X-Sight Owners forum for the (1.8.07.343) firmware update

firmware update .07.343


Here are a few improvements included in the newest firmware update:

Enabled 720p/60fps for daytime mode
Improved e-compass accuracy
Enhanced Wi-Fi streaming and control features
​Improved overall performance and stability
Various bug fixes

gonna wait and see how others post on the performance of .343 I got my email from atn about an hour ago

downloaded and tested the main three fixes. They are updated and running.

The e-compass seems to be pretty accurate but you have to calibrate when you first turn on the scope after the update.

Enhanced features: control about everything but ( but can not take photos or video while using smart device nor can you zoom from you smart device either)

is your reticle centered now after sight in?

that was what bothered me most on my 5-18 and it would not hold accuracy.

I seem to be having problems getting the Sight to read the miniSD card. The card has been formatted. I've ensured that the file is "xsight.BIN" and that there is nothing else on the miniSD except the firmware file. And I've tried different file name conventions to see if I could get it working, but so far, no luck. This is the 5th firmware update cycle I've been through, and have never had this problem. Any suggestions?

I have not live fired tested for hold accuracy I just locked scope down on a tripod and tested it and moved the axis points and zoomed to see if that held zero and with that it held. Next is live fire this weekend.

Mikei
Not sure if this file name is case sensitive but you have it listed as "sight.BIN" try it with ".bin".

Record your x y axis before updating just in case. I did not because I just switched out my scope for the newer threaded sun shade model.

Thanks, Ron, but I've tried it with bin, Bin, BIn, BIN; still no luck. Just tried an old miniSD that I had used for the .266 update and it worked perfectly! I don't know what the heck is going on. . .

Not sure about this situation, but I have inadvertently hit the space bar before typing the first letter of a password, a user name, a file name, and just about any other situation where it could possibly screw you up. And it will screw you up.

With some suggestions from several people, I got the Sight to accept the firmware update! It appears that I need to format the miniSD card in the Sight, rather than in my PC. Never had to do this before; not sure why I have to do it now. But, no harm, no foul; just a couple of wasted hours. And it does appear, in my limited testing, that the main fixes targeted by this release are indeed working. Just exactly what other "bugs" have been fixed, I do not know.

Thanks for your help/suggestions on getting the new firmware up and running!

Im nervous to update the .296 is working perfect for just using it as a night scope and good for day use. I will wait to see how it works out before i go and update it. I have everything turned off so i don't use any of the options like wifi or the compass so im not sure it would be worth me updating or not.

MGP, do remember that if you upgrade to .343 and don't like what you see/get, you can always retrofit .296. I felt the same way you do, but am quite happy with new update.

I understand that i can do that. Did your X and Y values stay the same ?

Can anyone confirm that there X and Y values did or did not change from .296 to .343?

Have downloaded 343 on the strength of being told will go beyond y 188 on zero and it does!! Y to 290 apparently. Have uploaded the firmware did not hold coordinates but have them written down. Will zero sometime this week. One further point have ERR instead of compass so switched it off need it to shoot strait not as a compass. Is this at last the final fix to make it usable?
Like this scope and have managed to shoot foxes out to 200yds at night with IR 800 940nm before making the mistake of using firmware 296 which screwed y coordinates.
This could be it the final solution and good value for money. I hope!

Due to some unfortunate pressures from work and family, I've been unable to get out and verify the X & Y settings, but will hopefully be able to get to it this week and will report what I find.

X and y reverted to 0,0 but I had them written down from the previous sight in session. After updating the zero, it is hitting back where is it supposed to be.

Thanks that's what I meant did you coordinates stay the same and that's great that they did. What update to you have before 343 was it 296?

I did have 296 before. I set it up for a 50 yard zero on the AR and it came in right at 1.5 inches low at 25 yards which is where the chart says it should be. I did some plate shooting at 100 yards and was on there as well. I did notice that the AO settings are different in night vision mode, than they are in daytime mode. This is not a big deal though, adjust as necessary. So far I am very pleased with this system.

CN

Checked it out on my 5-18 with the .343 firmware, and got what chodenut got: it reverted (from .296) to 0,0, but when I punched in the old coordinates from .96 that I had saved, it was right on target.

Great Thanks guys.

MGB, just as a test, and because I finally had a bit of time on my hands, I went into the .343 firmware driven menu, set both X and Y values to zero; turned the scope off; pulled the batteries and the SD card; replaced everything, returned X and Y to their original values, took the rifle and scope to the range and the very first bullet out of a cold, clean barrel was right, exactly where it was before I started my "test!"

MGB, just as a test, and because I finally had a bit of time on my hands, I went into the .343 firmware driven menu, set both X and Y values to zero; turned the scope off; pulled the batteries and the SD card; replaced everything, returned X and Y to their original values, took the rifle and scope to the range and the very first bullet out of a cold, clean barrel was right, exactly where it was before I started my "test!"

I got the 3-12 a couple of days ago and put it on my 10/22 for now (windham is at the gunsmith).

difference is I have a different firmware version from the 343, maybe the next release?

so far I am impressed with it, does exactly what it is supposed to do and is dead on target out to 50 yds. when I get the windham back monday I will mount it on there and see what 100/200 and further do.

so far atn has done me right after the debacle of sachal and the 5-18 problems I had.

New interessting find, with the .343 firmware, just take
a pic and the dimming issue will dissapear, shoot
a video and dimming is back.

/MKL

UT OH im not having any dimming issues with .296 so I think in going to leave it alone.
Mike

Can you let us Know what firmware version you have in your scope, if it isn't .343 ?

I misread my firmware (gettin old ain't easy, yaknow?).
firmware on mine is .337 not .373, did not have everthing in focus when I looked the first time and old eyeballs combined.

going to update to 343 and see if it makes a difference.

well I got to admit, atn seems to have fixed the bugs. just got the windham back, mounted the 3-12 and sighted it (firmware is .337). at about 15-160 yds. it got on target in about 5 shots, minor adjustments after that (my shakes not the sight fault) but in the end I was shooting 2" or less groups with pmc 5.56 855 ammo.

X = 11
Y = 9

no more reticle bottom left corner.

Okay all you X-sight users.
Is the x sight better than the photon? Which one would you buy now, bugs fixed?

I own an X-Sight, and have used a couple of Photons. Photons are simple, straight forward night scopes that work well. The X-Sights have gone through some birthing problems, and still have a way to go before being totally fixed, but even with its problems, I don't think you can beat it for a day and night scope with a lot of function (and more function to come, I predict). So, if I were you, I'd go with a 3-12 X-Sight.

I returned my multiple xsights and bought a photon due to the auto dimming feature making it unusable for me at night.

Ditto...

Dalee's question was: Okay all you X-sight users.
Is the x sight better than the photon? Which one would you buy now, bugs fixed?


I bought my 5-18 in February of this year, so I've been through all the wars and have read all the things that were said and that I personally experienced about the roll-out and support of the product in those early months. It was ugly. But his question is "which one would you buy now?" and my answer is still, in spite of its early problems, and the fact that not all the problems are resolved, I would recommend buying a 3-12, today, with the current firmware. Like the old saying: "Opinions are like belly buttons; everyone has one." And it is my opinion that just because ATN fumbled the ball badly during the roll-out doesn't mean that I won't accept the fact that they have made great strides in getting this product performing the way it was originally designed to perform.

As I sad before, take a picture and dimming dissapear, that makes the
X-sight a very good competitor to the phonton.....
With the .343 firmware.
/MKL

updated my 3-12 last night with the .343 and went out to sight in, now X = 8 / Y = -20 and reticle is almost centered with no zoom.

Great to see all these remarks and positive feedback. I know its been a while but believe you me you guys have played a key role in improving the Xsight and making guys like me push ATN!

Keep up the good work guys!

curious, is it ok to post a link to an external page where Xsight is being discussed?

Sachal, Thanks for helping me realize that thermal is the best way to go. I'm now the proud owner of a Zeus 3x 75mm made by Armasight. There won't be any ATN products in my future. I don't deal with companies that don't stand behind their products, or mislead their consumers.

I'm happy for your purchase.

ATN replaced mine no questions asked.

sent me a free 3-12 to make amends, and it works.

got no problems with atn now and the rep I am in communication with is doing his best to get things right.

