Blog from November, 2022

Gam and Baffle Tube Thing Removal
Onkar Rekhi posted on Nov 30, 2022

Attendance Onkar, Gabriel, Shreyansh, Nathan, Meyer, Eric, Roy

Date/Time 11/30/22 12:00-6:00PM

Spaces Occupied: 401, Control Room, Dome

Goals

  1. Dry run gam removal
  2. See if baffle tube thing can be removed easily
  3. get MAC addresses for the security cameras
  4. instrument rotator installation plan (Dr. M + Erik)


Log

Gam:

  1. just straight up removed it
  2. used the erik gam removal apparatus to lower gam carefully down from telescope base to a lower position
    1. can be described as an elevator or forklift
    2. rule of thumb four people needed for this operation
      1. one on the apparatus brake
      2. one on the apparatus wheel
      3. two physically spotting the gam (holding its sides so it doesn't fall
  3. carried physically to Meyer lab in 306 for cleaning and inspection
  4. "scope without the GAM, the central black bit is actually a flange that holds the primary light baffle, which we have now removed." - meyer

Baffle Tube Thing:

  1. also straight up lowered and removed
  2. in Meyer possession to be cleaned aggressively with yard hose
  3. when step 2 is done, obs experts (onkar, jackson, matt, tara, and/or natalie) will install flocking material and reinstall into telescope

MAC Addresses:

  1. WIP, see comments from Roy and Gabriel

Instrument Rotator:

  1. Will eventually be installed semi-permanently on the main axis attachment plate.
  2. Is a HDR50/M Stepper Motor from Thor Labs (very robust, can handle large instruments).
  3. Motor controller is BSC201 from Thor Labs. HEAVY. Current plan is to remove back GAM controller plate and attach the BSC201 to the plate with metal strapping before re-attaching the GAM control back plate. This keeps things tidy.
  4. Also note: need to do a power audit if we want to plug a lot of stuff into the scope power supply.




Onkar and Eric will performe functions test of scope on Thursday at 10:00AM

Security Camera Testing
Roy Prouty posted on Nov 22, 2022

Attendance Gabriel

Date/Time 20221122/1720-2100

Spaces Occupied: Control Room, Dome

Goals: 

  1. Figure out ip cameras and connecting them to the physics building network
    1. Figure out if the cameras are directly accessible.
    2. Find out if the cameras use the same identifier in their IPv6 addresses.
    3. Find out if we need static ip addresses.

Log:

  1. Tried to connect the cameras to the DC via ethernet for testing but the ethernet ports don't seem to support PoE(Power over Ethernet)
  2. Connected a camera to the DC using a 12v adapter for power.
  3. Sniffed network packets with wireshark, camera transmits ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) requests both over the university local network and while connected directly to an ethernet port on the DC.
  4. The cameras try to communicate with gateway 192.168.1.1 . This is not the gateway of the university, so I had to set the ip address of the computer to the gateway it was looking for. From wireshark it is obvious when the connection is successful. 
  5. I can now connect to the camera's predetermined ip from a web browser. The username and password are written on a sticker on each camera box, we will change these later though.
  6. Changed the network settings of the camera by going into "Settings → Network → TCP/IP"
  7. Set Default gateway to the network's gateway (130.85.72.129), set subnet mask to 255.255.255.128 .
  8. Instead of automatic DHCP address allocation I used a static IP but it was taken by some other device. This resulted in the camera's NIC to change its IP to something available. (Remember to not use a static IP if there hasn't been provided by the network admins).
  9. After setting the default gateway and IP allocation from direct connection with the computer, the camera can now be removed and connected to the ethernet jacks of the building. Bear in mind that some of the network jacks don't support PoE. The one in the control room has two ports; the upper one supports PoE, the lower one doesn't seem to. A non PoE port might be indicated by a computer icon next to the port.
  10. The IP address can be found by sniffing ARP packets from devices using wireshark. This will NOT be needed if they get static IP's assigned
  11. Connection works through the same way. We can either use a browser or IP camera software. 



