Changes
/* A guided tour of the dome */
* '''Kitchen:''' located beyond the staircase on the right. It has recently been refurbished and has a sink with running water, a microwave, coffee maker, kettle, toaster, snackwich and an array of cutlery and cheerful crockery. There are jars of teas, coffees, hot chocolate, sugar and creamer. If these jars become empty, return them to the hostel kitchen in your night lunch bag for refilling. The kitchenware is cleaned daily by the hostel staff, except at weekends.
=== The Observing Floor warm room ===
==== Computing facilities ====
In the warm room, you will find:
* '''If using For STE3 or STE4''', a PC monitor at the left-hand end of the desk labelled '''imag40''', running the CCD Camera Control software.
* A thin client with monitor labelled '''ltsp''' that saves the data from the instrument PC and can be used to run a web browser, ds9, etc. For SHOC, it can be used to run the instrument control software via a web browser. It is possible to download your data to a laptop on the network from this PC (use '''scp''' or '''sftp ccd40@ltsp.suth''' - the monitor is labelled with the password).
* A PC running the '''Telescope Control Software (TCS)''' for acquisition and guiding. Associated with this are is a second monitor on a shelf (which displays the target and telescope coordinates, etc.) and '''hand paddle''' for fine adjustment of the telescope coordinates while acquiring an object.
* Several network cables and power sockets for use with laptops.
* A black & white printer. Print command: '''lpr -Ppr30in Ppr40in ''filename'''''
At present there are no DVD writers, USB ports or DAT drives in the dome for copying data from ltsp.
* Extension number: '''9108''' (to phone from within the observatory)
* To phone the dome from outside: '''023 100 0222''' (+27 23 100 0222 from outside South Africa)
# A new '''stereo''' compatible with iPods and iPhones, and plays CDs, MP3s from DVDs and USB devices, and has a radio.# An '''air-conditioning unit''', the controls for which are behind the instrument PC, on the wall inside the small door.
# Assorted desk '''lamps'''.
# A portable '''heater''' under the desk.
Please do '''not''' plug lamps or heaters into the UPS sockets!
=== 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.'''
* '''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 [[#Telescope pointing limits|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 manually.
* '''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.
* '''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|dome flats]].
* 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 ===
On the telescope itself, identify the following:
* '''Mirror cover motor''': on the East side of the telescope below the primary mirror is a button to open/close the primary mirror covers.
* '''Acquisition/guider box and autoguider camera''': the former is a large black box mounted directly below the primary mirror cell. The XY-slides and acquisition/autoguider camera are mounted on the South side of the guider box.
* '''TCS Merlin crate''': above the autoguider camera is a small blue electronics crate. This is the Merlin transputer for the TCS. On the side is a red reset button that should be pressed if the TCS encounters a "Merlin error".
* '''Filter wheels''': The blue metallic box below the acquisition/guider box contains the filter wheel(s), labelled on the East and West sides.
* '''Instrument''': SHOC, STE3 or STE4 (or your own instrument) will be mounted below the filter box.
*'''STE3/STE4''' has its own blue '''instrument Merlin crate''' mounted to the cylindrical dewar. There is a red reset button on the side of the crate that should be pressed if the instrument control software hangs, crashes or reports a "Merlin error". There is no need for observers to fill the dewar with liquid nitrogen; this is done by technicians in the morning and afternoon.
* '''SHOC''' does not require liquid nitrogen; it is peltier-cooled. It has no Merlin crate. The control PC ("shocnawe" or "shocndisbelief" is mounted in a crate below the primary mirror cell.
=== Filters ===
The blue metallic box below the acquisition/guider box contains the filter wheel(s), labelled on the East and West sides. Each wheel has 8 filter positions; position 1 is the reference and position 8 is always empty, so that with two wheels installed, one wheel should always have position 8 in the beam (unless one wheel contains neutral density filters). '''Filters must not be removed from the filter wheels.'''
You will have been allocated the appropriate wheel(s) for your run based on the filters specified in your observing proposal. A '''filter wheel rota''' can be found pinned to the notice board on the South pier. It details the filter in each position of each wheel and the name of the wheel(s) you have been allocated. If the incorrect wheel is in the telescope, please contact a technician. Please direct any other filter-related enquiries to hannah at saao.ac.za.
=== The old warm room ===
The old warm room is situated on the East side of the observing floor. The light switch is a dial just inside the main door on the right as you enter. The switch for the observing floor fluorescent lights is just inside the hobbit door to this room at the top of the stairs.
== Observing Limits ==
