White Laptop LCD Flats Screen Mode

[s3igell]

As quite a number of Users attempt to make Flats with BYE/BYN, and a number of those wish to use the Laptop LCD to do so, a suggestion:

 

White Laptop LCD Flats Screen Mode

 

BYE/BYN could use a "new" Flats GUI Mode where, after a few "Are you Ready??" and "Are you Sure??" prompts that react to the Enter Key and maybe a few Tones for a Short Countdown, the normal BYE/BYN UI gets replaced with a Maximized White Window with Minimalized Borders.

Then, it could use Tones to Count Off each Flat Exposure which is Taken. (and have an "Escape" - the ESC Key - from Flats).

 

At the end of the Flats component of the Imaging Plan, the UI would revert to the previous Standard BYE/BYN UI...

[admin]

Interesting... this uses the same computer you are imaging with to take your flats using the lcd screen.

[Jim]

S3igell,

 

On a practical note, do you think one would need to still use something to diffuse the screen, like a white Tee shirt used when using a dawn sky for flats? If so, this would also help stop any scratching of the laptop screen by the scope.

 

Jim

[s3igell]

Jim,

You are probably Correct about wanting to Protect the LCD.  

As for a Diffuser - the LCD Brightness should be Even enough across the Diameter of the Scope Aperture.

And at the individual Pixel Level the LCD is so far under the Distant Focal Point that it serves as a Natural Blur.

[jimwc6491]

I'm a little confused as to how to use your laptop as a screen on a telescope. it does sound interesting using your laptop as a "light box".

do you hold your computer up to the scope to take the flats?

lay the camera on the screen laying flat on the table?

just what would be the methodology?

[Jim]

Jim,

 

If you are taking flats you would not want to disturb anything in the light chain so you would take the laptop screen to the objective lens of your scope, hence my comment about protecting the laptop screen from the end of the scope to prevent scratches, etc.

 

Jim (yet another one!)

[jimwc6491]

all

Taking a laptop to the front end of a 8" newt. would be a bit cumbersome to say the least.

to cover something bigger than a 8" you would have to have a pretty large/heaver screen to hold while trying to manipulate the laptop. 

not saying it couldn't be done but would take some doing.

[astroman133]

I wondered about both the cumbersome nature of placing the laptop screen in front of the scope, as well as how that would work if the aperture of the scope is larger than height of the screen.

 

The first of those could be solved by slewing the scope to point at the laptop screen, even if it is in an "illegal" position because the scope is pointed downward.

 

In my case, I don't even have a laptop in the same room as the scope.  That is why I hang an EL panel over my objective, typically after I have parked the scope, to shoot my flats. 

 

if I had a large aperture scope, like an RC or CDK, I would probably use white poster board tacked to the wall of my observatory, and lit by an artificial light source.

[jimwc6491]

Rick, Jim, s3igell

I am going to start a new thread on flats so we can discuss this subject in depth.

I am sure there are a few threads on the subject already.