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Telephone conference call. Attending: Alan Uomoto, Alex Athey (Pasadena), Mark Phillips (Santiago), Skip Schaller (La Serena), Frank Perez, Silvia Baeza, Jose Soto, David Osip (LCO)
Alex presented plans for using May 5-6, 2004, engineering time to test GLAO instrumentation. The plan is to mount his equipment on the LDSS-2 port before the Baade engineering run and use it during the scheduled May 5-6, 2004, Clay engineering time. Computers and instrument operations will be handled by his crew; only a telescope operator is needed. Frank agrees this is OK.
LDSS-2 is scheduled back on the telescope on May 7, 2004, but Scott Burles has told me that it is OK if the instrument is not available at the early part of the MIT run.
Alex is also looking at May 28-30 timeframe (including Shectman's time) and June 3-8 (engineering in parallel with MagIC, plus more of Shectman's time).
Jose Soto presented his recent work review. An email summary was forwarded by Mark Phillips. Here are the topics:
1. VANE END Program
1.1. Galil - Vane End Handshaking - Needs RS422 PCI cards; software written but not tested.
1.2. Rotator Encoder Reading Quality - Working on Baade; waiting parts on Clay
1.3. Rotator Amplifier - Galil Servo Interlock - Needs electrical work; sw not tested.
1.4 Clamping System at CASS Instrument Rotator - Need final hardware, software changes.
1.5 Homing Routine for Folded Port Instrument Rotators - SW ready for test; switch just installed on Clay FP3.
1.6 New PWM Amplifier Tests - Testing has started at LDSS2 port on Clay; only servo params were adjusted
2. GUIDER PROBE CONTROL Program
2.1. Cameras Switch at Mag1 - Racal switch running at Baade but GCAM 3 needs a cable. Also need cables run to implement serial data lines.
2.2. IMACS - Want to remove EDS data from guiders to avoid conflicts with IMACS guiders; sw ready for testing
3. MAIN DRIVE Program - Work on safety interlocks continues.
Silvia Baeza reported that she finished the EDS documentation and Jose is reviewing it. She is also in the process of testing the "spare" M3 computer system. Frank would like to install and test this system during the April 4-5, 2004, Baade engineering run (and AU would like to see a test of the ADC turrent with this computer installed). AU also promises to have an ADC installation plan ready soon.
Skip Schaller reported on four topics: rotator guiding, non-sidereal guiding, IMACS with ADC, and slit guiding. On rotator guiding, progress is slow. It fails on the long-term (hours). Mark Phillips suggested devoting larger amounts of engineering time to explore the problem. AU asked if simulator software might be worth looking into (no). Non-sidereal guiding problems seem to be centered on the slow motion requirements of the guide probes. Both Phillips and Uomoto suggest that this ought to be addressed by making the hardware more capable rather than trying to fix it in software. AU will look into the problem as part of a general review and overhaul of guider systems. Osip suggested trying for an asteroid in June (1 arc second/hour rate). IMACS with ADC (mirror support). This took a long time during the initial setup. Skip will work up a plan to do this quickly. Guide camera sofware improvements - mostly slit guiding on B&C and MIKE. MIKE is a challenge because the slits might not be on the telescope boresight.
Priorities
There was general agreement on the top priority items:
The plan is to repair the IMACS F/2 camera in early April, using the engineering nights of Apr 4-5, 2004, for testing. The new twist is the installation of the new M3 computer in the Baade turrent.
David Osip reports the IMACS OG570 filter is 12.18 to 12.34 mm thick at the edges (it's not the same all around).
