Patrick, I know that SPOC is shut-down in winter due to possible condensation problems with the mirror coatings. But this raises the question of whether the new refractor should be subject to the same restriction, since it doesn't have a vacuum-deposited metal coating(s) to worry about. The smaller objective could be easily protected from condensation with a passive system, and the scope could be kept usable all winter long. As far as you know, has Bruce given any thought to keeping Refractor House (only) operational through the winter? What's your opinion? I'd be in favor of this if it's feasable. My "slow" season at work is during the usual SPOC off-season, and it's when I do most (read: "all") of my observing the last several years. TIA __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com