Golf carts for OTA transport

Seems August is "Astronomy Accessory" month at Costco. :-)

First we learn of the Celestron 114GT that can be adapted for other purposes,
and then I find "something else" that can help those who must lug large OTAs
100s of feet to a viewing site. FWIW, I always wander around a Costco to see
what hidden goodies I can find, this week's gem is a golf cart whose box is
shown here (in case you need to know what to look for):

http://www.thadlabs.com/ASTRO/Projec...t/cart_box.jpg

I found 'em tucked away and checked one out in the store. Really neat, and
the (almost) 12" diameter wheels have ball-bearings and the material appears
to contain air-cells with better shock-absorbency than the pneumatic tires on
any of my hand carts.

He

http://www.thadlabs.com/ASTRO/Projec...TA_on_cart.jpg

you'll see how easily the cart supports and transports an Atlas/XT 10 OTA. The
OTA's diameter prevented me using the supplied Velcro-straps (for a golf bag)
but as you can see bungee cords work fine. Though the OTA weighs only 30 lbs,
I'd have to carry it several hundred feet across my back yard to where I view
and the cart will prevent any "mishaps" should I sneeze, stumble, get hit by a
meteor, whatever. :-)

Hope this idea can benefit you, too. The cart costs US$48.99 at Costco.

(Thad Floryan) wrote in message . com...
Seems August is "Astronomy Accessory" month at Costco. :-)

First we learn of the Celestron 114GT that can be adapted for other purposes,
and then I find "something else" that can help those who must lug large OTAs
100s of feet to a viewing site. FWIW, I always wander around a Costco to see
what hidden goodies I can find, this week's gem is a golf cart whose box is
shown here (in case you need to know what to look for):

http://www.thadlabs.com/ASTRO/Projec...t/cart_box.jpg

I found 'em tucked away and checked one out in the store. Really neat, and
the (almost) 12" diameter wheels have ball-bearings and the material appears
to contain air-cells with better shock-absorbency than the pneumatic tires on
any of my hand carts.

He

http://www.thadlabs.com/ASTRO/Projec...TA_on_cart.jpg

you'll see how easily the cart supports and transports an Atlas/XT 10 OTA. The
OTA's diameter prevented me using the supplied Velcro-straps (for a golf bag)
but as you can see bungee cords work fine. Though the OTA weighs only 30 lbs,
I'd have to carry it several hundred feet across my back yard to where I view
and the cart will prevent any "mishaps" should I sneeze, stumble, get hit by a
meteor, whatever. :-)

Hope this idea can benefit you, too. The cart costs US$48.99 at Costco.

That's a great idea.

And, the reflector OTA can serve as a golf bag. After all, the spider
holding the secondary divides the OTA into four compartments: woods;
long irons; short irons; wedges and putter.

Get a late afternoon tee-time, play 18, spend a few minutes in the
19th hole, dump the clubs and wheel the scope out on the course for
viewing!!!


SPQR

(SPQR) wrote in message
[...]
And, the reflector OTA can serve as a golf bag. After all, the spider
holding the secondary divides the OTA into four compartments: woods;
long irons; short irons; wedges and putter.

Get a late afternoon tee-time, play 18, spend a few minutes in the
19th hole, dump the clubs and wheel the scope out on the course for
viewing!!!

Heh! But, seriously, that's a great idea, too, using a golf course at night
for viewing sessions.

Most every course I've seen has long, wide, and unobstructed fairways and no
lights at night -- prime viewing site material!

Hmmm, I wonder if one would have to be a member to "play" a course at night?

Last course I've been on (Cambrian, in Campbell CA) was closed shortly after
I played 18 -- seems I sent too many balls sailing w-a-y onto Highway 17 and
caused too many accidents and the public outroar forced them to shutdown; this
was, hmmm, I was working at EDL at the time so this must've been circa 1966-68
since my golf partner was a crazy dude from ITT who wanted to sell computers
to the Labs (Electronic Defense Labs (of GTE)). Oh well. :-)

(SPQR) wrote in message
[...]
And, the reflector OTA can serve as a golf bag. After all, the spider
holding the secondary divides the OTA into four compartments: woods;
long irons; short irons; wedges and putter.

Get a late afternoon tee-time, play 18, spend a few minutes in the
19th hole, dump the clubs and wheel the scope out on the course for
viewing!!!

Heh! But, seriously, that's a great idea, too, using a golf course at night
for viewing sessions.

Most every course I've seen has long, wide, and unobstructed fairways and no
lights at night -- prime viewing site material!

Hmmm, I wonder if one would have to be a member to "play" a course at night?

Last course I've been on (Cambrian, in Campbell CA) was closed shortly after
I played 18 -- seems I sent too many balls sailing w-a-y onto Highway 17 and
caused too many accidents and the public outroar forced them to shutdown; this
was, hmmm, I was working at EDL at the time so this must've been circa 1966-68
since my golf partner was a crazy dude from ITT who wanted to sell computers
to the Labs (Electronic Defense Labs (of GTE)). Oh well. :-)