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(meteorobs) Tips on getting organized..



Kim et al -

Just got home and am catching up on e-mail here, got marooned while
babysitting on the weekend... 20 cm. of snow on the roads here!  Looks real
pretty... winter wonderland! ;>

>from what I have read so far, you need to be an octopus to do meteor observing.

Gee, guess you really haven't seen any of us in the dark lately!  We have
all grown extra arms... ;>>  Seriously, it's not that bad.  

>I shall continue reading, with I am sure a few more questions, any 
>suggestions on this matter would help.

Well... here goes then... please excuse the somewhat anecdotal comments or
some of the perhaps slightly eccentric suggestions!  I have tried them...
and they do work!

I have an 'observing bag' I take out with me... one of those black
office/computer type things, with a big space inside and upteen pockets on
both sides.  Works great!  In the big middle compartment, I keep:

- talking clock (hit the top, says the time in 24 hour UT mode!)
- extra backlit digital clock (used as backup only)
- AM/FM/shortwave radio (that I use mainly to listen to country music to
keep me alert)
- pocket-sized tape recorder
- extra mini-tapes, with little envelopes to put them in (and label!) once used

- red flashlight
- extra red flashlight
- several extra (including white) flashlights (to find gear you've dropped)
 (Note:  although those 'Mini-mag lights' are super, avoid them for
observing - the casing is metal, you can't hold the flashlight in your teeth
while observing, and the batteries die faster... similarly, the plastic on
those nice Celestron red flashlights is too hard to hold in your teeth.
Best I've found are Rayovac Roughneck flashlights, nice rubbery plastic,
easy on your teeth!.... Why the teeth? Mainly when you're plotting meteors
or looking at charts, and need or want both hands... )

- extra AA batteries (everything I use takes the same size batteries, makes
life easier)

- extra hat (if wear toque, take a balaclava in case it gets colder...)
- extra gloves (my preference are the ones with the fold-back mitt flap, but
they aren't warm enough for cold winter nights below about -10C... take
assorted gloves/mitts - and keep them within reach!) 
- handwarmers (with the lightable stick you put inside)
- Skin-so-Soft suntan lotion (which I use to repel bugs in summer)

- extra eyeglasses (don't laugh... you never know when you might break a pair!)
- pair of binoculars (force of habit...)
- my camera, cable release, extra film, and a baby tripod (if I am <really>
planning to photograph, I will have taken heavier tripod gear anyway, but my
baby tripod in my bag ensures that I can always set up on my car roof in a
pinch if something unexpected comes up...)

- my observing cookies (important 'pick-me-up' about 3.00 a.m.!, preference
are non-gooey, non-crumbly, such as Peek-Frean's shortbread)

- lastly, a piece of paper - if I take anything out of the bag, I write it
on the sheet - so next time I go observing, I remember to put that item back
in!!

In the multiple pockets on the one side of my observing bag, I put:

- NAMN recording sheets for meteors - in case of tape recorder failure or
problems

- a clipboard that holds my plotting maps (Atlas Brno charts with all the
little "V"'s for variables taken off... and all the star magnitudes taken
off... and my own version of the constellation lines drawn on... much easier
and faster to use in the dark than the originals!)

- Atlas Brno charts showing all those little triangles for doing your
limiting magnitude star counts every half hour (I put these in plastic
sheets and stapled them together, as they get used a lot...)

- my old Canadian meteor IGY charts with the 'standard stars' marked for
judging meteor magnitudes (... I have found these easier to use than the
Atlas Brno for determining meteor magnitudes, but have annotated the IGY
charts somewhat...) ... I also plot my meteor radiants on these charts
before I go observing - that way, I have one set of 4 easy charts that show
the standard stars <and> the radiants! ;>

- a pencil case with several pencils, an eraser, a roll of electrical tape,
a lighter (to light the handwarmer sticks), some gum, and some lip balm
(nothing's worse in the cold than cracking lips!), and some spare long
elastic bands and clips for my clipboard.. 

- kleenex - for defogging or <defrosting> my glasses if I accidently breathe
on them

- my Norton's star atlas, which I use to find meteor radiants on before I go
out observing

- a list of meteor radiants (but I plot their location on my charts <before>
I go outside!)

- lastly, the zipper-pull on my side pocket is a thermometer - so I can
record the temperature for my observing session!

>I think the hardest thing I can see is recording the time. How can 
>you record the time accurately ( if doing a tape recording report), 
>without dropping your tape recorder, to turn on the light on your 
>watch to tell the time, and ruin your night vision at the same time. 

Good question, Kim!  For myself, I reach over to my observing bag on my
right, 'bopp' my talking clock, it says the time, and I then speak the
details into my little hand-held tape recorder, which I keep nice and warm
inside my sleeping bag, near my hands.  No lights, no problem wrecking your
night vision...  Set the clock to UT before going observing.

I also wear a talking watch, which I have found useful when it was just too
cold to reach my arm out of my sleeping bag to 'bopp' the clock.  That way,
my hands really never leave the sleeping bag, as both the watch and my tape
recorder are right with my hands, tucked warm inside.  Again, no lights
required.  The only disadvantages with the talking watches are 1.  the
button to press is much smaller, and hence a bit more awkward, and  2. they
don't talk in the 24 hour system like the clocks do! ;>

Where do you get all the talking gear?  I got mine at the Canadian National
Institute for the Blind, which has a large selection (in many languages!),
and many other useful things as well.  Radio Shack carries very limited
talking items, but you don't get the choice of voices, or clarity.  
If I am plotting meteors besides just recording them, I keep my clipboard on
my lap, and my pencil either on a string attached, or down inside my
sleeping bag near my hands, along with my red flashlight as well...

Other suggestions... especially for our climate here... Put a foam mat or
camp mat under your sleeping bag, keeps you warmer.... Put a silver survival
tarp over your sleeping bag, keeps you dryer, less dewy, less frosty....
Instead of a small cushion for your head, take a big soft regular-sized
pillow with you - it doesn't fall off your lawnchair as easily, and keeps
your head, the back of your neck, and your shoulders a lot warmer!  I have
made up a 'body bag' out of several heavy silver survival tarps stitched
together... and keep my foam mat, sleeping bag, and pillow all rolled up
inside it for travelling!

>Send in the dog team.....I think I am buried under almost 2 ft of snow......

Even in snowy terrain, an observing bag keeps it all together... and I find,
keeps me more organized.  If everything you need has a specific spot, then
you can quickly find anything you need in the dark...!

As an aside, an observing bag is also handy for travelling to observe.  When
looking for a suitable observing bag, I checked with the airlines to find
out what their maximum size was for carry-on luggage! ;>>  

Anyway, Kim... Hope these comments help!  I find I am always experimenting
with new little ways to make things more comfortable and easier in the dark...

Clear Skies,

- Cathy
  Great White North
===================================================
Cathy Hall, chall@cyberusdot ca
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
RASC, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Kingston Centre
===================================================