Hints, Tips and Trickery

[Cinderhella]

I've been wondering how to start this post, but figured it would be far better to jump right into it with a triple axel-double flip combination.

As a disabled woman, many hobbies that require forms of mobility such as astronomy can get excruciatingly exhausting and fast. There's moving the scope and mount for instance, getting to places and events such as star parties or even monthly meet-ups with your local astronomy group. The general standard that is easy for an able-bodied person often doesn't work so well for those of us with lower mobility and physical abilities.

So my question to the disabled peoples of this here community is:

From equipment managing to event attendance planning, for example. What are the ways you have found to make astronomy work for you?

If this isn't the right part of the forum for this question, then please help me locate the rightful home 

[Astro Imp]

Hi, I can't help with your question but we do have a number of members with limited mobility here, hopefully one/some will respond.

@LukeSkywatcher is one who is very active on the forum and will give good advice.

Good luck.

[happy-kat]

Hi. My tip that works for me is a choice few eyepieces that go in an eyepiece bum bag thus leaving my hands free.

[Cinderhella]

Thank you to both of you, Astro and Happy-kat!

A bumbag or even a hip holster/utility belt is a fantastic idea, one that never so much as crossed my mind and one that is easily fixed, especially ones that are multi-purpose and come with a small satchel and whatnot.

It's been added to my new Notes document 

[happy-kat]

I got the Orion eyepiece bum bag, but you can buy what is called project plucking foam from say Maplins or Hobycraft and fashion your own eyepiece bum bag interior.

[JOC]

I am able bodied, but I'd like to offer some thoughts.  I've not tried proper astronomy ones, but if you have full use of your arms I wonder if binoculars might be easier to start with?  I've used my own birdwatching pair on Pleiades and been most impressed.  I guess it might even be possible if you have a hands-on handy person handy to fashion a holder for them that might even clip to a wheelchair?  In terms of transport maybe a trolly or perhaps some bags or trays that attach to the wheelchair to put things in easy reach might help.  I take a small table out with me, but I wonder if someone might already make clip on trays for seat arms that could be adapted.  A red light head torch might also be of use?  NB.  I also pm'd Lukeskywatcher earlier when I first saw this theead.  I expect he will be along soon.

[Paul67]

Hi Cinderhella, would it be possible to have a permanent pillar mount concreted in to your location?

[Cinderhella]

I'm not entirely sure about the concreted pillar mount, Paul. I'm not a home owner and on a scale of 1-100, I'd lay 10-1 bets that a certain pair of neighbours would take umbrage to my having, well, anything on my front lawn, but that's another story!

Joc, I have been giving plenty of thought to binoculars over an actual telescope. Not only am I in a wheelchair, but I'm also vertically challenged in that I'm 4'10, height wise, so some of the set-ups I've spied are a bit too big! I've thought so many times of trying to design something or other for wheelchairs, but haven't a clue where to begin here. I've fashioned random items for myself over the years, such as a shoulder brolly holder that made me look like Johnny 5 and it was the cause of much merriment to say the least. Still, it might be worth my while to see if the local university engineering department would be up for a challenge. I do have a red wrist torch, so that's one thing off the list at the very least.

Happy-Kat (I adore that name, by the way!) I'm looking at the Orion bum bag now and the price is definitely right, so happy days on that score!

Keep the trickery coming, people! I'm taking notes 

[SilverAstro]

56 minutes ago, Cinderhella said:

but I'm also vertically challenged in that I'm 4'10, height wise, so some of the set-ups I've spied are a bit too big!

Hi Cinders, like others I am not challenged in the mobile department so hesitate a bit to offer, but in the case of binoculars I now have trouble holding them (high enough steady enough for) long enough (the crick in de neck prob amongst others ) ! So my thoughts turn to something I played with years ago, a mirror below and look down into it while it looks upwards.

Google ' binocular mirror '

May work with a smaller aperture 'scope as well, but becomes expensive (a ) the larger the aperture (b ) the more oblique the angle. In days of yore the biggest dis. was cost of front surface mirrors, but they may be more available now ?

Might EAA, electronically assisted astronomy - camera on the scope alongside you, at similar height with laptop close by, help ?  Big learning curve, not to mention cost but hey whats news !!!  A sub-forum here (video astronomy) will have lots of helpers/advice.

[Cinderhella]

I have that very same neck crick! A tripod or mount is a necessity either way I look at things, it seems. Will definitely give the binocular mirror a peek and see what it's all about.

So many new and fun things to learn in this place!

[SilverAstro]

Further Ref EAA :

The availability of "stacking" software and recent camera tech means that lots of photons can be captured in (relatively) brief exposures and combined, thus reducing the mechanical needs of Mount Palomar mount emulations , , and they can even be observed in the comfort of your fireside

[happy-kat]

I sit to observe and my most comfortable telescope are the ones with an eyepiece at the bottom like a refractor or a mak/sct. I do also have a heritage 130p (a reflector, eyepiece other end) which has a small dobsonian base the whole lot weighs 6.3 kilos so is pretty light. Depending on the angle of the telescope I can use it while it sits on the floor (paving slab) and I'm in a garden chair. Tripods sort of work if can fit chair between legs and generally tripods are height adjustable but with height comes leg spread. Do you have a garden table in the front lawn area? 

[Cinderhella]

I don't, but that's something which can be easily remedied, though I'd probably need a collapsing table or somesuch. You seem to be thinking along the same lines as me with a table-top mount that's small enough for even me to use LOL

My powerchair is giant and very sturdy, so the weight of it could well work to my advantage for once. I wonder if any of the brands ever give thought to perhaps making a mount which can attach to a chair. Would life a whole lot easier.

