Hi,
The information in this thread has been most helpful.

I was able to contact Rick at Tangent earlier this year with no problem. He was very helpful, particularly considering I am not a customer, and was not likely to be. He spent time taking several of my calls while we got my early 1991 Ultima drive straightened out. Time is money in business, and Rick didn't hesitate once to help me out.

The end result was, at that time, had my drive needed a new circuit board, Tangent had several circuit boards on hand of a later version of the Ultima drive. My unit could have been upgraded, requiring me to send only the drive motor out for updrade. The base would have required some minor machining to accomodate the new board. The cost would have been virtually irrelevant (less than ~$100) to keep the drive functional.

I really like this scope. It is the only drive mounted scope I have owned, having owned a 60mm refractor and 4" Newtonian prior to this. With the excellent reputation the Ultima has for quality and accuracy, I only wonder about keep it functional for the next 15 years, not about replacing it with something "newer and better".