Other Notes

When looking for camera connection packets on wireshark, put filter ARP.

The live feed seems to have ~1sec latency, but otherwise video looks good.

The subnet mask of the university network is 255.255.255.128 .


The cameras use a unique identifier in their IPv6 Addresses.

Todos

  • Configure all cameras
  • Connect all the cameras to BlueIris or alternative
pPICSARR
Onkar Rekhi posted on Nov 21, 2022

Attendance Roy, Onkar, Matt, Katie, Tara, Natalie, Gabriel, Bill

Date/Time 20221121/1815-

Spaces Occupied: 401, Control Room, Dome

Goals

  1. Use pPICSARR2 to perform polarization calibration
    1. GRW+70 8247
    2. beta Cass
    3. Jupiter w/ Io & Europa
  2. Use pPICSARR2 to perform astrometric calibration
    1. NGC 188
    2. Step along N and E, 15'' each
    3. Probably taking ~5 min each


Log

  1. Matt opened dome ~1818
  2. Open mirror doors
    1. Onkar saw that south was fast
    2. We closed the mirror doors, then Onkar recorded the re-opening.
  3. Pointed using Jupiter and Scheat, Katie helped
  4. Attached Bill's pPICSARR2 to DFM Scope
  5. Set focus position to 2600, adjusted more to 2608.2
  6. Issue with DC, the stepper motor and the filter wheel motor weren't connecting to data computer
    1. Stepper motor software wasn't installed? From ThorLabs
    2. Filter wheel software should be available through SharpCap
    3. So we used Bill's laptop to collect data
  7. Moved to GRW+70 8247 in northern sky
    1. Polarization calibrations w/ full Stokes
  8. Moved to NGC 188 also in northern sky
    1. Astrometric calibrations
    2. In TheSky6, navigate to Telescope → Motion Controls
      1. Set coord to RA/DEC
      2. Set jog amount
      3. Slew will ask for confirmation as with normal object slewing
  9. Moved to beta Cass in northern sky 
    1. Polarization Calibration w/ full Stokes
  10. Moved back to Jupiter
    1. Polarization Calibration w/ full Stokes
    2. Noticed that half disc of Jupiter drifted in 300s (20''/300s)
    3. Not explainable by only Sidereal rate
  11. Bill notices trailing in northern sky as well
  12. Moved to Europa
  13. Moved to Mars
  14. Moved to Neptune
  15. Interest in finding Blazars with circular polarization
    1. 3C 66a Blazar? 


Other Notes


Todos

  1. Send Bill NGC 188 images from  20221109
  2. Need to install drivers on DC
    1. Install ThorLabs Kineses
  3. TheSky10 from SoftwareBisque
  4. buy cmos to spotter scope adapter
Mirror door chassis and TCS investigation
Roy Prouty posted on Nov 16, 2022

Attendance Onkar, Gabriel, Shreyansh

Date/Time 20221116/1900- ???

Spaces Occupied: 401, Control Room, Dome

Goals

  1. Develop a better understanding of the TCS to mirror support chassis and motor driver chassis
  2. Investigate the reason the mirror doors are uncontrollable from TCS.
  3. Better understanding of the TCS computer build, investigate if we can upgrade the computer


Log

TCS:

  • The TCS uses serial port for some connections. It is a non-standard DB9 cable which connects to the motherboard through some 8pin connector. We suspect that it should be possible to get adapters for the connectors and connect them to standard USB inputs on a modern motherboard.
  • Most of the other connections connect to a proprietary board made by DFM. The board uses ISA slot (most likely 8bit variant). There is a possibility to connect that to PCI-e (PCI) via an ISA to PCI adapter. We are not sure what drivers are needed, if any.
  • The TCS has 4 coax cables labeled "1" to "4". They were no connected anywhere. Half of them are male and half of them are female. The other end of them connects to the TCS via some unidentified multi-pin connector, but it only uses 8 pins.
  • Two cables are connected to each other in the TCS. We do not know why and they seem jerry rigged that way.


