A little bit annoying

[osbourne one-nil]

So, the nights are drawing in, I've got my perfect combination of a 10" dob and Televue 85, I've started building some light-shield screens so I can observe to my heart's content in the garden, I set up a VPN so I can work at home in the evenings if I need to and then pop outside as and when......and then I go to taekwondo, kick goes wrong, break my ankle (talus) and have a min of 8 weeks on crutches with no weight bearing.

Any tips on low mobility observing? I'm thinking about a nice big pair of binoculars and using one of my crutches as a monopod?!

[nicnac]

you have anybody that can set up for you?

if yes, grab a chair

if no, binoculars and a tripod...........and a chair

[ronin]

Let the ankle heal properly and well, the stars will still be there in 8 - 12 weeks time. (Unless Betelgeuse goes bang).

Too easy for you to damage it again, find it doesn't heal right and have trouble moving the Dobsonian at all times.

Trouble with leg/foot injuries is that people keep using the damaged item to walk around and put weight on.

[nicnac]

this is true ronin, we all "know" we are supermen (to our detriment) lol

when i did my knee, the quant 4's on the 8115 and my little chair was a god send though

[starlady]

Bins and a sunlounger work well if you need to keep the weight off your ankle.

[osbourne one-nil]

Thanks all - I probably am best just to sit inside and let things mend, but I fear for my sanity! My son is 12, but not sure I'd like him carrying my TV85 outside, although if he set it up in daylight it might be ok, and I do have a telegizmo cover, but whether it would be advisable toi leave it out for 3 months is very questionable. I could also see myself catching the tripod leg and inventing some new swear words.

Sunlounger and my Canon IS binoculars might be the answer!

[garethmob]

i reccon the best advice is bins, a starmap / chart / planetarium and a sun lounger or even just gaze at the sky natural some of my best evenings are natural, when its too late me getting home from work to get all my stuff (as every ones gone to bed) so i just sit / lie and watch the world litterly go by

[SniffTheGlove]

Get a hot tub and relax at midnight looking up into the hevens. That's what I did last night on hols in Devon.

[JamesM]

As regrettable as your injury is, at least this has happened at the beginning of the observing season not right bang in the middle of it - that would very disappointing. Some sessions with a pair of Binos would be the way forward if it was me.

James

[osbourne one-nil]

That's very true...as the evenings continue to draw in, the sky seems to stand still in terms of what's visible when darkness falls.

A hot tub - brilliant, because not only would it be theraputic to my injury, but it's well known that air over water is more stable, so leads to better viewing!

[osbourne one-nil]

Eleven weeks in, still on crutches, another 6 weeks to go - resorted to my son carrying my beloved TV85 out the other day. Perhaps the single most nerve-wracking experience of my life, topped off by the fact that it then started raining, under starry skies. I love Cumbria.

[SniffTheGlove]

Sad to hear it's taking a while.

Son's carrying expensive bits of kit do not have the same care and thought process to those who have to pay for the expensive bits of kit. :-)

[Tinker1947]

You must be close to being back to normal now...???

[Grunthos]

Any tips on low mobility observing?

Remote Observing over the Interweb?

[osbourne one-nil]

Sorry - missed all this. I'm still 4-6 weeks off being able to walk unaided. If you want to chop a piece of wood in half, use a saw is my advice. My Canon IS binoculars are getting very well used!