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My son and I went on a mini expedition to Moscow mountain today. He rode his old dirt bike and I took my UTV. Neither of our girlfriends were interested in looking for Bigfoot, lol. We rode all over the mountain and checked a lot of areas for tracks. Nothing. Then we went up to the old lookout spot where there was a sighting featured on the show Finding Bigfoot. It's also reported on the BFRO sightings page: http://bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=12913 I'm familiar with this spot as I used to party there in high school. I went there today and thought it would be interesting to take pics of where the reported sighting was. Now, the sighting was 15 years prior, so a lot of what they said they could see back then is no longer possible. First photo is approaching the rock outcropping where the sighting took place. Second photo is looking directly at the area where the creature was. Third photo is my ugly mug standing right where the witnesses were with the sighting spot in the background.

I have seen the white-tailed bucks do that stomping in the Blue Ridge, they have a loud low toned blowing and even a higher pitched screeching blow they do and it takes some getting used to to understand what you are hearing. I ran into one on the AT once and froze as I saw it first. It didn't realize what I was and tried the stomping trick to get me to move. I have since learned they will stomp you too if you get too close so I don't try the freezing tricks any more when at ground level eyeball to eyeball close to them. The stomping is an alert signal like the blows and the flashing of the white-tail as they run.

With Elk and Deer calves? They are born odorless. And they instinctively lay perfectly still. Using their brown coat and spots to blend in. The mother will attempt to draw predators away from the area. Higher Primates? Orangutan babies never lose physical contact with their mothers for 5-6 years after birth. Not once. To do so means the chance of falling out of the canopy to almost certain death. I think Gorillas and Chimps are similar good moms and so I don’t see a benefit for the newborn to smell distinctive. If it’s clinging to its mother her scent is going to overpower it anyhow.

Just looked at some of the newer lines offered by Pulsar. Here's what I would do were I looking right now. If I could afford the Helion XQ38F, that's the one I'd get. Absolutely an amazing unit. If that's more than you want to spend, then I would look around and see if the Helion XQ30F is still around at some dealer as it's no longer made. If so, I would then compare it to the Pulsar Axion XM30S and decide from there. Otherwise, it would be the Axion XM30S at the best price I could negotiate. Before I laid my hard-earned money down, I would spend an evening looking at the threads on nightvisionforumuk to see if there is any new units on the near horizon or any other feedback you'd want to now. One thing I've learned is if you wait for technology to bring the price down, you miss out on years of fun.

Just to reinforce the "shushing" sounds, I have recorded such at night in an area with heard and recorded samurai, it was also around the same vein as a shush. It was also associated with bipedal leaf shuffling of one or more supposed cryptid bipeds. If I can do it I may enter a sound file or two into the competition for the big prize, that is about all I got. It is an area in which I had an uncomfortably close nighttime sighting (within 90 ft of the recorded "shushs" but directly 6 ft or less away) and had repeated activity lasting five years on and off thereafter, mostly auditory captures and awareness of nonhuman emulation of attempted long-distance communication both whistles, birdcalls, percussive drumbeat medleys, not so much emulated human-like speech but occasional samurai captures of indecipherable language-like vocals.

BRB, I bought the Helion XQ28F which is no longer made. At the time, I believe it had the widest field of view of any Pulsar Helion sold in the US. I think it is generally regarded that the Helion XQ38F is best thermal out there for the money. It's still not cheap. I haven't kept up with the Axion or Thermion lines so I can't comment on those without doing a little research. In general terms, you have to decide what features are important to you. For example, where I go the forest is thick and I'm not going to see a sasquatch 300 yards away. That means a wider field of view and lower native magnification was more important than being able to capture something a long distance away. If where you research there are vast wide open areas, then you may want a narrower FOV and higher native magnification. I'd steer you away from the Quantum line because the lens is not the same quality as the Helion line. The most expensive part of a thermal imager is the germanium lens. That's why as you step up to a larger lens the price starts to really climb. You want the larger lens if you need to see a long way away. I think the 38XQ can detect 1,500 yards away. That's crazy and can be a waste of money unless you're dealing with vast open expanse. Also, don't be lured into the 640x480 microbolometer resolution thermals unless your financial reserve is without boundary. It's a lot more expensive and you don't always get that much more. Why? Let's take two units...the Helion XQ50 and the Helion XP50. The XQ has a resolution of 384x 288 whereas the XP has a resolution of 640x480. Most people would say, "I want the one with the higher resolution!". It's more expensive BUT you may not benefit from it. The native magnification of the XQ is 4.1 whereas the XP is 2.5. So looking at the same object from the same distance the XQ shows a larger object. In order the get the same size with the XP you have to magnify it by 61% (2.5/4.1) which then pixelates it making the clarity less than 640x480 and probably close to the XQ resolution. I think it's called down rezzing. Here is a decent YT video showing the differences in FOV and native magnification: I'd be happy to take a look and comment on the Axion or Thermion lines if there are any you are interested in. You should be mindful that I think dealers are required to post MSRP on their websites. I found that if you call a dealer (or go to one) and horse trade you can get a substantial reduction off the MSRP. The best resource for thermal imagers is "nightvisionforumuk.com". It is mostly people in the UK who hunt fox or rabbits at night. These folks really know their stuff about thermal imagers and are on top of what is in the pipeline. https://nightvisionforumuk.com/ Hope that helps a little and if you want to bounce any questions around, just let me know. Wiia

