High End Research Gear And Equipment

[JKH]

Another very nice small camping vehicle.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/d/seattle-1978-ford-150-camper-conversion/7314434992.html

[BC witness]

Nice, but not at that price.

[norseman]

6 hours ago, BC witness said:

Nice, but not at that price.

Its amazing what they are getting for older rigs...

[JKH]

Yes, it is!

Now this is high end...and pretty cool hot tub! For sale on CL Seattle.

 

 

[NathanFooter]

I just purchased the Pulsar Helion 2 XP50 Pro, it is on back order for while.   

[Explorer]

3 hours ago, NathanFooter said:

I just purchased the Pulsar Helion 2 XP50 Pro, it is on back order for while.   

 

 

Good for you and congratulations on a great purchase!  I got to use one of those last year (that somebody else brought to an expedition) and it was awesome.  It is much better than anything FLIR has in the consumer market.

 

BTW, is that a 50 mm lens that comes with that unit or can you choose a smaller lens?  

 

For my FLIR, I got a 35 mm lens and that is more than adequate for the highly forested areas that I go to.  It provided a larger field of view than the other options available at the time (65 mm and 100 mm).

[wiiawiwb]

Congratulations on your new Pulsar. Having one opens up your world. I believe the XP line allows you be able to use different lenses. Not sure why you'd want to having the F50 lens.  I got the Helion XQ28F to get the widest field of view available at the time. It does provide more infromation in one view but don't think it is as important as I thought it was. I'd get the 38F or 50F were I buying one today.

 

You'll have a lot of fun with it and hopefully capture a sasquatch on video at night. Keep us posted.

Edited June 19, 2021 by wiiawiwb

[BlackRockBigfoot]

6 hours ago, NathanFooter said:

I just purchased the Pulsar Helion 2 XP50 Pro, it is on back order for while.   

I looked at that model as well before getting the XQ 38.  Pulsar has been out of stock on almost everything for a few months.  The XQs popped into stock and I went ahead and grabbed one.

 

Let us know how you like the xp50.  I may upgrade to one next year.

[NCBFr]

Not sure if this counts as high end or low end, but got an inflatable Kayak that gets me significantly easier access to territory that is much closer to my local BF's population home than I can access by foot.  Takes about 10 minutes to setup and 5 minutes to pack away.  Weighs about 40 pounds so is not really backpackable.  

 

The challenge now is to get my GS puppy to ride in it with me without poking a hole in it with claws or tipping us over.

 

[GuyInIndiana]

On 6/18/2021 at 2:23 PM, NathanFooter said:

I just purchased the Pulsar Helion 2 XP50 Pro, it is on back order for while.   

 

Hey man. I was wondering where you were looking at getting that? I just purchased an Accolade 2 XP50 LRF Pro from Planet Optics. If you can swing the slightly extra price, they still have 2 of them in stock. I looked for the Pro model of the Helion there. It's on backorder, but if the regular model is doable, they have 20+ of those in stock. When the Pro model of the Accolade came out, I went thru the specs for both the first model and the new "Pro" model and saw virtually zero difference in their specs. The only thing that stuck out was a difference in weight by grams or ounces.  So... just thought I'd throw that out there.

[Explorer]

@GuyInIndiana

 

Last week I did a comparison between Helion 2 XP50 Pro and the Accolade LRF XP50 Pro in Excel using the Pulsar information posted in their website, and it appears that the Helion has better resolution on the video than the Accolade.

Below is an image of my comparative table.

There are additional differences, but for me the resolution is the main difference.

Please let me know if I made a mistake on that comparative table.

I will be checking the Accolade this weekend since a colleague will bring one to the field.

However, last year the same colleague let me look through it and it was very impressive and much better than my FLIR.

 

 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Explorer

[wiiawiwb]

I'd strongly consider the Helion XQ50F.  Both the Helion XP50 Pro and Accolade XP50 Pro have a native magnification of 2.5 whereas the XQ50F has a native magnification of 4.5.  That means you need to down-rez the XP 50's 640x480 resolution. It will still be better than the XQ but not what it might otherwise appear.

 

https://www.pulsar-nv.com/glo/products/33/thermal-imaging-scopes/helion-version-2-xq/

 

I've always considered the XQ38F to be Pulsar's sweet spot.

Edited July 16, 2021 by wiiawiwb

[XoXSciFiGuy]

I hope, as a new guy here, I am not posting something that's already been suggested. Last weekend, I was on a group camp with the SUFON folks (Seattle UFO Network), and a guy named Tobe Johnson whipped out one of the new Sionix night vision cameras. He had the one HERE IN THE LINK for $600. Okay...I have seen a lot of night vision stuff...but I have NEVER seen anything like this camera. We were at a dropoff next to a deep valley, and two miles across the way there is a big wooded ridge. There is NO MOON. I mean it is near pitch black out there. 

 

Tobe has us all take a look through this camera, which uses proprietary CMOS technology. And this thing absolutely turns night into mid-afternoon...IN full COLOR. No green junk with darkness, no black and white with dark spots.

 

It must be seen to be believed. If you point it at a black sky, it looks like noon time in full sun. I have never seen anything like this camera, not even close. Not even REMOTELY close. Even though the ridge two miles away was nothing but a black lump in the darkness, the camera would show the entire scene in full daylight, individual trees, roads, everything. It will do still shots, infrared, and video. This thing just came out a short time ago, Tobe says. (His name is just one syllable, like TUB.) If you are looking for the ultimate in night vision, they have it. I did a review and said they should call it DAY vision, because that's exactly what it is. I was absolutely stunned. LOL I told Tobe someone should build a shrine to that thing. The tech is patented. 

