Romeo 1 Pro issues.

Chriscanbreach

Established
A quick cautionary post for the R1P.
The one I’m testing has 3 classes and a few completions on it with about 3k rounds riding on a Sig P320 Pro Carry.

The shake awake function they call Motac has not been working reliably. It shuts off while being worn in the holster and doesn’t reliably come back on during the draw. This is a failure for our testing purposes.

The function can be disabled and the optic works just fine in that mode, however I’m not sure how that will affect battery life.

The first one I had failed to hold elevation zero and was replaced by this one. They are replacing this one as well.
 

WAVandal

Regular Member
That sucks. I was hoping the R1P was going to be a winner so I wouldn't have to get a plate and RMR should I get a P320 Pro Full Size to go with my X-Compact
 

Chriscanbreach

Established
It’s still rock solid and zeroed perfectly with Motac disabled. The problem is it feels like the customer based QC is in full effect. The rep said to return it and they’ll send a replacement after they test it.
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
That’s unfortunate to hear, please keep us updated on the issue. My brother has a R1P on order for his M18, I’ll be keeping an eye on his while he racks up the round count
 

Bowman

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Wow, that sucks. Here I am still running an original R1 with countless thousands of rounds on it on my competition gun. MOTAC has been flawless, zero has held all through that time. 3+ shooting seasons.

It will be interesting to see how the R2 does when it finally comes out. I checked them out at SHOT, put some rounds through one on SIG's range day, seems very promising for a "duty grade" optic.
 

Chriscanbreach

Established
I’ll have a R2 shortly and have high hopes for it as well. I’m not sold on the enclosed shroud but will give it a fighting chance.
Shooting competition in addition to carrying the optic around all day 4 days a week and shooting it every day is how I test them. I don’t do drop tests but I do rack the slide with the optic on occasion.
The whole idea of Motac is to save battery life and I like it but optic shouldn’t turn off in a holster while I’m wearing it and moving around.
I only have a sample size of 2 and both have failed our testing although I’m waiting to see what battery life is like with Motac disabled.

I’ll post here when the replacement has 3 months and 3k rounds through it.
 

user12358

Regular Member
I’ll have a R2 shortly and have high hopes for it as well. I’m not sold on the enclosed shroud but will give it a fighting chance.

Interested to hear how the enclosed shroud does as all of my experience is telling me that an unpurged enclosed emitter is going to have serious issues with moisture incursion and retention leading to fogging and visibility issues. I would hope that SIG isn't dumb enough to ship out on optic they are touting as "duty grade" without addressing that but only hands-on time will tell.
 

Joe _K

Established
Wow, that sucks. Here I am still running an original R1 with countless thousands of rounds on it on my competition gun. MOTAC has been flawless, zero has held all through that time. 3+ shooting seasons.

It will be interesting to see how the R2 does when it finally comes out. I checked them out at SHOT, put some rounds through one on SIG's range day, seems very promising for a "duty grade" optic.

“Countless Thousands”
 

Bowman

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
I do feel like it’s odd you joined today as a moderator and your first post was to address my post and praise Sig optics. Sponsor? @Bowman
It is true, I just recently joined the forum although I have followed here for some time as I have researched various topics. I am active in the P&S groups on FB and was recently made a mod there. My comments were not meant so much as "praise" for SIG Optics as it was just providing my own anecdotal use. I am most certainly NOT sponsored by them. (Edit: meaning I have not received money from them but have received product in the past for review.) But I am friendly with the guys there and know some of the engineers on the SIG Electro-Optics staff. I've probably been fairly lucky with my R1 optics (I have 2 currently-one is on a backup gun/slide and has been shot minimally compared to my main one). I just thought it was too bad that your R1P quit working the way it did. I had high hopes that the R1P would be a step up from the R1. Hence my disappointment in your report.

@Bowman as another professional enduser who was warned away from Sig optics for work pistols by my Sig rep, I would like to see your shot log (or round count) and use entails.
As much as I would like to provide detailed shot logs for you, I cannot. This particular optic has bounced around on several guns, and I've lost count of how many it actually has. (Edit: Forgot to mention that other shooters have also put rounds downrange with it.) What I can tell you is that I am a higher-volume shooter actively training, practicing, testing/reviewing, and competing throughout the year. I will go through 10K rounds in the next few weeks while I do some testing/reviewing of a couple of new products. Now, if I was to provide a conservative estimate of the number of rounds of this R1 optic I referenced above, it would be approximately 15K rounds. I can tell you in recent history I used it for 1800 rounds in a training course with Rob Leatham and Mike Seeklander in late November 2019 and an additional 1500 rounds in the months of December and early January in practice and indoor shooting matches. It has seen consistent use through 3 full shooting seasons (I purchased it on a P320 RX in early 2017) of mostly 3-gun matches and practicing for those. It would be extremely conservative to assume it has only averaged 5K rounds per year over those 3 years. I hope this helps in establishing some context for my response.

“Countless Thousands”
I'm sorry for using the dreaded "countless thousands" phrase. (See above for context.) Unfortunately, that is the most accurate description of this particular optic. Naturally, I shouldn't expect you to have to trust me, but I strive to be honest and have integrity in all I do. The people who know me can vouch for me.
 
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Bowman

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Interested to hear how the enclosed shroud does as all of my experience is telling me that an unpurged enclosed emitter is going to have serious issues with moisture incursion and retention leading to fogging and visibility issues. I would hope that SIG isn't dumb enough to ship out on optic they are touting as "duty grade" without addressing that but only hands-on time will tell.
I think the R2 as an open-emitter optic MAY be a winner. It seems well-built, and I know guys like Bruce Gray (Grayguns) are testing it on a 10mm right now. But the enclosed shroud does seem like a likely failure. In talking with the guys there, I know they're still working on that aspect of it (as of SHOT). The mounting solution for it is well thought out, but to your point, it will not be gas-purged, so fogging issues seem likely. But they're in Oregon, so you'd think they'd figure that out pretty quickly.
 

Chriscanbreach

Established
So to recap. :confused:

The two Romeo 1 Pro's I have tested have failed to continue working as designed and I can't vouch for them.

The third is mounted to my gun and will be run with Motac disabled to see what battery life is like until the replacement 4th shows up. it will then sit on the shelf and be checked every day. Max bright minus 2.

When the 4th shows up it will be mounted to one of my other guns and carried at least 40 hours a week and shot every day after dry fire. In 3 months and 3k rounds I'll repost and let you guys know if we approve it or not.

If we need to throw names around like it matters the second one failed in a class with Robbie but did excellent in a class with Jedi. We have Panone scheduled for next month but with all the virus news I won't be surprised if it cancels. When I talk to Mike this week I'll mention you.
 
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