Canadian Airgun Forum

Well i just wanted to know the physics behind the RedDot sight. I thought i knew what it was but today i picked one up (still in package) and i didnt get a good look at it, was very blury, but it was not what i expected. So if anyone knows more about them i would like to know, thanks alot

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-Quest500(3500Boxer,2500PercisionMax,30Accupel)
-B4(175HyperVelocity,1000CrossWadcutter,500CrossHollow)
-357(Dead)(250HyprVelo,470Accupel,550Boxer,1000Round)

it's pretty much just a little beam of light that's shined on the "Screen"
(that piece of glass at the front of the sight) and the dot you see is the reflection of the light that comes from the bottom of the unit.

Same priciple as the HUD (heads up Display) used in some aircraft and cars.

does it require a battery then? also is the lens any magnification? or is it just a piece of glass?

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-Quest500(3500Boxer,2500PercisionMax,30Accupel)
-B4(175HyperVelocity,1000CrossWadcutter,500CrossHollow)
-357(Dead)(250HyprVelo,470Accupel,550Boxer,1000Round)

yeah it does require a battery to produce the light
They're usually just large watch battery type things

I know you can get more expensive ones with a 2x magnification but most are just 1x (no magnifacation)

Red dot are no different from scopes when it comes to quality of the optics. Look through a cheap one and its like looking thru the bottom of a coke bottle. That semi-permeable front lens is critical in ensuring a precise dot and at the same time giving a clear sight picture. You also want the smallest MOA dot you can afford.

But I love red dots. Because they offer no magnification (Some have 2x but are expensive) they are designed for quick close-in target acquisition. . Bring the weapon up, put the dot on target and let her rip.

Some offer both red and green dots or reticle. The green dots are nice in low light making it easier to see targets because it doesn't bloom as much as red.

I use Tasco red dot, bushnell, fitco, and the best of the best REX.

The one trick to sight a red dot is always keep the same eye relief as
the time you sight it then it's always accurate.

REX red dot has 4.5x magnification, it's like red dot scope, very accurate
and comes with very nice lense.

There is one red dot that I always like to try out it's the NIKON red dot
but I just can't justify the cost for $ 450.00 USD +++...

I always found it a little puzzling as to why they chose red. Our eyes aren't that good with red. They're even worse with blue. Green, they're awesome with. Learned about this while reading about how mpeg video compression works, and the different colour formats it uses. Wish I could find the article I remember reading that had excellent example pictures to show the effects of lowering the resolution of the individual colour channels seperately, to highlight the differences. They had an untouched picture, then three others that had the resolution of red/green/blue cut to 1/4 of the original. The picture with the red's resolution reduced didn't look too much different. The picture with the blue's resolution reduced, well, it was incredibly hard to see any difference in it at all. Cut the green channel's resolution, and WOW, looked incredibly worse.

Perhaps red was chosen for the sights because it contrasts better in more situations, even though your eye can see green with more detail.

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Slavia 631 tuned w/ AB3 spring - Slavia 631 tuned w/ stock spring - Crosman 2240 w/ RJM breech, 2289 barrel & stock

Would the choice of red have anything to do with the fact that your eye doesn't have to adjust pupil size when staring into a red light? Kinda like the reason all tail lights on vehicles are red?

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Slavia 631, Crosman 2289, 760, 66, Webley Tempest, Webley Mark 1, Marksman 2004, Sheridan H-series, HW 40

Actually, red was chosen for RD's simply because it was the brightest LED available at the time when RD's were first developed. You could not get enough intensity from the very few other colors of LED's available then to use in bright daylight. Most LED's were extremely wimpy in intensity until quite relatively recently, when there was an explosion in LED tech after being virtually static for nearly two decades. Some RD's used a red laser diode to get the intensity, and even now any other laser diode color besides red is pretty expensive in comparison.

There are many reasons why red or green etc. might be chosen for certain visual attributes though, as people have mentioned. Red works pretty well for most apps. The other day we found one it wasn't good for: targets with bright red bullseyes!

Hi,
I just received my new SirMailOrder Catalog in the mail, and they have awhole bunch of Red Dot's in there anywheres from $21.99 up. You can get a nice one for around $70. bucks. I prefer the bigger ones over 30mm, with around 9 different red dot site levels of britness...


Krazy Mikey...

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We will never be the Man we once were, but what we will Become...

Best ones I have looked thru are the Aimpoint. Unfortunately way too expensive for airguns.

http://www.aimpoint.com/o.o.i.s/1