My red dot is kind of a blob

[Balrog]

The dot of my Aimpoint T-1 micro is not a very crisp red dot any more. It is more blurry and now kind of a blob. I am not sure this affects accuracy for self defense purposes. Has anyone else had this happen on a red dot? What causes it? Can it be fixed?

 

[briansmithwins]

1) Clean the front and rear window.
2) Turn the brightness level down.
3) Get you eyes checked.

If all that fails;
4) Send it back to Aimpoint for a warranty repair.

BSW

 

[CZ9shooter]

Yep, could be your eyes. A very slight astigmatism will do it.

All of my red dots look fuzzy, but my eyes check out pretty good. If mounted on my AR and cowitnessed with the rear aperture, they look nice and crisp. Something about looking through a small hole eliminates the symptoms of astigmatism.

Idk, I read into this stuff a while back when I was having trouble. I guess a holographic or prism type site is an easy fix. The reflected image of a red dot is the problem.

 

[briansmithwins]

My eye doctor described an Aimpoint I took in for him to look at as a very good device for showing people how much astigmatism they have.

Problems with a quality red dot are almost always eye problems.

Apertures clean up images at the cost of reducing the amount of light that is available. The smaller the hole the better, but the less light you'll have. Using a small aperture is one of the oldest photography/microscopy tricks there is.

BSW

 

[chicharrones]

My trifocal wearing eyes have definitely turned my once crisp red dots into blobs. It's still much better than an almost invisible front sight blade.

I do need a new set of prescription glasses pretty badly now.

 

[Balrog]

Well I am happy to know its me not my Aimpoint. I do have astigmatism, and wear a very progressive lens.

What kind of optic if any can I use that may be better? I don't want magnification really.

 

[chicharrones]

Well I am happy to know its me not my Aimpoint. I do have astigmatism, and wear a very progressive lens.

What kind of optic if any can I use that may be better? I don't want magnification really.

A prism red dot that has an eye piece focus should help immensely. Eye relief will dictate where it mounts, though.

Such as: http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-spitfire-ar-1x-prism-scope

 

[tarosean]

What kind of optic if any can I use that may be better?

you will have to look through as many as possible with different styled sight pictures.

I have a bad astigmatism. red dots look like stars to me and I just deal with it. Triangles of the Trijicons and meprolight wouldn't be complete.

I really liked the eotech but we know what happened with those.

 

[Kendal Black]

Sounds like the onset of astigmatism to me. Been there, done that, have the spiky red dot in a sight that is, in fact, functioning perfectly.

Maybe the best answer here is a 1x telescope sight--a conventional scope with a reticle but with no magnification. For some reason, I have less trouble with scope reticles than with collimated projected light beams.

Leupold made something very clever in a 1x telescope sight, the 1x14 Tactical Prismatic, but few people were interested at the price, and they stopped making it.

 

[briansmithwins]

With my eyes I have better luck with projected reticles like the Meprolight M21. I still get distortion but I don't notice it as much.

With magnified scopes there is still distortion making the circular part of a reticle oblong. When matched with bullseye targets I can just match the oblong from the scope with the oblong of the target.

BSW

 

[armoredman]

As long as I can still put the red blob on the target and hit it, I'm good.

 

[cdb1]

Red dots are twinkly to my eyes. I have bad astigmatism. I get the best picture with an illuminated reticle in a low powered scope, without my glasses on.

 

[berettaprofessor]

Hmmm...I'm astigmatic as heck and have no problem with fuzzy red dots unless they're turned up too bright. But I never take off my glasses.

 

[Varminterror]

Easy test as to whether an irregular red dot shape is you or the optic:

Turn your head. If the irregular shape turns with your head (i.e. it doesn't turn as the optic turns), then it's you. If it turns with the optic, then it's the optic.

 

[lysanderxiii]

Easy test as to whether an irregular red dot shape is you or the optic:

Turn your head. If the irregular shape turns with your head (i.e. it doesn't turn as the optic turns), then it's you. If it turns with the optic, then it's the optic.

Easier way - take a picture with your phone.

If the dot is a dot in the picture, it's your eyes.

If the dot in the picture is a blob, it's the red dot.

 

[briansmithwins]

It's very easy for the dot to be out of focus and look blurry in the camera.

BSW

 

[lysanderxiii]

It's very easy for the dot to be out of focus and look blurry in the camera.

BSW

I assumed people can take picture that are in focus....

Cameras, at least the types in phones these days, will auto-focus on the center of the frame. That will put the the reticle in focus.

 

[briansmithwins]

My cameras (both phone and point and shoot) like to lock onto the rear of the optic, fuzzing the reticle hopelessly.

I may have to try different settings.

BSW

 

[Balrog]

Its my eye. I looked through it with my other eye, and its a nice round dot.

 

[Varminterror]

I generally assume it's easier to pick up your optic or rifle and tilt your head... adding a phone is adding steps. None difficult, but if you can hold a rifle and don't have your neck in a C collar, you don't need a phone to help tell you what your eyes would readily see.

 

[Kendal Black]

This fellow has a clever test, is it the red dot sight or is it your vision, at about 2:28 in the following video.