[SJAAboard] loaner program goals

[Rob Hawley (SJAA)]

>Your objection precluded any discussion of details, so I'd like to
>understand the basis for the
>objection, which you referred to as having been previously stated, in order
>to see if some clarification might help get past it.

I re-read my original post and decided it was indeed rather vague. 

As someone who joined the club in 2002 as a beginner I feel my own history
with the loaner program is extremely relevant to this discussion.  My own
experience leveraging the loaner program is exactly what we are trying to
encourage in others.

I replaced my original my poor quality wide field refractor in late 2002
with a 10" Meade SCT. I believed a GO TO scope would be easier to use and I
would see more things. At the time, the club did not make me aware of the
loaner program nor provide instruction in star hopping (hopefully problems
we have since corrected). The Meade was better than the refractor, but it
was not as easy to use as I imagined. I hated setup and take down.

By 2003 I knew about the loaner program (probably from hanging out at board
meetings). I borrowed the Orion 8" Dob and liked that scope so much that I
started building an 8" travel scope. 

Once the 8" introduced me to Dobs I became interested in a larger scope, but
feared I would not be able to handle it.  I then borrowed the 17" Zeider.
Based on my experience with the 17" I felt I could use a large scope;
however, I did not want to deal with the weight or height of an 18"
telescope (even a Plettstone). I did feel that I could enjoy using a 15".  I
also rebuilt several pieces of the 17" and donated them to the club.

During both loans I could have been considered an intermediate. I was
actively observing at every opportunity and could star hop (although not as
well as today).  

Had it been available in 2002 I would probably have borrowed the 12"
LightBridge before buying the Meade. Had that scenario been possible I could
have avoided the expense of the heavy and difficult to collimate SCT. A 12"
tubed Orion would not fit in my car so that would have the opposite effect. 

Under the plan Mark set forth Saturday night and amplified in a previous
message neither the LightBridge or the 17" would have been available for me
since they are not beginner scopes. The program would not have served me
even though I had been a club member for only about two years (at the time
of the 17" loan) since I was an intermediate.

And I would have been furious to know the club owned scopes that could have
answered some fundamental questions, but made a conscious decision that
members like me did not matter.




I am glad to read in Mark's most recent post that he appreciates the need
for the two larger scopes.  I hope that my own history related above will
clarify why I am so passionate on this issue. I also have a financial
interest in both scopes.

Returning to the 80% we agree on we both agree that the club had too many
large scopes. As of early 2007 there were 6 larger than 10" scopes.  Three
were in very poor shape and are already out of the program.  One is a very
unusual long f ration design that I propose we remove.  The 18" is too large
for my own car (and serves the same purpose as the Zeider) and I propose we
remove. 

That leaves the 17" Zeider as the only remaining pre 2007 scope. It is
extremely well suited as a loaner scope although we could improve it even
more. It breaks into comparatively light pieces.  It takes only a few
minutes to assemble.  The member does not have to handle the mirror
directly.

We added the 12" Lightbridge in December.  The LightBridge will overcome
"size fear" by making it clear that larger aperture does not mean an
unwieldy scope.  For example, the loanee of the 10" at Houge on Saturday did
not take it home since the scope was too large for the car he drove. That
particular 10" is also heaver than the LightBridge. I would rather use the
LightBridge even compared to a modern 10" since it fits in my car with the
seats up.

Since the Albert scope is off the table I am not advocating adding any
additional scopes greater than 10".  These two cover the territory.

Rob Hawley