Project Free Telescope 2012

[Gary]

Hi Friends,

I have been thinking about this idea for some years and I think it can be realised soon. I am definitely not the first person to have such ideas but I believe actions speak louder than words. So I hope like-minded people can contribute to this project and make it happen.

Until we can come up with a better project name, I will call it Project Free Telescope for ease of understanding and marketability.

To promote astronomy awareness in Singapore, public outreach (sidewalk astronomy) is one of many methods.

There is 2 situation we facing now:

(1) Some telescope owners have a decent collection of astro gear but may not have the time to do much sidewalk due to commitments and priorities in their lives. They are very keen to promote astronomy here too but gets too tied down by such commitments and can only do sidewalks occasionally.

(2) Some may be keen to explore astronomy for themselves and also to volunteer their time to do sidewalk astronomy but may not be able to afford to do so financially or just did not manage to convince their family members and loved ones to buy a telescope for whatever the reason (e.g fear of wasting money in a hobby that may not last).

The solution is simply to bridge these 2 groups of people and it will be win-win situation for everyone -- those who are willing to loan/give their low-end equipment to those who are keen to enjoy and spread the hobby.

Of course, the devil is in the details but with proper planning, discussion and execution, this should not be an excuse for us not to even try.

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To start the ball rolling, I will contribute my used 6 inch Newtonian Telescope OTA with tube rings for the inaugural project. If others are willing to contribute other parts to make it complete telescope set, please feel free to do so. Else, I will try to find the remaining parts using my own resources.

There are still many planning that needs to be done but this is a very rough draft of the mechanics of this project:

(1) Those who volunteer to do sidewalk astronomy for a certain amount of time (e.g 2 hours every month on average for a year) can get to keep the telescope free. I will give away my 6-inch Newtonian free. Others who are loaning the other components need not follow suit.

(2) Potential participants will be interviewed to judge their suitability and sincerity. I can do this for the first project. Veterans amateur astronomers of this forum can do the same and vouch for their candidates. So there is no need to rely only one person for interviewing.

(3) Training will be provided. I will provide training on how to use and collimate the 6" newt, basic stargazing techniques as well as how to conduct sidewalk astronomy sessions.

(4) In appreciation for the volunteer's time and effort, they can keep and use the telescope. No need to return and collect the telescope from someone every time they wish to do a sidewalk.

(5) After 1 year of service, I will give the 6" Newt away to the volunteer.

(6) If there is more than 1 volunteer for this project, will need to work out a roster -- e.g. 1 person to keep the telescope for 2 weeks. At the end of the year, the one with the best "performance" will be given the telescope. The rest would have gotten their reward already by using the telescope for free and discovering for themselves if they are really into this hobby and get plenty of hands-on experience to spend their every dollar very wisely on their first telescope purchase.

(7) Staying and volunteering near Central Singapore (Bishan-AngMoKio-Toa Payoh) will be an added bonus but NOT a necessary requirement. The reason is as Dave and I are sidewalking at Bishan-Toa Payoh area, it is easier for us to assist and lend morale support to newcomers during their sidewalks. If there are other forum veterans who would like to commit their support at their areas, they are very welcomed to do so too.

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Project Free Telescope 2012 (June 2012 to June 2013)


Contributions to this project can come mainly in 2 forms - equipment and service.

EQUIPMENT

Telescopes:
- 6 inch Newtonian telescope with tube rings (Gary) -- some fungus on mirror which does not affect visual performance.
- 5 inch Newtonian telescope (Alfred)

Mounts and Tripods
- EQ Mount (Alfred)

Eyepiece and Accessories
- 25mm eyepiece (Dave)
- RA correction Motor (Alfred)

Learning Materials
- Backyard Astronomer's Guide (book) (Gary)


SERVICE

For those who are not able to contribute equipment, there are still plenty of ways to contribute in the form of service which is in no way inferior than equipment contributions. I will list some sample service examples to explain what I mean

Pledges

- Attend at least one sidewalk session conducted by the selected volunteer to lend morale support and provide some crowd management control. (Gary)

- Attend sidewalk sessions conducted by the selected volunteer once a month to share knowledge provided advance notification of at least one day is given and the location is convenient from office (Airconvent).


Sample Pledges

- I will attend one sidewalk session if it is located near _______ (name of person)
- I will bring at least one friend to the sidewalk session.
- I will fetch the volunteer and his equipment home in my car for one time if the sidewalk is located near _____ .
- I will help/teach the volunteer how to collimate ____ (telescope)
- I will help/teach the volunteer how to drift align, clean the optics.
- I will drive the volunteer to experience Milky Way dark skies in Johor.
- I will bring down some home-made drinks and food for the volunteer to consume and recharge his/her batteries.
- I will provide my machining skills to improve the volunteer's telescope system
- I will provide my medical expertise during one sidewalk session in the event it is required.
- I will provide some space at home to store some of the telescope components if the regular sidewalk location is near _______ .

