Re: [APML] So, what have you forgot to take?

["Andrew Schott" <aschott@cfl.rr.com>]

I've tried the checklists and I've tried the pre-packed boxes, but have
still left stuff behind.  Nothing like getting half way through setting up
your polar mount only to find you've left the drive corrector, or some vital
part at home and you've got to tear everything down, put it back in the car
and drive home and get it.  Since I'm usually mindful of exactly what kind
of work I'm going to be doing I'll usually walk through it mentally while
I'm packing.  Then, just before slamming the hatch and driving off, I'll run
through it again, like an athlete does in preparation for an event, in full
detail, with every step checked for what I'm doing, what I'm holding, what
I'm connecting together, and what other objects might come in handy.  If I'm
thourough, I'll usually bring the things I need to be functional.  I might
forget that thing I told you I'd bring the next time we were out, or a spare
setup in case something fails, but I'll usually have everything I need for
an outing.

Just visualize yourself from the moment you arrive on-site, to the moment
you're through observing.  Every tool you pick up, every wire you connect,
every flashlight-adaptor-battery-screw-cup-blanket-bugspraythat comes into
view as you go about the work of the night.  Make SURE it's been packed.
Just thinking the VCR power adapter was on the end of the cable isn't good
enough.  Make sure it's there!  Checklists work if you're doing exactly the
same work all the time.  Ditto for the pre-packed containers.  I do lunar
grazes and meteor videography along with some eyepiece photography so my
setup changes radically every night.  Since most of the setups I do are done
mostly by starlight or by sense of feel, it's very easy to walk through the
work mentally.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Ball" <jeffball@netacs.net>
To: "Astro-Photo" <astro-photo@seds.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2002 8:44 AM
Subject: [APML] So, what have you forgot to take?


> I know, imaging last night wasn't a great idea.  The Moon rise was around
> 11:50 p.m. local time in West Virginia.  But I wanted to try out a TV101.
> Setup went fine and the sky looked great.  Started to get ready to polar
> align and whoops <you get the idea>


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