Glad your issues were resolved. Sachal personally told me in an email that auto dimming was not an issue, and thereby inferred that it was not going to be fixed. He also would not issue a Return to Manufacturer, so I had to return it to the seller for a refund, even though it was clearly past their warranty period, had been mounted, etc, etc. I told them it did not perform as stated, and threatened to involve the Florida Attorney General office, if I didn't receive a full refund. I finally received a full refund from Optics Planet less about $40 in shipping and insurance.

I just think people should know the type of company they are dealing with and their Business Ethics.

Even with all of the problems it has had I love it. I'm a blind hunter who has connected a portable screen to the HDMI port. Thankfully the person giving me directions doesn't have to look over my shoulder anymore.

That's AWESOME

I'd like to see some other testimonies that taking a snapshot turns off the auto dimming. If this were the case I'd be more inclined to get back into this market.

I'd be happy to test that, but I'm waiting for a microSD card to turn up after my other one died. If anyone has more detail I'd like to hear too.

I think we can look for some additional firmware releases over the next several months. There are some things that are still not quite right, and I believe there are other enhancements (besides bug fixes) that they want to make and release. Hope springs eternal. . .

I received my 3-12 this week and so far no problems. I did notice today at 12PM that the time displayed was AM. I thought I has set the time wrong but it was correct. Apparently it doesn't display PM until 1PM! I'm not sure as I didn't think to check until 2:30PM and it was displaying PM then.

Not a biggy.. But I thought I would mention it. This is firmware version 343.

I have not tried the single left button click (take photo) to correct the dimming but on the facebook forum there seem to be more people that have been successful doing this.

Meister, I tried that last night playing around and it worked but as soon as I started recording it dimmed again.

Hi guys, new here, I thought this was the best forum for the ATN X-Sight and joined it. Just got my 5x18 Tuesday and upgraded it to .343 right away. I like it but it needs some things done to it. I sent ATN some suggestions on making it better. The BDC I know it BETA but it did not make since as to how it was supposed to work. Your thoughts

1). While going over the X-Sight I found a problem that I am having with it. The cap that covers the SD card slot is a little difficult to turn without a coin or screwdriver. The edge is very slick; trying to hold it and screw it in is a little difficult. Suggestion, around the edge of the mould where the top of the cap is made to cut ridges so that the edge is a little rough and it would make it easier to hold. Or if this is a machined part knurl the edge.

2). I've had your ATN X-Sight 5x18 now for about 5 days. I was looking at the Bullet Drop Compensator section. I know that it is not completed as of current date. It made me think about how this is going to work. I think that I am missing something here. Logic indicates that the speed of the bullet, the weight of the bullet, and the distance traveled, indicates height of the bullet at a given distance. Since the scope does not measure distance, you have to input the distance to the target with a know distance of a stationary target or through a range finder leaving out the windage. I understand this and see how this works in the scope to adjust the reticle with the built in computer. I do not see how this will work. There is NO place to input the Zero Distance of the reticle to input calculations as to the distance that the scope was zeroed at (disregarding the windage in these comments).

1). There needs to be a place to input the yardage that you zeroed the scope at. Based on this calculation the computer could calculate BDC based on the input of the BDC section. If I zeroed the scope at 100yds and I am shooting at 75yds, it could adjust reticle. If I zeroed at 75yds and I am shooting at 150yds. it could adjust for that also.
There doesn't seem to be a starting point for the reticle, it is just sitting out there in lala land only knowing it is centered vertically and horizontally but doesn't know any thing else. You input info in the BDC section, and it figures the BDC from what location? That is why you zero a scope at a certain distance and the BDC points in the MIL Dot scope indicate the approximate yardage at each point below the center-line.

xchief, my thought on the ballistics is it needs to be dropped.
this is a night sight primarily and as such I see no need for bdc in the scope as most of us are shooting at 200yds or less, usually much less.
my windham vex with 5.56 @ 200 yds has very little drop, my shots are mostly less than 100 yds so no need to compensate. this is just another bell/whistle that they could eliminate and free up more of the obsidian chip to do video/photos etc.

jmo

Zero 2" high at 100 puts most modern loads dead on at 200 and 8-9" low at 300. More than 300 yards at night means you don't need the help of a crappy BDC anyway, as you obviously know what you're doing.

I don't hunt any more, I can figure my BDC anyway. I was only trying to help them out. From the information input into the scope it was not logical to me as to how that it could be calculated. The way you input data would not work in a hunting situation very well any way. It takes too long to do so and you would have to laser a distance, set scope and then compensate because the animal would not be at the exact position that you set, and would probably move any way. Like I said, I was only trying to help out.

XChief... I'm assuming service? If so, thank you for your service sir .

Retired US Navy EM3, Retired DOD, Assistant Fire Chief, WPAFB OHIO. Thanks. Military and Vets are treated a lot better now than in the early 1970's.

got that right, RM2 here, out in feb of 74.

Yep! FT2(SS) here, out in '65 with some "quality time" in and around the 'Nam in '64 and early '65.

Yessir...for sure. Thank you just the same...and everyone else. The sacrifice and service is very much appreciated.

I'm finding it a little hard to get the video started for the first time after turning the unit on. I've tried pushing the button quick, slow or holding it down then releasing it. Once it is started then I can stop and restart it easily. Is this just me or are other experiencing this.
I usually don't have the time to be messing with this otherwise I'll miss the shot.

Having the same problem also.

Does anyone know the thread size of the lens hood on the 3-12 x sight? I would like to try a doubler but don't know the size. I measures the threads on the hood and they were 1,710" which is like 43.4mm but I doubt that is the correct size. Any help would be appreciated.
J.D.

JD, I'd call ATN's customer service department, or send them an email with your issue. They've been pretty good (and prompt) about responding.

Thanks, I think I'll call tomorrow.

Had my 5X out last weekend and it functioned good.
I lost my X&Y sheet for all my rifles, but found an old version with a different bullet weight and it was close enough to be on paper at 50 yards.
Sighted it in on my DTA 260,but I didn't get to shoot anything.

I updated my Obsidian app and the update is supposed to only work with a firmware version later than 343!
I wonder If a new firmware update is around the corner?

just checked mine (has not worked with the new 3-12) and it says .343 and up so it should function. I told the rep that has been dealing with me and he said they would look into it, guess I need to email him again.

The upgrade advised to take note that it required a firmware version "higher" than 1.8.07.343. I guess we'll have to wait for a newer version. Hope it's just over the horizon.

I might add, I'm using a Apple device not Android. I don't see as it would make any difference though.

I told the rep a month ago about the app not working, lots of complaints in the google play store comments too, will email him and ask about it.

heres the info for the 3-12 and also the 5-18 as well if anyone needs it..

3-12 objective dimensions.

Objective lens OD = 48.15 mm

Pre-thread diameter of objective: 42.66mm

Diameter of full thread on sunshade: 43.5mm

Thread pitch = 0.75


XSight 5-18 objective dimensions


5-18x

Objective lens OD = 63.65 mm

Pre-thread diameter of objective: 60.12 mm

Diameter of full thread on sunshade: 60.80 mm

Thread pitch = 0.75

j.d. it is operator error on my part, here is what I did and now it works fine


both turned on and make sure wifi is on in both (I kept forgetting to turn on the dam sight)

hit your wifi search on the phone and it should show your obsidian (or whatever you renamed it to), connect.

will need to enter the password too.

mine works fine now, gettin old sucks sometimes!

I didn't call, but I emailed. I ASKED TWO SIMPLE QUESTIONS.

1- what size thread is the objective lens hood.

2- I advised them, Due to the "Note" on the Apple Store upgrade page that states the Obsidian upgrade would need a newer (later not 343) firmware version than current 343...I asked when the next firmware upgrade was going to be released.

I received an email wanting me to clarify to them if I was referring to the lens thread or the lens hood thread! And then was advised that I shouldn't be getting error messages requiring a new firmware version, and to try to uninstall and reinstall the app. I replied to the questions and was civil about the whole thing.

I started to reply as who in hell said anything about errors with the app? I plainly advised that the "Note" in question was on the Apple Store on the upgrade page for their app!

