Love the capability it gives but I do not think the juice is worth the squeeze when you factor in performance.

Yes it is fusion but it’s a thermal overlay. So it’s not the greatest thermal picture.

It can be distracting in certain environments and the battery life is somewhat lousy.

There are dedicated thermal units I would buy before I bought this, this is low on the NV must have gear list, something I might invest in when all my other capability gaps are covered. That said if you already have a good handheld thermal and a NV clip on unit and a good laser illuminator and your rifle is setup to be shot passively with your WP dual tubes then it might be time to look at the -29 system to augment your setup.

I had no issues with the COTI on my 31 causing it to not stay articulated up in any position with the battery in. I also have the split cable, and when you utilize the cable to the CWBP the 31 and COTI is still lighter than a PVS-15.



I enjoy it for what it is, and why I wanted one. I didn't want to keep switching between a handheld and my nods for thermal detection.

Reasonable answer I can attest to.

I'm a big fan/supporter of the COTI/E-COTI and Fusion capabilities and think that it's an absolutely fantastic tool to have in the kit bag (metaphorically, of course, kit doesn't do you any good if it's in a bag when you need it ), especially for military or law enforcement use, with potentially armed threats.

A lot of good information that's been posted already in this thread, but I figured I might be able to add a little bit of context as well as my personal feedback.

What is important to understand is what the COTI is and what it is not.

On a basic level, sure, it's a miniature thermal monocular, however, instead of a "dedicated" display, it has a projector that can be used to place in front of a night vision device and overlay a thermal image into an image intensification tube to give the end-user an integrated Fusion image.

As a thermal monocular or primary thermal device, the COTI and E-COTI will be... disappointing to say the least. Resolution and definition is fairly poor, and as a tiny device, it has a very tiny objective lens (the E-COTI's is actually smaller than the COTI's), and the eyepiece adapter is not a great solution, even with the "magnification," the display is tiny, and you really have to Goldilocks the thing for it to be even remotely usable.

That being said, for those with a more than casual curiosity, or that already have a COTI and just want to have the capability, we do have the eyepiece adapters coming in, they're not yet on the website so you'll have to call or e-mail me direct, but as I've noted before, we're working to get more accessory support online to support the COTI. Price will be $430.

Long story short--I would not trade having a thermal monocular or other imager, even a Breach for a COTI, and I would not buy a COTI before buying another dedicated thermal. As Sam said, it's not something I would buy if I didn't already have some other thermal at my disposal.

So what good is it, then?

The big shortcoming of most thermal devices is that they're basically impossible to use while on the move, at least at anything faster than a crawl, or on anything short of an Abrams tank (have done this by using the TIS to "guide" the driver during brown-out conditions, driver kept the gun tube in his center periscope while the gunner was the "eyes" ).  

Fusion systems like the COTI allow you to maintain thermal detection capability while moving without having to transition to another optic, which can waste both time, and cause a little bit of momentary disorientation when you switch back (e.g., a helmet mounted Breach/PVS-14). Moreover, unlike a bridged thermal + NV monocular setup, it allows you to maintain the advantages of using Binocular Night Vision Goggles (BNVGs) while still having that thermal detection capability--an important capability when you consider, once again, that Fusion is about being on the move.

Essentially what the COTI is good for is rapid detection while moving, and were (like so many pieces of equipment we discuss) designed for military applications, and thus tend to make the most sense when you consider a military context and use-case.

Within that context, the COTI is especially useful for movement to contact/movement to the objective in environments, whether rural or urban, where there is pretty good cover and concealment for the enemy, which usually also means in terms of night vision, lots of mixed light, areas of dark dark, and others where it's fairly bright, and a dynamic environment with lots of other sensory... "clutter" that could slow down processing and threat detection--anyone that's ever come through the woodline into the backside of a village probably knows what I'm talking about...

