A new visual intimacy – with the universe and others

To understand my enthusiastic reaction to a new, tiny, and inexpensive 2.5-inch LCD video monitor, you have to understand my fundamental goal – helping people connect with the universe.

In doing that I have been very suspicious of putting too much technology between them and the distant objects we are viewing. But video astronomy is quickly changing my mind and video astronomy with a new, tiny monitor that feels like it is part of the telescope, is a real eye-opener for me. The set-up on my 8-inch Meade LX90 looks something like this.

As I sat sharing an incredibly detailed view of the Ring Nebula with Bren last night – we could easily see the central star, a goal of many an experienced amateur – I was reminded of Unitron ads from the 1960s when they were pushing a pricey device that allowed two people to look through the telescope at once and share the view. I don't think that ever caught on. Maybe your heads kept meeting? Maybe splitting the light that way didn’t result in a very good view?

But using this small monitor has advantages ballyhooed by those old ads and more.

First, you both can sit comfortably on observing seats or normal lawn chairs, just behind the telescope.

Second you can wear your glasses which enhance, rather than limit, your view. (Eye glasses and telescope eyepieces always present something of a challenge.)

Third, the ambiance of the live observing session remains intact. The video image is, of course, live – but with the small monitor the night sky is still easily visible to you, and an upward glance – or look through the finder – shows you where the telescope is pointing. (Yes, your night vision is impacted – but not as much as you may expect, and if you’re concerned, you can view the monitor with just one eye open, reserving the other for using a telescope visually.)

Finally – and perhaps most important – you can share this view, discussing what you see, without the typical ambiguity of having one person look through the eyepiece while the other says something like – "now you see that thing over to the right – about three o'clock/ the fuzzy thing? That's . . ." Instead, you simply point, share, and react simultaneously.

Oh – and did I mention. Last night that not only could we easily see the central star in M57, we were doing this at a time when the waxing moon, just two days past full, was already well up and washing out most of the dimmer stars! In fact, there were many clouds drifting by as well – in short, without the video set-up I would not even have attempted to observe any deep sky objects on this night.

So what's the key piece of technology here? The MallinCam Color Hyper Video camera, of course, but I've written about that before. What 's new is this neat little 2.5-inch monitor from the VFM Store. (http://www.vfmstore.com/m225.htm) I suspect it would not stand up well next to the 3.5-inch Watec I've read raves about online – especially in terms of controls. But this cost $100, the Watec four times that much and I just couldn't see my way clear to making that $400 investment. But I also wasn't counting on how well this monitor integrates with the normal observing routine.

I had purchased it with one goal in mind – provide a simple way for me to acquire targets, center, and focus them at the telescope while at the same time transmitting a remote image to a television inside my house or other building. (The transmitter and receiver I use come from VFM as well and while they function fine, I'm concerned about how hot they get. In the pictures I use here the transmitter is mounted on top of the telescope. It's small, light – and very hot, A friend found his ran at about 120-degrees F – 45 degrees above the ambient temperature. So the transmitter no longer rides near the telescope tube and I'm looking for a way to cool it with a small fan. I just can't imagine temperatures like that making for a long product life. ) Here's a picture of the complete set-up as first implemented.

That was a couple of nights ago. By last night I had removed the transmitter. The monitor was mounted, as you see, on the left handle of the LX90 using an ordinary C-clamp and some rubber bands – it is extremely light. On the right handle the LX90 control box is now mounted. In this case I'm inside the small, domed observatory – but it could just as easily be outside on a tripod. I also have the wiring under better control now ;-)

This is a great set-up for two people and since you’re sitting behind the telescope looking up it feels a lot like using a super-bright eyepiece. I don’t think it will work for many more viewers – in fact, two might be the maximum, although people could stand in line and take a look. (Yes, camera, telescope, and monitor all can run on batteries.)

Is the small size a hindrance? Not if you're used to looking through eyepieces! Bigger is undeniably better – but some of the intimacy gets lost – the sense of being at the scope. Still, for serious observing on my own – or with several visitors – I am sure I would use a larger monitor. It's a very simple matter to shift the display back and forth between the tiny monitor and a large one and takes about 10 seconds. There are other ways to handle this, but for now I simply unplug one monitor from the camera and plug in the other.

I did have a problem with the first one that arrived – the included battery pack was incorrectly wired and so killed the monitor. The VFM store quickly responded, admitted the error, and shipped me a replacement immediately.

Here are the specs for the tiny monitor:

Miniature color 2.5" LCD monitor

* Miniature size: 85(W) x 62(H) x 24(D) mm 105g
∑ Color 2.5" (diagoal) LCD 4:3 TFT display (50W x 40H x 63 diagonal mm)
* Resolution: 480(H) x 234(V)=112,320 pixels
* Color configuration: RGB stripe
* System: NTSC / PAL auto switch
* LCD Brightness: 250cd/m2
* Contrast: 150:1
* Viewing Angle: 10/30(U/D), 45/45(R/L)
* Audio output: =>100mW
* Video input signal: 1Vp-p composite video
* Power voltage/consumption: 9V; <=8.5w
* Volume, brightness and On/Off controls on top
* Built-in speaker
* Detachable stand
* S-Video input pigtail
* Using high power AA batteries with the included battery holder, say 2000 mAH lithium-ion AA batteries, the monitor can work for about 5 hours
* 90 days limited warranty

Accessories:

* ONE RCA composite cable (picture below)
* ONE 9V regulated 100~240V AC/DC power supply
* ONE 9V battery holder for 6 x 1.5V AA batteries (picture below)
∑ Two female-to-female RCA converters (for the AV plugs)

Here's a picture I took on the night of full moon – it does NOT show the central star – but keep in mind the moon was full this night and relatively close to M57 – and besides, I'm just snapping a picture of the monitor. It doesn't do it justice, but it gives you some idea about quality. Oh = I did have three people do evaluations of this, my portable DVD monitor, and a 14-inch Sony - but there were two problems. The tiny monitor was then mounted ont he telescope tube and at a very awkward angle to view. Second, I didn't make all the adjustments i might have made with the other monitors. But the interesting result was that people were very impressed with the tiny monitor, while seeing some advantages to the larger ones. (This was before I had a chance to evaluate it myself.)

So have I given up on visual observing? Not at all! I still like the almost mystical idea of those incredibly ancient photons pinging my brain dirctly after their journey through the eons. But don't get me started on what's natural and what's not. I think everything we come in contact with is natural - that video camera and monitor are no more or less technology than the telescope - and all are every bit as natural as a bird's nest. The view that man-made stuff is somehow not natural just demonstrates our inflated view of ourselves. All too often we tend to think we are somehow separate, somehow above, or even outside of this universe looking in. We are not. We are int he center looking out - each of us - wherever we are. It is just as John Muir said:"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe."

That includes us. We are connected. And for me this little video monitor is just one more tiny piece that helps us make that connection.