To date I don't have an answer to either question. The guy who emailed me was a account manager, maybe that's the problem, plus apparently he can't comprehend what he reads!

I thank you for the sizes on the threads. I might add that I haven't had any problems with the app other than some playback lock ups straight from the X sight. Lingering bugs probably..

I do look forward to the next firmware upgrade though.

JD, I'm very disappointed to hear of your experience with ATN Customer Support. I've used them several times and have always gotten prompt, professional and correct answers. Not to say that I don't still have issues with my 5-18, which I'm hoping will be fixed in future firmware releases, but my interaction with Customer Support has always at least met my expectations. By the way, for everyone's information, there's an X-Sight user's group on Facebook and a guy who monitors it regularly seems to be wired in pretty tightly with ATN. You might try getting an answer from him on any lingering questions that are left after you try Customer Support. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATNXSightUsers/ Dude's name is Jason Jones.

Mikei,
I'm getting old and I guess I ran out of patience long ago. . I spoke to the same guy today in reference to my scope occasionally ( about half dozen times since I've had it) going out of focus when I fire my gun. He was very professional and suggested I might want to send it in and let them check it, repair or replace. After finding out this was the same guy that emailed me about the prior questions I asked again. He couldn't advise about the thread size but did stare that the "note" on th Apple Store probably meant current few 343.

I later shot my rifle again 5 times and couldn't get the thing to go out of focus. I called back and spoke to him again and told him to just take note of our conversation about this focus problem and to cancel the return for the time being and if it continued or worsened I would contact him. It's just does this crap once in a while.

I also advised that occasionally I have to unscrew the battery cap to reboot the thing as it will lock up sometimes and I can't display the menu or turn the scope off.

Here's something I wish you guys would check if you have time. I was tinkering with my power settings due to the fact I can use the top of the bottom post of the reticule for a 100 yd sight at 10X if need be. What I noticed is that while at a given pwr say at 7.2 after the display goes back to the reticule I could then push the down key to bring the pwr lower and it would start off at 7.5 (higher than I left it)! I spoke to ATN about this also but I'm not sure he understood me.

Again, overall this guy was very helpful and professional.

JD

J.D. regarding the objective losing focus due to recoil, I have noticed that some lenses (both the 5x and the 3x) exhibit some backlash. If this is what is happening on your sight, it will likely only happen when you focus in one direction, which may explain why it seems to come and go.

To test for this you need to test focusing from both directions separately (ie from far->near and from near->far) only rotating the focus ring in one direction for each test, not backing it up at all.
So, set focus to infinity, then wind back to focus the target, then fire a few shots and see if it is still in focus. Then set focus to its closest focus distance, then wind out to focus the target and fire a few shots and check if it is still in focus.

I have a 3x lens that was easily adjusted to eliminate this backlash.

Can you tell me what cartridge the rifle is chambered in?

My 3x goes out of focus - if anybody has taken the lens apart and knows how to reset or tighten the lens to fix this problem please post the steps.

I assume there is a set screw or something that isn't holding the lens in the right place.

Thx

This is killing me, as I just sold a handgun for the amount to purchase a 3X model, only to find out there might be some focusing issues with the 3x version. My 5x has had none of these issues and I'm wondering if the manual focus conversion that has been done to the 3x scopes is failing due to recoil ?

In my opinion the manual focus is not failing, it is just that the backlash/clearances are allowing the lens assembly to move slightly under recoil.

I can't promise this will work on everyone's lens but I can explain what I did. I can't take any photos now but if it will help people I can do that.

Do this at your own risk. If you don't feel you are up to it, think it's a bad idea or are worried about warranty, please don't do it.

I pulled the focus mechanism apart to see how it works and what might be wrong, but you really don't need to do that.

Simply put:
1. Focus the lense to a mid point - not at one of the endstops.
2. On the objective end of the 3x lens there are three grub screws.
3. With a 1mm allen key, back them out until they are about level with the top surface. You don't need to remove them entirely and risk losing them, but I removed the screws and the objective ring and cleaned the swarf out of all of the threads.
4. Tighten the objective ring up until it is firm (right hand thread). The focus ring will be very difficult to turn.
5. Back the objective ring off a small amount until the focus ring is functional again (note the focus rings will always be quite firm due to the sealing orings).
6. Retighten the three grub screws (don't overtighten!)
7. Test again.

I found I had to tighten the objective ring by about 110° (almost 1/3 of a turn) from the original position and it eliminated 90% of the backlash and the focus ring feels the same. It isn't possible to eliminate all the backlash because there are necessary clearances between the focus drive helix and the pins that drive the lens assembly, but it is dramatically better.

If anyone is interested in more detail on how the lens works, let me know and I can take some photos and write a better description.

I'll try this out tonight but can't test fire until who knows when

Finding a 1mm Allen wrench on the shelf has proved to be an impossible task, guess I'll need to order online

Counter, my rifle is chambered for 300 BLK and I'm using subsonic ammo which is very low recoil. The objective ring you are referring to, is this at the very end? There appears to be two, but maybe it's just a groove that makes it look that way. So I just loosen the grub screws and tighten it up some?

I've taken some pics to show what I did.

Make sure the focus ring is positioned half way between near and far.

3x X-Sight Lens


Loosen three grub screws (you need a 1mm allen key. Most general purpose sets only go to 1.5mm). Loosen them until the grub screw is level with the surface of the objective ring.


Tighten the objective ring until you can feel it is firm and all clearance is removed (note the objective ring has an o-ring so has some friction)


Back off the objective ring a small amount otherwise the focus ring will be too tight to function (note in this image the ring is loosened about 20° or approx the spacing of one of the ridges on the focus ring).


Now retighten the three grub screws. Don't overtighten.
Check function.

Hope that helps.

For those interested in more detail on the workings of the lens, here are a few more disassembly pics.

Front of lens


Rear of Lens


Focus ring removed


Close up of focus helix

Counter,
Thanks for the info! I'm going to try focusing from one direction as you suggested first and then I may try this.

For those of you who are interested I mentioned earlier this year that I'm a blind hunter who was going to try using one of these with an LCD screen so my guide didn't have to look over my shoulder while whispering directions. Unfortunately because of trying and failing to keep a transplanted kidney working I spent the year in and out of hospitals and doctors offices and didn't even get to sight in until last weekend. It works really well. The one thing I noticed, and it could have been and probably was the new gun I was using, Using 150 grain Winchester Silvertips I got it dead on at 25 yards. At 100 yards I wasn't even hitting paper. I switched to 165 grain Federal Fusion and had no problem.

Good to,hear you're back out and behind your rifle. I don't know how big of a target you're using, but I've found using an 8.5x11" paper target sometimes the 25 yard zero ( depending on caliber) will be off at 100. If I can't find the bullet hole in my backer (which is full of old bullet holes) I put up a 4x5 sheet of card board as a backer and try again. I'll find it then and after zeroing it will still be pretty close at 25.

If I'm not mistaken, I was showing a friend how I could use wifi to display the screen so an observer could see what I was seeing on the screen, and the reticle was not displayed. It displayed the screen view but just no reticle. I'm using firmware 343 and May to try this again. I was using a iPad Air. Could you advise what device you're using..android or IOS?

I'm actually not using IOS or Android because of the delay in wi-fi. I'm using a field monitor connected to the scope with a HDMI cable.

Ever wonder why ATN used RED buttons on the X-sight?

To match my handguard -

The caliber is American 30 so that is why it says that, its a wildcat cartridge from Black Hole Weaponry




Still trying to locate a 1mm allen wrench so I can fix the scope

Looks great Pig Popper! I'm envious.

You should be able to get a 1mm allen key from somewhere that sells electronic parts and tools. I also get them from work because they come with sensor cable connectors used on pneumatic/PLC automation equipment.

A good,place to,check is some of the RC hobby sites.

blindcowboy,
I connected to my X sight yesterday and the screen does display the reticle. It's just so small it's hard to detect in the sunlight. As for the wifi delay your refer to, I noticed that when I selected screen, the display on my iPad was blocky then it would be ok, then it would be blocky again. Is this caused because on the wifi delay? I was in my house about 8-12 ft away, then I got next to the scope and it was ok. Anyway I would like to know more about your setup.

