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REDUCE BRIGHTNESS OF ILLUMINATED RETICLES |
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ti-force
Optics Apprentice Joined: August/28/2008 Location: Georgia Status: Offline Points: 195 |
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I've been working on a how-to for anyone who wants to try and build one of these. The problem is, I finished the sandwich without taking some of the pictures needed to complete the how-to. What I'd like to do is post what I have so far, and then edit to add when I take the proper pictures to finish the how-to. This is what I have so far:
First off, let me start by saying again, this wouldn’t have been possible without Bud, aka: budperm. He kindly shared his electronics experience, (genius) and he has been a TREMENDOUS help in this project. In fact, that’s probably an understatement. He sent me some parts to complete this project, and he sent them free of charge. He wouldn't even let me pay for the shipping. If the information on these pages helps you, please show thanks to Bud.
Alright, this is the first sandwich that’s been built, so keep in mind, the resistor value could probably change before this project is over. Also, keep in mind, the resistor value in this project will be specific to the Hawke Endurance 30. The same resistor value will most likely work in a number of other scopes, but the only illuminated reticle scope I own, is the Hawke Endurance 30. If you use the same resistor value that I use in this project, and the end result is not what you wanted, just go up or down in value to get the desired results.
The resistor sandwich consists of two pieces of .010 inch thick Mylar cut into circles, some 30 gauge wire wrapping wire, a chip resistor and some RTV. Some tools required for this project are: Dial calipers, flat razor blade, scissors, soldering iron (I use a 15 watt iron from Radio Shack), small alligator clamps and a magnifying glass. I find that a self supporting magnifying glass, with built in arms that have alligator clamps on them work best for soldering on small parts. Some tweezers would probably help out too. Here’s a picture of the magnifying glass:
Use a pair of scissors to cut two square pieces of Mylar, just a tad bigger than a 2032 battery:
Take a 2032 battery and a tool like this:
Or, you might be able to use a razor blade to scribe a circle into the Mylar. Like this:
At first, I did this with the positive side down, which is much easier to get a nice circle, but ended up flipping the battery negative side down, because the piece of Mylar (positive side down) was larger in diameter than the battery. You should end up with something like this:
Then, take a flat razor blade, and cut the scribed circle out. I find it easier to cut like this:
Just be VERY CAREFUL and don’t lose any digits. You should end up with something like this:
Then, cut two pieces of wire wrap, about 5 ¾ inches long. Take your razor blade and strip off about 4 ¾ inches of insulation. This is how I stripped the insulation: You should end up with something like this:
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budperm
Optics Retard show me your sheep!! Joined: January/01/2009 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 31710 |
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Well done so far Casey! Just about anybody should be able to duplicate it when your done!
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"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".
--Thomas Jefferson |
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ti-force
Optics Apprentice Joined: August/28/2008 Location: Georgia Status: Offline Points: 195 |
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Today I was at my local gun shop, and out of curiousity, I wanted to look at a couple of different scopes with an illuminated reticle. The first scope I looked at was a Bushnell Banner, I think. It had an illuminated reticle that could be changed from red to green and vise versa. I turned it on green and then red, looking at both lowest settings. It appears to me that both red and green were about the same intensity, but they looked much dimmer than my Hawke on it's lowest setting.
He also had a Konus that had an illuminated reticle. It too didn't look nearly as bright as my Hawke. I wonder if the Hawke is brighter than most all other scopes that have an illuminated reticle. Neither one of those scopes had a dot. The crosshairs actually lit up in those scopes. Not the whole crosshair, but probably a bit bigger than the small, center crosshair on a multi-x reticle.
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ti-force
Optics Apprentice Joined: August/28/2008 Location: Georgia Status: Offline Points: 195 |
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edit
Edited by ti-force - May/26/2010 at 09:00 |
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brodeur272
Optics Journeyman Joined: September/23/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 609 |
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Looks like I should try this with my Sightron SII 3-9 Illum...
