Radio Telescope

The Frank L. Fullam Radio Telescope

 In 1970, the Carnegie Institution offered to Dudley Observatory the gift of a 100-foot parabolic radio telescope located in Maryland, near Washington DC. In January, 1971, the gift was accepted and the following summer the dish was disassembled under the direction of Dr. Joseph Erkes and trucked to a site near Bolton Landing, New York. Over the next four years the telescope was re-erected by Dudley on land leased from the State University of New York at Albany (SUNY/A).

The project was funded by grants from many local contributors including substantial contributions by Ernest and Walter Fullam, in honor of their father - Frank L. Fullam. The dish was raised in November, 1973 and the official dedication of the Frank L. Fullam Radio Telescope took place on March 22, 1974. During the rest of the '70s, the telescope was used by Dr. Erkes and Dr. Ivan Linscott in their work to develop a fast Fourier transform, a device to monitor astronomical phenomena that vary on a short time scale. By 1981, with the reduction of government research grants and the transfer of the device to Arecibo, questions were raised about the future disposition of the telescope. In the early 1990's the buildings were destroyed, the antenna was dismantled, and the land returned to SUNY/A

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Dudley Observatory
107 Nott Terrace, Suite 201
Schenectady, NY 12308
(518) 382-7583
info@dudleyobservatory.org