What's your favorite USB gadget? (astro related)

[rogerg]

OK, so I'm somewhat of a gadget freak. I like the electronics and gadget side of astronomy just as much as actually viewing things. That's ok, I'm happy to admit that. I guess it comes from being a computer programmer and having more spare computers than telescopes.

I have found many USB gadgets to be of huge usefulness in astronomy, I just found another today. My list is now:
- USB LED light on flexible cable to illuminate laptop keyboard
- USB iRocks illuminated keyboard
- USB mug warmer, to wrap around eyepieces, telescopes, etc to prevent dew
- USB wireless optical mouse, small notebook size
- USB thumb drive (easier than a network cable to walk a 'just-taken' image across to someone else's laptop on the observing field to fiddle with processing, or share some shareware software...)
- USB hub and PCMCIA card to handle it all.
and of course there's the trusty USB webcams etc.

What others do people use that are great for astronomy? I only stumbled upon the LED light today, for an awsome $8.90 at OfficeWorks and it's brilliant! I wish I knew about it months ago! I have put a small drop of red glass paint over the white LED and bingo, it's now a nice red illuminator for my laptop keyboard.

Considering it would've been so useful months ago, I'm wondering if we all share such ideas what amazingly useful things might come of it...

Roger.

[[1ponders]]

Hard call Roger.

Webcam (all of them :lol: )
USB powered hub (where would I be without it.)
USB to serial cable :bowdown: thanks you, thank you :prey:
USB reliant programs like DSLR Focus etc
And I gotta get one of those lights.

[Omaroo]

Nothing like having USB storage to offload your ToUcam sessions to. I like the USB sushi...or dimsims. Maybe even the prawn. My real favourite storage device though is the thumb drive.

Then again... you can't go past the USB George Foreman Grill :)

[ving]

for those of you that think that omaroos pics are a joke or fake:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Sushidisc-256MB-Sushi-USB-Memory-Stick-Tuna-maguro_W0QQitemZ220028860416QQihZ01 2QQcategoryZ51075QQssPageNameZWD2VQ QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
:eek:

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Crazy Clarks here in Qld had those USB flexi-neck lights for $5 recently, I think that was their "normal" price. We bought about 20 of them for work, I bought a couple for home myself.

My favourite USB - Astro gadget???

The fully movable & aimable missile launcher!!
http://www.pccasegear.com.au/prod3843.htm

[[1ponders]]

What's their range Steve. I could do with one of those on my desk at the front of the classroom :evil:

[EzyStyles]

usb sushi? :lol: :lol: :lol: classic..

[ving]

oh damn it steve!!! i just made a thread on the missile launcher!!!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8706152362255714044

[Lee]

Another vote for USB-serial cable..... and remote camera control/tethered shooting cable....

To be honest though, in 2006 I never thought I'd be buying an RS232 adaptor to use on a new computer accessory!

[rogerg]

$5 from crazy clarks! Excellent! I'll go buy 10 and plug'm all in a cool USB hub with blue LED illumination! ... oh hangon, I'm not supposed to like light, I'm an astronomer... :doh:

:lol:


(cool rocket launcher btw.. love the set of 5 all co-ordinated, just need to increase the range...)