Two night vision questions:

[Fletchette]

1) I am considering purchase of a gen III scope/monocular (PVS-14) to be head or weapon mounted. I was told that night vision devices can degrade over several years of storage, so don't buy one until you are sure you will use it. Is this true?

2) Can a laserbeam spot be seen on a *thermal* viewer?

 

[NMshooter]

A vaccuum tube degrade while not in use?

Color me skeptical, I think not.

IR light of any sort should show up on a thermal viewer, like a flashlight would for normal vision.

 

[Langenator]

The laserbeam spot might show up if you left it in the same spot long enough.

Thermal sights register temperature differentials. The generating source for a weapon-type laser, IR or visible, might generate enough heat to show up, if left on long enough. For the short periods of time they're usually lit up, I doubt they'd show up.

You, however, are a different matter altogether. Keep something nice an solid between you and whoever has the thermals if you don't want to be seen.