Mirror support chassis:

  • Pins 15 and 16 connect to the TCS via the "Front Panel" connector (Labeled). Both are connected to ground, pin 15 is a complete short circuit to ground and pin 16 has a 624Ω connection to ground. This might be a short circuit that occurred over time and this could be the reason the mirror doors are uncontrollable via the TCS. 
  • There are a lot more pins on the Mirror support chassis that are not documented in the engineering manual. They seem to serve a purpose though because some pins from them are connected to ground. There is a possibility of them being there due to the same motherboard being used for multiple telescope systems with different utilities.


Reconnected everything back in the end, did functions test and everything works.

Mirror Motor Tests and Observing
Roy Prouty posted on Nov 14, 2022

Attendance Roy, Onkar, Gabriel, Shreyansh, Tara, Natalie, Matt, Connor

Date/Time 20221114/1900-2348

Spaces Occupied: 401, Control Room, Dome

Goals

  1. Testing Mirror Doors: South closes anomalously slow. Need to determine why.
    1. Run experiments and record results
    2. ONE: Identify which cables connect the Motor Chassis to each Mirror Door Motors. Then switch N and S mirror door motor cables as they connect to Motor Chassis
    3. TWO: Replace South Motor with North Motor
    4. THREE: Replace South Motor Piston with North Motor Piston
    5. FOUR: Open and Close the Mirror Doors many times (10x?), then use thermal camera to determine if any motor is over exerting. This may indicate  
    6. FIVE: Swap motor control cables at motor-end for mirror door motors south and east (since they are from the same cable access port)

Log

Mirror Doors

  1. Question: Which motor-halting switches control the mirror doors?
    1. Answer: NONE OF THEM DO
  2. Ran Experiment ONE
    1. Door 1 → Mirror Door N
    2. Door 2 → East
    3. Door 3 → South
    4. Door 4 → West
      1. All from drawing W-237 in Engineering Manual, confirmed
    5. Switched Door 1 and Door 3.
    6. While closing, all doors closed at same rate (this once)
    7. While opening, south was STILL slower
  3. Undid changes made for Experiment ONE
    1. Opened Mirror Doors, then saw South open slowly
  4. Ran Experiment FIVE
    1. Swapped South and East Motor control cables on motor-end
    2. South was slow to close
    3. South was slow to open
  5. Undid changes made for Experiment FIVE
    1. Everything closed properly, with South still slow
    2. When opening, Onkar videoed East and West pushing South out of the way bc South is slow. When east and west doors cleared the south door, south dropped back down abruptly. You could hear the pistons hitting each other.
  6. Roy Prouty  At this point we think that the south piston may be the culprit. This is because swapping the mirror door motor cables at the Motor Chassis and at the motor had no effect on the south door motor behavior.

Autoguiding

  1. Connor set up new NexStar C8 and attempted to interface the ZWO CMOS to his laptop
    1. Software being used was PHD2
  2. Couldn't procced since we couldn't find le cable
  3. Ultimately, the cable used to interface the two couldn't be found. (RJ12)

OBSERVING

  1. Pointed Scope on Jupiter
    1. Loss of anti-glare material makes pointing hard
    2. Seeing was bad, updated telescope position, then went to Mirach
  2. Moved to Mirach
    1. FWHM of 18 at Lum=MAX
    2. FWHM of 12 at Lum=not MAX
    3. Focus at 2042 was best
  3. Moved to Jupiter
    1. Meh
    2. Could see hint of belts (dark areas)
  4. Moved to Uranus
    1. Meh (but teehee)
  5. Moved to Mars
    1. Possibly saw some dark regions
  6. Moved to NGC 1976/M42, GON
    1. Saved capture of 120s

