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chara:trouble_shooting [2023/06/10 01:22]
charaobs
chara:trouble_shooting [2023/07/06 07:40]
gail_stargazer
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   * Did the Astrolib update on OPLE? If the job queue is stopped too soon after slewing on Cosmic Debris, the correct calculations for the carts will not be done by OPLE and you may be searching for fringes with the wrong star data. The star identifier will be displayed in the server window. If it is not correct, hit STAR ACQUIRED on CD to update OPLE. The proper star can also be entered manually by typing hd #### into the OPLE server and hitting ENTER.   * Did the Astrolib update on OPLE? If the job queue is stopped too soon after slewing on Cosmic Debris, the correct calculations for the carts will not be done by OPLE and you may be searching for fringes with the wrong star data. The star identifier will be displayed in the server window. If it is not correct, hit STAR ACQUIRED on CD to update OPLE. The proper star can also be entered manually by typing hd #### into the OPLE server and hitting ENTER.
   * Are the PoP's correct? After a PoP change, the PoP's are sometimes not updated in CD or ople. Compare the PoP's in the configuration tab of CD or OPLE with the PoP Overview or Popperi gtk.   * Are the PoP's correct? After a PoP change, the PoP's are sometimes not updated in CD or ople. Compare the PoP's in the configuration tab of CD or OPLE with the PoP Overview or Popperi gtk.
-  * Are the carts behaving or are there vibrations or jumps of 100 or more microns every 3-6 seconds? How are the metrology signals? Are they strong and staying white? Red signals mean one or more metrology signals may have gone too low and homing carts is necessary. The METDATA function on the ople gui can be used to sample the metrology signal and may show noise spikes that can be disruptive to the smooth cart motion.  Set a value of 10-12 in the window and push the [MET] button on the configure tab for the cart you want to check. Plots will pop up to show the frequency and power of any noise.+  * Are the carts behaving or are there vibrations or jumps of 100 or more microns every 3-6 seconds? How are the metrology signals? Are they strong and staying white? Red signals mean one or more metrology signals may have gone too low and homing carts is necessary. The METDATA function on the ople gui can be used to sample the metrology signal and may show noise spikes that can be disruptive to the smooth cart motion. Set a value of 10-12 in the window and push the [MET] button on the configure tab for the cart you want to check. Plots will pop up to show the frequency and power of any noise.
   * Is the target a high proper motion star? Red dwarfs are close stars and can have high proper motions. Scan a wider range to see if it is outside of the usual calculated scan range. Binaries can also have very high offsets from the expected position due to mistakenly using astromod calculations from the companion star. Make sure you are on the right star with an image from SIMBAD or Vizier.   * Is the target a high proper motion star? Red dwarfs are close stars and can have high proper motions. Scan a wider range to see if it is outside of the usual calculated scan range. Binaries can also have very high offsets from the expected position due to mistakenly using astromod calculations from the companion star. Make sure you are on the right star with an image from SIMBAD or Vizier.
   * Do you have enough flux from each telescope or on each baseline? Is the telescope tiptilt struggling with low flux? Can the camera gain be raised or the exposure made longer to help hold the star? Passing clouds or contrails can lower flux unexpectedly. Remap or realign as needed.   * Do you have enough flux from each telescope or on each baseline? Is the telescope tiptilt struggling with low flux? Can the camera gain be raised or the exposure made longer to help hold the star? Passing clouds or contrails can lower flux unexpectedly. Remap or realign as needed.
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 ==== The Telescope won't move or stopped moving ==== ==== The Telescope won't move or stopped moving ====
  
