36man

Operating Procedures for the 36" Telescope

You should not try to operate this telescope without official training or scheduling.
Please contact anyone in Observing Support for training and the Superintendent for local scheduling. Occasional users should be using this manual and not the Quickstart. Observers wishing to take data here are requested to schedule time with the TAC or Anita Cochran.

Occasional users should be using the full manual (this one), and any user should have been officially trained by someone in Observing Support before using the telescope (in a timely manner BEFORE their scheduled time). All users are also required to sign an observer contract every fiscal year to indicate their compliance to training.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Send to frueh@astro.as.utexas.edu
Latest update on 12 June 2008.

Startup:

The UPS at the base of the console should be on when you arrive. If the light on the UPS is covered, check the meter to see if 5v are present. If so, the UPS is ON.)If not, punch the button labeled "1" on the UPS.
Turn on the computer (green rocker button below the keyboard tray). This will boot the computer and start the telescope control program. When the network window comes up and asks for a password, hit ESC or ENTER. The control program will pop up briefly. If it asks for a response from you, hit any key. The program will appear for a moment, then Windows will pop it into the background. Hit the ALT and TAB keys simultaneously to bring it to the foreground. Do not use the mouse in the Telescope Control Program.
Rotate the big red ESTOP button at the top of the console CCW to release it. No more than 1/4 turn is required. If there is resistance, it may have already been turned. Do not force it!. You may hear a faint thunk as the E-STOP is released.
Anytime after the computer power is on (even before it has finished booting, though the ESTOP MUST be released before you do this), you may hit the green reset button at the top of the console. This enables dome rotation and other functions.
Before moving the telescope from the STOW position (0 HA and -30 deg DEC):
- Open the dome. The ladder to the right of the door will allow you to reach the toggle switch to open the dome shutter. The dome will begin to open after a short delay (the delay may be as much as a minute). Do NOT use the old pushbutton switches. They are obsolete. Watch your step on the ladder. It can be very slippery if your shoes are wet.
- Open the mirror cover. You need to get inside the telescope on the south side of the platform to do this. You may have to partially unzip the light shroud if it is on the telescope. When looking down on the mirror, you will see two flaps which lift up and clamp to the sides of the telescope. Lift the right side (closest to the door) first and lock it with the clamp. Do the same to the other side. Now pull off the cover to the baffle tube. It has a simple velcro closure.
Go into the control room, login to dione and begin your xreport. Type 'xreport' in any free dione window. (If you do not have an account on dione, please contact someone in Computing before your observing time.)
If you need them , the controls for the running lights are inside the control room door on a dimmer switch (round knob).

Using the Telescope Control Program:

Selecting a catalog or using keyboard input to find and move to objects:
1. Select the Source menu item (hot key S).
  - The PCF Catalog (Permanent Catalog File) contains a selection of catalogs, including the Yale Bright Star Catalog (YBSC)and the NCG200 catalog.
  - The User Catalog contains other catalogs, including the Messier Catalog.
  - To type in coordinates, select the Keyboard option (ALT-K). The keyboard window will scroll down so that you may enter proper motions, if any. To exit this window (and most others), hit ESC.
  - Go here for a complete list of available catalogs.
2. Planets, asteroids and comets may be found in the Position menu.
3. The catalog you selected above will be shown on the main display. Now when you go to the Position menu (hot key P) and select Next (CTRL-N), the catalog you have selected will pop up. You may either enter the number (NOT the name) of the object or you may scroll up and down the catalog using PG UP and PG DN (use the ones at the top right of the keyboard; if you use the ones on the keypad NUM LOCK must be off). Any object highlighted in red is not accessible by the program.
4. Once you have selected your object and hit ENTER, it will appear on the main display as the NEXT object. Go to the mOve (hot key O) menu, then select Next to move to the object, or bypass the menu and move by hitting ALT-N.
5. After the telescope has moved to your object, its name and coordinates should appear on the COMMANDED line on the main display.
6. Center your object in the eyepiece or other instrument.
7. Zero the telescope by going to the deClare menu (hot key C), then select Init Commanded.
8. Other objects may then be selected by repeating steps 1-3 (you should only need to zero on the first object).
9. To abort a move, hit F9. If the telescope was moving when you hit this, it will continue for a moment, stop, then back up to the position it was at when the button was hit. This position then becomes the COMMANDED position. Do not use it for zeroing.
Tracking:
Tracking will be started as soon as you move to an object. If you wish to start it manually, however, go to the Motion menu (hot key M), select Tracking and hit ENTER. >> in front of the menu item shows it is on. Or you may use the hot key ALT-T to start the tracking, bypassing the menu. Doing the same instruction again will turn the tracking off.
Changing the track rates:
The program's default track rate is 15.000 arcsec/sec (for all objects). If you wish to change the rate, go into the Rates menu, then Bias (hot key CTRL-B), then enter your offset values to the 15.000. The rate doesn't become active, however, until you activate the Bias command in the Motion menu (hot key ALT-B). You can get approximate track rates from the program SunPoint on dione.
Using SunPoint on dione:
All accounts on dione should be set up to run cosmo. Just type 'cosmo' at any dione prompt. Go here to see a list of point commands and some examples.

