38 replies to this topic

[Tom Duncan]

Got this interesting "Astro Cards" lot the other day, I had not heard of them until I got them. Kind of a predecessor of nowadays common cellphone apps, but analog. Maker looks to be out of Natrona Heights, PA. 

 

A card slips into a back-lit wood and plexiglass holder that is about 6.5" square and 3/4" thick, uses a 9v battery. Rheostat on the front varies the intensity of the red light. Cards can be easily read in the dark.

 

I got a TON of cards with this, really quite an interesting tool. Anyone ever used these, and what time period are they from? 

 

Tom Duncan

 

PS: Hoping it is OK to post here, these are 'classic' in a sense and the forum description does say "...and observing with older scopes". Moderator, feel free to move this to a more appropriate forum as you see fit. 

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[Bomber Bob]

I remember those... Mid 1970s, IIRC.

[paulymo]

Man those look cool!  {starts googling to see if there are any more online}

[City Kid]

I have two sets of them but I haven't used them in a very long time. I was thinking I should just sell them but haven't gotten around to it.

[Crow Haven]

Yep, got 'em and use them too! 

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[Augustus]

They look fun.

[Tenacious]

Those are so cool!  I wonder if the set could be expanded with normal index cards.  Sadly, I still haven't implemented a system to record observations.  Maybe a variation of this is worth trying out.

 

I don't know about anyone else, but, I would enjoy seeing a larger image (close-ups) of a card lit up on the viewer.

Edited by Tenacious, 01 December 2016 - 06:39 AM.

[sthater]

How wonderfully goofy would it be to have a deck of cards that had pictures of classic telescopes on them? The Aces could be AstroPhysics, the 8's could be Criterion 8's, the 7's Questars.  But what would the other cards be?  Especially the Jokers, lol, thoughts?

[Joe Cepleur]

The Jokers would be highly modified ATM steampunk extravaganzas!

[combatdad]

Got this interesting "Astro Cards" lot the other day, I had not heard of them until I got them. Kind of a predecessor of nowadays common cellphone apps, but analog. Maker looks to be out of Natrona Heights, PA. 

 

Anyone ever used these, and what time period are they from? 

 

Tom Duncan

Astro Cards, Natrona Heights, Pa was founded in 1975...ceased publications in 1992.

 

Dave

[Bonco]

Astro Cards, by George R. Kepple

Fantastic resource! Bought mine in the 70's when they were still in print. Basically they are index cards with a wealth of info on the front and empty space on the back for notes. Mine are the Messier list and I used the cards to find and record all Messier objects. They sit on my desk and I refer to them frequently. If you can find them, buy them.

Bill

[Tom Duncan]

Sorry this took so long, but here are photos of approximately what this looks like in the dark, and since I had to remove 8 screws to put a 9v battery in I thought I would show the insides as well.

 

Tom  

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[NEOhio]

Those really are neat, congratulations on the pickup. I use my cellphone as my star atlas, have tried using PSA but have some difficulty reading it in reflected light. The uniform backlighting here solves that problem nicely. Is the backlight adjustable (dimmable)? 

[Tom Duncan]

Yes, the backlight intensity is variable with the knob on the front, which is also the on/off switch. 

 

Tom 

[City Kid]

For those of you who have never seen these cards, here are a couple of close ups.

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[Tom Duncan]

Good idea, I should have done that, thanks. 

 

Tom 

[Fhuyu]

Very interesting the Astro Cards, thanks for sharing the information and the interesting photos!   

[Chuck Hards]

They were a terrific resource for the beginner, but by the time they came to market, I was beyond them.  Wish they had been around in the sixties.

 

Of course, now I'm thinking of making a similar viewer for copies of pages from the Millennium Star Atlas.  THAT would be helpful at times.

[Tenacious]

They were a terrific resource for the beginner, but by the time they came to market, I was beyond them.  Wish they had been around in the sixties.

 

Of course, now I'm thinking of making a similar viewer for copies of pages from the Millennium Star Atlas.  THAT would be helpful at times.

 

I love this low-tech approach to having information right at the eyepiece.  There are some interesting possibilities here for a DIYer:  print custom cards (ex: eyepiece characteristics for different 'scopes),  a double-sided viewer (have a reference card on 1 side and star chart on the other),  make observing notes and sketches on blank cards right on the viewer, etc.  Need more real estate?  Make the cards and viewer a larger format. 

 

For my older eyes, I like the reverse video format (white sky, black stars and details).  Wil Tirion's "the Cambridge Star Atlas" is like this.

 

Tom and City Kid, thanks for the additional images,

Edited by Tenacious, 04 December 2016 - 07:26 PM.

[SpaceConqueror3]

I have four sets of them and regularly used them. I first got the Messier's set in the mid to late 1970's and then added other sets in the years that followed. I wish I'd have one of those night time readers. 

[WSMIKE]

Time to get the "rights" and make an app to learn them

[Tenacious]

After reading another thread about this, it didn't occur to me that some one (George Kepple?) may still have rights to this product.  I assumed it was abandoned.  Perhaps not....

 

George, if you're still in business or have stock for sell, I'm interested.  

[Bob S]

I bought my sets in the late '70s or early '80s. They were really useful before goto mounts became common. They're still useful for using a classic scope on a classic mount. The red glow was/is also useful for reading setting circles.

[michiel]

Man, this brings back memories of observing in the eighties. This was real observing and star hopping which made you ever so proud to finally see that almost invisible blur. I still have them and already years ago I scanned them to use them on my smartphone.  Those cards are still unique in their simplicity and efficiency.

Michiel

[Daniel Mounsey]

Seems impossible to find these now.