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Date: 15 Oct 2006 14:08:49
From: Bleekay
Subject: Astronomy Laptop ...
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Has anyone ever created / invented a laptop whose screen is backlit by
LED's? What I'm thinking is that something like this could be easily
modified to have white LED's for normal mode and red LED's for night
mode. Then you could use your laptop more readily at night.
...or is this a dumb idea.
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Date: 15 Oct 2006 17:43:20
From: canopus56
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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Bleekay wrote:
> Has anyone ever created / invented a laptop whose screen is backlit by
> LED's? What I'm thinking is that something like this could be easily
> modified to have white LED's for normal mode and red LED's for night
> mode. Then you could use your laptop more readily at night.
> ...or is this a dumb idea.
No, it's not a dumb idea. Adjusting your screen colors and turning
down the screen brightness does not work well.
Many laptop screens are larger than the 12" x 10" screen screen saver
suggested by Rod. Here's a couple of other options.
Option 1 - Red lucite plastic sheet
Look in your phone book under "Plastics Rods, Tools, Sheets, Etc." for
a local company that sells sheets of plastic for advertising signs.
Have them cut a solid semi-transparent sheet. Choosing the right color
in a lighted store can be difficult. I suggest taking your laptop and
large coat or blanket with you to the store, so you can look at the
screen through a sample and make sure it will darken the screen enough.
Costs about $10-$15 with the store cutting a custom piece. Consider
have two cut and stack them for a darker screen when at a truly dark
sky site.
Option 2 - Roscolux red gel sheet between black cardboard holder
This is what I use. Artist cardboard was used to cut a custom sized
mask with a center square cut-out that fits the laptop screen. Then a
roscolux gel sheet was cut and taped over the hole with black masking
tape. My mask has two get sheets - one is fixed and other folds down
over the top for added light reduction at dark sky sites. Two rubber
bands holds the mask - light-tight - over the laptop screen. A kid's
school portfolio folder with a protective flap is used to store and
transport the mask without damage.
Look in your phonebook for dealers in theatrical supplies to buy a
sheet of roscolux. A 24" x 18" sheet is about $6-$9.
http://www.rosco.com/us/filters/roscolux.asp
Roscolux #27: Medium Red
http://www.rosco.com/images/filters/roscolux/27.gif
Remember, the point is not only to have a red light screen, but also to
significantly dim the amount of light coming from screen in order to
preserve night vision.
- Canopus56
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Date: 16 Oct 2006 00:59:06
From: Chris L Peterson
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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On 15 2006 17:43:20 -0700, "canopus56" <canopus56@yahoo.com > wrote:
>Many laptop screens are larger than the 12" x 10" screen screen saver
>suggested by Rod. Here's a couple of other options.
>
>Option 1 - Red lucite plastic sheet
>Option 2 - Roscolux red gel sheet between black cardboard holder
One more option: pass on red. Most red filters don't help in the
slightest to preserve night vision. And since acuity is poor in red
light, and because red light exacerbates presbyopia, you may need to
increase the brightness to the point that it really interferes with
night vision. Instead, try a neutral density filter (several layers of
automotive window tint, or a piece of gray acrylic). You may find that
this gives a better balance between night vision and acuity than red
filters do.
Whatever kind of filter you use, you need to make sure to adopt a color
scheme where most of the background is black. Otherwise your night
vision will suffer in any case (just like you can't use paper charts
that are black on white, but must use white on black if you are serious
about night vision).
_________________________________________________
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
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Date: 16 Oct 2006 13:16:50
From: Alan French
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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My wife finds it difficult to reduce the light from the laptop enough. I've
made her "screen savers" for both laptops she has used outside. The current
one has two hinged dark red plexiglass sheets, with four sheets of dark red
Roscolux sandwiched between them. Anything less, and she complains it is
too bright.
Perhaps it is time to experiment with some neutral density material.
Clear skies, Alan
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Date: 16 Oct 2006 14:49:02
From: Chris L Peterson
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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On Mon, 16 2006 13:16:50 GMT, "Alan French"
<adfrenchremoveallthis@nycap.rr.com > wrote:
>My wife finds it difficult to reduce the light from the laptop enough. I've
>made her "screen savers" for both laptops she has used outside. The current
>one has two hinged dark red plexiglass sheets, with four sheets of dark red
>Roscolux sandwiched between them. Anything less, and she complains it is
>too bright.
>
>Perhaps it is time to experiment with some neutral density material.
Even if you stick with red, I'd think a sandwich of red and neutral
density might achieve what she needs with less effort (and likely less
opportunity for optical distortion).
Another thing to consider is that all LCDs are not created equal. High
end displays (like you find on high end laptops- the kind most of us
prefer not taking into the field) have much higher contrast ratios. Part
of that is achieved because they leak much less light around the pixels.
