Basic Startup Guide for OPTIC at WIYN

Steps likely completed by your instrument support person

Booting mrbill - choose kernel: linux-up2.4.20-8


Edit the file /usr/local/inst/config/filters.def on mrbill and place the names of your filters in it. These are then read by the OPTIC gui.


Get filter names into the OPTIC FITS file header:


1. On ivory, have the telescope operator change to the tonry directory:
   

   cd tonry

2. Edit the filter file: vi filters.tcl (read by simplesock.tcl) and type the filter names in the line, Set FILTERS. This line will look like:
   

   Set FILTERS "? U B V W013 Ha R I"

   -- where the ? IS needed followed by the eight filter names separated by spaces. The line starts and ends     with double quotes (")
   
   
3. from within the tonry directory on ivory run:

   startserver

Observer Daily Startup Procedure

If not logged in to the host computer, mrbill. Log in as observer with the usual WIYN password.

-- you will need at least 3 terminal windows and can place them in one or more of the virtual desktops. Note, mrbill now runs a "three-headed"video card so monitors sand:0.0, sand:0.1, sand:0.2 will be active.

For better OPTIC performance, use one of the monitors for OPTIC's controls and the others for video display (e.g., ds9) and iraf.

Start the CCD system by typing:

otcom

in a terminal window in the directory, /home/observer.
You will get a message that says "Have you downloaded yet? etc." This is OK as otcom is waiting for step 7.

OPTIONAL: The delete key in the otcom window can be reset so that it works. To reset the delete key, type within the OTCOM window:

!stty erase ^?

In another terminal window, in the /data0/observer/ directory, make a directory for the entire run's data (for this example ObsRun is used). Then make a subdirectory for tonights data and cd to tonights directory:
cd ObsRun/n080707
-- for Observing Run, July 8, 2007.


In a terminal window in either, /data0/observer/ or, the night's directory, start the OPTIC GUI by typing:

otgui &


From the GUI, using the mouse to click:


INIT DOWNLOAD

INIT POWER

Change the CCD temperature to -95 C



In another terminal window (and best if in another vitual desktop to avoid confusion):



Remote log-in to pearl as WIYN_CCD:

ssh -l wiyn_ccd pearl


From pearl type:
start-fsa
filter init




Back in OTCOM, type:

restore vanilla_wiyn

-- error 2 will occur if the FSA socket is not yet started (see step #3, above).



Back to the OTGUI, in the PREFIX entry field:
Set the filename prefix to the data path, e.g., (using the above example for observing run and tonight's directory) /data0/observer/ObsRun/n080707/x, where x represents the root filename. This can be one or more characters. For example, if x = t, the FITS files OPTIC writes are t.001, t.002, etc.



Note: OPTIC FITS files do not end in .fits. The image display, ds9, is fine with this and displays them great, however IRAF needs a .fits ending for reasons that remain unclear.

You can simply change the name of the image file to include .fits in order to use IRAF. EX.

cp t.001 t.001.fits    or, actually change the name,

mv t.001 t.001.fits


In addition, there is a Perl script available to add the .fits extension to multiple image files. It is called appendfits.pl and is located in the home directory. Instructions for using this script are there also, in the file called, appendfits.pl.notes.

At this point, you may wish to test the filter movement and can begin taking images.

Take Data

Define exposure time in OTCOM terminal window: et 10 for a 10-sec exposure

Define the title for the picture: object M17

Define the image type if desired (see below)

Click on the GO button

Here is one way to focus using the video mode of OPTIC:

Define the guide stars in the OTCOM terminal window click: fgs


Using the mouse, point to a star in each of the 4 boxes and press:


f to select the star for readout during focus (if a green circle does not appear around a gide star you typed 'f' at, click on the green INPUT button and try again - or, click the title bar of the FGS window to activate it).


e to ignore that box during readout


Select an exposure time as above, perhaps 60 seconds to give yourself enough time to adjust focus.


