[TARDIS KINGAROY]

This is my first post-I ask your tolerance of my ignorance of astronomy and my longwindedness. Two years ago my wife and I visited the Maidenwell Observatory (Jim has three Meade LX200GPS) We then didJim's astronomy course which I highly recommend.) I then bought a Meade 8"LX200GPS which for a numer of reasons(mostly work related) I have only started to enjoy since I built a "Roll-off Roof" observatory. My interest is with the Moon and the Planets-particularly Mars. I have a strong desire (obsession?) with seeing Mars via my own eyes (ie,rather than "imaged") and I now realise I will be unlikley to achieve this with the 8" Meade. The 16" Lightbridge seems very good value, but can an unguided Dob be comfortably used to observe Planets? The only astronomical scopes I have ever looked through are Jim's 14"Lx200 and our own 8"- ie,I have never viewed through a Dob. I realise anything is possible, and that long before Schmidt-Cassigrain scopes and computers were heard of, people were recording sketches of detail on Planets;but how practicable is it to do this? I have been enjoying watching Jupiter and its Moons over the last week, and even with a Tele-Vue 32mm Plossl, if the "auto" is turned off, the view does not last long. I am aware that whatever scope I use to achieve my goal, it will probably require hours at the eyepiece, waiting for that magical few minutes (seconds?) of good seeing. Are sensibly priced drives available for large Dobs? As portability is not an issue, are there any other (affodable) large scopes which will let me see Mars as more than a tiny orange blob? [I have just re-read this-by "ignorance" in the first line, I meant "practical Ignorance" -I learnt a lot from Jim's course. DENIS (KINGAROY TARDIS) 26'31'46.42S 151'48 16.33E