Other Notes

  • When observing Mirach, with RA tracking set to 15.04166666 (=15.042 in DFM), Mirach moves to top of CMOS FOV over course of 15-20 minutes.
  • We experimented with TCP/IP Commands
    • We successfully used command #27,<FOCUS>; to set the focus on the telescope.
    • 192.168.0.2:5003

Todos

  • Fix tracking.
  • Dispose of Cheetos
  • More testing with Mirror doors by running experiment THREE.
  • Roy Prouty We need to buy a RJ12 to interface the CMOS to the C8
  • Roy Prouty Onkar/Shreyansh/Garbiel/et al need to look at mirror support chassis (bottom panel of TCS Front Panel)
Slewing telescope to zenith from DC.
Gabriel Koletsi posted on Nov 11, 2022

Log:

  1. Establish connection between DC and TCS over TCP/IP (Click here)
  2. Set parameters of "TRACK" command (#14) to 0 (all params. to stop the telescope from compensating for earths rotation)
  3. Use command "ZENITH" (#10) (no params)
  4. The above commands give information for the next movement, which is iniatialised with the GO command (#12) (no params)
Eileen/Erik/Roy
Roy Prouty posted on Nov 10, 2022

Attendance  Eileen, Erik, Roy, Gabriel until 1245

Date & Time 11/10/2022, 1200-1415

Spaces Occupied: 401, Control Room, Dome

Goals

  1. Investigate security camera installation
  2. Identify trash stuffs
  3. Get remaining todos identified/logged


Log

  1. Gabriel and Roy cleaned things a bit
    1. identified trash
    2. tidied space
  2. Rim around dome is wooden, removing foam (and bird detritus) should be straightforward, just gross
  3. Reinstalled BlueIris (for security cameras) on DC.
    1. Downloaded v5 directly from https://blueirissoftware.com/#download
    2. License Key (in Eileen's name) in email between Roy/Eileen subject line "FWD: Delivery information for "Blue Iris (full)"..." from Jun 14, 2022
    3. Need students to check these out

Other notes

  1. Blue Iris needs to be reinstalled on DC – DONE
  2. On cameras
    1. 4x for general purpose
    2. 1x for audio?
    3. Check with Eileen
  3. Other UPS for powering everything else behind TCS desk
  4. We need MNCP Active in DFMTCS in order to use TheSky6
    1. DFMTCS→ Options → Communication → MNCP Tab

Todos

  1. Remove rope light around rim of DFM scope
  2. Install new anti-glare material
  3. Test attaching small security camera to scope periphery to view mirror door operation
  4. Remove foam loosely nailed to rim of Dome
  5. Roy Prouty , put in networks request for static IPs for the ethernet ports in the dome. 
    1. 3 in dome
    2. 2 on atmo platform
    3. all for cameras
    4. 4,5,6 in dome, 13, 14 on atmo platform
  6. List for keeling over scope
    1. attach camera to support for mirror doors
    2. reattach anti-glare (flocking) to light baffle
    3. remove rope lights
    4. game plan for cleaning primary mirror
  7. Check with Bill
    1. Number of upcoming observation nights before we're good for proof of concept
    2. data pls
  8. get info on how bruce weaver(?) cleaned their primary mirror
  9. work with students on camera setup
  10. buy longer ethernet cables for in-dome security cameras
  11. room rearrangement
    1. desk 
    2. get rid of books on current shelf
    3. wall shelving?
  12. Ask erik about ceiling tiles installed
1 Comment
Astrometric Calibrations
Roy Prouty posted on Nov 09, 2022

Attendance Gabriel, Roy, Olivia, Sophia, Em, Luna

Date & Time 11/09/2022, 1730-2130

Spaces Occupied

Goals

  1. TCP/IP Connection Investigation
  2. Point Scope
  3. Astrometric calibration with M67 or NGC188
    1. Need sidereal tracking, not solar
    2. So point on high star
    3. Use https://archive.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_form to find images
  4. Write up tracking vs (auto)guiding
  5. Write wiki for general telescope use


