I Bought a 2-meter Observa-Dome

It's at http://www.davidillig.com/ast-thedome.shtml.

It is 28 years old, but it appears to be in nice condition -- rotation
and shutter operation are smooth and easy. It is made of welded
aluminum. It was not in my mind to buy a dome, but one does not see
used ones very often, so this was a target of opportunity.

I had planned to build a small observatory this spring with a pier and
the Milburn Wedge that I have ordered for my 8" LX200
http://www.davidillig.com/ast-m45.shtml. This changes the equation,
considerably, and I will have to scrap the plans that I have been
drawing. I'm thinking of a 12-sided, 4-ft high base with a stoop-down
entry door, mounted on a concrete pad with the pier also mounted in
concrete, but isolated from the base.

I'm not very good at spherical geometry, so please bear with me here. I
don't want to go to the expense of controlling the dome's rotation by
computer, but I would like to auto-rotate it. Would it work to simply
install a motorized rotator that would rotate the dome at 15° per hour?
I figure that when I want to move the telescope to a new target I could
disengage the rotator and manually rotate the dome to a new starting
position, the re-engage. So, will that work?

Thanks,

Davoud

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usenet *at* davidillig dawt com