I've acgtually never connected to it using wi-fi. I did some research and talked to people on here before buying the scope and was told there would be a 2 second delay using wi-fi. I decided not to chance it since I've had deer move before between the time I was told to fire and when I fired. Someone on here suggested a field monitor which is what photographers use to see their pictures better in the field. It's about the size of an iPad but is only a screen. My spotter has to use a sunshade on it if in the sun other wise the glare completely blots out the screen. My wife, Chicklitter on THF, was helping me sight in last weekend and will be in the blind with me next weekend. I'll see if I can get her to get on here later and give you more of a description from a sited perspective.

For the rest of my setup I'm using a Browning A-bolt 30-06 which I put a rail on.

Here's a link to the screen I am using and I apologize it's not as big as an iPad. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006HZJ...ailpage_o07_s00

Here's a link to the batteries I got for it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IO6E...ailpage_o05_s00

Quick question. I'm running the latest firmware and went to zero it in. I started zeroing on base mag because I read somewhere this was a must. But trying to hit a .5 moa dot at 100 yds is rough on my eyes. So I zoomed and zeroed. I didn't get a chance to check it at multiple levels of zoom but did I screw up by doing this?

Harbor Freight Tools has a set of "Pittsburg Pro" assorted tools that contains a .09mm head, it worked to get the focus ring loose.

I spent about 4000 hours messing with the scope and I'm getting nowhere in terms of adjusting the lens back to a useful clarity.

As a reminder - this particular scope looked great day 1 , after a few shots of 223 the scope started to loose focus , manual adjustment required to get it back - take another shot loose focus and so on until the objective ring finally bottomed out and focus couldn't be attained. This would be turning the objective ring counter clockwise which moves the component AWAY from the scope.

Here is part 1 where I tried what Counter recommended - no joy...



So the screw on the objective ring hold it into a set hole that keeps it from spinning freely, the STOPs (left to right) of the objective ring are controlled by a grooved inner collar that is screwed directly into the machined housing of the lens. You can try and try and try to "adjust" this configuration but because the holes are all pre-drilled you end up with the focus ring and objective ring stopping at the same point - only variance is if you advance the focus ring to the next stage you tighten the objective ring to tight as Counter related but this doesn't change the focal points



And so as I continued to dig myself deeper into a hole I found more "guts" in the lens assembly - a spring? Really a spring...? how is that even functional in this array of screws and sleeves and collars.

I figure the only way I can get the stop to adjust so that I can chase clarity is to turn the entire lens assembly clockwise - that would require moving the base which I haven't figured out how to do - I tried placing a metal bar through the holes but I think it is being held in place with other set screws in the body of the scope.

Im Xsighted that I took something apart but I'm thinking Im just wasting my time.

Hi Pig Popper, it sounds to me that if it is/was getting progressively worse that the best option might be to send it back and get ATN to sort it out. Could be a lens element or assembly that has become dislodged and moving about?

Anyway, if you want to remove the entire objective lens assembly (beware of warranty implications), you need to loosen the two set screws on the main body of the X-Sight at the 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock position. The set screws are just tightened into the main thread to lock it, so even after backing the set screws out, it may be difficult to unscrew the lens due to deformed threads/swarf. Take care.

Yeah, with a two second delay viewing, wifi is a little useless for shooting. I'm just reading and learning as I don't have a need for this unless I had some one with me wanting to see what I'm seeing in the field. I just don't understand the blocky screen before I have clarity. It may be due to my iPad memory, but I really think it's to do with wifi through put. It's funny that it appears to be ok if my device is within a foot or so from the sight.

Counter,

Yesterday I was shooting from my bench and followed your suggestion in reference to focusing from one direction and I never had a focus problem. It appears that the backlash was the problem. I don't think I'll attempt tightening the focus ring ar this time as its really difficult to turn as it is!

Thanks, JD

Question for all. Does any one experience their scope just locking up? I have turned mine on to sometimes find that after it boots up that the the buttons will not respond. I mean I can't even turn the sucker off. I have to unscrew the battery cap and then screw it back, turn back on and all is well. I can't remember if this is with used batteries (low battery icon flashing) or not, but it's happened several times. If this is a bug, I sure hope they correct it with the next fw update.

I might add FWIW that I have a delay set at 5 min for mine to go into sleep mode. I thought I'd mention this in case someone else might need to know that it takes a good bit of movement and/or delay for it to come back on. The easiest way I've found is to just press the "enter" button for about 2-3 seconds and it comes back on.

Hey J.D. - if the problem occurs every so often you may just need to tighten down the battery lid more (think gorilla tight).

I have another 3x that turns off on recoil (doesn't lock up / screen freeze) - I had put it on my 22lr rifle and it can handle that recoil without shutting off.

So I had a thought

Swap the lens from the Xsight that shuts off but has good lens focus with the one that stays on but has poor lens focus - the idea being that the 22lr recoil shouldn't shift the bad lens clarity (shouldn't....).



All the pieces disassembled on the poor focus unit



Take off two set screws and careful unscrew the entire lens assembly - learned this after taking the other one apart




Done - time to test the swapped lens - hopefully they behave and I can hunt these things

Strikes me as a lot of work to simply use the scope you purchased that was supposedly ready to go hunting...

Wouldn't it have been easier to contact ATN and get a new replacement shipped?

I haven't exhaustively tested the wifi, but I found that on an iphone4 which will only run v1.1 of the app (due to it running iOS7) I could not use the viewfinder streaming at all; it was just blocks and lines. I can use it to change settings on the scope though.
Running on an iphone5 it worked fine. I found that there was some latency, but definitely not 2seconds. This was with v1.1 of the app also. I haven't tried the new version of the app yet which was supposed to improve wifi performance allond with the 1.8.07.343 firmware for the sight.
It might be worth checking your firmware and app version?

Good find.
With my particular lens, as long as I backed it off from the 'firm' position 15°-20° there was no increase in friction to rotate the focus ring.

I haven't had this problem. I did notice that just after turning it on the menu buttons don't work for a few seconds, but I think the processor is still starting up at that time. Aside from that I haven't noticed it becoming unresponsive.

Cool. Interested to hear the result!
Although I do worry that there is something really wrong if you used to be able to achieve focus and now can't.

Some of us like to tinker and understand/improve the products we have.
Some of us are gluttons for punishment
It's a fine line sometimes.

I don't have an original bill of sale and I don't expect ATN to help when technically they shouldn't have to.

Like my husband mentioned, we're connecting the field monitor to the scope via HDMI cable, so there's no delay in the feed. Using the field monitor I see the reticle just fine--it's basically like I'm looking through the scope, just on a larger scale. The biggest difference I noticed is that when you zoom in at, say, 100 yards, the picture isn't as clear on the monitor as it is on the scope. My guess is that there's something getting lost in the data transfer regarding the clarity, or it could just be the field monitor itself.

Like blindcowboy mentioned, with the Winchester silvertips we got it dead center at 25 yards (that one-shot zero function is freaking awesome, btw), but couldn't get it on paper at all at 100 yards. Switched over to the slightly heavier Federal Fusions and had no trouble at all.

I have to use a sunshade in order to actually see the screen, though, and even with the sunshade I have to make sure the monitor's also in shade--otherwise it's pretty much useless. Oh, and someone asked if their scope ever froze up on them--that happened to us a few times last weekend when we were sighting it in. Had to unscrew the battery cap and turn it off that way, and then it kept giving a low battery warning even though the batteries were brand spanking new. Actually, I was going to ask--has anyone found that one type/brand of batteries works better than another? Any batteries that don't seem to work at all? This scope can be a battery hog.

You can get an external USB battery and connect it to the scope. It will run all night....two nights or more with the right sized battery.

I don't think you'll need the bill of sale. I had a 3x that wouldn't hold focus. I contacted ATN, they gave me an RMA no questions asked. They sent the scope the same day, as it took me 2 days to send mine back and the new scope showed up the day after I sent mine in.

Well, that might be what's happening. Reason being, when I get a view in on my screen I've been trying to get to the menu. Next time I'll wait for 30 seconds or so and see how that works in the future. I've never lost power (with good batteries) and always have kept my cap tight (any tighter would require a pipe wrench) but maybe it takes longer sometimes for the sight to boot up. There is also the possibility I turned on the unit with batteries that were about to give up also.

