Unique problem with reflector

[cutepetgroomer]

Hi guys , I’ve recently learned I have an inner ear disorder and it’s really affecting my balance. I have the Meade eclipseview 114 which is a tabletop dob mount newtonian. I’m afraid I might have to replace it with either mak cass or a larger refractor if I can’t eliminate the vertigo entirely while star gazing . I have a refractor that I can sit while observing easy but the reflector I can’t easily sit with and look at same time. I can control the vertigo with music and ear buds and going slow but I’d like to not have at all.. 

[Bruce Leeroy]

The most comfortable/stable viewing I have is using a binocular mirror mount it's like sitting at a microscope and is easy to pan around and raise from horizon to zenith, you could even use a refractor with the mirror mount (straight through viewing with no diagonal), I know this doesn't help with your reflector issue but may be food for thought if you haven't considered this type of observing.

[Merlin]

I have a homemade binocular mirror mount and  can greatly recommend them. Anyone confined to a wheelchair would also find amirrormount convenient to use, by simply mounting it on a platform across their lap.

Luckily, I was able to acquire a high-precision  first surface military mirror for just £3 on a flea-market some years ago. It can take much higher magnification  than binoculars can yield.

 

[cutepetgroomer]

I am not familiar with binocular mirror mount .. it’s a first I’m hearing about it

[Stu]

3 hours ago, cutepetgroomer said:

I am not familiar with binocular mirror mount .. it’s a first I’m hearing about it

This sort of thing would allow you to sit whilst looking down into binoculars.

it would not solve your scope problem though. Perhaps look into an adjustable observing chair. I am able to sit whilst observing with my Dobsonian by having a seat which will go up quite high. Perhaps though, as you suggest, switching to a refractor, SCT or Mak would help by keeping the eyepiece lower. I think you would still find an adjustable chair useful as the eyepiece height does vary, particularly with a refractor.

[cutepetgroomer]

35 minutes ago, Stu said:

This sort of thing would allow you to sit whilst looking down into binoculars.

it would not solve your scope problem though. Perhaps look into an adjustable observing chair. I am able to sit whilst observing with my Dobsonian by having a seat which will go up quite high. Perhaps though, as you suggest, switching to a refractor, SCT or Mak would help by keeping the eyepiece lower. I think you would still find an adjustable chair useful as the eyepiece height does vary, particularly with a refractor.

Okay I don’t even have binoculars right now..  I am thinking a mak or a refractor would be my best bet. I just don’t know what would be equivalent to my reflector in aperture size 

[Stu]

4 minutes ago, cutepetgroomer said:

Okay I don’t even have binoculars right now..  I am thinking a mak or a refractor would be my best bet. I just don’t know what would be equivalent to my reflector in aperture size 

Which scope do you have?

[cutepetgroomer]

14 hours ago, Stu said:

Which scope do you have?

My reflector is a Meade eclipseview 114 . It is a tabletop telescope . I love it because it is the size aperture I tend to like . But I can’t comfortably sit and view with it as the only table out back is a picnic table with built in seats

[cutepetgroomer]

I think I found a solution and not have to part with my scope.. I found another mount online that would allow me to put the reflector on a tripod 

[Stu]

18 minutes ago, cutepetgroomer said:

I think I found a solution and not have to part with my scope.. I found another mount online that would allow me to put the reflector on a tripod 

Good plan. That’s how I use my Heritage 150p, much more convenient.

[Ruud]

Could it be that the problem is not the Newtonian and that you might experience the same discomfort with any telescope?

The  eye and inner ear feed us information about out position in the world around us , if we are upright, lying on  our back , in what direction we look, all that sort of stuff. When you look through a telescope your eyes no longer give you information about these things. If at the same time you get all sorts of false information from your vestibular system I imagine that might be the reason of your vertigo.

Maybe hold on to something, place a playing radio to one side, observe with one eye on the eyepiece but keeping the other open as well (If the surroundings are dark enough), anything that feeds your brain with extra information about your position and orientation in space? It's just an idea of course, but it might be worth exploring.

I wish you well and hope you find a solution.

[cutepetgroomer]

2 hours ago, Ruud said:

Could it be that the problem is not the Newtonian and that you might experience the same discomfort with any telescope?

The  eye and inner ear feed us information about out position in the world around us , if we are upright, lying on  our back , in what direction we look, all that sort of stuff. When you look through a telescope your eyes no longer give you information about these things. If at the same time you get all sorts of false information from your vestibular system I imagine that might be the reason of your vertigo.

Maybe hold on to something, place a playing radio to one side, observe with one eye on the eyepiece but keeping the other open as well (If the surroundings are dark enough), anything that feeds your brain with extra information about your position and orientation in space? It's just an idea of course, but it might be worth exploring.

I wish you well and hope you find a solution.

I have way less vertigo with music playing in my earbuds and I hold onto the table my scope sets on but the vertigo still happens just not as intense . I’m hoping the new tripod mount will help me .