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Posted: Yesterday 3:03:40 PM EDT
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Presumably it adds cost to the manufacturing process and thereby the retail price. I can see why shake awake might be helpful on something like an EOTech that has a one month runtime because it works on a laser powered by a CR123A. But for a red dot that works on an LED powered by a CR2032 with a runtime of over five years on medium brightness then why add shake awake? It adds a potential point of failure if whatever mechanism that detects motions fails and it stops detecting motion at all. It also presumably makes the red dot more expensive than it otherwise would be without it, which is a strange design decision for products that will be marketed as budget options. Also not a fan of the idea of automatic brightness adjustment. Like no man I just want to set my dot brightness and keep it that way. It adds a point of failure if the light detection mechanism incorrectly detects lighting conditions and makes the optic more expensive. I had these thoughts while reading about the Holosun ARO EVO. Liked the idea of a 26mm window with the battery on the bottom for optimal field of view, but I have to wonder how much cheaper the same thing could be if they just removed the needless nonsense about a solar panel, shake awake, and automatic brightness detection and adjustment. Then again, for all I know maybe these features are actually trivially cheap to add and I'd only save like ten dollars for a version without them. |
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Because the 5 year battery claim is always on a setting no one uses as it’s basically unusable. Usable brightness settings usually only get you a year or two. Also, half the time the only way they get that 5 year battery life is specifically because of the shake awake. Go look at some of the product descriptions of some of these dots and they say exactly that. Something akin to “5 year battery life using shake awake.” Not “5 year battery life and happens to have shake awake as an added feature.” |
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Originally Posted By india13c: Because the 5 year battery claim is always on a setting no one uses as it’s basically unusable. Usable brightness settings usually only get you a year or two. Also, half the time the only way they get that 5 year battery life is specifically because of the shake awake. Go look at some of the product descriptions of some of these dots and they say exactly that. Something akin to “5 year battery life using shake awake.” Not “5 year battery life and happens to have shake awake as an added feature.” No, this is what they all claim in the product specs. Perhaps they are lying, but they all say 50,000 hours of run time at the middle brightness setting. So if the optic has ten brightness settings then the run time figure is based on brightness level five. They also still claimed 50,000 hours well before shake awake started becoming popular. My slightly older Vortex and Primary Arms red dots don't have shake awake and they also listed 50,000 hours run time at middle brightness setting. |
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Originally Posted By HighpowerRifleBrony: Does ShakeAwake help the diode or circuitry last longer? Perhaps, but they would have to be using pretty terrible LEDs and circuitry to ever have issues handling such incredibly small amounts of electricity. And if they were using diodes and circuitry that can't handle running for years at a time, then simply beefing up those components would be a better and more affordable solution than adding shake awake. |
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Originally Posted By Brian01: No, this is what they all claim in the product specs. Perhaps they are lying, but they all say 50,000 hours of run time at the middle brightness setting. So if the optic has ten brightness settings then the run time figure is based on brightness level five. They also still claimed 50,000 hours well before shake awake started becoming popular. My slightly older Vortex and Primary Arms red dots don't have shake awake and they also listed 50,000 hours run time at middle brightness setting. I understand that. That’s why I said the 50,000 hrs is stated for mostly unusable settings. The current claims of 50,000 hrs seem to be tied to using them at usable brightness settings because of these shake awake features preserving battery life. You’re not going to find a single red dot getting close to 50,000 hrs on a CR2032 using realistic brightness settings. You might get a first gen Romeo 8t to do it or or a COMPM4. But those aren’t CR2032s and also seem to be anomalies. I’ve seen more than one manufacturer state this. Aimpoint themselves state the battery life is more like one year at the true usable settings. |
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Basically just described the reason I go with a T-2 when I need a dot. Literally just a dial (presumably a rheostat) to set led brightest. Change battery yearly. Stupid simple and works for forever. I wish they would have done the RMR Type 2 the same way. I’m completely fine with changing a battery every 3-6 months on a schedule if it means I don’t pick it up and wait for it to adjust. |
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The concern distills to whether there have been reported failures to "awaken". So far I've had zero issues, with three Romeos currently in use left on a useable daytime setting. Out of habit I usually turn my APs off/lowest NV. It is a fair question tho. Am curious about what others have found. |
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I've had Romeo 5s, near a half dozen of them for years. They get used frequently. $120 on sale... cost is fine Number of shake awake failures I've had... zero Number of batteries I've ever changed in a Romeo 5... zero I've had to change batteries in any non-shake awake red dot I've ever had for any period of time. While changing a battery isn't that big a deal, the shake awake is cheap and reliable, so the question is why NOT have it... and anything with a limited battery life, Eotech, LPVO, I would really, really like to have it if they can make it reliable at the current draws required. |
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