TheSkySearchers

Hi, I am considering purchasing either a 14" or 16" Skywatcher Goto Dobsonian to replace my GSO 12". But the part of my observatory where it must sit has a clearance of only 1.04m from floor to roll-off roof rafter. So I need to know the height of the two Gotos above when the tube is horizontal, i.e., at rest to see if it can fit. Skywatcher has been spectacularly unhelpful. Does anyone know, or could measure, the height from the floor to the top of the horizontal tube when the scope is assembled? Thanks.

Welcome on board 47Tuc! Just looking at the info provided on the Agena site. Base height alone is 36"/914mm for both scopes and the 14" OTA in horizontal position (eyeballing the scope in the video) would be a couple of inches above the base. My call would be a very tight squeeze for 14" and above 1.04m for 16".

https://agenaastro.com/sky-watcher-14-g ... 11830.html

Hi and Welcome to the forums. One of the remedies for your conundrum would be to keep the 12" Dobsonian instead, which won't be as high and almost certainly fit with the size constraints you have. Though of course this is probably not optimal since you are looking at increasing your aperture.