Some of these newer LCDs have blacks that are nearly as dark as CRTs,
and would be much better for nighttime use.
_________________________________________________
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
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Date: 17 Oct 2006 02:48:58
From: Humble
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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Alan French wrote:
> My wife finds it difficult to reduce the light from the laptop enough. I've
> made her "screen savers" for both laptops she has used outside. The current
> one has two hinged dark red plexiglass sheets, with four sheets of dark red
> Roscolux sandwiched between them. Anything less, and she complains it is
> too bright.
>
> Perhaps it is time to experiment with some neutral density material.
>
you will love it! Chris is 100% right -
>
> Clear skies, Alan
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Date: 17 Oct 2006 02:47:35
From: Humble
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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Chris L Peterson wrote:
> On 15 2006 17:43:20 -0700, "canopus56" <canopus56@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >Many laptop screens are larger than the 12" x 10" screen screen saver
> >suggested by Rod. Here's a couple of other options.
> >
> >Option 1 - Red lucite plastic sheet
> >Option 2 - Roscolux red gel sheet between black cardboard holder
>
> One more option: pass on red. Most red filters don't help in the
> slightest to preserve night vision. And since acuity is poor in red
> light, and because red light exacerbates presbyopia, you may need to
> increase the brightness to the point that it really interferes with
> night vision. Instead, try a neutral density filter (several layers of
> automotive window tint, or a piece of gray acrylic). You may find that
> this gives a better balance between night vision and acuity than red
> filters do.
absolutely true! Red is useless. Leaned that years ago so stopped
using any filter at all and would just cover my lp with a black (camera)
cloth! One night I changed cloths and used a thin silk cloth and noticed
I could almost see through it which lead directly to my finding a gray
gelatin sheet and viola!Another problem with red is it actually blurs
(softens) screen detail and its detail I need when searching say a
dense stellar field for red dwarfs or whatever -
Red screens need to be bright to bring detail through and
so bright - well you know the rest.....
jw
>
>
> Whatever kind of filter you use, you need to make sure to adopt a color
> scheme where most of the background is black. Otherwise your night
> vision will suffer in any case (just like you can't use paper charts
> that are black on white, but must use white on black if you are serious
> about night vision).
>
> _________________________________________________
>
> Chris L Peterson
> Cloudbait Observatory
> http://www.cloudbait.com
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Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
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<!dype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en" >
<html >
<p >Chris L Peterson wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE >On 15 2006 17:43:20 -0700, "canopus56" <canopus56@yahoo.com>
wrote:
<p >>Many laptop screens are larger than the 12" x 10" screen screen saver
<br >>suggested by Rod. Here's a couple of other options.
<br >>
<br >>Option 1 - Red lucite plastic sheet
<br >>Option 2 - Roscolux red gel sheet between black cardboard holder
<p >One more option: pass on red. Most red filters don't help in the
<br >slightest to preserve night vision. And since acuity is poor in red
<br >light, and because red light exacerbates presbyopia, you may need to
<br >increase the brightness to the point that it really interferes with
<br >night vision. Instead, try a neutral density filter (several layers
of
<br >automotive window tint, or a piece of gray acrylic). You may find that
<br >this gives a better balance between night vision and acuity than red
<br >filters do.</blockquote>
absolutely true! Red is useless. Leaned that years ago so stopped
<br >using any filter at all and would just cover my lp with a black (camera)
cloth! One night I changed cloths and used a thin silk cloth and noticed
<br >I could almost see through it which lead directly to my finding a gray
<br >gelatin sheet and viola!Another problem with red is it actually blurs
<br >(softens) screen detail and its detail I need when searching say a
<br >dense stellar field for red dwarfs or whatever -
<p >Red screens need to be bright t<tt>o bring detail through and</tt>
<br ><tt>so bright - well you know the rest.....</tt><tt></tt>
<p ><tt>jw</tt>
<br >
<blockquote TYPE=CITE >
<p >Whatever kind of filter you use, you need to make sure to adopt a color
<br >scheme where most of the background is black. Otherwise your night
<br >vision will suffer in any case (just like you can't use paper charts
<br >that are black on white, but must use white on black if you are serious
<br >about night vision).
<p >_________________________________________________
<p >Chris L Peterson
<br >Cloudbait Observatory
<br ><a href="http://www.cloudbait.com">http://www.cloudbait.com</a></blockquote>
</html >
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Date: 17 Oct 2006 14:38:53
From: Chris L Peterson
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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On Tue, 17 2006 02:47:35 -0500, Humble <hintauo@def.com > wrote:
>absolutely true! Red is useless...
