George Normandin wrote:
Last year at Stellafane a friend & I found that our CCD'ing laptop was
annoying nearby visual observers. I would think that "star party etiquette"
would have to be that bright laptops are not acceptable.

So: How does one use a laptop or other PC at a star party or popular
observing site? Anybody have suggestions on how to cut the screen light down
to levels acceptable for visual observers? Keep it under a box?

George Normandin

Good Day George.
I have another suggestion.
Do a search for a programme called "powerstrip" on Google. It is available
from some sites as freeware. Using that on my Dell laptop I can adjust the
screen settings to give almost any level of illumination you might want. It
also allows control of individual colours and clour temperature if
required.
It is very useful for Patrick Chevally's "Cartes du Ceil" programme which I
use instead of setting circles on my 8" scope I use for field work.
I use a digital level for altitude and a home made "circle" on the base
which gives azimuth. Thus my Dob mount has effectively got setting circles.
Hope this helps.
Good seeing!
Regards Cliff Wright.