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--- chara:new_operating_procedures [2025/03/24 00:22]
bflores [Setting up Cosmic Debris Sequencer]
+++ chara:new_operating_procedures [2025/04/26 16:28] (current)
bflores [Alignment Sequence for Visible Combiners: SPICA and PAVO]
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== New Operating Procedures ======
-Last updated 02/18/2025
+Last updated 04/26/2025
 Any major updates made to the wiki, please send an email to the gsu "charaengineering" email list summarizing new changes.
@@ Line 69: / Line 69: @@
 [[:chara:instruments|Software setup for specific instruments]] \\
 [[:chara:classic_faint_object_procedures|Classic Faint Object Procedures]]
 ===== Observing Conditions =====
@@ Line 152: / Line 153: @@
 __To vent the domes (open partially, usually during Summertime):__
-   - On **obsgtk**, control tab, **[UNL SL], [VENT] **
+  - On **obsgtk**, control tab, **[UNL SL], [VENT] **
       - Open them fully when the sun has reached 40º for maximum cooling. The time you can fully open is on the white board,
   - Then** Dome GUI, RA/DEC tab, ANTI-SUN**  setting for **AUTODOME**  (usually just the E’s are the ones that need to face away from the Sun).
@@ Line 171: / Line 172: @@
 =====   =====
 ===== Preparations in the Lab Prior to Observing =====
@@ Line 194: / Line 194: @@
       - If pressure is higher than 100 torr in any of the lines, pump those lines only one at a time.
       - Make sure the main valve (PUMP #2) is not more than 200 torr, control that by slowly opening or closing the valve on the line you are pumping.
 ==== Turn on Electronics Inside the Lab ====
@@ Line 212: / Line 211: @@
       - If you do not observe due to weather, fire or closure, inform someone on the mountain before 2:30 pm so they can fill it for you.
       - An email is sent to all staff when NIRO is pumped and cooled again and will need to be cooled.
 ==== If lab alignments haven’t been done ====
@@ Line 220: / Line 218: @@
 Before doing alignments,** if using SPICA or PAVO, home LDC's as they will be in.**
-   - Blue chara menu, ESP Controllers, open both LDC's
+  - Blue chara menu, ESP Controllers, open both LDC's
   - Turn on each scope ldc (red button will turn green)
   - change 'vel' to 50 and 'acc' to 200
@@ Line 325: / Line 323: @@
   - go inside lab to where STS is set up. On the wall outlet, plug in the black cord; it's the only cord by the outlet.
   - use GUI "aperture wheels" on blue chara menu once in the control room to change the aperture size for the beams.
 ==== Starting OPLE System and Metrology ====
@@ Line 352: / Line 349: @@
 **NOTE:**  If using W2 E2 S2 for Classic or PAVO, then W1 E1 S1 ople computers have to be turned on as well in order to turn on the electronics for the pair, even if you don't plan to use them.
 ===== Setting up in Control Room =====
@@ Line 359: / Line 355: @@
 Let the domes cool at least an hour to do M10 and red beacon alignments, otherwise things will drift as the temperature changes and will need to be realigned. Alignments can get started before ople system controller is on and before UT 0 because the scope servers are always on. Will need labao servers (after UT 0) to do labao alignments. Remember to restart scope servers. Ople system controller is needed for the carts, not alignments
 ==== Open servers required for observing after UT 0 ====
@@ Line 385: / Line 380: @@
   - To reorganize the servers - White menu, load layout, press mouse wheel, enter, all servers will go to saved positions.
       - Or highlight the last entry on 2nd column and press the scroll wheel to paste, then enter.
 ==== Setting up GUIs for observing: ====
@@ Line 411: / Line 405: @@
   - The following windows should be opened on computer screen 1 (these are usually kept open all the time):
       - Telescope monitor, Beam Samplers and PoPs, Visbeams, Shutters, Laser Filters, Iris, Metrology Laser (METLAS), Metrology Monitor (METROL), Sockman, Pico 2, Power, Weather gui and graph, terminal for opening popperigtk, aomon and beacon tune.
 ==== Setting up Cosmic Debris Sequencer ====
@@ Line 433: / Line 426: @@
   - if errors remain, offsets may be incorrect, make sure to inform PI they might have to search farther than usual.
       - it may be that it will remain unsynced until midnight, when it'll automatically show as (0,1) on its own.
 ===== POP changes and M10 Alignments: =====
@@ Line 440: / Line 432: @@
 Check that pops are set as the same pops as the setup request email before homing the carts or after homing and sending them back to 20m.
