TargetVision Hawk Review

By W.C. Fannin

The TargetVision Hawk is a camera system designed to enhance a shooter's ability to see a target down range. The Hawk attaches to a spotting scope, rifle scope or binoculars and feeds video from the optic to your phone, tablet or computer via dedicated Wi-Fi. The way the Hawk attaches is similar to a Digiscope mount. The Hawk I reviewed was one of five testing and evaluation prototypes produced. The outer shell of the unit was not fully developed. The finished product is going to have an outer shell of injected polymer.

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To connect the Hawk to a spotting scope or rifle scope, you use a round bracket with seven set screws. One screw in the back is used to hold the camera in place and the other six to secure it to your scope's eyepiece. The bracket diameter was 2", capable of adapting to a wide variety of eyepieces. The Hawk comes with four spacers (Small, Small-Medium, Medium, and Large). The spacers click into the camera housing. Find which spacer works best for your setup through trial and error. The Medium worked best for me.

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General Overview of How the Hawk Works: (from the manufacturer)
  1. Download the TargetVision App.
  2. Place the camera in the eyepiece mount. Place the camera on the side with the single set screw.
  3. Slide the eyepiece mount and the camera over eyepiece of the spotting scope until you feel the spotting scope's eyepiece touch the camera.
  4. Use the screw knobs on the eyepiece mount to hold it in place. You can remove the camera to make sure it is centered.
  5. Use the cord to plug the battery pack into the camera.
  6. Go to your Wi-Fi settings and log-in to the Hawk (password: neverlosesight).
  7. Open the TargetVision App.
  8. Make fine-tune adjustments to get the camera feed the way you want.

The Hawk's receiver and battery are separate units. The power cord and charging cord are the same. You use one end to charge the battery, turn it around, and operate the receiver. The receiver is built into the Hawk. With today's charging possibilities, you can interchange the cord with any USB port and micro USB. You are also able to use the battery pack as a supplemental charger for any device. The battery pack does have a battery meter to indicate its charge level.

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For my tests, I ran both an iPhone (IOS 7.1) and iPad (IOS 8.3) simultaneously, with no issues noted. The optics I tested were a Vortex Viper HD 20-60x80 Spotting Scope and a Leupold 3.5-14x50 LPS rifle scope. With both the iPhone and iPad, I was able to zoom with the camera and video. In addition, I was able to mark my shots while utilizing the camera and recording a video. I was capable of marking different shot groups with different colors and size markings. I was able to make and receive video calls using FaceTime.

Connectivity
For this test, I set up a flag at my target to verify the feed was live. Using both the iPhone and iPad simultaneously, I started walking backwards. My best operating distance was within 50 yards from the Hawk. 75 yards was ok, but not as good as 50 yards or less. I would say the range is no more than 100 yards, where the live feed becomes intermittent. I had a clear line of sight for this test and tested in both overcast and sunny conditions. Under ordinary use, I probably wouldn't be more than a few feet from the Hawk, but I still wanted to test its range capabilities. I tested a prototype model. It is my understanding that the finished product will have a more reliable Wi-Fi signal.

I tried different spacers on different power settings of my spotter. I concluded that the Hawk worked best on 20x power for a full field of view. The Hawk did work on other magnifications. However, the image was not as clear, an effect similar to tunnel vision. This is something TargetVision is working hard to resolve before production.

Specifications
  • Batteries: Rechargeable Lithium Ion
  • Band: 2.4 ghz.
  • Weight: 2 lbs.

What's In the Box
  • TargetVision Hawk Camera/Receiver
  • TargetVision Hawk Battery Pack
  • 12V DC Charger
  • Power/Charging Cable

Wi-Fi
The Wi-Fi is very easy to interface with. There is no need for cellular service to operate the TargetVision Hawk. Once you download the TargetVision App to your device, make sure the Wi-Fi on your device is turned on. If you don't see "Hawk" as a Wi-Fi network, click search for other networks. You will be prompted to enter a password after your device locates the "Hawk" network.

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TargetVision App (from the manufacturer)

The TargetVision Hawk Camera is an App based technology. The beauty of this system and design is that it allows our product to enhance itself over time through App updates. The user will be able to take advantage of TargetVision's continued research and development to add more functionality to the application. TargetVision wants every customer to be part of their mission to improve the overall shooting experience and to redefine the industry. The app is available for both Android and Apple products. This is a video clip showing the app being used: