Originally Posted by master of none
Scary stuff! The kids asked for night vision goggles for Christmas. When asked why, they said so they could read in the dark. Does anybody know if you can see clearly enough to actually read with night vision goggles? Does the page light up or does it have to be a heated page to show up?


There are two types of devices - one works on infrared and the other works using ambient light.

The latest generation of NVDs that use ambient light allow you to read quite well. There has to be enough ambient light for them to work right - you cannot be in a totally sealed room. They are not cheap. Under a starry sky, or even an overcast, you can see very well. Depending on the light present, you may need a suppressed LED to read stuff. But, in most urban locations, you can read quite well with them.

I have not worked with the IR systems in 20 years.