[Alfian]

It might be worth a look at Steve Tonkin's website where he gives some ideas for bino support. I've found a monopod works well. Interestingly I found that you can use one sat down, with the telescopic monopod set shorter and nestled in my lap. Another idea achieving a similar outcome is the neckpod. See SG link to relevant post.

http://binocularsky.com/binoc_mount.php

Neither cure the eventual crick in the neck problem but OK for short to medium sessions.

[happy-kat]

Even if table top positioned you need to think about the end you put your eye too. A reflector positions the eyepiece much higher up top end of telescope and could be out of reach, whereas the refactor or sct/mak places the eyepiece at the bottom so much closer to reaching.

[happy-kat]

My choice would be an ST80 on a home made support so it can be used from your lap making it highly portable.

[happy-kat]

ST80 A comes with tube rings and a 90 degree star diagonal

ST80 T comes with a camera plate fixing and a 45 degree erect image diagonal but can be mounted straight to a camera tripod or camera ball head etc. a 90 degree star diagonal for comfortable night use can be added separably.

The thing to bare in mind is that what ever is used to mount if there is any wobble it will really show when used for viewing.

[Paul67]

Would something like this help?  https://www.telescopehouse.com/skywatcher-pillar-tripod-support-for-eq5-and-heq5-mount.html

Only problem is it is built for a EQ5 head but maybe could be modified for a lighter head.

[happy-kat]

I would imagine that that is in excess of 10 kilos in weight and would be very awkward to move.

[Paul67]

1 minute ago, happy-kat said:

I would imagine that that is in excess of 10 kilos in weight and would be very awkward to move.

Having used a Tal pier I can confirm it was heavy and a pain to use but it could be useful being on wheels if the user has a flat and solid access route.

[Cinderhella]

The problem would be moving it, Paul. My powerchair is right-hand control and while I have an access ramp to get me in and out of my humble abode, it's quite a steep hunk of metal that's a bit awkward at the best of times.

I think perhaps finding a brick and mortar 'scope shop might be an idea as opposed to making an online purchase in order to get 'hands on', so to speak. Just finding one that can be reached by bus!

A quick Google search took me to the IAS Facebook page. I'll be keeping a close watch on this to see when and where the next fair will be held, as there could be some shiny dealings to be had and give me something to save up for.

[Paul67]

Probably the best solution Cinderhella, going to a B+m place. Its difficult to access without seeing any obstacles directly.

[Alfian]

happy-kat's  thoughts on  a table top scope are good. I had a Heritage 130p with the mini-dob mount. I used this mount with both a Mak102 and a small refractor. The problem as such for me and to which happi-kat alluded was that this places the eyepiece quite low. That is easily remedied but this configuration may actually be to your benefit, so worth exploring. To Illustrate here's a link to the Mak90 Virtuoso which is similar.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/skywatcher-heritage-90-virtuoso.html

[LukeSkywatcher]

15 hours ago, Cinderhella said:

I've fashioned random items for myself over the years, such as a shoulder brolly holder that made me look like Johnny 5 and it was the cause of much merriment to say the least.

Been there, done that. 

Hi Cinderhella. Can i just say (and you know this already):"Where there's a will, there's a way". Ive been disabled (Spina Bifida) all of my life and ive also been doing astronomy for most of my life. I havent always been in a wheelchair, but lets start with that seen as you are too.

A simple pair of 10x50 binoculars is a great way to start (assuming you can hold them with your hands). They are a great way of learning your way around the night sky, with the help of a star chart etc.

Picking the right telescope is a lot trickier. The main thing you want in a telescope is portability. Too big and heavy and you are lumbered. You wont use it. Compact and light is the way to go. Forget ANYTHING on an equatorial mount. They are not wheelchair friendly. Forget a Dob, for the same reason. A small refractor scope on an Alt-Az mount is the sort of thing you should be looking at. If you want something a bit bigger than a refractor, then the Skywatcher Heritage 130P is a GREAT scope for wheelchair users. Its small,light,portable and really a powerful scope for its size and cost (£100ish). You can place it on level ground and use it from a sitting position. It doesnt need to go on top of a table. You can carry it with one hand and control wheelchair with the other.

A few yrs ago i decided that i wanted a more powerful scope, so i started searching online and seeking advice here on SGL. After a couple of weeks (maybe longer), i settled on the Celestron 8Se. Its an 8" telescope (SCT) and it is is brilliant. It is very light (the scope itself weighs about 6 Lbs if not less). The mount and tripod combined weigh quite a bit more (cant remember exact figures), but are very portable. I carry them both together as 1 piece. I rest the tripod legs on the footplate of my wheelchair and hold between my legs.

I dont attend any clubs or meetings, but i could if i wanted to. I drive,so getting around isnt an issue.

 

[Cinderhella]

I've been looking at the Vixen SG 2.1x4 widefield binoculars! They're so much fun and so quirky, plus the two reviews on FLO are full of true excitement that is heavily contagious. There's a lot of options where binoculars are concerned and I have to own the portability is starting to sway me, at least for now, into buying a mid-level pair that I can risk the dimensional gateway that's inside my handbag in order to carry with me on my travels.

The Skywatcher Heritage 130P is on my shortlist, as are a couple of Dobs such as the Skyliner 250px Flextube, but the location of the viewer seems to be too tall for me and it's a bit of a teeth grinder to say the least! I've also been giving thought to trying out this patience peoples speak of in order to wait until the IAS fair is announced and go see what they have to offer, ask questions and get answers in a more personable setting where I can look and see and touch the equipment, find out what will truly work for me.

I was hit by a car when I was 11 and somehow survived eyebrow raising physical trauma to where saving my life basically amounted to "Stitch her up and give her drugs!" I can't complain since life has been quite an experience and then some