups I had a shifting zero of 5"+ with MOA groups, some sub-MOA... they just wouldn't stay in the same spot.

To address the obvious... I'm a seasoned and trained long gunner, the rifle used is a proven performer, the ammo was factory, no wind, all shooting was done in a manner consistent with getting performance (no rapid fire), and the mount was rock solid. In short, the thermal was shifting.

From the start, Sellmark admitted the problem does exist... why? They don't know. What to do...? They don't know. This was straight from Sellmark several weeks ago and not my twisting of any facts or information. So... I sent my unit back a couple weeks ago for "testing".

I called last week and spoke to Sellmark. During testing, my unit showed movement. I was told an update was performed and my unit was being sent back. I was not given any information as to a cause... so to be honest, I'm not confident, but I am hopeful.

I would also like to say ****, NightGoggles, and Sellmark have all been extremely kind and open minded to the problem.

I realize many owners have claimed they have no issue... well good for them. But I use my gear extensively and will not hunt with something that won't hold POA/POI. I'm a deputy and a blue-collar worker, 5K was a stretch for me and this has been a complete bummer to say the least. I've lost prime night hunting time, wasted a lot of range time, and burned valuable ammo messing with the unit all for nothing... so far. Well, I did get a 350 yard kill on a hog at night, and got it on video, so there is that...lol.

My unit will be here day after tomorrow. My job will have me at the range late this week and all of next week... so I will have plenty of time to find out if my unit has been fixed. We will also see temps. similar to that when all this started and it will slowly warm up in the week to come, a perfect testing situation thankfully.
 

Fredhorace77

New Member
Hello all... well I was one who came forward recently as my XP50 started shifting on me almost immediately upon getting it and using it.

I initially saw about 2" of shift and then on a later range trip where all shooting was done the same day w/o temp changing I saw over 5"+ shift. I zeroed in low 60's and had POI shift in the same temp. I tried to zero in low 80's... same thing... but way worse. Within 30 minutes of shooting several groups I had a shifting zero of 5"+ with MOA groups, some sub-MOA... they just wouldn't stay in the same spot.

To address the obvious... I'm a seasoned and trained long gunner, the rifle used is a proven performer, the ammo was factory, no wind, all shooting was done in a manner consistent with getting performance (no rapid fire), and the mount was rock solid. In short, the thermal was shifting.

From the start, Sellmark admitted the problem does exist... why? They don't know. What to do...? They don't know. This was straight from Sellmark several weeks ago and not my twisting of any facts or information. So... I sent my unit back a couple weeks ago for "testing".

I called last week and spoke to Sellmark. During testing, my unit showed movement. I was told an update was performed and my unit was being sent back. I was not given any information as to a cause... so to be honest, I'm not confident, but I am hopeful.

I would also like to say ****, NightGoggles, and Sellmark have all been extremely kind and open minded to the problem.

I realize many owners have claimed they have no issue... well good for them. But I use my gear extensively and will not hunt with something that won't hold POA/POI. I'm a deputy and a blue-collar worker, 5K was a stretch for me and this has been a complete bummer to say the least. I've lost prime night hunting time, wasted a lot of range time, and burned valuable ammo messing with the unit all for nothing... so far. Well, I did get a 350 yard kill on a hog at night, and got it on video, so there is that...lol.

My unit will be here day after tomorrow. My job will have me at the range late this week and all of next week... so I will have plenty of time to find out if my unit has been fixed. We will also see temps. similar to that when all this started and it will slowly warm up in the week to come, a perfect testing situation thankfully.
Really looking forward tonwhat you find out. Imo, the Pulsar units are a great optic. And i hope it stays this way.
 

Wildfowler

Mis'sippi
SUS VENATOR CLUB
00037C3F-9C38-416D-84E0-038E33B1C72A.jpeg I just read on AR 15.com there is a new firmware update that supposedly addresses and fixes the temperature shift.

Whoever posted the information said you need to verify you were zero before hunting after updating your firmware.

Who’s going first?

Here is a screen grab from their Facebook page
 
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whitehotmist

LSB Member
I was the guinea pig last time.. ;) I'll wait for a few more good reviews (there was already one on another forum that rhymes with darfcom).
 

will

New Member
Hey guys - Is this just for the trail? I have a apex xq50. Do you know if anyone is having trouble w/ POI changes with the apex line?
 
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