Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Ward
I purchased my Sirius Dome around 25 years ago.
I wish I had done it a decade earlier.
A dome will give you immediate sky access without the hassle or wear and tear on
what can be expensive kit by having to move/unpack/assemble/disassemble/etc.
You can nail the mount's polar alignment then forget about it.
They protect your telescope(s) from wind buffeting and stray light (e.g. my neighbours mini-sun floodlight)
While not inexpensive (a fully robotic 2.3m is currently around $16k).if I now divide the cost of my fancy hobby-shed by 25, the cost per year is peanuts.
.....in my case about $280 a year (well, I did buy it 25 years ago!)
Yes...I highly recommend getting one 
As for deep-sky imaging from the "burbs", once again this is proof positive it can be done. If you run narrow band, you could set-up in Pitt street with a full moon, and no-one would be the wiser.
I gave a talk at Sydney Observatory on this very subject last year. It's all about maximising signal while reducing the noise.
Sure, I'd like to run my scope with excellent seeing in the high Chilean desert...but swapping out a filter set would be a a bit of a bugger 
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Thanks Peter for the advice.
It will take me a while to paint & fix up my old place after I move out to the new place.
I then have to sell the old place - what a hassle.
It all takes time & money.
I may not go fully robotic to start off - I need to check all that out.
I need to see if they use encoders to keep the window aligned in front of the telescope
or if there's an easier way.
I may be able to jerry rig something up with a cheaper dome.
It's on the to do list!
Also a Newt. is a bit harder to organise for robotic use than an RC or a refractor.
cheers
Allan