Scope ID please...

Guys, my Astronomy Club has inherited this scope, but it is unable to identify its origins, since the previous owner did a great job about modifying some areas, and getting rid of any marks that show WHO made it...

If any of you know what this IS (or could be), it would be greatly appreciated...

It is a 10", by the way... (could it be a Cave, Parks, Meade?)

Attached Image:

Pic#2

Attached Image:

Ivan:

Looks like an older Meade "Research Grade" Reflector.

The pictured primary mirror cell, and the picutred secondary spider do not match the primary mirror mount and secondary spider on my Meade Research Grade 880 8" f/6. The pictured mount and OTA rings in no way can be confused with a Meade Research Grade mount. All three sizes 8", 10", and 12.5" Research Grade telescopes came on the same massive polished low slung aluminum mount. The Research Grade OTA has rotating rings.

I also looked at a Parks advertisement from S&T magazines from the mid to late 1970s and it is not a Parks from that period. I also looked at a Parks catalog from the mid 1990s, again this is not a Parks.

Look at the structure of the legs on the pedistal. It cries, "My mount is a Cave." The saddle plate looks like a Cave. The problem here is that I think that the name cave was prominately cast with raised letters into the DEC portion of the Cave mounts

What is confusing is that the OTA rings are not rotating rings and the mount looks smaller than what any 10" Cave Astrola came with. It is hard to tell from the picture, but the counterweight shaft looks smaller than 1.5" diameter. Also confusing is that the DEC setting cricle is at the top of the DEC casting.

If I had to guess, I say the mount is from a Cave 8" Lightweight Standard (the 8" lightweight Delux had rotating rings and the DEC setting circle at the bottom of the casting, or more likely from a Cave 6" Student Standard telescope, and a previous owner mounted a 10" OTA on it. The OTA may be a Cave but someone who currently owns one could easily check their primary mirror cell and compare it with the one in the picture.

Is there any identifing markings located at the center on the back of the primary mirror?

Jim