I might add also as for the blocky screen with wifi, I'm running 9.1 on my iPad Air. It appears that mine needs my iPad or iphone5 very close to the sight, but that doesn't make any sense to me.

I haven't found that but I haven't tested it. Good question!

Hi Chicklitter,
I'm using Powerex 2700 rechargeable and also eneloop. They last for a couple hrs at the bench because they're not 1.5 volt (around 1.25). The problem is I might not get an hour before the sight won't record due to low voltage. Counter, probably can add to this. I'll tell you this, when they go back on the charger it doesn't take but about 30 minutes to charge them so you don't get their full potential. I've ordered some rechargeable lithium batteries (jury's still out on these) but I don't know when I'll ever receive them. They have a voltage of 1.5 and should last longer. I'm now using external power in the field but would like to have longer lasting on boa d batteries but I'm not going to pay 8 bucks for four batteries all the time.

Without getting too nerdy with the batteries, nimh rechargeables (1.2V nominal) start at a lower voltage than alkalines (1.5V nominal), but have a much flatter discharge.

Something like this (image is from google just to illustrate the point):


The low battery indicator comes on at around 2.67V (1.34V/cell). That level is fairly conservative even for alkalines. This means that when using nimh, the low battery indicator will probably come on almost straight away even with fully charged batteries.

Once the X-sight determines the batteries are too low, it won't allow recording. Using nimh there would still quite a bit of life left in the batteries at that point.

For me there is probably two real options for batteries, both with advantages and disadvantages:

1. Use the Kentli lithium rechargeables (with integral 1.5V regulator) which are not cheap and require a special charger (or a diy solution). There are questions on how long these will last as they are fairly harsh on their internal cells and actually have less capacity than the marketing will have you believe.

2. Use a USB power bank. This adds bulk and cabling, but as mentioned you can run all night and be wondering if your batteries are going to die at a critical moment. The easy way of adding this type of power is to use the microUSB port as hopalong suggests. Because I don't like the fragile microUSB port and because I like to make things difficult, I've decided to design an adapter to fit the battery compartment to allow a 5-12V supply to be connected.

If you ask ATN will send you a spare cap for free. A dremel tool and a little silicone will give you a supported cable slot to help reduce the chance of the plug getting loose.

Do you mean to get another aluminium cap and modify it with a hole for the cable and silicone it in place? how would you then access the uSD card?

Counter, I just received my Kentli batteries today! Could you advise how long they last compared to store bought lithium?

Thanks, JD

Hi JD,
I haven't used them but based on the technical data I found online, at the current that the X-Sight runs you should see a real world capacity of around 1640mAh. That would give you around 6-7.5hrs depending on what you have switched on (wifi, GPS, etc).
A good primary lithium AA would have about 3000mAh.

I've used Kentli batteries on both my ATN's for about 9 months.I leave the scope on when on my stand and take pics and movies as needed. No other options are running. I'd say I get at least 8 hours before I change the batteries but not because they were drained but because I want fresh batteries before my next hunt. I have 16 Kentli's.

My IR's are the real battery drainers. They get weak after maybe 2 - 3 hours of continuous use. I shut the IR off when I'm not viewing through the scope.

DrifterAT,
I don't use wifi or gps so if I can get 7-8 hrs that will be great. I've read that the voltage knee on these is sharp and the voltage drop occurs without warning. This is really the reason I asked about how long they last. I think I'll change out after 6-7 hrs if I get a chance that way I won't get surprised in the middle of a hunt.

I hunt on my property most of the time behind my shop overlooking a pasture. I have three security cameras that have IR and I use a gen2 monocular for spotting so I don't really turn on my gun IR until I see eyes. I purchased the gen2 mono from http://www.night-vision.com/ several years ago and I really like it.

Not siliconed in place. Put some lube on the cable and put silicone on cap and around the plug. After the silicone dries pull the plug out and remove lube. You now have a mostly water tight seal around a removeable plug. Use the original cap for when external power is not needed or wanted. Or just the slot to support the plug and forget the silicone.

J.D. I tried several brands of batteries before settling on the Kentli's. Once I was past the sticker shock, they've worked out well for me and my style of hunting.

Now if I could improve my IR I'd be perfect. I hunt a couple of locations where my primary shooting area is 175 yards. I can make out the game but sometimes it's difficult to determine the front and back ends if the game is angled from my viewpoint. However, when my game cam at 175 starts a 10 second movie recording, the game lights up so crystal clear in focus and definition on my X-sight - shows me the real capability of it. I use UNV20IR or the knockoffs but I may have to go to those monster sized IR Lights that look like they weight 2 - 3 lbs!!!

Good luck with your battery decision.

If you're in the Austin Area, I'd be happy to let you use a set of Kentli's for a few days to try.

Ahh, I see what you mean now; make the slot the right size and orientation to plug the cable in after screwing on the modified cap.

DrifterAT,
"If you're in the Austin Area, I'd be happy to let you use a set of Kentli's for a few days to try."

If I'm in Austin, I'm looking for beef brisket first!

I have had great run times with Energizer Lithium

I have the 3-12 X Sight and was wondering if anyone had tried a 2X doubler lens? I ordered a 43mm UV filter just to see if it's the correct thread size as my measurements on the lens hood were around 43,5 or so. If this is correct I'm going to order a doubler lens.

I'm hoping to gain some optical power without using digital. I sometimes wish I had bought the 5-18 scope but didn't think I needed it and didn't want the extra weight. I don't think the doubler lens will add that much weight if it will work.

You might be able to find someone to swap and save some cash and hassle. Just a thought.

I actually purchased a pack of four and never opened them. They were about 8 bucks and I thought even if they last 10 hrs they were too expensive for my use. Now after that mouth full, the Kentli batteries are expensive also. I paid $59 for four and the charger, and picked up an additional four batteries for around $40. So after around a dozen uses I'll break even on my investment.

Personally, I think the real advantage here is that they will hold a more constant voltage of 1.5 and allow recording longer, but the jury's still out on this. I sure hope so as I've got a 100 bucks invested!

Yeah, you're right, but I jumped in and ordered. I'm really looking at those Pulsar HD19S 's so I might need to be saving every penny. I got to really warm up to the better half before Xmas!

I'm running Kentli's as well. The one thing I dislike is no warning up to shut off, no low battery, full power indicator up to the point that it just turns off.

fr3db3ar,
If I can can get a good 6hrs that will take care of most of my hunts, at night anyway.

Reading through some of the posts, reviewing the fb page, and looking at Amazon reviews is making me re-consider buying one. It looks like a lot of the issues have been resolved. I didn't want to go down this hole, but I may just do it.

Finally had a chance to try ver .343 in a 5-18x - it corrected the auto dimming issue. As someone else mentioned, taking a picture adds significantly more lighting. Pics and video work fine. Certainly a much needed improvement. I'll be loading it on my 3-12x today.

Has two hogs about 150 yards Saturday right after dark but passed. I'm waiting on a specific WTD Buck. I did use my x-sight to take an Axis buck yesterday but it was in day mode.

Question for the THF brain trust.

I am running the 3x12 on a AR10, if I take the scope off and put it back on in the same slots on the rail will it still be zeroed?

It took to much time to zero in and I don't want to have to go through it again.

I've switched my scope from crossbow to air rifle, to my 260 and 20 practical with little POI shift after setting the X/Y coordinates. Usually took two shots to confirm zero. With the zero feature, I found it to be one of the easiest scopes to zero. Take a shot, hold the scope on the bulls eye and move the dot to the point of impact. Take another shot to confirm zero and write down the X/Y setting for future zero check of that rifle. So easy a caveman can do it.

Shouldn't take you very much time at all to re-zero the X-Sight when you move it from firearm to firearm. I've had my 5-18 on my .223, .243, 6PPC, and .270, and 2 shots later I'm re-zeroed. As mentioned, write down your X/Y coordinates for each rifle/caliber/load, and you should be good to go with minimum re-zeroing effort.

Well, I run up on a stump and haven't really got off yet.

I've got two different loads, one subsonic and one supersonic. I had written my sight coordinates down and today was the first time I had attempted to change back to my subsonic loads. Well, I changed to my subsonic load (XY coord) and when I shot my target at 100 yds my group was about 7 inches to the right. After making adjustments to zero, my XY are about 10 units different from what I had previously recorded. What gives?

