Is there such a thing as ...

[AlistairHowie]

... a small table that could clip onto the legs of a tripod, onto which you could place a laptop computer when imaging? I was just thinking such a thing, if it exists, would mean that I don't have to cart around a folding garden table.

Just thought .... don't suppose anyone has seen such a thing???

[lukebl]

I don't think it would be much good if it was clipped onto the legs of the tripod. Too much vibration every time you touched the laptop, as well as heat rising from it and from your breathing!. Far better to have the laptop on a separate table as far as possible from the scope, and behind it so that heat from it doesn't affect the seeing.

[Marine Bio]

But you'd still have to cart around the table for clipping onto the tripod. Also as most people who use a laptop whilst viewing are using them for imaging you surely wouldn't want the vibration of you working on the laptop upsetting the scope? To this end I don't think such a thing exists, or at least I've never seen one.

[Marine Bio]

Haha, beaten to it!

[iwatkins]

Someone on SGL made one for his tripod, DIY. Cannot find the thread.

I thought it was great personally.

If imaging it would be ideal while focusing and imaging. Once the imaging run is actually exposing, you wouldn't need to touch it really. My only concern would be vibration from a spinning and seeking hard disk but expect that is minimal.

I don't do it myself, I'm sat in the shed on the end of a long USB cable most of the time, but I like the idea anyway.

Cheers

Ian

[brantuk]

Hi Alistaire - I think you may mean something like this:

duel purpose version 2 - Rob`s Photos - Gallery - East Midlands Stargazers - Astronomy Forum

http://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.co.uk/gallery/image/170-pic-2/

[AlistairHowie]

Thanks for the thoughts, I knew there would be a reason such a thing isn't available commercially!

Thanks for the links, Kim. So ... useful for the beer, not so useful for the imaging!

[Tinker1947]

I'm not sure having a Laptop outside with the amount of dew we get would be a good idea....

[Viv]

Go outdoors do a brillant agriculture fold up table - this is perfect, to sit between the tripod legs.

Let me see if I can find a link .......

[Viv]

This one .......

Hi Gear Folding Picnic Table | GO Outdoors

[AlistairHowie]

I'm not sure having a Laptop outside with the amount of dew we get would be a good idea....

I never particularly considered the dew! So what to do for dark site imaging? Do folk generally not take the laptop out? Is it a USB cable all the way back to the car? Maybe I should just buy a DSLR instead.

[Probablynot]

So far I've been making do with a little £10 folding table from Wilkies. It works.

If I really wanted to protect all my stuff from the elements, it'd have to be one of those £3000 plastic observatories. Which look good in the adverts, but how do they work in practice?