=== The Observing Floor ===
At the top of the stairs, you will find the telescope on the "observing floor". The North pier is nearest the stairs. Familiarise yourself with the following:
* '''Blue console on the East side of the North pier.''' You will use this console to slew the telescope to your targets. The telescope power switch and dome rotation controls are also on this console.* '''Grey box by the blue console.''' If the telescope reaches its safe operating limits, the red light on this box will flash, an alarm will sound and the telescope drives and dome rotation will be disabled. There is an override key attached to the box, used to allow the telescope to be moved out of the limits -- see Section~\ref{sec-limits}.* '''Emergency stop button on the grey box.''' There is a large red button to press if the drive motors fail to stop. If you have reason to press this, call a technician to investigate.* '''XY-slide reset button on the grey box.''' On the top of the grey box with the emergency stop button is a small blue button to press if the TCS XY-slides fail to respond.* '''PC monitor to the right of the North pier.''' This screen displays pointing information, including your target coordinates and current telescope coordinates, for use when slewing the telescope.* '''Observing Floor Control Panel.''' On the North wall by the North pier there is a grey box labelled "Dome Shutter and Windblind Control", which has red buttons for opening/closing the dome shutter and raising/lowering the windblind. One must first switch on the telescope power (blue console) and press the top button labelled "Request Local Control" to activate the panel. The red indicator will illuminate when the panel is active. To open/close the dome, push and hold the appropriate button until the shutters stop moving and you hear a beep. To raise/lower the windblind, push and hold the appropriate button until the blind reaches the desired height. '''Do not raise the windblind while pointing into the wind; first rotate the dome by 180°, raise the blind then rotate back.''' There is also a switch for the upper dome lights.* '''Yellow hand paddle on the wall facing the stairs.''' As of October 2011, '''the yellow paddle is no longer in use.''' The Observing Floor Control Panel should be used to open/close the dome and raise/lower the windblind.* '''Dome flat lamp switch.''' On the North wall, just above and left of the monitor, is a dimmer switch that controls the incandescent lamp used for taking dome flats (see Section~\ref{sec-domeflats}).
* A red '''balance weight''' on a rope, which can be hung from an appropriate place below the primary mirror cell if the telescope jumps while tracking (usually when tracking around the zenith).
* Tall and short '''wheeled ladders''' for hanging the weight and for accessing the reset buttons on the Merlin transputer crates. Make sure the ladders are clear of the telescope while observing (the taller ladder is usually stored on the West side of the observing floor under the catwalk, the other is pushed to the East side of the North pier).
=== The Telescope ===