help with drive motors

[newmoon]

hi all, i have just been given a meade 4504 with goto option,unfortunatley the motors appear to be dead or the drive worms are damaged. I have 2 questions really

1 is it worth purchasing new motors(if poss) or finding a replacement set

and

2 could the mount be repaired and carry a larger diameter tube

the tube assy appears to be in A1 condition as does the mirror,the 494 hand set is also in good condition. any advice would be great thanks

[Greg]

Welcome to the forum,

I would have said the answer to both your questuions would be no.

I wouldn't think it's worth repairing.

And.

the Meade GOTO starter scopes usually have nylon gears which strip quite easily under load..

The option I would go for would be to dump the drive and mount and use the OTA (Optical Tube Assembly) on a simple grab and go Alt/Az mount. Or for a few more pennies perhaps an equatorial mount..

Greg