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Wheel chairs present a very unique set of difficulties for their users. The degree of mobility from person to person varies greatly, even with the least restricted, will have a lot of trouble accessing an EP. Remember, wheel chair bound people can have no way of using their legs to push against to maintain balance when leaning over a long way to reach the eyepiece. A ramp is not a viable option either. It could actually be dangerous. I say this from a unique experience I had. But, it presents another opportunity that makes wheelchairs a nonevent.
A few years ago I did a session at the children's hospice Bear Cottage. All of the boys were very restricted in their movements, all were in wheel chairs, and of the 7 boys only one of them would have had any chance of actually looking into an eyepiece, even though the scope I had set up, my C5, had the EP very low set. The hero of the occasion was my little modified webcam that I took on a dumb hunch. I had also taken my 17.5" dob not being fully aware of the condition of the patients there. Not only was it not set up, but it wasn't even missed.
The whole night was spent just on Saturn and the Moon, watching it on my laptop. While the webcam was limited to just the Moon and planets, what the little camera was able to do totally captivated the lads.
This experience showed me the power of video astronomy. But it is not limited to people with mobility difficulties. On the back of the above experience, I bought a G-STAR EX colour camera, knowing that this was the only way to be able to show novices in the big smoke galaxies and colour in nebulae.
With a little bit of tinkering to sort out which is the optimal scope to use with the camera, I settled on a cheap as chips Tasco 114mm f/4.4 reflector. I found it was the best combination of aperture, focal length and TFOV for my purposes. My C8 yes has more aperture, but the focal length, even with a focal reducer, resulted in a TFOV that is just too small.
Two months ago four fellow IIS'ers and myself were invited to hold a star party at Wiley Park Girls' High. There was a range of scopes from a C8 through to a 13" dob, plus my little 114 hooked up to a little portable DVD player as the monitor. This humble little rig was able to show not only the red hue of Eta Carina, but its intricate lacework of dark pillars. Omega Centauri totally filled the screen, and its signature "Eye", only seen visually, was actually there and not burnt out. And finally, both Centaurs A and M104 (Sombrero Galaxy) were clearly identifiable. Both these galaxies were completely invisible in all the scopes on the night.
Matt suggested video astronomy. Do not underestimate the power of this as a tool. I am a dedicated visual nut, and have no real interest in imaging. I too understand the appeal of an actual sticky-beak through an eyepiece. But it must also be understood that a novice does not have the understanding or experience to make out the subtle details, and have no chance in hell of seeing a galaxy under urban skies. And if the audience has mobility problems, video is probably the only way. It is not 'ripping them off' as the whole thing is live, as the scope moves the image on the screen moves.
The gear that's needed doesn't need to be top of the line. That is what also appealed to me about the video rig I've made for myself. Oh, and it cost me $3 - the 114 scope is my son's, the fork mount is an old Meade fork destined for the scrap heap when I rescued it, the wedge is DIY, and the tripod I've had for over 20 years. The $3 was for the three bolts that couple the fork mount to the wedge.
The second pic below shows the portable DVD player I use. In the pic it is showing the Jewel Box cluster.
Mental.
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