Warnings and Problems:

The telescope software limits are set to 17 degrees above the horizon, except for over the dome motors, where they are set to 20 degrees. Please exercise caution in moving the telescope far over, particularly in the west, where the object may be accessible when you first point to it, but may subsequently track into the limit.
Getting out of the limit:
Go through the menus Parameters -> Global -> Limits -> Override and enable the override. (>> will appear on the menu and a red flashing message appears on the main screen.) Hit F10 twice to enable motion again. You may now carefully move out of the limit area using the handpaddle (don't go the wrong way!). Once clear of the limit, go back through the above menu and turn off the override. This is very important! Failure to do this may result in the loss of your telescope privileges.
If you have hit the panic (E-STOP) button:
The PANIC message will be flashing on the main display if this has happened. Press F10 twice to get out of panic mode, then hit the green RESET button at the top of the rack again to restart the things which were turned off. If the telescope was being moved when the panic button was hit, you may need to rezero the telescope.
Always, ALWAYS watch both ends of the telescope while it is moving . Safety of the telescope and instrument is the responsibility of the observer. Make sure the platform, ladders, etc. are clear of the telescope. Be especially careful when the telescope moves far east or west. The slew motors can be damaged if the fork runs into the platform. The telescope can also hit the dome motors if you go over far enough. The program has limits to prevent this from happening, but please watch to make sure. (Use common sense, and DON'T hurry!)
The movable platform is VERY powerful! Make sure nothing (cables, chairs, toes, etc.) is near it when lowering. If you hear a loud noise, stop moving it immediately, until you have located the source. Make sure small animals are not underneath the platform. (A squashed skunk could be very unfortunate--for you AND the skunk.)
If rocks, ice crystals, moisture, or other particles of any kind hit the dome, you MUST close immediately, even if you are downwind. Sometimes rocks and other debris come down from near the 107". Watch (and listen) for this.
The dome slit is very narrow. You'll need to check the dome postioning frequently. Exercise caution. Moving the dome can cause noise spikes in some of the data acquistion programs (most notably in photometry).
If you can't see anything on the display after the computer starts up, the monitor intensity may be set very low or the monitor may be off. Open the left-hand door at the front of the monitor. Turn the right-hand knob to change the brightness. [If no brightness menu comes up, open the right-hand door and make sure the monitor is on (it should be left on).] Use the left-hand knob to change the contrast. For other monitor features, push the right-hand knob (it has a little icon on it). While that menu is up, turning the left-hand knob selects a particular feature, and the right-hand knob adjusts the feature that is selected.
If the dome must be opened manually without using the automated system, simply swap power cables to the dome with the old system's cables nearby, then use the old switches (not the toggle).
If there is a handpaddle connected in the control room, the telescope rate on it MUST be switched to SET speed, or the SET speed on the handpaddle in the dome will actually be guide. The control room handpaddle should be disconnected if it is not being used.

Shutdown:

Close instrument dark slides, etc., if any.
In the shutDown menu (hot key D), select Auto (hot key ALT-Z). The telescope will move to its normal STOW position and the program will pop up a window asking you to confirm the shutdown. Hit any key except ESC to continue shutdown.
Close the mirror covers and replace the cover to the baffle tube. When looking down into the telescope, the right-hand flap goes down last.
Close the dome after moving the slit opener to a position near the ladder where you can reach the toggle switch. Closure will begin after a short delay following flipping of the switch.
At the main Windows screen, hit ALT-F4, then Return to exit Windows.
Push the big red ESTOP button at the top of the console until it engages. You'll hear a faint sound of some things turning off. Make sure that the 50V power supply (upper meter at the bottom of the rack) has turned off or is going down.
After the message 'It is now safe to turn off your computer' comes up (AND after hitting the ESTOP in the step above), turn off the computer.
Close the keyboard tray.
Fill out your night report (xreport on dione). Please be complete, especially about hours open, hours worked and any problems you may have had.
Make sure the air conditioning is on in the control room (particularly in summer). Excessive heat (above 75 deg F) can cause the computers to malfunction.
Turn off the running lights if you were using them.
Yale may be operating the telescope remotely at any time, so please be certain that the platform is down, ladders are close to the walls and that any other possible obstructions to the telescope are out of the way.
Check that the doors to the dome and control room are both locked and latched before you leave.