+Make sure to send M7 to default, and that STS VIS is out.
   - **PoPS Gui**,** [Overview**] button to bring up the **POP Overview**** gui**
@@ Line 493: / Line 487: @@
 ===== Beacon Alignments at Stow =====
-Make sure the carts are **not near the front** (0-5 meters) when performing these alignments or the labao alignments will be off.
+Make sure the carts are **not near the front**  (0-5 meters) when performing these alignments or the labao alignments will be off.
-   * Move the carts to 5m or farther back from the home switch.
+  * Move the carts to 5m or farther back from the home switch.
 <del>**IMPORTANT NOTE:**  There are now **two**  sets of boxes on the TWFS.</del>
@@ Line 503: / Line 497: @@
 <del>At the beginning of the night, the **red beacon**  must be **aligned to the blue**  starlight boxes with the telescope** at stow.**  You can zero out any offsets between the green beacon boxes and the blue starlight boxes on the telescope WFS using [ZERO] on obsgtk or [ZERO BCN] on wfsgtk.</del>
 ==== Turning on Beacons and Starting WFS Cameras ====
@@ Line 553: / Line 546: @@
         - Bootlaunch_master twice to make sure it is removed from sockman and a new acq server started
         - Reopen obsgtk and turn on Acq view
 ==== Beacon Alignment/Focus Sequence ====
@@ Line 568: / Line 560: @@
       - Main tab, **[****LD DEF].**
         - Confirm DM curent changes when loading the default. Should range between 0.64-2.28A
-  - Make sure DMTILT is on
+  - Make sure DMTILT is **OFF **during alignments at STOW and on sky.
-      - Main tab, **[DMTILT]**, make sure message says "Not ignoring tilt"
+      - Main tab, **[DMTILT]**, make sure message says "Ignoring tilt"
 Red Beacon:
@@ Line 671: / Line 663: @@
 If the STST camera is already running, you can open a second GUI by typing “ststrtd_gtk” in a terminal and click the “Start RTD” button to start the display. You can adjust the contrast of the display by changing the number in “Flux” box in the upper right of the GUI.
 ===== Homing the Carts =====
@@ Line 695: / Line 686: @@
   - You can preposition the carts on first object
       - ople GUI, **[START]**
-        - press **[FT]** (turns grey) on all except for the ref cart.
+        - press **[FT]**  (turns grey) on all except for the ref cart.
       - On** CD**, Star/Calibrator tab, enter sci/check/cal, click **[Object, Check or Cal 1]**,
         - Control tab, **[STAR ACQUIRED]**
@@ Line 714: / Line 705: @@
       - Click **[TRACK] **on the OPLE Control Tab **for all active carts,**  including the reference cart.
   - After the observer sets up the science instrument, have them send a big offset (~ 1 mm) to one of the active carts to confirm that the beam combiner is talking to OPLE. You should see the error increase momentarily when the offset is sent to the cart.
 ===== Going on Sky =====
@@ Line 818: / Line 808: @@
 For the visible combiners the red beacon and starlight will be coaligned, so you only need to use the blue starlight boxes on the telescope WFS.
-**Obsgtk, **main tab, **[ZERO BCN]**  at the start of the night to clear any offset between the position of the beacon boxes and the starlight boxes to avoid any confustion
+**Obsgtk, **main tab, **[ZERO BCN]** at the start of the night to clear any offset between the position of the beacon boxes and the starlight boxes to avoid any confustion
 For **SPICA**, make sure to do "**useldc **on" in ople server if you haven't done so already.
-  - Slew to star.
+   - Slew to star.
   - Main tab, turn on **[M7AUTO] **to hold the blue beacon during the slew and avoid drifting. It will turn off at the end of the slew.
   - CD, **[Star Acquired],**  and set new ref pos with **[Opt delay]**
       - **FOR PAVO: **Do **<font inherit/inherit;;#e74c3c;;inherit>__NOT __</font>**hit **[Star Acquired] **before aligning for PAVO, only do **[STAR ACQUIRED]**  after alignment is finished.
-  - Obsgtk, set EXP to 0.001 ms and GAIN to 800
+  - Obsgtk, use **[BEACON] **preset for beacon alignment.
-      - for spica, or bright stars (should get a preset soon)
+  - Make sure **[DMTILT]**  is off.
   - **[ALN BCN], **Align red beacon to the blue starlight boxes on the telescope WFS using the beacon flat.