Log

  1. When opening mirror doors, South mirror door was super slow again
  2. We figured out how to send simple (setting set rate) commands over TCP/IP from DC-TCS
  3. Pointed with Deneb, couldn't be sure due to what might have been reflections or dimmer stars
  4. Moved to Jupiter, moved around a lot (~10 min). Reflections down light baffle complicated pointing.
  5. Finally found Jupiter, and used this to point.
  6. Then more finely adjusted pointing with Scheat in Pegasus.
    1. Best FWHM was 13.7, but not constant
  7. Moved to Saturn.
  8. All objects were very fuzzy. Not a good night for seeing.
  9. Then went to NGC 188 in northern sky.
    1. Took 2x 300s exposures
    2. Took 2x 450s exposures
    3. Stored in "D:\SharpCap Captures\2022-11-09"
  10. Closed everything down.
  11. YEP

Other notes

Still need to write up closing/opening procedures

Need to connect Sophia with Don Engel

Need to connect Olivia with CSST folks (perhaps via Don Engel)


TCP/IP Explorations
Roy Prouty posted on Nov 09, 2022

Attendance Gabriel, Roy

Date & Time 11/9/22, 1300-

Spaces Occupied Control room and Dome

Goals

  1. (Gabriel) Get DC to communicate with TCS via TCP/IP

Log

  1. Connected DC to TCS via gray ethernet cable. Saw changes in DC-reported ipconfig  before and after (see below).
  2. We see that the new connections find MAC addresses and IPs, but we don't know where the IPs come from.
  3. We followed this tutorial https://www.maketecheasier.com/connect-two-windows-computer-on-lan/
  4. After the tutorial, T.C.S connects to D.C 0. With TCP/IP connection on, Zenmap detects host up on 192.168.0.2:5003 (IP address : port)
  5. A Wireshark scan confirms connection to T.C.S from D.C. and it also confirms packets are sent (converting hexadecimal output from wireshark to ASCII confirms command was sent)

    1. The first 3 packets are the connection of the TCP/IP client to the TCP server. The rest are commands sent which seem to be successful, but they don't update the values in DFMTCS.

BIG NOTE:

It is very possible that the DFM software is bugging due to some change we made. Connecting to itself from T.C.S no longer works like it did previously. The DFMTCS logs confirm that DFMTCS detects both the connection from the client and the TCP packets/commands.

Connecting the T.C.S to the D.C and sending commands from D.C also doesn't work, however DFMTCS logs on the TCS confirm DFMTCS detects commands and connection again.

DFMTCS presents "Asynchronous socket error 10053." error window. Error also presents itself in DFMTCS log "TCP/IP: Disconnection Error Code: 10053 Addr: 192.168.0.2 Port:5003"

Other Notes

nmap -p 5003 -Pn 192.168.0.2 (With TCP/IP server off) 
PORT     STATE    SERVICE

5003/tcp filtered filemaker

MAC Address: 00:18:7D:12:A1:D0 (Armorlink .Ltd)



Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.35 seconds
nmap -p 5003 -Pn 192.168.0.2 (with TCP/IP server ON) 
PORT     STATE SERVICE

5003/tcp open  filemaker

MAC Address: 00:18:7D:12:A1:D0 (Armorlink .Ltd)



Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.12 seconds



Changes in ipconfig 

Before Connection 
PS C:\Users\Director> ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration


Ethernet adapter Ethernet 2:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :

Ethernet adapter Ethernet 3:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : umbc.edu
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::ebf9:7f4d:cc98:6e41%11
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 130.85.72.207
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.128
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 130.85.72.129

Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : umbc.edu

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 1:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 10:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
PS C:\Users\Director>
After Connection 
PS C:\Users\Director> ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration


Ethernet adapter Ethernet 3:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : umbc.edu
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::ebf9:7f4d:cc98:6e41%11
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 130.85.72.207
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.128
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 130.85.72.129

Ethernet adapter Ethernet 2:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::3f1c:ada2:856c:6ce3%13
   Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : 169.254.135.211
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : umbc.edu

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 1:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 10:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
PS C:\Users\Director>

You can see Ethernet2 is disconnected, then changes to have some config.

