SIG SAUER'S ECHO3 Thermal Reflex Sight

2022

FOGHORN

August 2022 Twobirds Flying Publications

SIG SAUER ECHO3 THERMAL REFLEX SIGHT

SIG SAUER ECHO3 THERMAL REFLEX SIGHT By: Sal Palma

other atmospheric variance that disrupts the infrared emissions. Optimal thermal imaging conditions are clear and cool environments where there is a wide temperature gradient between the surroundings and the desired observation object. It’s also important to note that thermal imaging does a fantastic job at detection, but unlike night vision optics, thermal is poor at recognition, so the hog you spotted in total darkness moving through the brush could be Wilbur farmer John’s pet hog. In tactical application, you can mitigate the risk of accidentally engaging a friendly target by using IR beacons operating in the appropriate spectral range.

There’s a great deal of misinformation surrounding thermal imaging technology. First and foremost, let me say that thermal imaging cameras, or sights, don’t see through walls. These optical devices measure infrared emissions in the 7-to-14-micron (a unit of length equal to one millionth of a meter) wavelength; this region of the IR spectrum is referred to as Long Wave Infrared (LWIR). In thermal imaging an image is created when heat radiates infrared energy which is detected by microbolometer-based sensors and presented to an LCD or LED display in the optic. Thermal imaging cannot “see” through windows or glass either; that only happens in movies, but it's simply not reality. Another bit of misinformation is that thermal imaging is impervious to weather or atmospherics, that too is not the case. Thermal imaging performance is impacted by high humidity, snow, over water observation or any

When there’s a good thermal gradient, the image is clear and well defined as the picture above clearly shows. The individual under observation is about 80 yards away. The ECHO3’s AMOLED display image is excellent.

The picture of the boat at anchor is a good example of what a thermal image looks like under conditions where the thermal gradient is narrow. The subject is a 40-foot sloop, being imaged over water, and in 92-degree weather with bright sunlight. It's important to understand thermal optics’ constraints to avoid disappointment, and to leverage the technology to maximum benefit. So, with that out of the way, let me tell you about SIG SAUER’s ECHO3 thermal reflex sight. SIG SAUER Electro Optics Division consistently produces outstanding optics, be they magnified, thermal or red dot; the ECHO3 is an example of that talent.

At 180 yards a 10-degree field of view is approximately 95 feet, so to confirm the ECHO3’s FOV simply measure the 40-foot sloop’s image with a ruler then measure the picture edge to edge, which is slightly over twice the sloop size; confirming a 10-degree FOV.

SIG offers two models of the ECHO3, a 2-12x digital magnification model with a 40mm objective, and a 1-6x digital magnification version with a 23mm objective. I’m probably at a good point to briefly discuss objective lens diameters in a thermal optic. A larger objective diameter, all things being equal, increases the detection range, but it has a narrower field of view. The 1-6x ECHO3 review sample with its 23mm objective has a 10-degree field of view. We can confirm that by a simple analysis. The ECHO3 features 1-6X digital magnification, but unlike what you see through an optical rifle scope, digital magnification zooms the display, and as you increase magnification, the image becomes pixelated. The picture above was

captured at 3X magnification, the near range is 182 yards, and the group gathered on the right is at about 220 yards. Under the environmental conditions at the time, 3X magnification was about the maximum and still preserve a good clear image. The image below is a side-by-side comparison of 1X on the left and 3x right.

internal memory, or power the sight from an external source like a pack. The latter being an ideal configuration for extended operations like surveillance.

You can also notice less pixelation and that’s because a broader thermal gradient. The ECHO3 sight ships with a quick attach / detach mount and has a compact footprint fitting nicely on your Picatinny rail without looking like the Hubble Telescope. Physical dimensions are nearly identical to the ECHO 1 sight: an overall length of 4.2 inches, height of 3.3 inches, an overall width of 2.8 inches and a weight of 14.3 ounces. Uncooled thermal sights generally use one of two microbolometer types, Vanadium Oxide (VOx) or Amorphous Silicon (α-Si). The ECHO3 uses a 12 µm Vanadium Oxide (VOx) microbolometer, operating in the 7–14-micron range. The ECHO3 is extremely simple to use, the user interface is a small joystick on the left; next to the joystick is a USB port used to access the

To power up the sight, you press in on the joystick and hold for 2 seconds; repeating the procedure powers off the sight. Pushing up on the joystick gets you into the magnification mode where you can change magnification from 1X to 6X. Pushing down on the joystick allows you to change the color palette, push left and you can adjust display brightness and push right will take a picture or video; saving it to the internal 14 GB of memory.