I really didn't notice, or think it made any difference as to what power I had the sight set on when making adjustments, but now think it might. Anyway, I have now changed back to the supersonic load data and it was close.

Have any of you guys run into this? Am I missing something? I called ATN, and they didn't have a clue, and of course recommended I reload the firmware again and if that didn't solve the problem to send it in. I really think it has something to do with making adjustments at different power levels, as I noticed I had to be on 12 power to set my X value as it would skip the number I needed at a lower power. I also noticed that the power displayed would be different from what was at the bottom right on the screen if digital zoom was different from standard settings in setup. For example, when I would zoom up to 12 power it would display 11.3 in the bottom right corner. I then set digital zoom back to standard and now it displays the same in both locations.

Any input on sight adjustments would be appreciated.

It seems that after installing the new firmware you have to do a factory reset. This DOESN'T remove the new firmware. After a reboot you will get "update complete" The update complete is needed or it gets buggy. This is from the facebook owners forum. You'll then have to rezero or try your old x y settings as it sets these back to 0.

I installed the firmware update (month ago) when I received the scope new(I don't remember resetting the sight though)! So, I didn't have any XY input in reference to xero's. I just zeroed to my two loads that i use and have been shooting from the bench testing different loads. As I made adjustments all was well. I never changed anything after my second zero other than the digital zoom setting. I think made all zero adjustments at 12 power as I was shooting at 100 yds. Anyway, when I decided to go back to my subsonic zero and checked my zero it was off several inches. I have since set the digital zero back to standard. And by accident holding down the enter button while making zero changes it cleared my XY values to zero. I didn't know that you could clear them.

I'm not on Facebook so I would like to hear more on this resetting after firmware upgrades.
Thai you for your reply, JD

Well, for anyone interested, I reset the sight and rezeroed both loads. Digital zoom was left at standard, all zeroing was done at 12 power and the range was 100 yards as before.

1st load XY values, Old X -84, Y 47. New, X -80, Y 31
2nd load XY values, Old X -76, Y 7. New, X -84, Y -2

I don't know why these changed, but they did. Same loads, scope has not moved. One would think that the gun had been dropped or something but it has not. Both of these loads group less than 2MOA so it's easy to determine POI (they have changed)! I have changed back and forth to these settings and POI is now correct.

I don't have a clue as what happened, but I think I'm going to keep my zoom settings at standard and make all of my adjustments at the same power level until i or someone can shed some light on what happened. Anyway fwiw I thought someone might want this info.

New guy here on the east coast...can anyone tell me why I have no battery indicator on my 5-18? It has the 343 update...

Thanks!

The indicator is a 'Low Battery' indicator, so maybe your batteries still have a lot of charge left?
What type of batteries are you running?

Eneloop pro batteries...

Well...I've got some hours behind me with the 5-18, and I'm both happy and unhappy.

It's glitchy. Today I turned it on in the field...pretty cold outside this morning, and after power up, nothing would work....no response from any button...couldnt power it off...had to unscrew the battery cap to reboot.

Powered it back on and same thing.

Unscrewed the battery cap again and let it sit till it got warmer out and it worked fine.

This is a brand new second unit from ATN directly. The first unit had a canted display inside.

That is one problem...the other issue I have with this new unit is powering it down. I have to hold the power button like normal for 3 seconds, but if I don't release the power button exactly when the countdown ends, it shuts off and comes right back on.

I also have the problem with the unit powering off from recoil sometimes. It's on a AR15, so recoil is minimal.

The auto brightness is a pain in the [censored] at night, and the picture taking trick only works for a few seconds.

Overall I'm wishing this [censored] thing just worked like it was advertised. Horrible quality control and a made in china unit.

Anyone have sny suggestions?

I used my 5X a lot the opening week of the NY deer season and while I didn't see anything worth shooting, I did take a lot of pics and recorded most of the game I saw.
I didn't have the dimming issue (until a pic is taken) until I loaded the 343 version a second time.
I have had no other issue's with the scope.
I might just go back to the 296 version, as I never had the dimming issue with that version.

Bump

TriggerHappyBunny, sometime back someone told me to move the battery cover CCW (off) until you hear/feel an audible click then tighten down the cover. When I first purchased my x-sight a year ago, I had this same issue (power off sometimes after a shot) until I started closing my battery cover as I described above. Might be worth a shot.

Version 343 resolved my auto dimming issues - my ATN works great now!

Drifter I hope you're right.

I decided to try another one.

For thoose that have battery cap problems, with the scope turning off
when shooting, Contact ATN for a better, new improved cap, Think they
are free of charge aswell.

/MKL

Hello guys, It amazes me that you all have been free beta testers and I thank you.

I am not from Texas but this was a great forum to read up on the X-sight. I did spend some time in Corpus Christi and San Antonio if that counts. I really liked it there and tried to get the wife to move but she "aint havin it".

Anyway I have been on the fence but think I am ready to move on a 3x12. Am I right by saying the newest updates are clearing up these issues listed?
1)reticle staying centered after magnification adjustments and zero?
2)WIFI and photo working?
3)auto dimming fixed?
4)flicker?
5)going out of focus after a shot?

I am planning on coyote hunting this winter with a friend. They have been way to close to my animals. I have seen them pack up to 5 or 6 at a time. My area of hunting can go from thick cover to open fields with 300+ yard shots.
If I have a bright enough IR is this scope capable of taking the farther shots? I can make 300 yard shots with a 2x strikefire red dot and a 5.56. I would hope this scope would also.

Thanks again for all this info and hard work you guys are putting in for us late comers and the X-Sight.

AL



OH yeah Any suggestions on a good light that would throw to 300 yards?

I've never seen a yote at 300 yards with my x-sights but pigs at 300 yards I have. If it wasn't for the eye reflection, I might not know which end is which . Based on my experience (and I use my x-sights 3 of every 5 weekends) I'd say the 5 issues you described have been corrected on my scopes.

Good luck with your decision.

What's the trick with 343 and wifi? I have the 2.1 app on an iPad and iPhone, have tried turning wifi on and off, powering scope on/off, but neither device will ever connect or even appear to be trying. The "connect to your device" button seems to not be functioning.

Also, anyone tried copying videos/pics from the card on to a Mac? When I did that last week, the operation on the Mac would seem to hang (would never complete) and when I forced a quit, the file would be deleted. Very strange...

Charlie

Well my new 3-12 arrived yesterday. It came with 296 installed. Everything seemed to work fine. Couldn't take it to the range between heavy fog and rain.

I decided I might as well install the 343 since I haven't spent any time on it yet. I thought we had the zero crosshair fixed so that it was centered all the time, not only when you start to zoom?

Hopefully I'll get to the range later tonight or tomorrow and get to test the auto dimming. It was a deal breaker for me in the past.

I think I'm going to go back to the 296 version or try to download the 343 again, as I had some issues with dimming yesterday.
I was hunting between two fields and if I wasn't up at least 3 feet off the ground, the scope wouldn't see past 20 yards. Really pissed me off, as I had to stay low or I would stick out against the skyline. I didn't have the 296 version with me to download, but I don't remember it having that issue. Plus, I don't like having to take a pic to make the pic brighter every time before using it.

does anyone have access to the .296 firmware ? i'm not sure what mine was when new , but it did upgrade to .343 and i can't stand the dimming issues , and having to take a pic to get the brightness up ... it also dims back when recording video ... i'm hoping that .296 would fix this .... please let me know if you know where I can download this , or if you can send me a link to download it (google drive ???) thank you!

on another note if some of you have had the same issue ... when you hold the power button to turn the sight off .. you have to let go right as the count down finishes .. if you hold it a little too long , the unit turns back on ... i learned the hard way and wasted a brand new set of energizers ... just FYI.

That has been in threads since the scope came out...

Thanks for posting this.. I haven't read every thread and post so when you posted this I went and put the batteries back in mine and then powered it on and back off and it worked as you stated.

