New desk & monitor.

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I made up a trial desk from a suitably large, folded flat, packaging box. The main desk can be 90x40cm. With a soft NE radiused corner to a rear (easterly) extension of the 'L' of 70-80cm x 40cm deep.

The new screen was screwed onto the pier as planned. Fortunately so, because the stand pushed the screen forwards by about 6". Once securely mounted on the pier the viewing distance was perfect. The stand-off now being only 6cm from the plywood face of the pier to the face of the screen. Now I could play with all the astro software which had been driving me nuts with indecipherable symbols and micro-text for months on the tiny 15.6" laptop screen. This was despite resetting the resolution of the laptop screen from 4k to 1080.

Seeing all the fine details on a large, bright, but still razor sharp screen, will change my whole outlook on focusing, capturing and processing. Hopefully there will be a simultaneous improvement in my final results.

I have connected the Display-Port cable between screen and laptop. The former had just arrived in the post. The HDMI cable was also left in place for making later PQ comparisons when I have some spare time. The new monitor feels far more serious than the silly little laptop. The latter felt more like something you'd take camping. Leaving the real world far behind. Based on this short trial a proper monitor is highly recommended for any observatory!

And, a decent monitor a very good reason to have an observatory in the first place. Where everything can be safely set up ready for use, sheltered and shaded. Though I could probably have done with a 24" screen instead of the 27" it will soon shrink once I become more familiar with it.

The screen can be easily "segmented" apparently. To share different sources simultaneously.  Two smaller screens are usually arranged side by side for this sort of thing. I hadn't even considered splitting the screen until now but this option came up in the user manual.

I took the empty shelves down to gain another four inches of leg room from the pier and a wider traffic lane. The lower shelves had been pushing my swivel chair forwards without my realising it. I was hoping for a view of the moon this evening but it started raining out of the grey overcast. A combine was harvesting the field which wraps around the garden. Noisy they are too at such close quarters!

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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