-Have the powers been turned on to the drives? Are the scopes disabled? The usual state of the telescopes is disabled until enabled. This is due to the stall function of the scopes which eventually disables the scopes when they are stowed. Enable the scopes by hitting [ENABLE] on the dome gui, the telescope gui control tab, or the bottom of the obsgtk. If a scope disables itself during a slew, it may be just an overcautious stall function or the slew gains may be too high or low. Check the gains and if they are OK, Hit ENABLE and the scope should continue to slew. If it disables again without moving, there may be something wrong at the scope, ie. a hatch left open, a ladder not put away, a tool on the floor, or something else physically impeding the motion of the scope. You will need to go to the dome to see what it is. The computer in the dome will give you control of the scope to turn it away from the problem. Make sure the scope is in a position that allows the opening of the hatch if you need to go upstairs.  It can be moved back from the bunker as needed.+Have the powers been turned on to the drives? Are the scopes disabled? The usual state of the telescopes is disabled until enabled. This is due to the stall function of the scopes which eventually disables the scopes when they are stowed. Enable the scopes by hitting [ENABLE] on the dome gui, the telescope gui control tab, or the bottom of the obsgtk. If a scope disables itself during a slew, it may be just an overcautious stall function or the slew gains may be too high or low. Check the gains and if they are OK, Hit ENABLE and the scope should continue to slew. If it disables again without moving, there may be something wrong at the scope, ie. a hatch left open, a ladder not put away, a tool on the floor, or something else physically impeding the motion of the scope. You will need to go to the dome to see what it is. The computer in the dome will give you control of the scope to turn it away from the problem. Make sure the scope is in a position that allows the opening of the hatch if you need to go upstairs. It can be moved back from the bunker as needed.
  
 Sometimes the dome guis get hung up and can cause erratic motion or no motion of the scopes. Check them for current times and continuous updates of numbers. If they are not updating, try to REOPEN them first. If that does not work, close the gui and open a new one. If a new one does not open, the dome server may be dead or Sockman lost track of it. See **Dome Server Restart**  below. \\  \\ **Azimuth Limit Switches** \\  \\ <font 14px/Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;;inherit;;inherit>As of 11-'17, the azimuth limit switches are enabled and can stop the motion of the scopes if they try to go beyond -90º or 450º. The scopes will not be movable with normal inputs so follow these instructions to return them from the out of range condition. \\ Sometimes the dome guis get hung up and can cause erratic motion or no motion of the scopes. Check them for current times and continuous updates of numbers. If they are not updating, try to REOPEN them first. If that does not work, close the gui and open a new one. If a new one does not open, the dome server may be dead or Sockman lost track of it. See **Dome Server Restart**  below. \\  \\ **Azimuth Limit Switches** \\  \\ <font 14px/Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;;inherit;;inherit>As of 11-'17, the azimuth limit switches are enabled and can stop the motion of the scopes if they try to go beyond -90º or 450º. The scopes will not be movable with normal inputs so follow these instructions to return them from the out of range condition. \\
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  \\  \\
-Last updated 2023-02-09 by Norm Vargas +Last updated 2023-02-09 by Norm Vargas END HERE
- +
-==== Dome Server Restart ==== +
- +
-Dome servers are now started using the bootlaunch_master command. The manual process that has been superceded is archived. +
- +
-To restart the dome server: +
- +
-1. Make sure the power to the drives is OFF. Disable the scopes. +
- +
-2. Login to the relevant computer as observe. For example, type "s1" to log on to S1. +
- +
-3. Work out the process ID number (PID) by typing bootlaunch_master +
- +
-4. Use kill -2 PID to kill the server. Entering the command twice will show "No such process" if it has been killed. if it is not killed, use kill -9. +
- +
-5. Type bootlaunch_master again to restart the server. +
- +
-6. Turn the power to the drives back on. +
- +
-7. Hit REOPEN and ENABLE on the domegtk, and type "otcs" in the telescope server. +
- +
-You may have to reinitialize the scope on a bright star. If the powers were turned off quickly when the problem was noticed, the position of the scope should be retained and slewing to a bright star will get it in the finder. If not, you may need to go out to the telescope to find the bright star to reacquire the scope's position. +
- +
-Be aware that when restarting a dome server, the telescopes position may not be retained and the dome gui may display Az: 0.0. El: 0.0. The gui will scroll messages that say Az: 0.0. El: 0.0 with an error in scope position. If the scope is known to be at STOW position, you can manually enter the scope's AZ and EL using the manual tab on the dome gui and hitting the INIT button. +
- +
-Also be aware that the gains do not always return to the normal values of Slew 4-7 and Tracking 7-10 when a dome server has crashed and is restarted. They may come up as Gain 22 for all axes and modes and they will need to be turned down or the scopes will oscillate badly.+
  