No, red light (longer than 650nm) does preserve night vision better than
anything else. Saying it's useless is going too far. The problem with
red light is that it is difficult for high resolution seeing. If you
look at how most night critical environments are designed today (such as
flight decks), deep, dim red light is used for area lighting (so people
don't walk into things), and blue, green, and white lighting is used for
screen text and instrumentation. This works very well because the lights
can be very dim, and because they are on black backgrounds and therefore
don't expose very much of the retina to light.
The same thing can be achieved with a laptop- dimmed as much as possible
with a neutral density filter, all backgrounds set to black, and
characters and symbols displayed in white against that.
_________________________________________________
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
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Date: 15 Oct 2006 18:54:43
From: Sam Wormley
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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Bleekay wrote:
> Has anyone ever created / invented a laptop whose screen is backlit by
> LED's? What I'm thinking is that something like this could be easily
> modified to have white LED's for normal mode and red LED's for night
> mode. Then you could use your laptop more readily at night.
>
> ....or is this a dumb idea.
Red lithographic film and masking tape works very well!
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Date: 15 Oct 2006 11:15:41
From: RMOLLISE
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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Bleekay wrote:
> Has anyone ever created / invented a laptop whose screen is backlit by
> LED's? What I'm thinking is that something like this could be easily
> modified to have white LED's for normal mode and red LED's for night
> mode. Then you could use your laptop more readily at night.
>
> ...or is this a dumb idea.
Hi:
I've seen a couple of night vision red laptops over the years.
Expensive, rugged, designed for military applications. If you could
find one, you couldn't afford it.
Best solution: <http://www.astrovid.com/prod_details.php?pid=2595 >
I've used one of these for a couple of years. Works great--much better
than fiddling with sheets of rublith.
Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of:
Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope
and
The Urban Astronomer's Guide
<http://skywatch.brainiac.com/astroland >
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Date: 26 Oct 2006 14:51:49
From: W. Watson
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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RMOLLISE wrote:
> Bleekay wrote:
>
>>Has anyone ever created / invented a laptop whose screen is backlit by
>>LED's? What I'm thinking is that something like this could be easily
>>modified to have white LED's for normal mode and red LED's for night
>>mode. Then you could use your laptop more readily at night.
>>
>>...or is this a dumb idea.
>
>
> Hi:
>
> I've seen a couple of night vision red laptops over the years.
> Expensive, rugged, designed for military applications. If you could
> find one, you couldn't afford it.
>
> Best solution: <http://www.astrovid.com/prod_details.php?pid=2595>
>
> I've used one of these for a couple of years. Works great--much better
> than fiddling with sheets of rublith.
>
> Peace,
> Rod Mollise
> Author of:
> Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope
> and
> The Urban Astronomer's Guide
> <http://skywatch.brainiac.com/astroland>
>
Whirled Peas? :-)
Continuing ... Looks interesting; however, I wonder about the distortion
claim. That's probably fine for this purpose, but I seriously doubt that
acrylic works for, say, an astro window. By that I mean some fairly large
sheet, 2x3' perhaps, that one can shoot images (ccd or analog) through with
a telescope.
Wayne T. Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)
(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet
--
"This spring I knew we had a good bunch of players. When
they won the American League title they became a team."
-- Jim Leyland, Detroit Tiger manager, 2006.
Web Page: <home.earthlink.net/~mtnviews >
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Date: 16 Oct 2006 08:13:27
From: RMOLLISE
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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RMOLLISE wrote:
> Only fly in the ointment? The website of the maker,
> <http://www.idealastronomy.com> seems semi-dead at the moment. I hope
> it's only a temporary problem...but in these days of another "astronomy
> business shakeout" it's hard to be sure. ;-(
>
>
Mousing around the Ideal page revealed the following:
"Ideal Astronomy is currently underconstruction,
and will be back shortly. We Are sorry for any inconvienance.
Be sure and check back for great new products"
I didn't see it at first because it appears that it's black text on a
black background (!). I hope they will indeed be back...good product.
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Date: 16 Oct 2006 04:51:39
From: RMOLLISE
Subject: Re: Astronomy Laptop ...
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Chris L Peterson wrote:
> On 15 2006 17:43:20 -0700, "canopus56" <canopus56@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >Many laptop screens are larger than the 12" x 10" screen screen saver
> >suggested by Rod. Here's a couple of other options.
Hi:
If you do want a Sightsaver, though, Ideal Astronomy (the vendor)
offers widescreen sizes--which is what I use on my Toshiba laptop.
Only fly in the ointment? The website of the maker,
<http://www.idealastronomy.com > seems semi-dead at the moment. I hope
it's only a temporary problem...but in these days of another "astronomy
business shakeout" it's hard to be sure. ;-(
Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
and
_The Urban Astronomer's Guide_
<http://skywatch.brainiac.com/astroland/index.htm >
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers:
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sct-user >
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