Quote:
Originally Posted by netwolf
Gama has a CDK 20" from Planewave on a MI-750 mount.
I still recall my school visit to the Observatory and the Meade scope, I hope there is some way to keep it going. Maybe place it another Observatory in NSW. Or perhaps you could just defork the OTA and get a new Mount for it.
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Refurbishing the existing early version of the 16" LX200 classic is not really an option. The main problem is the age of the electronics that drive it and they are beyond repair now. The OTA could be fitted to a new Goto fork mount but that would be no easier than getting a new updated telescope. I know because I have been involved in their repair at times. The 16" Meade has different electronics than the smaller versions and supplies of spares are now exhausted.
The Macquarie University has a similar 16" LX200 that also is getting beyond economic repair.
Regarding Dobsonian telescopes I am sure the observatory has quite a few of the various sizes of Dobsonian telescopes that are trundled out for special viewing occasions. However as Geoff says that is not what the viewers want. They want to look through the eyepiece of a telescope from inside the dome.
Barry