 ==== Telescope is not receiving the commanded position for a target. ==== ==== Telescope is not receiving the commanded position for a target. ====
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   * This will install run_ople. Try opening the ople server again.   * This will install run_ople. Try opening the ople server again.
  
-==== Metrology and Homing carts ====+==== Homing carts ====
  
-  * Good metrology signals are important to the proper positioning of the carts. Monitor the signal strength by running [RUN MULTIPLE] on the Metrology Monitor. Place the windows above the TV windows for each scope you are using. They should show white sine waves that are around the height of the window. Erratic, fluctuating waves indicate self-interference or a weak signal. This may cause the carts to lose their place as the signal strength falls too low. Red waves indicate that some displayed signal has gone too low and the carts will all need to be homed. A careful adjustment of the MET2 mirror can sometimes bring the signal back. Do not adjust the MET1 mirror. 
   * To home the carts, turn off the [OL] and [MAN] buttons on each cart and it will automatically return to the front switch. If the cart has no issue, it will arrive at the target position of 0m and the home switch at the same time. The X in the OPLE server under the HM will indicate it has stopped on the home switch. If a cart does not reach the home switch when it returns to position 0m, it was lost and likely the cause of the difficulty in finding fringes. The X does not guarantee the cart has retained its home position. This home position can be checked by using the CHECK button on the ople gui or by typing the command "homechk S1" into the ople server. When the error value is displayed on the ople server, hit ESC to clear the display. Click on the [OL] and [MAN] buttons and hit [TRACK] to send the cart to the desired cart position.   * To home the carts, turn off the [OL] and [MAN] buttons on each cart and it will automatically return to the front switch. If the cart has no issue, it will arrive at the target position of 0m and the home switch at the same time. The X in the OPLE server under the HM will indicate it has stopped on the home switch. If a cart does not reach the home switch when it returns to position 0m, it was lost and likely the cause of the difficulty in finding fringes. The X does not guarantee the cart has retained its home position. This home position can be checked by using the CHECK button on the ople gui or by typing the command "homechk S1" into the ople server. When the error value is displayed on the ople server, hit ESC to clear the display. Click on the [OL] and [MAN] buttons and hit [TRACK] to send the cart to the desired cart position.
 +
 +==== Metrology ====
 +
 +  * Good metrology signals are important to the proper positioning of the carts. Monitor the signal strength by running [RUN MULTIPLE] on the Metrology Monitor. Place the windows above the TV windows for each scope you are using. They should show white sine waves that are around the height of the window. Erratic, fluctuating waves indicate self-interference or a weak signal. This may cause the carts to lose their place as the signal strength falls too low. Red waves indicate that some displayed signal has gone too low and the carts will all need to be homed. A careful adjustment of the MET2 mirror can sometimes bring the signal back. Do not adjust the MET1 mirror
 +
 +Steps for adjusting MET2:
 +
 +  - Looking at the met signal while the cart is at the back.
 +  - Peak so that the beam is aligned as well as possible. Does not need to be perfect but not loose.
 +  - All beams have a signal between 1-2 volts while at the back. Sometimes the signal strength can change for no apparent reasons.
 +  - Using steps of 50, try moving 3 times in one direction. After each step, wait 5 seconds or so for things to update. If nothing then try the other way.
 +  - Return to starting position.
 +  - Repeat for the other axis.
  
 ===== Beam Samplers ===== ===== Beam Samplers =====
chara/trouble_shooting.txt · Last modified: 2024/06/18 00:21 by charaobs