Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on May 4, 2011 14:47:54 GMT -6
The Stanley 4 in 1 Workstation for Astronomical usage
Fellow Chicago Astronomer Robb had mentioned about a storage/carrying case on wheels for his equipment and accessories - a Stanley Fatmax 4 in 1 Work Station.
It looked like it had possibilities, so I went down to my local bigbox Home center and looked at it. It is smaller than I expected and the wheels are made from pressed plastic, but ok...I'll take a chance and see if it could be a part of the Chicago Astronomer arsenal.
It's......ok.
I hadn't had the chance to mess with it since I got it, but this day was open and clear for me to do house chores and it included the FatMax..
it seems like it holds a lot of stuff...but with me and all the accessories I carry, things soon got filled up fast...
Meant for tools and such, I found that the dimensions were not accommodating to astronomical devices. In the bottom for example, I could only fit one case in there, with an awkward leftover space. I used the space to store the 15x70's binos and a small accessory case....
The middle section has these single dividers, on or off - no inbetween. And again, either the space was too small or too big for my items...
And the top space was too small vertically, preventing me from storing some accessories upright...
Now, I have not spent quality time figuring out what goes where for the most efficient manner in packing things, but in this initial run...I'm not very impressed.
When I have some more time, I will see if things fit in better and if so...use foam inserts when things are just right. I had thought that I could eliminate a bag to lug around, but no. The power center and 1 1/4" accessory case now lives in the bag where the 2" eyepiece case, binos and finderscopes used to. I can use the top of the workstation to rest the eyepiece case and keep mostly everything together within easy reach and watch - at star parties things set down are sometimes overlooked and could walk away
I don't know if this new work station will make things easier and better yet, but for tonight's star party, I will take it out for a initial run.
We will see.
Side note......
Damned stickers stuck on with devils spit...!
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I need a better system to store the equipment..
Five, count 'em...five heavy pieces of equipment to lug to observation sites. And that's not including camera and literature....
(You can see the 8" Sewer pipe Dob and the 90mm refractor hanging from the touring cycle.)
