Changes

For detailed information about the TCS and instrument softwareinstruments, please refer to the manuals listed below, which are available in the warm room, the hostel library, and are linked to on the 1.0-metre section of the following web page:  http://www.saao.ac.za/observing/operating-manuals * "1.0-m Telescope Control Software: A User's Guide" by Stephen Potter & Hannah Worters * [https://www.saao.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/SAAOCCDmanual.pdf "SAAO CCD Camera Control Program, version 1.2" by J. W. Menzies] * [https://shoc.saao.ac.za/Documents/ShocnHelpful.pdf "SHOC User Guide", by Rocco Coppejans] – contains useful instrument info, but new software described on SHOC wiki

* '''For STE3 or STE4''', a monitor at the leftright-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).

At present there There are no DVD writers, USB ports or DAT drives in the dome for copying data from ltsp, this should be done using scp.

==== Operational resources ==== * A '''duty technician''' phone number list, on the wall.* Laminated facility '''start-up and shutdown recipes'''.* Assorted notices providing information on '''telescope limits, weather resources''', etc.  ===== Log books, almanacs, etc. ===== In the warm room, in labelled boxfiles on a shelf above the TCS monitor, you will find the following resources to help with your observations:

* '''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 switchon the telescope power (blue console) and press the top button labelled "Request Local Control" to activate the panel. The redindicator 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]].

* '''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.

You will have been allocated the appropriate wheel(s) for your run based on Throughout 2022, the filters specified in your observing proposal. A the 1-m wheels will be as follows: {| class="wikitable" border="1"|-! Wheel! 1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8|-| Geneva A1| U| B| V| R| I| BG38| Empty| Empty|-| Geneva B1| u'| g'| r'filter wheel rota| i'| z'' 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| Hα (s20nm) 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.| [O III] 501nm| Empty|}

11. Switch '''dome to AUTO''' by clicking the red "MAN" button (top right of display). It will turn green. At times, it is necessary to either rotate the dome or point the telescope to Zenith so that the dome is able to locate its poisition and avoid the possibility of the dome not correctly following the telescope .

1. Follow the start-up procedure described in Sections 1 and 2 of the [https://wwwcloudcape.saao.ac.za/wp-contentindex.php/uploadss/sites/5/SAAOCCDmanual.pdf9QgG2QpI3GSnoO8|SAAO CCD Camera Control Program, version 1.2", by J. W. Menzies].

If sky conditions are photometric during morning/evening twilight, you will be able to take sky flats. See Section~\ref{sec-domeflats} if you need dome flats. Sky flats can be obtained in the following way:

# Under “Pointer" click "Guide Star" , then click on the chosen guide star in the acquisition camera FOV. This will put a blue box around the star and begin guiding. NOTE: if the star is near a hot pixel, that could cause trouble with guiding. Click "Move XY" and click on the star: this will center it (just moving the XY stages, and not effecting affecting the science target).

# To change exposure times, press STOP, select exposure time from the drop down menu under Expose.

'''In the DS9 interface that pops up:'''* From the "Analysis" pull-down menu, select "DSS Server".* In the "DSS Server" window, click on the "DSS Server" menu and select either "DSS@STSCI" or "DSS@ESO". SAO no longer connects.* Enter RA & Dec of target (using colons to separate coordinate units) in 20'x20' field of view and click "RETRIEVE". * Once the field image loads with the target in the centre, choose a relatively bright star outside the circle. Place the mouse cursor over the star and read off the {\bf XY slide} coordinates in the grey info area above the image. '''On the TCS:'''* With the '''guide mirror in beam''', click on "Move XY", then on the target star position in the acquisition image, then on "Zero XY". This centres the field on the target so that the XY slide coordinates will be compatible with those you read off DS9 for the guide star.* Move the '''guide mirror out of beam'''.* In "Exposures & Guiding" set "ExpTime" ~2s (adjust as necessary).* In "XY Slides Control", click "Go To" and enter X and Y slide coordinates of chosen guide star from DS9.* In "Pointers" click "XY+Win+G" then click the chosen guide star. This will centre the guide star on the image, window the chip and begin guiding.* To stop or restart guiding (e.g. after brief intervals of cloud), press "GUIDE". === TCS operations at the end of an observation ===

If observing in Sutherland (if working remotely this will be done by on-site technicians): , '''on wall-mounted mimic panel:'''

If using STE3 or STE4, please fill in the triplicate CCD Camera log book for each image obtained, pressing hard enough for your words to register on all three sheets. If you are using SHOC, there is no such logso you should note all the relevant information in e.g. a spreadsheet for your records.

Dec zeropoint ("): 41  ==Webcam==There is a webcam display that should be visible at all times for viewing and listening to the telescope while observing.

 This is the account you will need to login with using the Download and install Foscam appfrom here:

'''Username:''' adminoperator

'''PW:''' Ask IT40incam