As I've acquired various bits of astronomy equipment (eyepieces, filters, cables... etc), I've found that the DeWalt TSTAK toolboxes make great storage boxes for all of these various bits. Just a few of the reasons I quite like them:
- Fairly cheap to buy from ebay (especially in bulk)
- Pretty tough
- About the right size to hold a few key bits (such as a selection of eyepieces) without being a big, jumbled mess
- Can be clipped together for storage or to carry multiple boxes at once
As I still haven't managed to build the observatory, all of the equipment has to be carried down the garden each time I want an astronomy session, so these boxes have been coming in very handy.
For most of my astronomy sessions, the two boxes that I always get out are one that contains the 12V power supply and one containing my various eyepieces. To make things easier at night, I thought it might be a good idea to fit lights to these, so started planning.
Lights!
After a bit of online research, I found some 12V LED lights (intended for cars) that were available in both red and white, in an enclosure small enough to fit inside the lid of the TSTAK box.
Adding a couple of 2.1mm DC barrel sockets (with rubber dust plugs), some rocker switches (SPDT with centre-off) and some wire to the purchase, I soon had enough parts to start kitting out the boxes.
The two lights are held to the lid using M3 bolts, with holes drilled in the TSTAK to match the mounting holes on the lights themselves. Cabling is run through the framework of the lid itself, with small holes drilled for the cables to pass through.
The finished article
Now whenever I have an astronomy session, I plug the boxes into my 12V supply that I'm already using for the mount. As these LED lights draw very little current, there's more than enough power available to keep these on alongside my other equipment. Flicking the switch one way gives me a nice red light to see all my equipment without compromising my adjusted eyesight. At the end of the night, a quick flick the other way lights everything up clearly in white light, making packing up easier and quicker.
This wasn't the hardest project, but was definitely one that I got a lot of benefit from.