       - Wfs tab, Use beacon buttons if needed on W1 if beacon gets out of the boxes
@@ Line 838: / Line 828: @@
   - **[RED OFF] **Turn off red beacon.
   - Click **[MOVE]**  button then click on star in ACQ window. This will move star into ACQ hole.
-  - Turn off blue beacon and lock star on **[TT]**  only
+  - Turn off blue beacon and lock star on **[TT].**
-  - Move TWFS boxes (**ADJ**  popup button on obsgtk) to get **star centered and evenly illuminated on ACQ hole**. (Note: you might need to close DM AO loop during this step.)
+      - Wait a few seconds to let the star fill up the wfs.
   - Lock star on telescope AO servo (**[****DM]**  button on obsgtk). Both TT and DM servos should be on now.
+  - <font 14px/Aptos,sans-serif;;inherit;;inherit>If needed, move TWFS boxes (use popup from **ADJ** button on obsgtk) to** get star centered and evenly illuminated on ACQ hole.**</font> - <font 14px/Aptos,sans-serif;;inherit;;inherit>(Note: you might need to close DM AO loop during this step.)</font>
   - Turn on the blue beacon
-  - Make sure **DMTilt is green**  (stays on all the time - the message from DM tilt “NOT Ignoring DM tilt…” when it is on. This may take 2 clicks to confirm this message.)
+  - Make sure **DMTilt is green**
+      - stays off during alignments, on when locked on a star.
+      - the message from DM tilt “NOT Ignoring DM tilt…” when it is on. This may take 2 clicks to confirm this message.)
   - Turn on **DM AUTO**, **LABAO**.
   - **For PAVO: **make sure carts are in position, then hit **[STAR ACQUIRED**] once alignments are finished. Star acq. starts the camera on pavo.
@@ Line 852: / Line 845: @@
         - use step size of about 32 if on the edge to bring to center. Directions are normal (ex. right is right)
       - Use **STST **as a reference, if spots are far on ipdet display, stst is probably really off too. Use stst to bring spots close to center and it should help bring spots close to center on ipdet, then use BF/M7 to finish aligning.
+        - use the printed azimuth wheel to get directions of the buttons for SPICA.
       - let SPICA team know, they may or may not want you to turn on FTT/SERVO.
       - Once aligned, on STST GUI, press **[CenBox]**  to mark new reference position to monitor any drift.
@@ Line 864: / Line 858: @@
   - At times, Mircx will have such poor flux that a beacon flat correction to align to the STST reference position will be needed. This will occur on **E1 pop 4 ****and 5**  and **S1 pop 5**  due to their extreme distances from the telescope to the lab.
       - Follow the SPICA team guidance in making this correction to improve the flux to keep Mircx usable as a fringe tracker with those baselines.
 ==== Alignment Sequence for IR Combiners: MIRC-X/MYSTIC, CLASSIC/CLIMB, SILMARIL ====
-The path of the IR light will be different from the visible light because of dispersion in the AO dichroic and atmospheric refraction. To compensate for this offset, we have **two sets of boxes**  on the telescope WFS.
+The path of the IR light will be different from the visible light because of dispersion in the AO dichroic and atmospheric refraction. To compensate for this offset, we have **two sets of boxes** on the telescope WFS.
-The **__blue boxes__  are for starlight**  and the **__green boxes__  are for aligning the red beacon**. The offset between these sets of boxes will change depending on the azimuth and elevation of the target.
+The **__blue boxes__ are for starlight** and the **__green boxes__ are for aligning the red beacon**. The offset between these sets of boxes will change depending on the azimuth and elevation of the target.
 The green beacon boxes help keep track of the offset red beacon motion. These are defined as an offset to the starlight position, so if you move the starlight boxes, the beacon boxes will also move. If you move the beacon boxes only they will move.
@@ Line 877: / Line 872: @@
 Faint stars (H > 5 mag) will not be easily visible in STST. Therefore, before slewing to the first star of the night or when slewing to a different region of the sky, slew to to a nearby bright IR star to align the beacon flat and set the beacon box offset on the TWFS. Then slew to faint star, keeping the red beacon at the same fixed position.
-**NOTE:**  The STST centroiding/servo'ing now works for longer exposure times. If you change exposure time, you need to: stop the camera, config the camera, restart the camera, and retake backgrounds.
+**NOTE:** The STST centroiding/servo'ing now works for longer exposure times. If you change exposure time, you need to: stop the camera, config the camera, restart the camera, and retake backgrounds.