All pledges should ideally involve as little money as possible. It should be something that you can provide without damaging you financially and causing disruption in your life. This is also to remind the volunteer(s) they are not doing this for the sole benefits of these pledges or for any financial gain.

In short, whatever skills you have that can help the sidewalk astronomy session (including non-astro related e.g crowd control, handling difficult people, conversational skills), you can make a pledge and contribute to this Project.

People who are very new to or very quiet in Singastro or complete strangers will need to be interviewed for their suitability in helping the volunteers before they are allowed to fulfill their pledge. This is for the protection of the volunteer(s).

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Notes for contributors:

We will try our best to minimise the damage and lost of your contributions -- e.g. doing proper interviews to select the right candidate(s) and giving traning. But there is no way we can 100% guarantee it.

So IF you are willing to loan out your equipment for this project, try to select the cheapest one with the worst intention that they may be damage, scratched, grow fungus, broken or stolen.

Of course, we still exercise our common sense to do our best to minimise theft in our selection of suitable sidewalk locations but personally I chose to believe in overall goodwill of Singaporeans and their unwillingness to deliberately cause damage to equipment which has brought them so much joy in experiencing the majesty and beauty of our cosmos and the quality friends and family time spent together.

In this manner, with our gear contributions and the volunteers time and effort, we can accelerate the astronomy awareness in Singapore. This will translate to more demand for telescopes and with it, the lowering of prices overall which will benefit us all in the long run. Other trickle down benefits will also include raising the level of scientific appreciation and research and creation of darker parks or dedicated astro parks with every increasing awareness of the damage done by light pollution to our health and hobby in Singapore.

Let's dare to dream we will have our own version of NEAF (America's biggest astronomy expo) right here in Singapore someday! Let us realise the dream by taking one tiny first step this year to contribute to this project!

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Notes for interested candidates:

Those who are keen to be selected for interview can email me at gary@astro.sg or send me a Private Message in this forum.

This interview is more of a friendly get to know each other chat session. Don't need to overly stress yourself or "prepare" for it. What I am looking for is only a good sense of public service. Zero astronomy or sidewalk astronomy knowledge is required as you will be properly trained if selected.

Also, NO penalty whatsoever if after selection and conducting your first sidewalk, you decided not to continue and return the telescope. NO reasons or explanation required if it happens. And NO penalty for damage to equipment. We will bare all the risks.

Eligibility -

(1) 18 years and above
(2) Does not own more than 1 telescope
(3) Able to converse in English. More will be bonus.
(4) No serious physical injuries or illness that may be aggravated by the transportation and setting up of astronomical equipment and potential standing and talking for relatively long periods of time (e.g 1 hour).

Conditions to fulfill to win the Sky Watcher 6-inch Newtonian Telescope:
(1) .... to be updated
(2)


Are you up to this exciting challenge??

[Davegn]

Hi Gary and friends,

In view of the project free telescope 2012, as morale support for this i will be contributing a 25mm ep and my time for this project.

And Gary, you have my full support for this project.

[Mariner]

Sounds exciting but as much as I would like to volunteer, I'm restricted by work and other commitments plus I've yet to fully settle in with my own scope.

[Gary]

I have updated the original post. Thanks to Dave, Alfred for contributing. Added better description of contribution in the project's context and some eligibility rules for potential volunteers.

@Mariner. No worries! We intend to run this project as long as possible and this is only the first year. You may be able to contribute in time to come. By sharing your views with your family and friends soon, you would have already taken your first step towards raising astronomy awareness in Singapore!

[Airconvent]

Thanks for the initiative Gary.
if you have some fixed dates in advance, less cloudy days, it would be convenient for owners with scopes to drop by whenever they can. I come straight from work, so more likely to volunteer my manhours and sharing of knowledge at your events

[Gary]

Hi Richard. Thanks for the support! Added your pledge to the original post.

[Avarielle]

Since I don't have space in my house to store another telescope, and I'm very happy with my current scope, I shall pledge to help out in different ways.

- I pledge to attend the sidewalk sessions, as long as the time and location is convenient for me. (I stay at Bukit Timah, so Toa Payoh, Bishan, or anywhere in the area is good for me.) I can do crowd control, explaining stuff, and general helping out.
- I also can bring my iPad to the sessions to use the planetarium apps.

[Gary]

Hi Avarielle. Thanks for your support! Will update the original post soon.

BTW, YOU are eligible to sign up for this project as a volunteer. I will try to find out the exact weight of the full setup and you can see if you can manage it.

[Clifford60]

Alamak, friend you forgot my pledge, oops, can't announce yet as it is yet to happen, haha.

[Gary]

Alamak, friend you forgot my pledge, oops, can't announce yet as it is yet to happen, haha.

Hahaha. Looks like going to happen soon. Check your yahoo email.