Translated: KOKO - Hello everyone. ... hopefully everyone is fine and doing well. Im from Germany and located there. I registered here because I had a few violent incidents for which there is really only one explanation ?! But I definitely haven't seen any footprints or a creature. There were sounds that were 100% right. tall strangers and other things that run around behind windows (outside). That is a brief explanation. I would be very happy if someone knows something about incidents or sightings in or across Germany. I am also very grateful for tips and advice, because in Germany this "BIGFOOT" topic is not as popular as in the USA .... Unfortunately! Thank you for reading this Regarding ... and I wish everyone a good and nice time gigantor - Welcome to the BFF Koko! Unfortunately nobody speaks German here. I'm using google translator to enter this. What part of Germany are you in? VAFooter - I think you are the first one I know of that at least had incidents in DE. We'd love to know more when you're ready to share. We can find a way to translate! By the way, that was not exactly how I wrote it up....Thanks Google....

Hallo an alle. ... hoffentlich ist jeder in Ordnung und es geht ihm gut. Im aus Deutschland und dort gelegen sein. Ich habe mich hier angemeldet, weil ich ein paar heftige Zwischenfälle hatte, für die es eigentlich nur eine Erklärung gibt?! Aber ich habe definitiv keine Fußabdrücke oder eine Kreatur gesehen. Es gab Klänge, die zu 100% passten. hohe fremde und andere Sachen, die hinter Fenstern (außen) herumlaufen. Das ist eine kurze Erklärung. Ich würde mich sehr freuen, wenn jemand etwas über Vorfälle oder Sichtungen in oder in ganz Deutschland weiß. Ich bin auch sehr dankbar für Hinweise und Ratschläge, denn in Deutschland ist dieses "BIGFOOT"-Thema nicht beliebt wie in den USA.... Leider! Vielen Dank für die Lektüre dieser Bezug... Und Ich wünsche jedem eine gute und schöne Zeit

Found my FLIR TK Ocean for $499. But here's a recent true story that everyone here can appreciate. A while back (June) there was a discussion on the inReach satellite device for emergencies or contact with a friend/family member when out of cell range. I saw one advertised for $99.99 and jumped on it. Again, Seattle, WA and through PayPal. After non-delivery I emailed the seller as instructed by PayPal and got no response. I put in a claim and Paypal said they would contact the owner. The Prologue of this is PayPal ended up reimbursing me the full cost. PayPal is a great service but after reading the three accounts that BRB posted, which sounded so much like my experience, I thought I'd pass my story along. Someone(s) out there are scamming PayPal and I will bet dollars to donuts that PayPal is not happy and has enough cash on hand to find this/these persons and take care of things. It also makes me wonder about how many thousands of PayPal customers are filing similar reimbursement claims. So, yeah, go to a legitimate source for products because there no such thing as a free lunch out there. Beyond that, if the site is unfamiliar ALWAYS use PayPal for any transactions. Plus you get a record of everything which keeps one clear of any off-color legal repercussions. Just tossing my two rocks into the camp from first-hand experience

I agree that it's best to stick with name brands when it comes to recreational-use, hand-held thermal equipment. Today, there are several players in this industry and two of the bigger names in the hand-held thermal market are FLIR and Pulsar. FLIR has been the leader in this industry. FLIR was also smart enough to see an opportunity in the outdoor enthusiast market and have a line that is affordable starting with the Scout TK. I prefer Pulsar in the $2,000 - $5,000 market. However, like all technology, it evolves quickly. We're now seeing 12-micron units, an improvement from the 17-micron ones. When comparing units you still have to take into account the native magnification and field of view as both will play a role in which unit is right for you.

https://www.onlinethreatalerts.com/article/2020/7/9/is-emojirags-a-scam-review-of-the-online-store/ "July 15, 2020 at 9:08 AM by an anonymous user from: Houston, Texas, United States its a complete fake. I should've realized the price was really too good to be true. I have opened a dispute with paypal as well as my CC company." "July 10, 2020 at 5:44 AM by an anonymous user from: Shamokin, Pennsylvania, United States The area code for the phone number is a Pennsylvania area code. However, the business address is in Washington state. If something seems too good to be true it probably is." "July 10, 2020 at 12:06 AM by an anonymous user from: Miami, Florida, United States I lost one hundred dollars thinking I was buying a Nokia 7.2 the emojirags.com has up for sale. Since they make you go through PayPal I thought they were legit, I can't believe PayPal allowed the sale to go on,? The telephone is fake just like the site. it should be taken down."

