Hello fellow stargazers. Unfortunately my DAD recently passed away at 82. He designed, and I built his 10' x 10' "roll-open roof" observatory which he took many beautiful images from. Wondering if anyone can tell me what telescope and what mount are shown here? I know he had a Meade 12" lx200 telescope but I know he mentioned Ritchy Crechien. And how about this red colored mount? Thank you.
The mount is a Software Bisque Paramount ME. The telescope is indeed a Ritchey-Chretien made by RC Optical Systems. Looks like maybe a 16" diameter model (bit hard to tell from a photo - you may want to measure the diameter of the optics). It's a very good telescope but the manufacturer is out of business.
Sorry for your loss. That Scope appears to be an RCOS which is no longer in production. Actually the company closed down some years ago but if you need repairs or adaptions to the system John Stiles of Optical Guidance Systems (https://opticalguidancesystems.com/)makes the same style RC scopes and can be of assistance. John's business is just outside of Philadelphia PA. I can't swear to it but maybe a 12.5" f/9 telescope mounted on what I think may be a Paramount ME mount made by Software Bisque. The telescope shows the brand on the rear cell. The mount should also have some identification on it. As to the model I can't guess on that.
Measuring the rear cell plate diameter should give you a good idea. The mirror size will typical be maybe 2" or so smaller that the rear cell itself. You want to be very careful with the mirrors so measuring the actual mirror, if you choose to do so, should be done very carefully without touching the mirror disturbing the secondary mirror at the opening. Maybe just get the diameter of the tube itself. It could be a 10", 12.5", 14", 16", or 20". The tube diameter should give a good idea. Expect the tube to be 2-3" wider as you can see from looking from the front to back of the telescope. The rear cell will typically be a bit larger yet. Some had a control box for the rotator, focuser, and something else I think but that is no longer available as well but can be adapted to work. There may also be a corrector for imaging. John can assist with any questions.
Thanks very much you guys. I'll be getting this stuff together soon at least out of my dad's house and into mine and then figure out what I'm going to do with it, and by that I mean sell it. I just mean how or where and or how much. I think it's going to be a tough one probably because somebody would want to test it and that's not really going to be possible for me to do because I'm not a telescope guy. My dad had a website called "SKYFOTO" for years with many beautiful images and info, but a few months before he passed he completely removed it from the internet. I believe he was a member of this forum as well in the past.
John can likely give you some guidance on selling it but knowing the size and condition makes a difference. A friend of mine had a 16" RCOS that is in need of some real cleanup and mirrors re-coating which also means remounting the mirrors and collimating them. Again John can advise. What area of the country do you live in?
