Observing chair

[JeremyS]

On 11/09/2022 at 12:04, Carl Au said:

I broke 3 ribs falling off one of those ironing board chairs. They tip over backwards easily if you are observing at the zenith, especially with a dob. 

Ouch. Sorry to hear that Carl.

I hope your warning is heard more widely as lots of ppl tout those types of chair, which are not designed for astronomy.
Good choice on the Berlebach seat. I’ve one too, but another design, which is also stable.

[CraigT82]

If it helps anyone, which it probably won’t, but it might…. Here is one I made using a very simple design and using 18mm plywood. That doesn’t sound too sturdy but it copes well with my 100kg backside. The rear leg (bit of 4x2 softwood) can be set so that the chair back can be anywhere from nearly vertical to nearly horizontal (good for meteor spotting or bino usage).

Used a cheapo Titan router to make it.

 

 

 

[LukeSkywatcher]

On 07/09/2022 at 19:47, L8-Nite said:

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by LukeSkywatcher

[LukeSkywatcher]

On 07/09/2022 at 19:47, L8-Nite said:

$339.oo 🤣   Stop by your local charity shop's and look for an Ironing Board Chair, I picked one up for £5.oo and its adjustable in height and good for observing.

The drum stool on the left are honestly the most comfortable way to observe. I'm a wheelchair user, but can transfer to any seat. I love drum stools.

[Space Hopper]

On 07/09/2022 at 19:32, Dave scutt said:

Hi all.

I want to get a chair for observing, the ones in the shops are too expensive , I thought about making one but my wood working skills would let me down.

I came across this , would it be stable enough when at full height,  extends to 32".

Dave

I missed the start of this thread, but thought i'd link my own observing chair.

FLO actually stocked them for a time, but no longer, but they are still available from Germany.

Its called a 'Mey' musicians stool, available from Thomann UK and is designed for an orchestra musician playing a large brass type of instrument.

But they make excellent astro observing chairs as well.

They raise up and down in seconds with ease (no pins to fiddle about with in the dark) 

I use an alt-az mount and a near 1 metre focal length refractor, and its ideal for that.

And its very sturdily built. Trust me its pretty well indestructible. And i'm over 100kg 😳

Cost is now £129, but you get what you pay for here.

If i remember mine was around £89 about 8 years ago, so, like everything, its gone up a fair bit.

But i highly recommend them.

HTH, Rob.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/mey_chair_systems_af6_kl_bk.htm

[Space Hopper]

Forgot to mention @Dave scutt it tilts side to side as well.

It does everything you need it to.

[wookie1965]

I have these, I have just bought the Collapsible one for the weight capacity. 

I got the ironing chair for £2 it had no back on it I need to make a better back rest. 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

These are popular apparently and I like mine but being a fatty puts me off using it...

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/geoptik-nadira-astronomy-observing-chair.html

 

At the mo' I'm using an extra hefty Vango Samson 2 camping chair. It's a nice height and takes a load...

https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/camping-equipment/1132-samson-2-oversized-chair.html

Available far cheaper if you shop around.

 

[wookie1965]

14 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

These are popular apparently and I like mine but being a fatty puts me off using it...

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/geoptik-nadira-astronomy-observing-chair.html

 

At the mo' I'm using an extra hefty Vango Samson 2 camping chair. It's a nice height and takes a load...

https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/camping-equipment/1132-samson-2-oversized-chair.html

Available far cheaper if you shop around.

 

Nearly every one of those won't hold my weight so I have had to do with makeshift ones. 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

9 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Nearly every one of those won't hold my weight so I have had to do with makeshift ones. 

The camping chair might be an alternative being very, very sturdy... You have met me - the Samson swallows me up and is high enough to stand from easily if you're tall (and old 😀)... They're around £39. 

Edited September 13, 2022 by ScouseSpaceCadet
to

[Second Time Around]

14 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

I missed the start of this thread, but thought i'd link my own observing chair.

FLO actually stocked them for a time, but no longer, but they are still available from Germany.

Its called a 'Mey' musicians stool, available from Thomann UK and is designed for an orchestra musician playing a large brass type of instrument.

But they make excellent astro observing chairs as well.

They raise up and down in seconds with ease (no pins to fiddle about with in the dark) 

I use an alt-az mount and a near 1 metre focal length refractor, and its ideal for that.

And its very sturdily built. Trust me its pretty well indestructible. And i'm over 100kg 😳

Cost is now £129, but you get what you pay for here.

If i remember mine was around £89 about 8 years ago, so, like everything, its gone up a fair bit.

But i highly recommend them.

HTH, Rob.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/mey_chair_systems_af6_kl_bk.htm

These look interesting.  I see that the adjustment range is 610-860mm (24-34ins), so too high for my Dob.  Is there any way to modify one to go lower, Rob?  It looks as though there may be stops on the bars in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSoLtYy2mio

[Space Hopper]

My German needs some attention Steve, but i get the drift of it ! 😀

Looking at that, i'm sure you could do it and increase the downward range of it.

However, when i had my old Orion Optics Dob (300 F4) i found it was ok as it was.

If i was looking at something low down the bottom setting was fine and i simple leaned forward to observe as low as was needed without needing to 'squat' so to speak !! 😃

They are good chairs, and as i mentioned, FLO used to stock them at one time.

[Second Time Around]

15 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

My German needs some attention Steve, but i get the drift of it ! 😀

Looking at that, i'm sure you could do it and increase the downward range of it.

However, when i had my old Orion Optics Dob (300 F4) i found it was ok as it was.

If i was looking at something low down the bottom setting was fine and i simple leaned forward to observe as low as was needed without needing to 'squat' so to speak !! 😃

They are good chairs, and as i mentioned, FLO used to stock them at one time.

Cheers, Rob.

Does it ever slip down like the Skywatcher/Starbound chairs? 

How easy is it to adjust the height (my hands don't work properly)?

[Space Hopper]

No, it never slips.

Changing height (to whatever position) takes a second. Dead easy for anyone to do.

Simply lift seat upwards, slide up or down to required height, then push seat back down again to lock.

Theres also adjustment to alter he tilt of the seat, but i find i dont need to use this. 

It also tilts left and right as you sit on it, which is great if your moving the scope around a bit.

There are various colours that the seat pad comes in, i think available colours are on the website.

 

 

[Space Hopper]

 

[Second Time Around]

Thanks, Rob.