Observation Night Full Moon +1d
Roy Prouty posted on Nov 08, 2022

Attendance Onkar, Tara, Gabriel, Roy, Jackson, Shreyansh

Date & Time 11/8/22, 1900-0000

Spaces Occupied 401 Control room and Dome

Goals

  1. (Onkar) Test new FireNex
  2. (Onkar) Investigate/Fix Motherboard Ethernet Port on Data Computer
  3. (Gabriel) Investigate TCP/IP Stuff
  4. Point Scope
  5. Astrometric calibration with M67 or NGC188
    1. Need sidereal tracking, not solar
    2. So point on high star
    3. Use https://archive.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_form to find images
  6. Write up tracking vs (auto)guiding
  7. Write wiki for general telescope use

Log

Gabriel Investigate TCP/IP Stuff
  1. Tried setting up TCP/IP server on T.C.S - SUCCESS
    1. Attempted to do this through DMF TCS by:
      1. Go to DFMTCS (software), Options→ Communication→ TCP/IP tab.
      2. From here, if the TCP/IP Server is active, you cannot change settings.
      3. To change the settings, select "No Connection", then hit the "TCP/IP Settings" button
        1. From here, you can change the Port number and can view the IP being used
    2. Service status exists on the bottom right of DFMTCS program under "Communication" box
  2. Tried connecting the T.C.S(telescope control system) to the D.C(data computer) - FAILED
    1. Tried connecting the said computers directly via ethernet cable -FAILED (D.C didn't recognize the connection - checked with ipconfig and windows control panel on DC. T.C.S recognized connection but documented "no internet access"). 
      1. Not sure if network established, just no internet OR if machine just detected a cable connection.
        1. What does it mean when Windows reports "no internet access"?
    2. Tried connecting through university local area network, D.C recognizes T.C.S TCP/IP address (could get pings)
      1. No connection possible through DFM TCP client, this could be DFM client issue( ?)
  3. Tried connecting the T.C.S. to localhost/TCP address via TCP/IP - SUCCESS
    1. Tried through DFM TCP/IP client -FAILED (Attempt to update SET RATE (Command #16) didn't cause update on DFMTCS)
    2. Tried TCP/IP client of off internet "wifly communication test" -SUCCESS (but buggy)
    3. Note: Don't know if T.C.S connects to address directly through localhost or through local network and then its IP address
  4. In order to have TCS talk to telescope via ExCOM, navigate to Options→ Communication→ExCOM tab
    1. Then Select "no connection" and modify the serial settings to communicate on serial port COM4
    2. Then select "Serial port" and enjoy
    3. NOTE: This conflicts with the default communication mode of TheSky6, which also uses COM4 to communicate with the telescope.
    4. NEED PAGE ON SERIAL PORT DISCOVERY AND USE
  5. Overall: Success issuing TCP/I P commands to DFMTCS over wifly communication test software running on TCS connected to localhost or self-reported IP. Need to figure out how to connect DC to TCS and issue wifly commands more reliably over this connection.
  6. Command used for testing was command #16 (per UMBC_Observatory_DFM_Telescope_Manual(aka man721.doc (sad) ) page 43)


Pointing Scope
  1. Opened SharpCap
  2. Opened TheSky6
  3. Connecting CMOS to DC
    1. Originally connected LBD cable to CMOS, then to DC – Failed. Red LED lit on remote end
    2. Then disconnected everything
    3. Then connected LBD to DC, then to CMOS. – Success. Green LED lit on remote end
  4. Detecting CMOS in SharpCap
    1. After successful connection between DC and CMOS (measured by LED on LBD?(ask Onkar))
    2. SharpCap was not seeing camera
  5. MANY TESTS.
    1. Discovered that LBD1 in back top USB port, unpowered allowed the camera to connect in SharpCap, proceeded with this config
    2. THIS DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE
    3. What is the power for in the LBDs?
    4. Is there a difference between the front ports and rear panel ports? 
  6. Pointed to Jupiter focus off see other notes 
  7. Went to Capella  
  8. Closed dome slew to zenith 
  9. mirrors nested
FireNex
  1. That don't work either.
  2. Fiber cable sends signal, new fiber line works
  3. FireNex wasn't detecting any devices (USB drive) in USB ports
    1. Indicated by lack of SS light on FireNex
  4. More testing may be needed by NOT US


