G'day All
Thanks to everyone's comments.
Raymo, I contacted the ob's about Yerkes refractor. But they said it might not be capable, with account of the extra weight of my ed80 guidescope just pushing the mount over the edge of its capability!
I am glad everyone likes it, I know it's not as glamorous as some others, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My wife keeps telling me that I am just like the cat which caught the mouse.
In preparation for buying this mount I did a little research first and learned a lot about the mount design (originally based upon a R Porter sketch) and the manufacturer/modifying designer himself (B Schaefer). Bill was the person who made this Porter design a reality. He seemed an amazing man and even had an asteroid named after him in honour of his work and service to the astronomical community.
If your interested in learning more about some astro history of Bill, come on the journey with me and see some of the links below:
http://www.astronomersdoitinthedark....hp?c=155&p=483
http://www.txstars.org/sitebuilderco...billbiopdf.pdf
http://www.larryadkins.net/sitebuild...rtoduction.htm
There is even a 1990 article in the LA Times which discusses the local astronomical society, of which Bill was a member. It says the following about him:
"Among the club's members is 86-year-old Bill Schaefer, a near-legendary name in amateur astronomy circles, who designed the most sought-after telescope mount for amateurs and until a few years ago was still building complete top-of-the-line scopes. He continues to tinker away in a workshop at his Placentia apartment complex, designing and building components and accessories that can't be bought commercially."
Find it here:
http://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-...astronomy-club
Everyone talks so highly of him, both his abilities and his generosity. Unfortunately Bill died in 1993, but was still ATM'ing up until a few months before the end.
There are many more websites out there of people still using Schaefer mounts, which can be revealed by a simple google search.
So I am now wondering, anyone else in Australia using a Schaefer or Schaefer style/design mount???
Clear Skies
Gav