EOTECH 512 Questions

[nikonuser]

I own an EOTECH 512 model F and I love it. I have 2 questions.

1) If I buy the new 4x magnifier for it, does that mean that the 1 MOA dot of the 512 will be magnified and become a 4 MOA dot?
2) I changed the 2AA battery recently and I know it was not even turned on that long since it has an 8 hour shutoff if I forgot to turn it off. Are you guys getting the long battery life as advertised. How often do you change the battery?

[aplinker]

The dot will be 1 MOA when magnified, but will appear to be 4X larger, just like everything else in the field of view. Also, buy the 3X. It's only .5X lower in magnification, but near 1/2 the price.

Battery life listed is on a pretty low brightness setting likely with lithium batteries.

[davedog665]

1100 hrs with lithium and 600 alkaline

[nikonuser]

ok , it makes sense that the dot would look bigger but since everything is is magnified 4x it would still be 1 moa with the rest of the view. thanks.

[maxicon]

Battery life is spec'ed at the brightness it turns on at - 12 of 20.

Not only is the life much longer with lithium batteries, they perform much better at low temps, have a better shelf life, and are less prone to leakage. You can estimate a reduction of battery life by 66% at 0 deg C for AA alkaline, and only by 20% for lithium.

However, the low battery feature of the Eotech doesn't work correctly with lithium batteries, according to the manual. Also, cheap lithium batteries are more prone to catching fire in high-drain apps, but the Eotech shouldn't draw enough current to cause that. I'd avoid cheap batteries of any type (Costco or whatever) in an expensive optic.

Also, note that if the sight is turned on by depressing the UP button, it will automatically shut itself off 8 hours after the last push-button control is used. If it's turned on with the DOWN button, the sight will automatically shut off 4 hours after the last button press.

Many people find they don't really get the advertised battery life. I don't use mine often enough or long enough to know.