RIX Optics Storm S3.

I don’t think you are wrong at all. I think RIX does an excellent job at cutting through the moisture in the air.

I’m simply pointing out that popper43’s comment that “Thermals don’t “see” moisture. NV does.” Isn’t necessary correct. But again, I may be misinterpreting what he is saying?
Totally understand.
 
I’ve hunted quite a bit below freezing and I find the batteries last quite a long time. I may run it a little different than you though. I run mine in standby mode until I pick up something with my scanner. I’m not running the app at all so wifi is off. I left wifi on once and found batteries depleted much faster. I run brightness settings on the lower end. And I use quality batteries. I learned in my days of running lights that not all 18650’s are created equal! Lol…

I have only had a couple corrupted videos and they were of the recoil activated video type. I never remember to push the button for video so I just keep the rav set to on. It’s nice to be able to see your kills and moreso, what happens on the iffy ones and bad shots, but like I said, it certainly isn’t why I bought the optic.

I also have run the L3 in hight humidity, drizzle and snow and I think it performs great under less than ideal conditions. I really wish I went for the L6. I was worried about it being a brand new, untested product so went with the L3. Honestly it’s fine for my terrain and distances but who doesn’t want more clarity?!

I’m using the batteries that come with it, RIX sent it to me to field test, if it was my scope I would invest in different batteries. A lot of the recording issues happen when RAV is activated. The report on my suppressed 22-250 is not loud enough to activate RAV consistently, so i turned it off. check out the RIX support group there are a lot of people getting corrupted videos, RIX knows about it and announced they are working on the issue. I had good stand the night before last where I killed 4 on a set, the video got corrupted.

i don’t use the APP, I use WI-FI when I want to use the LRF but I dont leave it on. I usually just range downed coyotes out of curiosity, it takes too long to activate WI-FI and connect the LRF when a coyote is in front of you most of the time. It’s a good scope for its class and it is a new company aware of and working on the bugs
 
It’s a good scope for its class and it is a new company aware of and working on the bugs
I agree with this completely. My L3 isn’t perfect but for a new rollout I think RIX did very good at putting out a solid performing optic. CS has been quick to respond and attempts are being made to fix the things that need fixing. Time will tell how it all works out.
 
water vapor, ice or liquid absorption band is 2-4 micron (NV region), IR bolometer band is 8-12 micron. Now if you get moisture on the lens, you will see it as constant distortion. Did a frame by frame vid of the muzzle gas from a shot, lasted at most 2 frames (300BO H110 load), lasted 30 millisec so the IR barely sees it. Visible with the eye, lasts a lot longer!
We 'see' fog from reflected visible light. I suppose IR could see 'hot' moisture. In the 70s I was flying test IR seekers against ships in the gulf, never noticed any moisture problems.
 
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water vapor, ice or liquid absorption band is 2-4 micron (NV region), IR bolometer band is 8-12 micron. Now if you get moisture on the lens, you will see it as constant distortion. Did a frame by frame vid of the muzzle gas from a shot, lasted at most 2 frames (300BO H110 load), lasted 30 millisec so the IR barely sees it. Visible with the eye, lasts a lot longer!
We 'see' fog from reflected visible light. I suppose IR could see 'hot' moisture. In the 70s I was flying test IR seekers against ships in the gulf, never noticed any moisture problems.
Well, now that you put it that way… I um… well?… I really don’t know what you’re saying! Lol. I’ll back out as saying, I just misinterpreted what you were saying!
 
I agree with this completely. My L3 isn’t perfect but for a new rollout I think RIX did very good at putting out a solid performing optic. CS has been quick to respond and attempts are being made to fix the things that need fixing. Time will tell how it all works out.
Yes I give them credit they are a new company with excellent customer service, but there are bugs and they are aware of them and working on them. I start recording as soon as I start calling and stop at the end of the stand. I hunt all night so in one night I fill the leap storage memory over 50%. Probably 80% of the videos are good but 20% are corrupt. The new firmware has blurred the image on a lot of units so I’m not updating it. I have had some good stands that did not get recorded.

this is what other users are saying today
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Yes I give them credit they are a new company with excellent customer service, but there are bugs and they are aware of them and working on them. I start recording as soon as I start calling and stop at the end of the stand. I hunt all night so in one night I fill the leap storage memory over 50%. Probably 80% of the videos are good but 20% are corrupt. The new firmware has blurred the image on a lot of units so I’m not updating it. I have had some good stands that did not get recorded.
Hopefully they get things figured out. But as I have stated on most posts pertaining to these RIX optics, I’m more concerned that it maintains zero and gives me a clear image over the video recording and audio issues. And as I always say… I know the video thing is a huge issue for some folks. It’s just not that big a deal for me. Should it work, and work correctly? Absolutely! And hopefully with some work by the folks at RIX it will. Only time will tell.

I think it would be great if thermal companies would make a line of optics without all of the bells and whistles at a reduced price. Give me a solid 640 optic that holds zero and gives me a decent reticle selection and ability to adjust brightness and contrast. White /Black hot modes. Dump video, audio, pointless ranging settings based on rabbit, coyote, deer sized icons, clocks, calendars, 7 different rainbow modes and whatever else they’re cramming in these things. I mean forever, all we ever cared about with day optics were clarity, a rugged dependable design that held zero, tracked accurately, and had a great warranty. Why not get as close to that as possible with thermals? Technology is great for people that just have to have it, but there’s something to be said for simplicity as well.
 
I have an iRay Bolt TH50 C. I also bought an AGM Rattler TS35. Both are 640’s. There is night and day difference, but so was the price.
I’m sure there are better scopes out there, but if/when I buy another it will most likely be another iRay. I’ve looked through the Pulsar Thermion 2 and it solidified my decision with the iRay. I think they were both near the same price when I was looking to buy.
I started off during the summer months here in SWGA and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. The first cool (less humid) night we had, I thought something was wrong with my scope. It was clearer than it had ever been. Now I’m not saying the humid months are bad, but you can definitely tell a difference in cooler less humid months.
As far as simplicity, guess it’s all in learning the scope. I can get to anything I need fairly quick without ever raising my head off the scope.
I enjoy the video and have a lot of them. Main reason is proof of kill for landowners/managers. Even known landmarks show up in the video. I can download the video even while on stand and has helped with recovery. A lot of my hogs and even some coyotes are shot in brush. Being able to look at the video, then look through the scope and pick out identifying features has located a lot of critters, whether it being counting trees or taking a line towards a certain tree.
Sound would be nice maybe, then again, maybe not, lol. I think the newer line of Bolts do have sound now.
With all that said, I have seen some videos from RIX thermals and they looked pretty sweet as well. They could possibly be in a future purchase, but a lot of research would still need done. I’m not a see it buy it. I generally spend several weeks or months making a decision on a purchase.
 
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