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Question on illumination on the SS HD 5-20x50

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mtmander View Drop Down
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    Posted: May/03/2013 at 14:21
I have a question on how the illumination works on this scope.  I cycled thru the 11 settings at 5 power and at 20 power and could only see the illumination at 7 thru 11 .  I did not see any 'red' at 1 thru 6 settings.   Is this normal ?  
 
Also I get a illumination reticle (cross) not a dot.  Does anybody else have the illumination reticle (cross) instead of the dot ?
 
thanks for any input
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/03/2013 at 14:26
Its not ment to be daylight visible, try it in low light.  Or go in a dark room and try it. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mtmander Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/03/2013 at 14:35
I did my test at night ,  just a barn light on at 150 yards .  I was looking at the side of the barn because I could not see anything else in the dark.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/03/2013 at 14:43
Strange,  I know i pitch black I can see all the way down to 1 on mine.  Does it have a fresh battery?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mtmander Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/03/2013 at 16:17
I just got it yesterday from SWFA (from the sample list) so I do not know if the battery is new.  I will try again tonight at a different object.
 
Do you have any thoughts on the illumination of the reticle rather than just a dot ?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/03/2013 at 16:26
Only the center intersection illuminates, small dot.  I'd try the new battery if you still can't see it on a different backdrop then might be an issue.
 
Where in NC are you? 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mtmander Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/03/2013 at 16:38
I am in Pittsboro.    
 
On mine the reticle illuminates (like a cross) as well as the dot.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/03/2013 at 19:30
Originally posted by mtmander mtmander wrote:

I am in Pittsboro.    
 
On mine the reticle illuminates (like a cross) as well as the dot.

Pittsboro, you say?? Big Grin
I will be at The Roadhouse in Pittsboro tomorrow night watching Jason Damico play. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/03/2013 at 21:11
The new ones may indeed illuminate the crosshairs more, mine is only a small dot. That said I got one of the first ones to make it to the USA   
"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be" - Abraham Lincoln
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rancid Coolaid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/05/2013 at 10:13
Probably battery, try a new one and let us know if that fixes things.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mtmander Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/14/2013 at 09:22
I got a new battery (I know it took a week but I have been busy) and I did not see any 'red' at 1 thru 4 settings. Before the new batteryI did not see any 'red' at 1 thru 6 settings. 
 
I still get a illumination reticle (cross) not a dot but on the higher illumination settings.
 
Does anybody know if getting the illumination reticle (cross) is a problem with the reticle ?
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/14/2013 at 09:41
Give SWFA a call, 1-972-SCOPE-IT, and they can talk to you about it in case they want to get it back for an eval.  I'll pull mine out again tonight and confirm but I am 99.9% sure mine is only a dot.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/14/2013 at 11:08
Originally posted by mtmander mtmander wrote:

I got a new battery (I know it took a week but I have been busy) and I did not see any 'red' at 1 thru 4 settings. Before the new batteryI did not see any 'red' at 1 thru 6 settings. 
 
I still get a illumination reticle (cross) not a dot but on the higher illumination settings.
 
Does anybody know if getting the illumination reticle (cross) is a problem with the reticle ?
 

If your reticle is so faint, you can not see it at the lowest magnification, that is a good thing.

In high magnification scopes, the reticle illumination should be designed to be use when the light is so low that a non-illuminated reticle is not easily discernable.

Under those conditions, you want to set the reticle illumination so low that on one hand, it gives you a good aiming point, but on the other hand does not come even remotely close enough to overpowering the image of the target.

How many illumination levels you can see with the naked eye varies from person to person.  Did you have someone else look at it?

Thanks
ILya
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jon A Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/14/2013 at 20:00
Crank up the magnification and check it in the dark--I'm sure you'll see the illumination is a small dot in the center. 

When on lower powers (and especially when it's not very dark), this dot is small so people tend to crank the illumination to a higher level which makes visible some bleeding of the illumination onto non-illuminated parts of the reticle. 

While this may not look as "pretty" as some other scopes' illumination, when you actually use it in conditions where it's dark enough you have trouble seeing the reticle, it functions beautifully.  Many scopes with "prettier" illumination, when used in such conditions, will be too bright in such conditions, washing out the view of the target.  Looking pretty in the daytime was not the primary design consideration for that scope's illumination.
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