|
Things to do when your bored, "Observing Chair"
Hi All,
A few years ago now I was down in my shed and I noticed a spare stubby holder on my work bench.
After a bit of thought I came up with the perfect use for the stubby holder, in an observing chair, but first I had to build the observing chair.
Attached are images of my chair in pieces ready to pack in the Land Cruiser to head off to the SPSP, two day drive and about 1,100 km away.
There are also two images of my chair assembled at the SPSP. This was, I think 2006, back when I was taller than my son. The steering wheel by Christopher's left hand spins a reduction gearbox that lays the chair back toward the horizontal. The chair is capable of anywhere between the angle that it is with Christopher and horizontal.
The steering wheel mounted in the vertical plane on Christopher's right hand side, spins another reduction gearbox that rotates the chair around it's central axis 360 degrees. The movement of both azimuth an altitude is quite fine. I mounted a 120mm Scanner refractor on the yoke that hinges down and locks in position in front of the person in the chair. The scope mount is highly adjustable, allowing the eyepiece to be positioned at a comfortable distance from the observers eye.
As the chair moves, regardless of the azimuth or altitude, the distance between the observers eye and the eyepiece is maintained. Obviously, with the observer positioned within the telescope mount, high magnification is out of the question, however with a 30mm wide field eyepiece at allows for an incredibly comfortable tour of the night sky.
On Christopher's left hand side is a file container that houses an A4 laminated set of star charts. On Christopher's right hand side is a shelf housing note pads, a star wheel and "The Stubby Holder".
The actual padding for the chair was put together by my wife Cheryl, created from cutting and joining six car seat, lower back supporting pads, from "The Reject Shop".
When I told Don Whitman about the quandary over, what to do with the spare stubby holder, he just shook his head.
Regards
Trevor
|