Re: (meteorobs) Brrrrrrrrr

To: meteorobs@latradedot com
Subject: Re: (meteorobs) Brrrrrrrrr
From: GeoZay@aoldot com
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 1996 14:05:46 -0400
Reply-To: meteorobs@latradedot com
Sender: owner-meteorobs
In a message dated 96-10-14 12:52:30 EDT, you write:

<< Hi All,
 Got out Friday night for several hours. Thought I was meteor 
 observing...while I did a little of that (slow night) what I was actually 
 doing was probing the weaknesses in my cold defense system. After about 2 
 1/2 hours, I had no feeling left in my toes..dot despite double socks, and 
 keeping my lower body half in a sleeping bag throughout. I'm ordering some 
 more protective footwear today!!!!
 	The other sore point was my hands. While I wore gloves, I found I 
 could not plot with them on, so I had to take them off to plot each meteor. 
 Some kind of compromise will be required.. thinner gloves that I can keep 
 on while I plot. I was one frozen person by the time I was done! Just for 
 reference, it was a fairly still  night, so wind was not much of a factor. 
 The temperature by the time I got finished was only 27F (-3C)..not even 
 very cold. I will definatly need to improve my system before winter.And 
 finish building those coffins (before I need a permanent one!:-)
 	More learning to follow!
 WWWWWWWWWaaaayyyynnneeeee (shivering)
  >>
--------
Wayne,
Are you near an electrical outlet?  That is can you extend a 100 to 150 foot
extension cord to where you observe? If so...an electric blanket is a must. I
set mine on "WARP HI" when the outside temps reach the 30's. 
I once used electrical socks...each sock powered by a D cell battery. This
only lasts for about 3 hours. When using, I couldn't tell it was on...that is
I didn't notice any heat. Just the lack of discomfort...But I sure knew when
the batteries went dead. I also kept on hand several of those rechargeable
chemical hand warmers...but they last only about 20 minutes.  I have about a
dozen on hand. But there are also those one shot chemical hand warmers that
lasts several hours. You might want to give them a try. I keep 3 on hand for
special emergencies, but I haven't had to use them just yet. I think they
cost about 4 bucks each. They sell them at various back packing stores or
places where you can buy camping equipment. I also keep one in my camera 
bag just in case I go observing while camping somewhere and the dew gets bad.
What I do is wrap one of these things around my camera lens with a few rubber
bands. Oh! keep some of these on hand as well...rubber bands. As for gloves,
I use the kind with the fingers cut out.  I'm able to plot with these on
okay. One other thing that I use to do, but does work and that is wear the
disposable latex rubber gloves. You know the kind that doctors wear for
surgery etc. These are thin, but they do provide a degree of protection from
frost bite and still allows dexterity. Good luck!
George Z.