Other Notes

  1. Seems like we need to connect LDB to DC before CMOS for successful connection
  2. Seems like we can connect CMOS to DC via unpowered LBD – not sure why
  3. Need to run speed test on/over USB Extender
  4. Need to document all communication ports in DFMTCS and TS6
    1. TS6: Telescope Setup COM: COM4, Baud 9600
    2. DFMTCS: Communication, MNCP needs serial settings set to COM4
  5. South is extremely slow 15-20secs, East door hit structure 'hard'
  6. make sure to change focus from 2600(with spectro-polarimeter) to 1930(vanilla cmos for Jupiter) 
Astro Pol Working Session
Onkar Rekhi posted on Nov 05, 2022

Attendance: Onkar, Gabriel, Shreyansh, Roy briefly

Date & Time: 11/5/22, 4:00-9:00PM

Spaces Occupied 401 Control room and Dome

Achievements

  1. installed LBD2
    1. harder to do than cat7 cable
  2. installed win10 on data computer
    1. programs also installed:
      1. discord
      2. sharpcap4.0
      3. stellarium
      4. chrome browser
      5. ZWO drivers
      6. sick space background

Notes

  1. might not need win10 license?
  2. check Trello for data computer upgrade wishlist
  3. south motor not slow anymore
    1. we didnt change anything, so we dont know why its fine now
    2. still want to change timing so not every door opening at same time
  4. need to finish installing/activating previously installed data computer software(s)
  5. rethink approach for firenex
    1. not sure how we are going to install fiber line without breaking it at any of the bends/corners



Open House November & Observation Night
Onkar Rekhi posted on Nov 03, 2022

Attendance (Open House): 42

Attendance (Observing Group): Bill, Meyer, Roy, Jackson, Onkar, Nathan

Date & Time 11/3/22

Spaces Occupied 401 Control room and Dome

Achievements

  1. plugged in all cables from spectro pol apparatus into the remote usb hub
    1. success
    2. to note:
      1. stepper motor only recognized when plugged directly into remote hub, will not work if plugged into extender cable to remote hub or LBD cable
  2. consumed hot chocy 
    1. yummy

Notes/ToDo/Wishlist

  1. look into getting a pro license for sharpcap
  2. look into sick ATX motherboard and maybe case
  3. no issues opening/closing mirror doors
    1. gasp
  4. full frame 35mm cmos would be excellent -jackson
    1. or medium format
  5. look into longer usb cables from hub to cmos or spectro pol apparatus
    1. usba-usba
    2. usba-stepperthing
      1. ask bill what it is

What Happened

  1. Attempted pointing at deneb, couldnt find it
    1. pain
  2. pointed at jupiter
    1. success but some reflections within the optical path, probably should install that felt material thingy
    2. focus position = "2607"-jackson "or 2609"-roy
  3. got data from:
    1. jupiter
    2. europa
    3. saturn
    4. hd25443
    5. caph
      1. clouds came in halfway through
    6. pointed at crl2688
      1. too dim, unclear if actually pointed at it
    7. the end
  2. closing time
    1. mirror doors seem to have closed properly
      1. nice
    2. slew to zenith in "the sky"
      1. offset to the east, unsure why
    3. slewed in winTCS
      1. success
      2. thinks its pointed to the west

Open House Notes:

  1. doing tours in the beginning is clunky, better planning will smooth things out
  2. need to create mailing list