The reticle can't be centered at zero digital zoom. Well it could but to do so you would have to crop the outside edges of the view until it could be moved to center. What has been updated is that it tries to get to center with each bump in digital zoom. The two ways I know to fix this are make the sensor bigger than your display and basically waste the non-display video or crop the edges until you can pull the reticle to the center of the screen. Neither is an ideal answer. That's the nature of digital though. The third option would be to have a manual adjustment of the sensor so that it can be physically zeroed. Then you lose the one shot zero as well as need to build a physical adjustment system making it even larger and heavier. The larger sensor is the simplest fix but it's a bit wasteful as the excess never gets seen.

It's not the nature of digital optics per se. I have a Pulsar 850 which is 5 times the cost but it's centered all the time. Now I need to see that one so I can go thermal

Academy has had the 3-12 for $429 for a while now but most stores were out. I found one last night in Tomball and picked it up. Drove to another Academy to pick up my new Diamondback 300 BO AR, and got the scope mounted last night. The firmware update got stuck at 25%, but a power cycle seemed to cause it to complete, and so far it seems to work. Observations so far...

- Resolution of the screen inside is better than I expected, very sharp after you get it focused.
- This unit is a beast, VERY heavy. I don't really understand why it is so heavy given the electronics inside.
- I wish the buttons had a more obvious feel when you operating the buttons by feel.
- Backyard tests of the night vision showed it worked pretty well.

I can't help but think I bought a product that will be drastically smaller and lighter in a year or two, but I'll probably keep it if it all works as advertised, and the hogs at my property don't stand a chance.

Headed to the range this morning to zero it in.

A small round, self adhiesive velcro piece, cut down if needed, stuck to the center enter button will give you a better feel for where the other buttons are located. Find the velcro by feel and the other 4 buttons are where you expect them to be.

awesome tip! Thanks

Well, I think it's going back....

I'm at my property now, and used the scope for the first time yesterday and it's not a keeper for me. Here's what happened in my case.

- Bought a new Diamondback 300BO AR and the X-sight at Academy over the weekend for close range hog and deer hunting on 26 acres. I updated the firmware to 7.343 then went to the range yesterday morning and sighted in at 50 yards. This went ok, but I was a bit disappointed that the image was so grainy at 50 yards zoomed in to the max. It was cold and windy and I was new to the gun and the scope, so I figured I could do a better job later, but this was good enough for some hunting.

- I drove to Dime Box yesterday just in time for a quick hunt before dark. I get to the blind about 4:30 and fire up the scope and the low battery starts blinking. This surprised me since I had only used it less than an hour at home and at the range with WIFI and GPS off. So I kept the scope off and figured I'd boot it up if something showed up.

- About 5:30 about 8 hogs show up at the feeder. I am in a popup blind only about 15 yards from the feeder. I fire up the scope and the hogs are munching away not noticing me. Try to take video and it doesn't work. No message about low battery, just doesn't do anything. Try to take still pics, nothing. I decide it's time to shoot, and line up on one of the larger hogs and take my shot. I quickly fire off 3 more shots trying to line up on other hogs as they run off, but it's impossible to get back on target. I hear 2 hogs squeaing from different directions, leave the blind and see one down, scooting on his side. The scope is dead now and I can't really aim to put a bullet in his head, and it's moving pretty fast, so didn't want to get to close. I decide to go find the other one in the bush, find it, kill it. When I get back the larger hog is gone, and I never found it. The hog I got was only 75 lbs, so a bit of a disappointment.

Although I like the high tech ideas of this scope, it's too hard to look through and get back on target, at least for my close range shooting. I also think it's too hard to see all of the screen when you have the menu up. You really have to get close to see all of the menu. It's too heavy for me, and of course the battery life is terrible in my case. The weird thing is that this morning all of the batteries test as good with a meter, but the low bat is still flashing. Glad I got this at Academy where I can return it. I guess I need a simple and light red dot.

At 15 yards, an iron sight would be fine....or just jump out and grab it, throw rocks, something...

Seriously, the scope still has issues. Some folks are willing to live with it for whatever reason. Two people that hunt with me have them...in fact, I gave them to them. They are usable, but far from right. I think if you tried the Photon XT you would like it better at night...and it is a much more simplified scope that is reliable. I gave mine to one of the guys that hunts with me and he likes it.

You fell into the same trap I did... When you're running a new, electronic, IR scope, at night, trying to record, etc. certainly more things to keep track of vs using an ordinary day rifle scope. IMHO, the X-Sight is a pretty good deal for the money, but it takes several hunts to know what to expect and how to use it. I now bring 2 sets of AA's and 2 rail mounted freshly charged NiCads, but still missed an easy day shot mis-managing all this BS after also hunting the night before, dicking around with WiFi and looking at videos. I would assume any IR scope is going to have an issue with view distortion for a bit after a shot, but I've only used this one. I think we watch to many thermal scope videos and assume our way cheaper, IR scope will be the same... For shooting as close as you are, a simple red dot would be a whole lot easier as DFW said. My use has been 100yds and out.

Charlie

I returned the X-sight today to Academy with no problems. I decided to try a Site Mark green dot/3x magnifier combo for $200. Haven't shot with it yet, but so far the quality seems good. I'll probably check out the Proton XT as well.

I have to say, I'm pretty happy with my latest 3-12. It seems to work ok at night so far. I still don't like the auto dimming but I'm working around it.

https://youtu.be/oxjDRb6HwVw

I have to say that has been my #1 complaint, if I'm trying to focus on something and there is anything between the target and scope (even if it's barely in the scope) it will auto dim and I can't see the target.

Another strange thing started tonight, the moment the obsidian app connects the scope starts recording a video. Has anyone else encountered this?

I recently bought an x-sight 3-12.
It came from factory with .343 firmware.

I did notice that the Zoom percentage was not displaying. Zoom works, but it doesn’t tell you what magnification you are at (1x, 2x, 3x, etc).

@MrKingLouie:
For those that have battery cap problems, with the scope turning off when shooting,
I noticed that my x-sight would ONLY do this when the low battery light was flashing).
The problem was not present - when using fresh, brand new batteries.


@CharlieCTx:
For the wifi to work,
1) Turn on the X-sight (ensure wifi is enabled),
2) Next you must use the iphone/ipad to connect to the SSID called "ATN_Obisidian" (or other ATN named SSID), in the same manner you would connect to your home Wifi router (or when visiting Starbucks or McDonalds and connecting to their wifi).
3) Last, open the Obsidian app on your iOS device.
Failure to perform the above steps and you won't be able to "connect to your device".
(The x-sight's SSID name is listed in the Wifi-setup of your x-sight.)
PS, leaving wi-fi on and the x-sight will go thru batteries quickly!

@D-Box:
I don’t think the ATN is at fault, in that its not easy to ‘get back on target’ after shooting with most guns. AR’s can be tamed with the right compensator/flash hider.
I think it’s something you have to have lots of experience with. < just saying >
My batteries died pretty quickly too. I’ll have to check the voltages with a multimeter when I get home.
Generally speaking. I’ve found that a good scope (regular cross hairs or red dot) and a green light or green laser works great for night-time hunting, and quite a bit cheaper than a NV Scope (night-vision).
Let us know if you end up getting the Phonton XT and your personal comparison between it and the x-sight.


@kelley350x:
What firmware version are you running?
The auto-dimming didn’t seem to be an issue for me – with the minimal testing I’ve done, and I think I was at least 3ft off the ground as “Shoots100” mentioned.
I don’t recall having any problems with ‘unable to see the target’ due to auto-dimming.
I'll play around with it tonight (in the back yard) when I get home.

I'm running .343, maybe he was talking about something else but say if there are some limbs showing in my view finder that are between the target and myself, I will have to aim up in the trees at a distance then tilt the gun down pretty quick to try and get a shot off before the autodim kicks in due to the IR reflection from the closer limbs. I will try to get a video of this tonight when I got hunting.

My auto dimming happens whenever something reflects the IR at ranges up to 20 yards and I need to be at least 3 feet above the ground.
Because of that, I would hunt with a fully extended bog pod/ pig saddle combo and make sure my tree stands have clear views.
If ATN had a way of turning off the auto dim, the scope would be back on a rifle.

I run a pvs14 behind my Xsight so that I can see the screen when the auto dim takes over.