What the COTI offers in these kinds of situations is enhanced detection--speed, so for example, if you're moving to the objective, you can continue scanning on the move in case you run into sentries, OPs, random patrols, or even a bad guy relieving themselves (in all the various forms that could take...), which will show up as a thermal blip in your goggles, and depending on the situation, you could quickly make the decision as to whether to bypass, engage, or take a short halt and investigate/interrogate further, whether with a handheld or weapon-mounted thermal, IR illum, etc.

Or, if you're on a perimeter, you may be able to detect squirters running from the target structure from a back door in what they think is a dark alley that will conceal them, or popping out of a spider hole in the ground, or reinforcements trying to approach. Or if a target has fled for the woodline or jumped in a wadi is trying to hide out, or...

The point is, that it offers you immediate thermal detection capability in fast moving situations, especially when you too are on the move, that cannot be matched by other hand-held, weapon mounted, or helmet mounted dedicated thermal devices. However, it does not take the place of them, either.

And the COTI certainly is not infallible, it has some downsides--the 20 degree FOV is not ideal, and under some environmental conditions, it can give you "false" signatures that can "add" to the clutter rather than help sort through it, but it's also small and easily removable and easy to turn on and off as you need it or don't need it and as it helps or hurts. That being said, when it's useful, it's a tremendous capability to add to your safety, security, and situational awareness for which there are not a whole lot of options that would give you the same or similar capabilities.

Not that you asked, but since it comes up a decent bit, IMHO, and having both on hand, the E-COTI does not necessarily offer that much additional capability compared to the AN/PAS-29A. Which is not to say that the E-COTI is not an improvement over the COTI, the 30 degree FOV alone is a huge improvement, and it has noticeably better resolution and image quality.

At the same time, it doesn't necessarily "do" the job of providing detection (NOT identification) on the move and in fast, mixed lighting conditions any better than the AN/PAS-29A COTI, while being about 60% more expensive if you can even get them (currently restricted to government sales only) and having a much less user-friendly control interface compared to the COTI, being harder to turn on and off and change settings on the fly as needed. Nor do the improvements make it better suited to fill the role of any other thermal imagers in your kit bag, as the E-COTI is still a poor hand held/stand-alone thermal device.  

In terms of "is it worth it?"

On the one hand, that's really a question that you have to answer for yourself.

On the other hand, in terms of the AN/PAS-29A COTI specifically, at just under $5,500 for a brand new production unit, not surplus or NOS units that have been sitting on a shelf for years, available to the commercial market, and eligible for discounts, it is head and shoulders the most cost effective and "cleanest" way to get a Fusion capability if you need it--other comparable products are restricted and/or much more expensive or both, and in most cases, cannot be maintained or repaired if something goes wrong. Another advantage of the COTI format is that if, for whatever reason, something went wrong with the thermal device (between night vision and thermal, thermals will tend to have the higher failure rate), then the COTI can be removed and sent off for maintenance or repair without potentially deadlining the whole unit, and losing both I2 and thermal capability for the duration until it can be repaired, if it can be repaired.

Answering your questions directly:

1. Looks like the battery life is 2 hours? That sucks but thermal battery life always sucks i can deal.

1-4 hours depending on ambient temperature is pretty close to what I've been getting from the onboard battery. Yeah, it's not great, but as others have noted, it's very easy to turn on and off when you need it or don't need it, when moving from a "contact unlikely" to "contact likely" to "contact imminent" situation.

Re: external power adapters, again, this is a thing that we continue to work on, but there is no update at the moment that I can give.

As far as the BNVD "Y" cable adapters--every one of these out there is a "surplus" unit that was built for a contract years back. They were "provided" by L3 for ~$1,900 each, distributor price, but were built by Optics1. If you have one (I happen to have one as well), lucky for you--they will most likely not ever be made again, especially since the COTI and E-COTI use a different power/data connector, and there are only a couple of customers out there that could have moved L3 and Optics1 to develop and manufacture a special cable connector for the BNVD and AN/PAS-29A and then paid $1,900 a piece for them, and I've been told in no uncertain terms "they're not coming back." Ultimately, the potential customer base that will actually use such an item as intended is going to be fairly small.

