[CQ-Contest] Dual Monitors / Eye Glasses

[Bob, W3IDT]

As others have tried to point out: Seeing the monitor(s), keyboard, 
radio(s), etc., without eye strain is a major human factors issue in 
contest station design.

Prior to my recent cataract surgery (both eyes), I had two pairs of 
"progressive" glasses (of various prescriptions) for many decades: one 
for "distance" - roughly 4 feet to infinity; the other for "nearby", or 
as Jim, N7US, calls then "office glasses" below. Not cheap, but allowed 
me to function with normal-like eyesight.

Many people have disliked progressives. The KEY to good progressives is 
to limit the range of correction; attempting to cover too large a range 
results in a very limited band of focus to any one distance.

After the surgery, I could not see anything within about 3 feet. So, I 
once again have a pair of modern "nearby" or "office" progressive 
glasses. They allow me to see a monitor, keyboard, radio, papers on my 
desk, etc, all with appropriate correction.

(I also have simple fixed-correction half-size reading glasses for my 
reading chair. Perfect for book /newspaper distance and for seeing the 
TV over the top, that is, without correction.)

So, if you usually wear glasses, measure the distance to the farthest 
object you need to see easily (likely the monitor(s) or antenna selector 
switches) and to the closest object (likely the keyboard unless you're a 
real good touch-typist), and take those measurements to your 
ophthalmologist. Add a little margin of error, and you'll have a great 
pair of glasses. They work great for dinner parties, too!.

Oh, definitely keep the monitor(s) positioned so you're looking SLIGHTLY 
down at the main contact entry window; that's were your focus will be 
most of the time, the various information windows can be higher.

Bob, w3idt
-- 

.............................
. Robert F. Teitel, W3IDT   .
.                           .
. W3IDT at arrl.net            .
. W3IDT at comcast.net         .
.............................

On 3/17/2014 2:24 PM, Jim N7US wrote:
> In the shack, I use "office glasses," as they were called in the optician's
> office.  For normal use I wear progressive lenses rather than bifocals, so
> the top is for distance and they get progressively stronger as I look down
> (think analog rather than digital/bifocal).
>
> The "office glasses," which I think was a brand name, are the same except
> the top part of the lenses are good to about two meters and work for my
> monitors suspended above the radios, which are mounted on a low shelf.  The
> accessories on the desk and the keyboard are in focus too, which isn't the
> case with my single-vision computer glasses.
>
> 73, Jim N7US
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
>
> I second that!  Computer glasses are a must, especially when the monitor is
> a bit higher and you wear bi-focals.
>
> Very fatiguing otherwise.
>
> 73 de Steve, NR4M
>
>
>
>
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