I have to share this.
I generally prefer to view the sky by star hopping and knowing the sky: no guided mounts/ digital circles/ computers, etc. To me, this is 3/4 the fun. Whatever.
Well, my biggest pet peeve has been that I love to use my green lasers to initially point my scope(s) in the general direction of where I want to go. With my refractor, not too hard (points like down a barrel), but with the 10 inch dob...this has become a must as I have a neck problem, so looking up all night kills me.
In cold weather, my lasers die, generally below 25 degrees after about 20 minutes. Since I am out there no matter what the temp, it has been very frustrating to try and replace the batteries every 15-20 minutes to keep the lasers going. I have tried all types of lasers to no avail: once the batteries get cold, they die.
I have been unable to locate a power source for the lasers: they appear to be rather sensitive to voltage levels and they get expensive to make, and I have been unable to locate a third party external power source for any laser that is inexpensive (any thoughts on that?).
So I decided to try to use dew heating elements on the lasers. Well, they work. I have been out all night at 15-17 degrees and they stay on as if at regular temperatures. Such a small deal, but such an improvement in my star gazing experience in the winter.
Never let it be said that small things don't matter.
Cheers.
I generally prefer to view the sky by star hopping and knowing the sky: no guided mounts/ digital circles/ computers, etc. To me, this is 3/4 the fun. Whatever.
Well, my biggest pet peeve has been that I love to use my green lasers to initially point my scope(s) in the general direction of where I want to go. With my refractor, not too hard (points like down a barrel), but with the 10 inch dob...this has become a must as I have a neck problem, so looking up all night kills me.
In cold weather, my lasers die, generally below 25 degrees after about 20 minutes. Since I am out there no matter what the temp, it has been very frustrating to try and replace the batteries every 15-20 minutes to keep the lasers going. I have tried all types of lasers to no avail: once the batteries get cold, they die.
I have been unable to locate a power source for the lasers: they appear to be rather sensitive to voltage levels and they get expensive to make, and I have been unable to locate a third party external power source for any laser that is inexpensive (any thoughts on that?).
So I decided to try to use dew heating elements on the lasers. Well, they work. I have been out all night at 15-17 degrees and they stay on as if at regular temperatures. Such a small deal, but such an improvement in my star gazing experience in the winter.
Never let it be said that small things don't matter.
Cheers.