One area that I’d like to see addressed in future firmware updates, if the design allows, is the inclusion of an internal memory format function to deal with the possibility of corrupt files. SIG describes the ECHO3 as a reflex sight, I think that’s derived from the fact that it is a direct view optic that you can shoot with both eyes open, so unlike other thermal sights, the shooter is not looking through an ocular lens. Is that good or bad?

I used posterboard and at its center cut a 2” x 2” opening. I then picked up some Heat Therapy Patches to act as the heat source and pasted the patch to the back of the target, so the heat source was visible through the cutout as shown below.

I’m not sure that I can answer that question but since the sight has no diopter adjustment, the ECHO3 needs to be mounted well forward on your rail so that your eye can focus on the display. Eyeglass wearers may find it difficult to use the sight, I wear progressive lenses and ended up buying a pair of readers at my local Walgreens, which worked out well. The benefit of thermal imaging is that it can be used in daylight or total darkness and the ECHO3’s AMOLED display is adjustable for brightness; however, I found it difficult to see the display in bright sunlight while wearing sunglasses. Taking my sunglasses off improved things but the display was still hard to see. Shooting a thermal sight requires some adaptation. For starters, your target is an image derived from infrared radiation, so zeroing the sight requires a heat source, and the paper target that you’re accustomed to won’t do it, I ended up constructing a thermal target.

When zeroing, your point of impact is not visible with a thermal sight, so you’ll want to determine the point of impact correction by measurement. The ECHO3 has 0.5 MOA wind and elevation adjustment increments and a total of 150 MOA of wind and elevation adjustment. Zeroing the sight requires that you access the configuration menu and scroll through a few dropdowns until you get to the Zeroing option. You do that by pressing in on the joystick for about a second.

After selecting the “ZERO” option, the sight displays the zeroing screen and using the joystick you move the reticle to the point of impact if it’s visible. If it is not visible, you’ll want to measure the needed correction and adjust the reticle position to match the correction requirement. Moving the reticle down raises your point of impact and moving it up lowers your POI. Moving the reticle left moves your point of impact right and moving the reticle right moves POI left. The ZEROING screen displays reticle movement in MOA or MILS. The zeroing process is much simpler to perform than it is to describe. You can avoid expending a ton of ammunition by bore sighting the ECHO3 before heading out to the range. I used the following procedure. Fill a large coffee cup with water and microwave for about 6 minutes. I then used a laser bore sighter to zero the ECHO3 at 15 yards. The ECHO3 is powered by 2 CR123A batteries that deliver an advertised run time of 6 hours; you can also use an external power pack for extended use, this is a very nice feature and there are several power packs that can be charged in the field from solar panels.

The ECHO3 is configurable via an impressive assortment of options all of which are accessible from the configuration menu. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Levelplex Anti-Cant System. MOTAC (Motion Activated Display). Enable Ballistic Data Exchange. A choice of 11 color palettes. A choice of 9 active reticles. Capture for image and video selection.

You can also perform a factory reset from the configuration screen. Levelplex, is an anti-cant system with scope cant sensitivity ranging from 3.0 degrees to 0.5 degrees, or it can be disabled. MOTAC (Motion Activated Display) Powers up when it Senses Motion. Enabling BDX allows active reticles that change with KILO Rangefinder Input providing the appropriate holdover. With BDX enabled you can customize fixed reticles that are programmable using the BDX Mobile Application. Palette option has 11 color palettes to help improve target resolution. Reticle option provides a choice of 9 reticles. My favorite is the capture feature, here you can configure the ECHO3 to capture single image or three image sequence, you can select video capture instead of an image, and you can select recoil capture rather than manual. Selecting recoil capture allows the ECHO3 to capture an image or video when it senses weapon recoil. THE ECHO3 is designed for hunters and tailored to predator and hog hunting. The ECHO3 is simple to use, incorporates BDX technology, a

state-of-the-art sensor, lightweight and compact with a robust QD mount. In closing thermal imaging technology is not for everyone and it’s still pricey but the ECHO3 is as good as you can get at its performance and price point. SIG ‘s Electro Optics Division does it again!

-SP

Manufacturer Specifications: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Finish Matte Black Height 3.3 Inches Length 4.3 Inches Weight 14.3 Width 2.6 Inches Battery CR123 Power Variability Variable Minimum Power 1 Maximum Power 6 Battery Type CR123A Battery Life 6 Hours Resolution 320x240 Field of View 10 Degrees Country of Origin United States of America

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook