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The dish of the Parkes telescope is driven in altitude and azimuth, and can
be directed to any point in the sky (above its 30 degree elevation limit).
However, the altitude and azimuth drives are slaved to a Master Equatorial telescope
located under the dish. The telescope was opened in October 1961, and so it was
not too surprising that the Master Equatorial (ME) started showing some signs of
aging last year. This week repairs were carried out, which required
removing the worm drives from the ME. The telescope builders were prepared
for such an eventuality, and thoughtfully added the sign above for future generations!
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