When doing my research on what low budget thermal to get, i almost bought the rattler V1. Then AGM released the V2 at shot show and im very happy that i waited. As soon as my local store had them in stock i picked up the rattler V2 TS25-256. After looking through the scope with my own eyes i was blown away by the quality of the image. For example, after a few nights of playing with the scope after dark, I finally spotted a large raccoon comin down the mtn side through woods. The raccoon stopped by a brush pile near a large tree at 155 yards. All of a sudden a tiny white thermal spot came out of the brush and went up the tree and then back down into the brush a couple of times. It was a small mouse!!! I jus scoped a mouse at 155yrds with this scope!!! A buddy of mine made the mistake of jumping on a deal for an atn thor lt, so I grab my phone and took a short video of the screen with my phone and sent it to him. The next day he placed an order for the same agm scope bc he was amazed by the quality of the image and its capabilities. The ts25-256 definitely out preforms other companies that are way more expensive. You wont be disappointed with any of agm scopes. Good luck hunting out there and stay safe. Enjoyed your video and had to add my experience with mine.
I am that buddy ha, yeah the ATN was an impulse purchase and cost $600 at my LGS so I couldn't really let that deal pass. The LT is decent for what it is, but I wouldn't recommend it. The rattler is an absolute game changer though. I ended up buying another one, and I'll prob pick up one of the 35s.
Let me add some insight, from the image sensor industry. Pro's of smaller pixel size: - you can fit more pixels in a given sensor die area. think about surface area of 17x17" vs 12x12" and you get an idea of how many more 12x12 tiles you can fit in a given sensor die. Cons: - the sensing part of the pixel is smaller, and hence less thermal rays will hit that pixel. Everything else being equal, that means the smaller pixel will have less sensitivity, and will need more thermal signature from the target to 'wake up' that pixel. noise levels might go up or down, depending on pixel design. However, what very likely happened in v1 to v2, is that the pixel design itself got more efficient, and that is accomplished by tweaking the physical structure and recipe (injecting different elements or compounds to better react to an infrared ray of the desired wavelength) of the pixel . This is effectively wrapped up in a term called 'quantum efficiency' or QE, and is like an 'mpg' for a car. More pixels always mean more cost (unless pixel size can be cut down) because it means a large die and the processed wafers for thermal sensors are expensive and maybe the yield is low compared to digital IC's for phones which have had many billions of dollars spent on yield and QA enhancement for 5 decades. Also more pixels equals more probability of one pixel being lower sensitivity or defective due to some issue in manufacturing. So that means that sensor die has to be discarded, and that raises the cost of the surviving good sensor dies. It's a complex issue that the sensor IC vendor is always reviewing, and always has a roadmap to improve. I am sure that thermal and nightvision will get insanely better and megapixel higher resolution with AI image enhancement and who knows what else. Another expensive item is the germanium lense that is required so that longwave IR (which is what is radiated as 'heat') is focused effectively and passed through to the sensor pixel array with as little distortion and loss as possible. I don't know, but I wonder if the germanium lens is the biggest cost component in a thermal, or is it the sensor IC ?
When doing my research on what low budget thermal to get, i almost bought the rattler V1. Then AGM released the V2 at shot show and im very happy that i waited. As soon as my local store had them in stock i picked up the rattler V2 TS25-256. After looking through the scope with my own eyes i was blown away by the quality of the image. For example, after a few nights of playing with the scope after dark, I finally spotted a large raccoon comin down the mtn side through woods. The raccoon stopped by a brush pile near a large tree at 155 yards. All of a sudden a tiny white thermal spot came out of the brush and went up the tree and then back down into the brush a couple of times. It was a small mouse!!! I jus scoped a mouse at 155yrds with this scope!!! A buddy of mine made the mistake of jumping on a deal for an atn thor lt, so I grab my phone and took a short video of the screen with my phone and sent it to him. The next day he placed an order for the same agm scope bc he was amazed by the quality of the image and its capabilities. The ts25-256 definitely out preforms other companies that are way more expensive. You wont be disappointed with any of agm scopes. Good luck hunting out there and stay safe. Enjoyed your video and had to add my experience with mine.
I am that buddy ha, yeah the ATN was an impulse purchase and cost $600 at my LGS so I couldn't really let that deal pass. The LT is decent for what it is, but I wouldn't recommend it. The rattler is an absolute game changer though. I ended up buying another one, and I'll prob pick up one of the 35s.
Let me add some insight, from the image sensor industry.
Pro's of smaller pixel size:
- you can fit more pixels in a given sensor die area. think about surface area of 17x17" vs 12x12" and you get an idea of how many more 12x12 tiles you can fit in a given sensor die.
Cons:
- the sensing part of the pixel is smaller, and hence less thermal rays will hit that pixel. Everything else being equal, that means the smaller pixel will have less sensitivity, and will need more thermal signature from the target to 'wake up' that pixel. noise levels might go up or down, depending on pixel design.
However, what very likely happened in v1 to v2, is that the pixel design itself got more efficient, and that is accomplished by tweaking the physical structure and recipe (injecting different elements or compounds to better react to an infrared ray of the desired wavelength) of the pixel . This is effectively wrapped up in a term called 'quantum efficiency' or QE, and is like an 'mpg' for a car.
More pixels always mean more cost (unless pixel size can be cut down) because it means a large die and the processed wafers for thermal sensors are expensive and maybe the yield is low compared to digital IC's for phones which have had many billions of dollars spent on yield and QA enhancement for 5 decades. Also more pixels equals more probability of one pixel being lower sensitivity or defective due to some issue in manufacturing. So that means that sensor die has to be discarded, and that raises the cost of the surviving good sensor dies.
It's a complex issue that the sensor IC vendor is always reviewing, and always has a roadmap to improve. I am sure that thermal and nightvision will get insanely better and megapixel higher resolution with AI image enhancement and who knows what else.
Another expensive item is the germanium lense that is required so that longwave IR (which is what is radiated as 'heat') is focused effectively and passed through to the sensor pixel array with as little distortion and loss as possible. I don't know, but I wonder if the germanium lens is the biggest cost component in a thermal, or is it the sensor IC ?
Nice job sir!
Thanks!
That was an excellent review…. Awesome
Glad you liked it!
How does the Rattler V2 handle cold weather?
Them ain't hogs at 6mins, but rattler v2 is good enough to ID! Good stuff, can't wait to get one. Great video, new subscriber here!
That's Texas beef buddy!
Trajectory feature of V1 seems disappeared upon V2. How could I customize the reticle by adding BDC hashmark on V2 without that feature? Thank you ❤
It's got a bunch of reticles to choose from several have BDC hash marks.
That was stupid on their part to remove the trajectory feature. I won’t buy one until they bring it back
Will this mount on my savage xp or do I need to buy a separate mount to attach to the riffle
It will mount on any rifle with a picatinny rail, however the eye relief may be an issue based on how the rail position is on a bolt gun
Will the 2x be too much base mag if you are hunting in timber and the average shot is 20 yds ?
No. My other scope is 2x and I use it as a scanner and hunting in timber. No issues.
No that will be a good base Mag
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