 For **H=6 mag**, try changing coadds to 5 or 10 for 1 sec integration.
-For **H=8 mag,**  centroiding has been shown to work using 50 sec exposure (1 coadd).
+For **H=8 mag,** centroiding has been shown to work using 50 sec exposure (1 coadd).
 *Please update here* if you determine settings that work good for the using the auto STST alignments at different magnitudes.
 **Aligning the scopes before STST:**
-  - On shutters GUI, make sure **[STST]**  is in.
+   - On shutters GUI, make sure **[STST]**  is in.
   - Slew to a star of Hmag 5 or brighter (or adjust exposure time/coadds on STST as needed to see fainter stars).
       - The Find IRC function on CD can do this quickly.
         - Enter the target on a empty line, press **[HD]**  once (or appropriate designation), and **[Find IRC] **
-          - will automatically give you a bright star.
+          - will automatically give you a bright star nearby.
   - Close IR shutters as needed to avoid saturating the combiners.
   - **[M7AUTO]**  can help keep the blue beacon aligned during the slew.
+  - Obsgtk, use **[BEACON] **preset for beacon alignment.
+  - Make sure **[DMTILT] **is off while aligning.
   - On the first slew only,
       - **[ALN BCN], **align red beacon to the __blue star boxes __on the telescope WFS using the beacon flat.
@@ Line 907: / Line 905: @@
   - Click **[MOVE]**  button then click on star in ACQ window. This will move star into ACQ hole.
   - Turn off blue beacon and lock star on **[TT]**  only.
-  - Move TWFS boxes (use popup from **ADJ**  button on obsgtk) to** get star centered and evenly illuminated on ACQ hole.**
+  - Lock star on telescope AO servo (**DM**  button on obsgtk). Both TT and DM servos should be on.
+  - If needed, move TWFS boxes (use popup from **ADJ**  button on obsgtk) to** get star centered and evenly illuminated on ACQ hole.**
       - (Note: you might need to close DM AO loop during this step.)
-  - Lock star on telescope AO servo (**DM**  button on obsgtk). Both TT and DM servos should be on.
   - Turn on the blue beacon.
-  - Make sure **DMTilt is green**  (stays on all the time - the message from DM tilt “NOT Ignoring DM tilt…” when it is on. This may take 2 clicks to confirm this message.)
+  - Turn on DMTilt (will turn green).
+      - stays off during slews
+      - the message from DM tilt will say “NOT Ignoring DM tilt…” when it is on. This may take 2 clicks to confirm this message.
   - Turn on **DM AUTO**, **LABAO servo**.
   - If the coma and astigmatism terms are high on the aberration plots, create a new sky flat
@@ Line 917: / Line 917: @@
       - **If the signal is good on the tel WFS, it is a good idea to make a new sky flat on every star.**
 **Aligning STST:**
   - With the star locked, move the beacon to align the starlight on STST.
   - On STST GUI, use either Full or Crop view.
@@ Line 924: / Line 925: @@
       - If the star is outside of the STST reference box,
         - Try increasing the size of the STST reference boxes or move the beacon manually using the WFS tab.
-          - Use the rotation matrix wheel printout on the desk to know which way to move.
+          - Use the azimuth rotation matrix wheel printout on the desk to know which way to move for IR.
             - point arrow to the objects azimuth.
             - the direction on the printout corresponds to the direction you want to move on stst.
@@ Line 947: / Line 948: @@
       - MOVE the star to center on ACQ
       - Turn on **TT**  and **DM**  servo for TWFS.
-      - Turn on **DM AUTO**  (**DM Tilt**  should already be on) and **LABAO**  servo.
+      - Turn on **DM AUTO, DMTILT, **and **LABAO**  servo.
   - **If this is an STST alignment star only**
       - slew to the first target and align as needed there, which shouldn't be much or at all.
@@ Line 958: / Line 959: @@
 For programs with bright IR stars, skip align beacon, but do the M7 and labao focus alignments. Then lock the star on the blue boxes and use the STST to fine tune any misalignment of the beacon flat. Check the beacon focus on the twfs occasionally to make sure it stays near zero, every 2-3 stars.
 ==== Trouble Shooting - AO Performance ====
@@ Line 1397: / Line 1399: @@
       - open terminal, type “S2”
       - bootlaunch_master, kill dome_S2 PID, bootlaunch_master twice
 ===== –END– =====

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