My thermal imager does not overheat when recording all night long (~8 hours straight) or when in standby mode. The problem I have with my thermal imager is that it consumes too much power and drains rechargeable batteries fast. I don't know and have not pursued that inquiry. I am not tech savvy, so don't know if we could adapt these imagers to do that. My imager was designed as a portable field unit for patrolling (law enforcement) and not as a game camera type that will trigger recording with change in IR detected. Thus, I understand why it does not have that capability. I basically have 2 ways of operating the thermal imager in the field: 1) Low power consumption mode: Keep it powered-on but in standby mode inside my tent and ready to look at anything that makes noise outside (this will use all rechargeable battery power overnight even if not used much). 2) High power consumption mode: Keep it powered-on and video recording all night long outside the tent in a tripod (this will require either 4 brand new lithium energizer AA batteries or the portable power bank). Advantage of this mode is that it is already on tripod and recording and all I have to do it move the camera to the target area where the noises are coming from.

I've a healthy dose of skepticism regarding the subject, but am not quite so wont to douse other's desire to research on their own efforts. Perhaps consider not being such a Debbie Downer.

Beautiful area and great ideas about the thermal. Does your thermal begin to overheat when it has been recording for a period of time? I've noticed that when I have my Pulsar on "pause", and ready to record at a moment's notice, it tends to heat up. I wonder if there is a way to connect a IR detector that would trigger the thermal to record.

That Capitol State Forest has been absolutely hammered for bike tracks etc now i think you'll find, it's MotoX heaven in there. There does appear to be a thing with these west facing ridges though H no doubt, the new finds earlier this year were also positioned on them. Let me add too regarding the huckleberry element that i found last month, especially the Evergreen Huckleberry (otherwise known as Florist Huckleberry, Californian Huckleberry, Shot Huckleberry and Florist's Huckleberry) which is the Huckleberry found within the areas of the nest finds. Check this out, i think it's very cool..;) "The leaves are antiseptic, astringent, carminative and hypoglycaemic. An infusion of the leaves and sugar have been given to a mother after childbirth to help her regain her strength." Shane talks more about the nests and the Huckleberry angle here - http://strangeharbor.net/speaker/shane-corson/ It should be noted that not all Huckleberry is/was used where childbirth is concerned. Evergreen Huckleberry, Bog Bilberry and the Black Huckleberry are the only Vaccinium to have "birthing aid" confirmed within their medicinal purposes. I have also read that Rubus Spectabilis (Salmonberry) was used by the Quinault women a long time back for medicinal purposes including after childbirth. Also bear in mind the huge piles of leaves found directly at these nest areas, huge piles just sitting there. This is the only thing that has got me excited about this subject in a long, long time..;)

Just got back from 6 days of exploring a small portion of the Six Rivers National Forest and the Siskiyou Wilderness in Northern California. Spent 2 nights car camping in the SRNF and 3 nights backpacking into the wilderness. The best part of the trip was the backpacking part, since I went deeper into the wilderness and I saw plenty of wildlife. Below are some pictures of the wilderness area and the lake where I camped the first night. Also showing a picture of my thermal imager setup. This was the first time that I backpacked with a large lithium battery (the Jackery 240 Wh portable power bank). I had backpacked before with my full size tripod, since the image quality is better when stable. I wanted to test the ability to run the thermal imager and video record all night (8 hours) for 3 nights (without having to monitor and replace the 4 AA lithium batteries every 7 to 8 hours). First night, I heard noises coming from the brush, got out of the tent ~9:38 PM, started recording on the thermal, and saw the buck in the photo. The unit recorded as the buck came out of the bush and walked in front of thermal imager. The time stamp and date on this FLIR unit is not correct and cannot be fixed (apparently the battery that runs the clock is internal to the unit and cannot be replaced unless I ship the unit to manufacturer; this is a design flaw). The 2nd FLIR photo was the 2nd night and occurred down 600 ft in the valley. Again, I left the unit running all night for 8 hours and it captured this bear walking towards the creek. While the photo is not clear (because the bear is far), the video shows its bear shape and motions more clearly. BTW, the buck moved on to the other side of the lake and disturbed the only other backpacker there from 1 to 4 AM. I saw the guy in the morning and he was so scared that he did not sleep and started a fire. He never saw what was making all the noises and stumping the ground. I told him it was the buck, since it did the same in my campground earlier that night. Not sure what was the problem with this buck, but I also captured a doe in the imager that came later, so maybe the buck wanted to clear the area? I was happy to have a thermal imager and see what was making the noises.

I really wanted to like the new Bronco, since I used to be a Ford guy. But, they hyped it up years ago during the initial development claiming it would be a competitor to the Wrangler and stay true to the Bronco's roots. But, the bean counters and official hand-wringers got involved and turned it into a soccer mom friendly neutered SUV based on the new Ford Ranger. Which means no live axle, no V8, and likely no removable top. Plus, it's a new Ford model, and based on the last three new Ford models I purchased, that means lots of shop time or being stranded in the middle of nowhere. Where I live, breaking down in the woods can be deadly certain times of the year. I won't trust my life to a Ford. I bought a new Toyota 4Runner and have been happy with it so far...