This weekend my family and I are going to spend a few days in the mountains. So, this should be a perfect time to play with the night vision & video/image features of the ATN X-Sight. As I was showing off the X-Sight to my father-in-law today, I mentioned that I should probably check for firmware updates before we head out. He responded with a blank stare.
That blank stare made me realize that this might be something about the ATN X-Sight that a lot of people have never thought about. Especially those who only have experience with “traditional” riflescopes.
The X-Sight is a digital scope. Unlike a traditional scope, when you look into the eyepiece of the X-Sight, you are actually looking at a digital screen, which of course, displays what the scope is seeing.
Think of the X-Sight as a computerized riflescope. Like any computer, the X-Sight runs on software. Periodically, ATN makes software (aka firmware) updates available. These updates can do anything from fix known issues, to add additional features.
The process of updating the ATN X-Sight firmware is simple. Although I can’t say with 100% certainty, I assume the following process is basically the same for all ATN products.
To begin, go to the ATN site and navigate to the product you wish to update. Once on your product’s page, select the “Register & Firmware” option.
At this point you will be instructed to do the following:
FIRMWARE UPDATE INSTRUCTIONS:
- Download the firmware.bin file and copy to your microSD card
- Insert the card into the X-Sight
- In the “Firmware Update” dialog box select “OK” to start the update
- When the update counter reaches “100%” the device will automatically restart
- Note: If the device does not restart within 30 seconds after reaching 100%, remove and re-insert the batteries and power-up the device
- Once the device is powered up it will enter self configuration mode, followed by WiFi configuration
- After completing both configuration phases it will automatically restart and will be ready for use
You will also see a summary of what the firmware update is designed to do. Below is the summary for the update I just installed:
RELEASE NOTES:
- Major Improvement – Sound Recording Issues plaguing earlier version have been fixed
- Optimized Performance
- Improved Stability
- Squashed Bugs
That’s all there is to it. I spent much more time typing this post than I did updating the firmware on the ATN X-Sight.
For more information on their night vision and Smart HD Optics, visit ATNcorp.com.
Image Notes: