I had two Aimpoint T1’s in use on two different carbines. I finally decided to remove one and store it as a rainy day/SHTF optic.
Other than removing the battery so it won’t potentially leak and corrode the optic, is there any other issue with deterioration of an RDS in storage?
In other words, am I better off selling the stored Aimpoint and maybe putting a conventional scope in storage instead?
Interesting question. I think the Aimpoint would be fine as long as its stored in a climate controlled enviroment; meaning humidity or temp change over time might degrade the wiring:confused: You could always store it since you have it and save up for a Trijicon or similar (I think the tritium in Trijicons is good for 10 years).
Right now it’s in its original cardboard box with the grey foam inside. I sealed it in one of those surplus ammo cans with the rubber lid gasket. When I buy those ammo cans I always listen for the “hiss” when I open the lid in the store, so it should be GTG.
I would not think you should have any issues. It would be no different than using it. As for wiring should be like any other unused electronic take care of it and it will last, I have cheap old radios 10-15 yrs old with no issues. Store it inside in a normal temp room and it should last. At most an ammo can with a gel pack for humidity.
Since Aimpoint’s care instructions in the manual read along the lines of “Exposure to salt water: wipe with damp cloth;” “Exposure to extreme heat/cold: no action needed;” “Global thermonuclear war: use lens pen to clean fallout from lens”, I think you’ll be fine just sticking it in a box until needed.
That part I’m down with. I’m pretty sure the Aimpoint is everything-proof as far as environmental conditions.
Not being an expert on electronics I was more concerned that stuff like that deteriorates just due to the passage of time, like the insulation around the wires and whatnot.
Granted if it’s in storage for more than 20 years, it will be because the economy collapsed and Aimpoint went out of business. If it’s in storage more than 10 years, I’d probably want to sell it and get the latest and greatest thing.
No issues. Aimpoints in mounts living in trunks during the heat and freeze get no special care. An Aimpoint on the shelf needs no more than that.
Being electronic, you can always have infant mortality. First thing I do with new electronics is to turn them on and leave them on until the battery is dead. Surefire flashlights, Aimpoints, (my only) EoTech all get this treatment.
With the Aimpoints I don’t want to take years to test if the LED or power control circuitry is going to smoke, so those get turned on to max brightness for a week and left on. If they make it through that I expect them to have a long life.
And yes, for long term storage pull the battery.
H
I’d just keep temperature swings to a minimum- that can result in condensation and corrosion.
that said, an aimpoint is good for 140 feet of submersion… probably be hard pressed to find a tougher optic. I’d guess that all the circuitry is epoxy potted for corrosion and water resistance.
As someone mentioned earlier, throw in a good sized silica gel pack when you seal it in the ammo can and you will be good to go. I would pull it out and test run it every couple of years. Aimpoint provides warranty coverage for 10 years, so if you find an issue in a couple of years during a test run it shouldn’t be a problem getting them to repair or replace.
The Aimpoint itself is sealed so it’s not the internals that you would be protecting with the dessicant. I believe the Aimoint bodies are made of aluminum, so corrosion isn’t an issue either. What can, and has happened with stored photographic optics that are also sealed, is that mold can grow on the coated glass surface over time if there is enough humidity. The Aimpoint may still work but the picture through it will be all messed up. Not what you want for a fast sighting optic. The silica gel will help prevent this by controlling the humidity in the ammo can.
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I would keep it on the rifle if a SHIFT unfolds you dont have time to zero it again.
You want to coat it in cosmoline… THICK!!!
Then vaccuum package it in a food storage thing of some sort.
Next… and the step that most people skip… is a container that will protect it from and electro magnetic pulse of energy. Google that and you’ll see how to protect the circuitry.
Lastly… you want to bury it somewhere inconspicuous. But leave a tether line above ground so you can grab it and pull it into action on a moments notice.
Trust me on this. It may save your life!
Interesting. Not that I’m expecting an EMP any time soon, but I would have thought that a sealed ammo can would block the effects.
Not so?
If it’s buried, it’ll be fine! 
An Ammo can would only be effective against a very small EMP burst. The metal canister is a “Faraday cage” and will conduct electric field around the contents, but only to the extent that the can can “dump out” the charge. If you were to attached a thick ground wire to the ammo can, and connect this to a good ground plane (like a 10’ copper stake in the ground), it would handle a MUCH bigger EMP burst.
Faraday cages don’t need to be grounded to protect the contents.
H
I realize for civilians this is mostly academic, but in some future war a soldier might really have to worry about an EMP on the battlefield.
Is there some sort of man-portable container that would block an EMP blast? Maybe one made of hardwood with some type of liner?
Generally speaking, electronics with smaller components are more vulnerable to EMP. Think relays>vacuum tubes>transistors>IC chips>CPUs.
The other factor is antenna length. Anything that’s plugged into the grid has the entire length of the transmission wires to worry about. A battery powered radio (or cell phone) would have its antenna to collect electrons from the EMP.
A device like a Aimpoint just doesn’t have enough antenna to pick up that much charge. I also suspect the housing (being metal) would protect the internal electronics too.
H
"Faraday cages don’t need to be grounded to protect the contents.
H"
In the traditional use of Faraday cages, this is correct. Normally, they direct current around the contents of the cage, keeping things safe. This application does not require any grounding.
With regards to EMP, things are different. The EMP pulse is not attacking any object with current (which is why EMP is able to attack electronics through the air, as opposed to needing a conductive contact with the electronics). An EMP pulse attacks items by “jostling” the electrons within it very quickly. In this case, an ungrounded Faraday cage can actually become the current EMITTER (it has the electrons in it, which are being driven by the pulse). If the pulse is strong enough, you can create a relative voltage across the cage itself, that may discharge internally. A good ground will allow the excessive voltage within the cage to stabilize.