Betcha didn't know the Xsight is clip on device - LOL

Here's my double luck for the new year.With the best rifle in the world SAUER404 and optics ATN X-Sight 5-18x HD Day / Night:
https://youtu.be/JvO6f7Ji-I4
https://youtu.be/gUkmfRKodvA
Good luck to all!

It's not really "auto-dimming". You have to remember that you're looking through a video camera. What it's doing is setting auto-exposure or auto-whitebalance based on the brightest object on the screen - which is usually the closest. I agree this makes the scope almost unusable in many situations. You have to try and set up where your illuminator will not light up anything closer than the target - not easy to do in Texas. Tower blinds help.

ATN could fix this by reducing the area of screen pixels sampled to set the exposure or white balance, but so far hasn't done it, for whatever reason.

I'd be happy with manual brightness and contrast.

I really cannot understand why they do not do center-weighted metering at the crosshair...it would really solve so many of my problems with this scope.

for my x sight 5x18 I use a external battery pak with a set of rechargeable in the scope itself. my pak is a 8000mah size and it will power up scope all night(8hrs) for at least 2 days in a row before I recharge it either using 110vac or via 12vdc from my truck. This has taken care of any battery problems I have .

I use a 3-4 foot long usb sync cable and either tape the battery pak to weapon or front pocket of jacket.

as someone else stated using the wifi server in the scope will eat up your internal scope battery's pwr in a heartbeat

Back from a long vacation. Ahh. Anyway...

...so how is everyone feeling about having the rug pulled out from under them? Who could've seen THAT coming, right?

New user. Bought a 5-18 NIB and took delivery last week. Did everything recommended by ATN and other users, watched the youtube videos, etc. before taking it out to hunt.

Sitting in an airport in Texas with some time so am posting my impressions and experience. I have a fair amount of NV hunting experience and currently use a Photon XT and have rented some higher end thermal kit. A few friends have the X-Sight. I liked that it had the video function and the day capability so I bought one. Again, these are only my impressions from direct and first hand experience. I don't really care if a reader disagrees or agrees with them.

I hunted 3 nights from blinds for about 6 hours per night. Weather conditions generally clear. Some light rain showers (very light). Hunted the full moon then two nights on waning moon.

First thing: I did kill hogs. But...
I had to work way too hard fighting with the sight to make it happen. I missed at least 4 opportunities (hogs in range and clearly seen in night binos) because the scope would dim to the point of being unuseable within seconds. The only way around this (there are two actually) was to cycle the IR illuminator off and on...and continually. The useable sight picture lasted about 3-4 seconds max. Yes, tried the low/medium/high amplification settings. I tried in white and green. I tried another IR illuminator. Same result. I called ATN and got a basic "sounds like a problem - can't really help you - need to see it to diagnose it" reply. The rep said he's never heard of the problem. Pardon me but I don't believe it. (fwiw - the other way to get temporarily adjust the gain is to put your hand in front of the illuminator for a second or two)

Unsat. Many other issues as well. Every so often the dimming function (via button icon) did not work. Had to use the full menu. I also find it very odd that with the scope zeroed, the reticle was dispaced almost 1/3rd of the visual field to the left of optical center. Also odd (I know it has been written about extensively) is the reticle jumping around when using the zoom function.

Other issues: I tried to take some pictures and video. Worked okay - sometimes. Other times the image would go black (taking a picture). Had to fully recycle off>on to see anything. Video worked one night but not another. One video has about a five second lag from hearing the "kaboom" to seeing the flash.

Rarely did everything work as advertised at the same time. Good concept and a decent device - when it works...but it doesn't consistently work. My assessment after using it for this hunt: twitchy, temperamental, unreliable, inconsistently performing moderately priced boat anchor. Done being a beta tester. Will be returning it. That is all.

Very fair and accurate assessment of what many are experiencing.

I'd say were experiencing.

On my 5-18 and 3-12 X-sights, Ver 343 resolved my reticle and auto dimming issues. I still take a picture immediately after power up as its seems to allow better management of the dimming feature. Minor inconvenience to me. I've only been interested in hunting with it and taking pics/videos. Works great but if you need the other functionalities to be happy, don't buy it.

I did have to buy a better IR and Kentli batteries but overall, I'm happy with my investment. And I get to hunt hogs at night

I'm really surprised people continue to buy this thing.

I have the 3-12 X-Sight. I've done improved IR, Kentli batteries, and external battery. I could do without the auto dimming feature, but it does work well. I've had no other issues except for the occasional locking up, but that's solved with a restart. I really don't care about the wifi, pictures, or video. While nice features, I just don't see using them.

Bottom line: it's worked for me

Normal batteries (alkaline) and 343 firmware and dimming every time .

I read the manual and it says the directional buttons are for taking pictures and navigating the menu, it says nothing about using them to negate or deter the auto dimming.

So with that the scope doesn't work that great as designed.

I wonder what sort of Easter Eggs the X-Sight II is going to have ... Maybe users will need to swipe their credit card after 5 mins to keep viewing the image

Mine has worked out just fine as well, don't have the dimming issue that you guys have. I have my illuminators (the OEM one and a UNV20) out ahead of the scope, if that makes any difference. I do believe it takes practice cycling through everything at night to understand it all. There's alot more you can do than point and shoot, like leaving the wi-fi on and killing the batteries... Here's a pic of my rig, AR-10, illuminators out front and 2 rechargeables by the scope. I am anxious to try the new flash hider I bought to see if it helps keep or help get the image back faster after a shot.




Whenever the news comes up with the story about how AR "Assault Rifles" just cannot be a hunting rifle. I've always wanted to send in a pic like this and ask how would you hang all this BS of a bolt rifle?

Charlie

I think the first thing people should do is get the illuminator off the scope and mount it as far forward as possible & use a set of rechargeable in the scope w/ a external batter pak plugged in via a usb cable. I have a set of IR lights setup in my shooting area & never use a illuminator on the scope or gun and using a external battery pak ,I leave the scope powered up in excess of 8 hrs at a time. one 8000mah batter pak will last all weekend. I understand everyone cannot have ir flood's in there shooting areas but getting the illuminator forward will help a lot.

Houston Texas Feb 27th FREE ATN X-SIght II Demo event! Details at the facebook event page.

https://www.facebook.com/events/235562033450356

The X-SiGHT II: II-times closer to doing what the box says it does.

Since the arrival of the X sight II, does anyone know if the X sight 1 owners going to be left hanging with a semi useable scope for their efforts in being BETA testers for ATN, or will there be firmware upgrades coming to fix the scope ?
I've inquired elsewhere and the silence is deafening.

There was discussion on the ATN fb and owners page that ATN would still support the X-Sight I with updates and that an update is coming.

I don't use all the features on my X-Sight I, but I'm happy with what it does (given that I had to use a better IR light and liberal amounts of loc-tite for the mounting).

If you haven't already, you may want to ask on one of the forums.

http://atnowners.com/

That...is pretty much what I was saying all along.

Hello Fellow hunters, my name is Mario and I'm just a computer technician lending a helping hand to a friend, a happy owner of a ATN X Sight 5X18 , he made a mistake and updated the firmware to the last one and somehow it is not working properly (streaming video and other stuff) so I think a firmware rollback is necessary, I'm looking for the version 1.8.07.343 , is there any chance any of you might have it sitting there in one of your computers folders? if so, I would like to test it for a chance to bring it back to life and normal working state, as it is a product discontinued already. thanks in advance, and if nobody has it, no biggie , will check with ATN just in case, but not so sure they would provide any support.

1st try doing a factory reset in the menu. This will NOT delete the uploaded firmware. It's like doing a restart on a computer after an upgrade.

Thanks Chaz, tried that already, didn't work, still the sight is messed up. hopefully somebody will jump in with a binary I can try. thanks again.

Take the NEW firmware and rename it xsight.bin and put it on a new SD card and RE-Download the firmware.. then do a factory reset after the update. it sounds like it did not install correctly.

Also join the atn group on facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATNXSightTexas/

ok , will try, and let you know, thanks jt!

I purchased a gen 2 3-14 with external power pack. Does anyone know where I can purchase the side cap that covers the sd card / hdmi port when utilizing the external power supply. I do not see it listed individually on atn's website. Thanks

Contact ATN. They should be able to help.