2. Ive seen in pictures there appears to be an eyepiece that may allow you to use the coti as a standalone unit, but it doesn't appear advertised with the units anymore. How does this work and is this even an option anymore?

See above. We have them coming in and they are available if you want one.

3. are they reasonably rugged? Do they appear noticeably less rugged than say a PVS-14? Would you be afraid to go certain places with it attached to a pvs-14 that you'ld feel comfortable going with the pvs-14.

I would say they're "reasonably" rugged, but they're not necessarily going to be as rugged as most ground-hardened night vision devices. That being said, the "weak link," fairly intentionally, is the bracket that attaches to the NVD that the COTI attaches to, which is likely to break before any other component of either the COTI or NVD breaks, leaving you with a broken $300 adapter rather than a broken NVD or thermal.

Again, as I mentioned in the other thread, these too are available for order.

P.S. Y'all using them on PVS-31s really ought to get the correct BNVD adapters... the newer/current BNVD adapter design is designed to clamp on to the housing behind the objective lens assemblies, not clamp on to the objective lens assembly itself. Yes, there are some older adapters that can attach to the PVS-31 objective lens assembly, but this is a less than ideal solution for a number of reasons...

4. Are they just as useful as say a 320 core standalone thermal? nearly as useful? It appears speed of id and location would be much faster but there could be other concerns. If i were to get a PAS-29 would i regret letting my ps32 (320x240) go or will i still want both? If i get a pas-29 i would probably recoup some cost by selling the ps32.

I think I covered this fairly exhaustively, but again, direct answer: "No, no, yes, yes."

5. How are the ergonomics? does it make the pvs-14 too bulky or other?

In terms of control interface, IMHO the COTI is extremely user-friendly, with only two buttons and a gain/power control knob (also a button), with most of the features that you might need to switch quickly between available "on demand" with a single button press, with other settings that would not need to be accessed as often buried a little bit deeper in button combinations. The E-COTI's three-button only system is a lot less user-friendly, IMHO.

In terms of its physical ergonomics while mounted to an NVD, honestly with most mounting configurations, there are only a couple of different positions that the COTI can be mounted in on a PVS-14, BNVGs tend to be a little bit more generous.

The most "common" mounting locations tend to be angled to the center, or hanging at 6 o'clock.

That being said, my perferred mounting location is at the 3 o'clock, sticking straight out to the right from my dominant eye, and the HUD graphics orientation can be changed in the device's settings.

The 3 o'clock mounting location gives me easy access to the device and device controls, without adding any extra height while in a stowed position, and keeping the whole setup relatively "low profile," with nothing really protruding out in weird directions (the COTI added to a BNVG is no wider than my head/helmet) that could get caught or snagged on something where I normally wouldn't.

~Augee

COTI works equally well with WP or GP, WP just photographs better overall.

To give some perspective, I usually have to crank up the COTI’s gain almost unusably high to get a decent still image that closely represents what I am seeing directly through the device.

Also—I’ve spoken with pbjunkiee over the phone, the part numbers he’s referencing are old Vectronix P/Ns for the eyepiece adapters, and while I’m not 100% sure exactly what the distinctions are between all those part numbers, the ones we are sourcing are new from Optics1 and have a different P/N, and they translate the image directly without any mirroring or change in orientation, and they have a magnet which “tells” the COTI whether or not the eyepiece adapter is attached, and allow you to access 2x modes.

Dog laying in my office:



Through the E-COTI and eyepiece adapter. I also tested it with the COTI, which for some reason is orange instead of green, but it behaved the same way—and taking photographs through that tiny eyepiece adapter is not easy, so I didn’t get one with the COTI:



~Augee