 

EDIT: Some people use it on guns. But right away I could see that the best use of it was simply to turn night into nearly full daylight no matter how dark it is. Starlight for that thing is more than enough ambient light. We were miles from any town as well. The fact that it will do this IN COLOR is amazing. Frankly, I don't have the $600 spare to buy one, but I am saving up the money. I have to have this. 

 

Below is a YouTube demo showing 'regular' green night vision compared to the Sionix. 

 

Edited July 16, 2021 by XoXSciFiGuy

[NorthWind]

7 hours ago, XoXSciFiGuy said:

I hope, as a new guy here, I am not posting something that's already been suggested. Last weekend, I was on a group camp with the SUFON folks (Seattle UFO Network), and a guy named Tobe Johnson whipped out one of the new Sionix night vision cameras. He had the one HERE IN THE LINK for $600. Okay...I have seen a lot of night vision stuff...but I have NEVER seen anything like this camera. We were at a dropoff next to a deep valley, and two miles across the way there is a big wooded ridge. There is NO MOON. I mean it is near pitch black out there. 

 

Tobe has us all take a look through this camera, which uses proprietary CMOS technology. And this thing absolutely turns night into mid-afternoon...IN full COLOR. No green junk with darkness, no black and white with dark spots.

 

It must be seen to be believed. If you point it at a black sky, it looks like noon time in full sun. I have never seen anything like this camera, not even close. Not even REMOTELY close. Even though the ridge two miles away was nothing but a black lump in the darkness, the camera would show the entire scene in full daylight, individual trees, roads, everything. It will do still shots, infrared, and video. This thing just came out a short time ago, Tobe says. (His name is just one syllable, like TUB.) If you are looking for the ultimate in night vision, they have it. I did a review and said they should call it DAY vision, because that's exactly what it is. I was absolutely stunned. LOL I told Tobe someone should build a shrine to that thing. The tech is patented. 

 

EDIT: Some people use it on guns. But right away I could see that the best use of it was simply to turn night into nearly full daylight no matter how dark it is. Starlight for that thing is more than enough ambient light. We were miles from any town as well. The fact that it will do this IN COLOR is amazing. Frankly, I don't have the $600 spare to buy one, but I am saving up the money. I have to have this. 

 

Below is a YouTube demo showing 'regular' green night vision compared to the Sionix. 

 

 

You know Tobe? @Madison5716 and I have gone bigfooting with him before. We had a blast!

 

Small world.

 

 

[BlackRockBigfoot]

10 hours ago, XoXSciFiGuy said:

I hope, as a new guy here, I am not posting something that's already been suggested. Last weekend, I was on a group camp with the SUFON folks (Seattle UFO Network), and a guy named Tobe Johnson whipped out one of the new Sionix night vision cameras. He had the one HERE IN THE LINK for $600. Okay...I have seen a lot of night vision stuff...but I have NEVER seen anything like this camera. We were at a dropoff next to a deep valley, and two miles across the way there is a big wooded ridge. There is NO MOON. I mean it is near pitch black out there. 

 

Tobe has us all take a look through this camera, which uses proprietary CMOS technology. And this thing absolutely turns night into mid-afternoon...IN full COLOR. No green junk with darkness, no black and white with dark spots.

 

It must be seen to be believed. If you point it at a black sky, it looks like noon time in full sun. I have never seen anything like this camera, not even close. Not even REMOTELY close. Even though the ridge two miles away was nothing but a black lump in the darkness, the camera would show the entire scene in full daylight, individual trees, roads, everything. It will do still shots, infrared, and video. This thing just came out a short time ago, Tobe says. (His name is just one syllable, like TUB.) If you are looking for the ultimate in night vision, they have it. I did a review and said they should call it DAY vision, because that's exactly what it is. I was absolutely stunned. LOL I told Tobe someone should build a shrine to that thing. The tech is patented. 

 

EDIT: Some people use it on guns. But right away I could see that the best use of it was simply to turn night into nearly full daylight no matter how dark it is. Starlight for that thing is more than enough ambient light. We were miles from any town as well. The fact that it will do this IN COLOR is amazing. Frankly, I don't have the $600 spare to buy one, but I am saving up the money. I have to have this. 

 

Below is a YouTube demo showing 'regular' green night vision compared to the Sionix. 

 

We picked up a Sionyx when they first came out.  While it is not going to work as well as a PVS14 in total darkness, it is head and shoulders above most Gen 2 sets.  
 

Things can get a bit blurry on the upper ranges of the digital zoom, but that’s common with digital devices.  You will need to use an IR illuminator, even on nights with a decent amount of ambient light.  
 

This would really do well for a ufo investigator.  We actually purchased it to try and film the weird balls of light that we were seeing while out researching at night. It will pick up faint lights extremely well.  
 

As far as pure Bigfoot research goes…in order to get usable footage, you are going to have to use an ir light.  It does do a nice job of amplifying light at twilight, but even with a full moon you are going to need an ir light source.  
 

It has a manual zoom.  Not a big deal if you are using it while stationary, but moving through the woods at night I found myself having to constantly readjust the focus.
 

We still carry ours, but I find myself using the thermal a lot more.  However, there is about a 2,000 dollar difference between the Sionyx and my thermal.  
 

The guys who started to company have been hinting about their next generation of tech.  I am hoping that we are going to see a huge leap in capabilities.  The market for these things has gotten huge over the past couple of years.  Forget all of the Bigfoot, ghost, and ufo hunters… coyote and hog hunters as well as air soft fanatics are a pretty lucrative market.