Seeking used RA drive for 16'Meade LX200 SCT

[sylkeboyd]

The observatory at the University of Minnesota Morris has a 16-inch Meade LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with an equatorial fixed mount, see picture.
I am working with a team of students on reviving observing and astrophotography here at Morris. The problem is that the gears in the RA drive are worn and begin to slip if the telescope moves too far east or west (more than 2 h). This is particularly pronounced when the camera system is attached, despite our best efforts to balance it.

UMMTelescope-RAoutlined.JPG

We need to exchange the RA gearbox. I was wondering if you know of a decommissioned LX200 from which we might get a used RA drive to replace ours? If it gets us through another couple years, it would be enough to fundraise efficiently for a new telescope. Alternatively, do any of you have experience with this problem and have pointers on how to efficiently address it?

We can pay for the used drive, and I am willing to drive to get it.
Thanks so much!

Sylke

[clayton]

Maybe try https://stellarvisiontucson.com/pre-owned-telescopes/. And https://groups.io/g/16-LX200/topics

[GregO29]

You can also check the general LX-200 Classic Group ( https://groups.io/g/LX200-Classic ), maybe someone there can assist.