Solutions for arms that are too short......

[Moonshane]

As a 51 year old I often find my arms are not long enough to reach focus on eg my star maps and even if they were the page details are so small that I cannot make them out ?

I could wear 'readers' but it would add to the number of things I have to hold,, manipulate, and look at with my only  two hands.

I'd appreciate pics of solutions to holding a pencil, blending stump, notebook, starmap, red light,  all while handling the scope, whether in an obs (I hope to build one soonish) or not.

Cheers

Shane

 

[Fozzie]

Have you considered a tilting design/art table.. would give you a stable platform to work from, places to clip books, paper, charts too.. even hang a red light from.. all on wheels so you could move around.. and when flat, a table to store astro goodies on when not I  use....

https://m.costway.co.uk/tiltable-tabletop-drawing-table-craft-art-drafting-easel-folding-desk-w-stool.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw0oveBRAmEiwAzf6_rLtXTzsODzf_dttmKd--Z2yPPoA9lZ8aeTOvx5Zh_NCBDjrQOLd8vxoC6RQQAvD_BwE

Like this...

Ta

Steve

[Moonshane]

Cheers buddy. Good idea although a but large. It's given me a couple of ideas though ?

[Fozzie]

Your welcome...

Sheet Music stand? Might not be as stable but smaller foot print...

[Tim]

I have the same problem Shane, cant read star maps with readers AND a magnifying glass these days, and swapping between glasses, no glasses, glasses, no glasses...... is infuriating, and takes my eyes a little while to settle back to be useful for observing without glasses.

[Alan White]

Shane, 

I understand your problem, I am 1 year older and my arms are also too short...
I have been told this by others when standing near a bar, so it must be true.

Looking forward to the solution, at present I rest my maps on top of the EP case on a short table.
 

[Moonshane]

This looks good and with a tube clamp could connect to tripod too. Could also connect to dob base with captive nuts.

https://siamagazin.com/how-to-make-an-articulating-monitor-mount-stand-out-of-black-walnut/

[Alan White]

Bi-focals, glasses on a chain a-la Larry Grayson style.
All easier than arms, tables and wot sits.

Keep it simple is my motto.

[Peter Drew]

How about a monacle?, one eye for reading, the other for observing. Sir PM managed.    ?

[westmarch]

I gave up on using a star atlas for the same reason.  My solution was to use Sky Safari on my wife’s old tablet.  I can expand or shrink the area concerned as necessary and use a home made music stand on an old photographic tripod.  

You could get a pair of readers and knock out the lens for your observing eye.  If the frame is large enough it works.

John

 

[MarkRadice]

This is how I hold all my sketching kit. Laminated A5 ring binder, pocket pencil holders, red clip light and some bulldog clips. 

[bish]

On ‎14‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 10:09, Moonshane said:

As a 51 year old I often find my arms are not long enough to reach focus on eg my star maps and even if they were the page details are so small that I cannot make them out ?

I could wear 'readers' but it would add to the number of things I have to hold,, manipulate, and look at with my only  two hands.

I'd appreciate pics of solutions to holding a pencil, blending stump, notebook, starmap, red light,  all while handling the scope, whether in an obs (I hope to build one soonish) or not.

Cheers

Shane

 

I'm only a youngster at 48 ?, but have  the same problem. Very frustrating when you can't read something that would have been fine a year ago.