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ti-force
Optics Apprentice Joined: August/28/2008 Location: Georgia Status: Offline Points: 195 |
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I hope to finish up the how-to pictures this weekend. This sandwich certainly works, but I haven't done any runtimes or durability tests, and that's really the only problems I can see with this thing. It doesn't void the warranty and it can't damage anything, in fact, as far as durability is concerned, I think the only thing that could happen is the resistor failing. In which case you could just put a 2032 back in or build another sandwich. I really don't think there will be a problem with the resistor failing though. If you decide to build one, and you have some questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'll help you all I can.
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brodeur272
Optics Journeyman Joined: September/23/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 609 |
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Thanks. Now I just need to find the time to put it together...
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urbaneruralite
Optics Journeyman Joined: January/03/2008 Status: Offline Points: 479 |
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PONIESWHEE
Optics GrassHopper Joined: January/14/2010 Location: Central NY Status: Offline Points: 28 |
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Thanks for putting this up
I recently got an NCstar 4x scope with a full illuminated reticle which was absolutely useless past twilight because all I could see was a sea of green or red. I found this thread and picked up $10 worth of stuff at Radio Shack and now the scope is just about perfect in low light. In case anyone's curious I used a 2016 battery, one 1k resistor (the cylindrical ones, not the surface mount) and made a home for it between two sheets of the kind of clear plastic everything is packed in nowadays. Found some very thin spongy foam and cut a little hole in it big enough to seat the resistor and used the legs of the resistor itself for the contacts. It looks a little shabby but works great. Literally took 10 minutes. When have time I'll make something more permanent.
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ti-force
Optics Apprentice Joined: August/28/2008 Location: Georgia Status: Offline Points: 195 |
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I'm glad to see this info helped you. Feel free to post pictures if you'd like.
Casey
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budperm
Optics Retard show me your sheep!! Joined: January/01/2009 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 31710 |
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Feels good to share doesn"t it!
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"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".
--Thomas Jefferson |
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ti-force
Optics Apprentice Joined: August/28/2008 Location: Georgia Status: Offline Points: 195 |
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It sure does Bud. It's good to hear from you, I haven't been on here in a while. I've been in the woods a lot, but that's not a very good exuse. I need to finish up the how-to post above when I get some spare time.
Casey
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budperm
Optics Retard show me your sheep!! Joined: January/01/2009 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 31710 |
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If ya need if help in teh woodslet me know!
Try too visit more often!
Take care Casey!
Bud
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"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".
--Thomas Jefferson |
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PONIESWHEE
Optics GrassHopper Joined: January/14/2010 Location: Central NY Status: Offline Points: 28 |
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Here are some pics. Be forewarned.. I told you it was kind of a hack job We recently got a whole lot of new equipment at work so I pilfered a lot of the packing foam. Here is what I used to seat the resistor. It's almost 1/4" thick but it compresses down to nothing. Here is the resistor I used, came from Radio Shack in an assorted 500 pack of 1/8 watt carbon film resistors for $10. They sold them in 5 packs or something as well but I couldn't find the one I wanted so I figured having a few extra wouldn't hurt in the long run. Here's the sandwich. I just cut circles in the same plastic the 2016 battery came in and stuck the legs of the resistor through. There's a little pocket in the foam in the middle where the resistor sits. It's a hack job but it seems to work well. Apparently it's really hard to take a photo through a scope. Especially in a dark room... This is the reticle with the sandwich in. The photo is a little fuzzy but looking through the scope, it looks sharp and you can clearly see the mil dots. Without the sandwich this was a wash of green and I couldn't see much else through the scope in very low light. Now the reticle color is very faint in bright light, but I can't really foresee a need to use the illumination during a bright day anyway. Here's what happened to the rest of the foam I grabbed from work. Yes, that's a guitar case, because you never know when you might find yourself in a Mariachi bar and need to save Salma Hayek from drug lords That's a GSG-5 and the scope is an NCstar Mark III Tactical 4x32 with a mil dot reticle.
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