If you have a neighbor with a dusk-to-dawn insecurity light or a glare bomb that happens to be turned on while you’re engaged in astronomical pursuits, I have come up with a solution.
In the photo above, you will see a Uline 6 × 6′ Welding Screen Shade 8 (H-4610S8). The Shade 8 black vinyl tarp is almost opaque1 and does not have an objectionable odor, so you can store it in the house when not in use. I also ordered the optional set of four swivel casters from Uline (H-5388) so that the frame can easily be moved around by one person. One of these swivel casters is shown in the photo below.
I store the frame outdoors against the house under the patio roof. The canopy weight plates and frame’s minimal wind loading profile ensures that the frame will stay in place even in high winds. Once I roll the frame to the needed location to block the offending light, I use the canopy weight plates to keep the frame from moving while I am observing.
DSG Canopy Weight Plates from Dick’s Sporting Goods come as a set of four, and each one weighs 7.5 lbs. These keep the frame from moving during storage and when in use to block a neighbor’s light.
Since I wanted an easy way to hang the vinyl tarp on the frame and then remove it for storage inside after my observing session, I used four S-hooks from Ace Hardware. I used heavy-duty slip joint pliers to squeeze together the wide part of the S-hook that goes over the top of the frame so that it can’t come off of the frame. See the photo below.
To keep the S-hooks from sliding down off of the top of the frame, I made a couple of stops using Snake Wrap as shown in the photo below.
In addition to using the four S-hooks to hang the tarp, I also use a shoelace through the grommet nearest the top on each side to keep the tarp fully extended during light to moderate winds, as shown below.
In the final two photos, you see how the tarp moves as the wind blows against it. Allowing the lower part of the tarp to move when the wind blows reduces the wind loading on the light-blocking curtain.
- Only a tiny amount of light gets through the Uline Shade 8 black vinyl tarp (i.e. you can see where the light is on the other side of the tarp if you look right at it). If the light you are trying to block is extremely bright and you require a completely opaque tarp, if you can’t find a suitable 6 × 6′ tarp with at least four grommets on each side, I’d recommend purchasing a 5′ 6″ × 7′ 6″ Heavy Duty Reflective All-Purpose Weather-Resistant 9 mil Tarp from Harbor Freight. You’ll want to fold the long side at the bottom and hook the flap to the rest of the tarp using cable ties through the grommets so the length doesn’t exceed 6 ft. ↩︎