I purchased a new Armasight gen 2 Spear ID N/V rifle scope last fall with their XLR-IR850 Illuminator and was having problems with it washing out the N/V when looking through it. It was mounted on the 45 degree rail where they tell you to mount it. So I called the company to complain and they recommended that I use a picatinny riser to get it to sit higher. So I added a 3/4" rail riser and was still having the problem. So from there I mounted it on the front 45 degree picatinny rail on my Tavor which it seems to work better on but now the illumination is weak. Has anybody else had a problem with their Armasight illuminators. I have another gen 1 N/V rifle scope that I picked up for a descent price that I let my buddy use with one of my rifles when we night hunt over the feeder that has the Sniper Hog Lights exterminator feeder light shining on it from my blind 40 yards away. Well I end up having to have him shine his Illuminator on the same area to get a good view of the area when I need to make a shot. For an Illuminator that is supposed to be for long range, it seems kind of impossible and am thinking that I got a crappy one that got through QC or they are just FOC and the thing is junk. Anybody have experiences with these and how far can you see with yours. If I send it out now then they are going to have to send me one stat because I need it once muzzleloader season is over. I spend all this money for a gen 2 and my gen 1 seems to be a better sight picture. Go figure lol. Any help or input on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all.

I don't have experience with that brand but use similar equipment as I have a GenII hand scanner.

The illuminator is too strong and washing out the picture.
You said it is a long distance illuminator but you are using it at 40 yards?
I have a similar problem with a Streamlight TAC IR illuminator.
It is fixed focus and single power level.
It over saturates the picture a little at 100 yards but "sees" well out to 200-300 yards.

I use an Evol T20 I picked up off ebay for 30.00 delivered.
It has multiple power levels and focus and is almost identical to a famous brand that sells for almost 200.00.
It is also 850nm frequency and is second from left in pic below.

L-R Sightmark 850nm, Evol T20 850nm, Streamlight Super TAC IR also 850nm, Chinese Torch with 940NM pellet installed.

Thanks Vern1. The one I have actually has 5 different settings on it and I was having problems with every one of them. Yeah 40 yards is close but we originally had the set up for crossbows. The deer come in anywhere from 20 to 40 yards between the blind and the feeder. There is a field behind my feeder that's over 400 yards wide and with all the leaves dropped from the trees, I can see anything in the field during the daytime. But I can't even see a hog walking in the field at 100 yards away with this IR illuminator. I talked to the guys at Armasight (Flir) today and they are sending me an RMA to get it sent back and most likely replaced. They said that their turn around is about 2 weeks time right now which is good because I want to start hog hunting sometime after muzzleloader season is over. My other N/V rifle scope is a cheap Firefield NVRS 3x42mm gen 1 with the built in IR illuminator. I got a Yukon gen 1 for a cheap price from a guy who owns a N/V supply company in Katy who let's you upgrade within a year from purchase and gives you full price towards the upgrade you buy from him so I got the Yukon since it was all I could afford at the time lol. Well that one started to junk out on me for no reason so I was within the warranty and sent it back. Firefield bought them out and sent me their replacement model which does the job fine. So my buddy has to turn on the IR illuminator on that one and point it towards my feeder for me to even be able to see well to take a good shot. I also have a Sniper Hog Lights Eliminator feeder light system that shines on my feeder and is mounted to the side of my 4x8 blind with a 5ft tower. It's set to low so it's not like it's getting too much light for the N/V scope. I have the gen 1 set up on a 7.62x39 AR with a GL-Shock buttstock with the adjustable cheek riser. Works well at that distance for my buddy. I will definitely look in to buying a Evol T20 and try that one out too. Thanks for all your help on this.

Found one on Amazon for $49.99 with the battery and charger.

https://www.amazon.com/Evolva-Technology-Flashlight-Battery-Charger/dp/B00TFCJNHK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1483144635&sr=8-2&keywords=evo%2Bt20&th=1

I ordered the Evolva T20 38mm IR Illuminator with the battery, charger and pressure switch tail cap on Amazon. The 38mm with the low/med/high settings should be good for the 40 yard shots from my blind. I am returning the Armasight IR Illuminator to them so they can either fix it or replace it for me. Thanks again for all your help. Happy new Year!!!!

twist the front bell - narrow the beam. i have the same one.

Thanks Dave3575. I read that others had a problem with them too so I sent it back for them to fix it or replace it. I tried everything on all the different settings and it was having problems on every setting. Then on long distance it wouldn't even work right. Other than that I am happy with the Armasight Spear ID rifle scope. Turn around time is two weeks so I should get it back in time for hog and predator hunting in February.