Then click on the MORE button in the GUI and select VIDEO. Clicking on VIDEO starts a video display of real-time images from the CCD. This video display will last as long as the current exposure time and you can have the OA do a real-time focus. If it stops, simply click VIDEO again. Sometimes this feature hangs and simply stops sending video images. If this happens, all is really OK (except for the screen display) simply wait for the integration (or video) time to timeout, and click CLEAR a few times and try again.

See below for Autofocus routine instructions

Common normal CCD options within the OT GUI by point and click are:

Adjust the CCD binning (click on 1X1 or 2X2)


Select filter (click on the filter you wish to select)

imtype #

object Picture Title

Helpful Hints

• The FITS header keyword TELFILT is the correct one to use to get the correct filter for your observation as it comes from the WIYN FSA (i.e., the file the OA edits on Ivory).
• Bias exposures (ie., zero second exposures) spin the FSA shutter around once. So, for best true bias images, have the dome dark. Better yet, to keep the shutter closed you can disable the shutter in the closed postision. To do this type in the FSA window (from step #9 above):
  
  

  shutter reboot

  
  

  IMPORTANT: Before you can take regular timed exposures again with the shutter opened you must type in the FSA window:

  
  

  shutter init

• If, for some reason ivory is down or, startserver is not active you can still take data. There will, however, be a delay of approximately 2 minutes for an exposure to happen.
• Displaying OPTIC video files in IRAF:
  
  

  % display file_vid.fits[*,*,N]

  
  --where N=1 to as many video frames as you have.
• To take multiple images using the current parameters you can, in either the OTCOM or on the OTGUI command line, type:
  

  go N

  
  --where N is the number of images you want to take.
• WARNING ABOUT FOCUSING: Focusing in one corner of the array will not focus the entire image. You need at least two focus stars, if not 3 or 4, to get an accurate focus across the entire image. If needed, you can have the OA move the telesope a short distance to a more crowded field to focus then move back to you target to take data.
• Rotation Limits at WIYN: Because the OPTIC dewar was not originally designed for use at WIYN it spills liquid nitrogen when rotated beyond ±90º. Therefore, offsets of the rotator (always orthognal) are neccessary when tracking of the sky brings the rotator into, or near, a limit.

Quiting Out Of The OPTIC Control - at the end of each night

1. There are three different ways to power off OPTIC, choose one:
   
   1. Type: pof on the otcom command line,
      
   2. Type: pof in otgui's command line,
      
   3. Select Power from the otgui's Init menu.
   You should see, echoed in both the otgui's blue, message window and, in the otcom window:
   

   >> pof
   High voltage off...

   
   
2. Exit the otgui by clicking on the Init menu followed by Exit
   
   
3. Quit otcom, at the prompt type:
   

   > quit
   answer no when asked if you want to save parameters

   Note: There will be no prompt in the otcom window.
   
   
4. Exit the FSA, type:
   

   % exit
   in the pearl/FSA window. Then, exit the pearl login.

   
   

Autofocus Routines (other than Video Mode)

There are two OPTIC scripts scripts available for focusing the telescope. They are:

1. call focus (E)
2. call autofoc (E, F)

Each script is used by typing the line:

> call <routine name>

in the otcom window.

Focus Routine 1 - not automated

call focus (E)

where E = 5 seconds by default or, the user can enter a number for the exposure time

This routine gives 6 focus steps in the focus frame, and prompts the user to ask the OA to set the starting focus value, and at each step offset the telescope and change the focus value.

Focus Routine 2 - automated

call autofoc (E, F)

where E is the integration time and F is the relative focus offset step.

E defaults to 5 seconds and F defaults to +20 units. + and - steps are allowed but F cannot be larger than +/-300. Typical step sizes to use are 50 and 20 units for rough and fine focus control.

This routine prompts the user to ask the OA to set the starting focus value. It was designed this way to make sure the user actually talks to the OA so all know a focus routine is happening. Once set the routine will move the telescope and change the focus by itself and produce 5 focus steps in the focus frame.

Note: The time reported per step will be 2 seconds less than the actual requested time, but this is just a “feature” of the OPTIC/WIYN shutter interaction - all is really correct in the integration time.

Autofoc steps 10” east per step with a double step before the last focus value. It then resets the telescope back to the starting position before it ends.