Chuck, was your weightless mount the genesis of Bill's BKD device? Do you have pics of your system? The concept as conceived or maybe re-conceived by Bill really does make large alt-az/Dobsonian mounts much more usable. I remember being able to steer some very heavy classic Dobsonians (with large square mirror box and tube attached, such as the 22-inch that Brent Watson used to own) with very little effort after the modification. I modified my own 10-inch, but with later changes did away with the BKD-type lifter and simply re-positioned the nylon bearings to make it smoother. If you can't steer your scope with one finger it might be too "heavy." I think Bill's greatest contribution was simply in being a great friend and teacher. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 1:04 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Bill Kelley Thanks Kim. Bill and I never met face-to-face, but spent many, many hours talking on the phone over the years. One of the greatest compliments I ever received was when he told me that my "Weightless" mount was a true innovation in ATMing. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1204 / Virus Database: 1435/3449 - Release Date: 02/17/11