Only appropriately-trained ING staff should change filters in ACAM.
Sections below:
1 - Mounting a filter in a standard 76-mm holder
2 - Mounting a standard holder in a wheel
3 - Mounting a dispersing element
4 - Removing a wheel
5 - Mounting a non-standard filter wheel
6 - Mounting a filter in the focal-plane slide
Appendix 1 - Inventory of mounts and adaptors
Filters may be inserted in ACAM in one of two near-pupil-plane
wheels
or in the focal-plane slit-slide.
The positions of the wheels and slide are shown in the transparent and
opaque views of ACAM below (direction of light is from right
to left):
See the
ACAM imaging page
for a discussion of the pros and cons of
different locations for mounting the filters.
Most observers will want filters mounted in
wheels 1 or 2.
50-mm filters should be mounted in filter wheel
2 (closest to the CCD) to minimise vignetting.
Light from the full 8.3-arcmin field of view fills a beam
51 mm in diameter at wheel 1, and 42 mm in diameter at wheel 2.
Vignetting of this beam will reduce the throughput across the whole
field of view, not just at the edges.
Filters with very narrow bandpasses (e.g. 15 A) may need
mounting in the focal-plane slit slide, otherwise the change of
transmitted wavelength, as a function of radius in the field,
will effectively vignette targets subtending an angular diameter
of more than a few arcmin.
After making any changes to the contents of the ACAM filter wheels
or focal-plane slide, record the new status in the filter
database. Tip for restricting the filters listed by the database
to only those currently
in ACAM: click on any ACAM entry in the right-hand column (location)
in the displayed table, and the table will refresh, omitting any filters
not currently in ACAM.
Available filter mounts/adaptors
An
inventory of mounts, adaptors, masks, blanks etc
is given at the end of this
page.
In summary, as of 2010 December, we can mount in the wheels
only 50/51-mm square and 50-mm and 76-mm circular filters.
The VPH grism has its own dedicated mount.
In the focal plane, we can mount only 106-mm diameter
circular filters (the Andover set).
Filters in the focal plane can be tilted. The tilters for wheels
1 and 2 have not yet been manufactured. They will allow tilts
up to 10 deg (limit set by space available).
Wheels 1 and 2 accept ING filters up to 76 mm in diameter, mounted
in standard metal holders.
Each filter is mounted in the holder between two grey plastic rings,
and retained firmly in the holder with a screw-thread locking ring
(at left in the image below):
For filters smaller than 76-mm in diameter, one of these
plastic rings will
be an adaptor with a square or circular cutout designed to
support a filter of the given size.
To change a filter in a standard holder:
- Clear some space on a clean working surface.
- Locate the ACAM metal case containing the filter
mounts and adaptors.
- Find a plastic adaptor that suits the filter.
- Blow any dust off the filter using the hand-operated
bulb (not an aircan - liquid might come out).
Do not attempt
further cleaning unless you have received training from Tibor.
Cleaning of optical surafces is normally carried out by the ING's
optics specialist.
Do not touch the filter with your fingers - handle it
through optical tissue.
Be particularly careful not to leave fingerprints on the faces
of the filter.
-
Sandwich the filter between either an adaptor and a spacer (diameter
< 76 mm) or a spacer and an 'O' ring (diameter = 76 mm) and
insert in the holder.
Use a spacer which minimises the area of filter surface which comes
in contact with spacer surface.
Don't mount a circular filter in a square adaptor, it may get stuck!
- Screw in the locking ring (clockwise) and finger tighten just enough to
ensure that the filter does not flop about. Do not over tighten!
The filter should never be in direct contact with the metal of the holder.
Light-leaks around narrow-band filters
After installing filters, especially the 50-mm square narrow-band ones,
in the mounts (for wheels 1 and 2),
hold them up to a bright light to make sure that significant amounts
of light are not leaking through at the edges of the CCD-facing
side of the filter.
Typically this appears as a thin bright streak of light, 1 - 2 cm
long, along the junction between the filter and the filter mount.
It's presumably caused by light scattering around the side of the
filter, or inside the filter and escaping at the edge.
Each of these leaks images on the CCD as an arc with radius of
curvature ~ diameter of field of view.
E.g. this image (2010 Jan):
shows 3 arcs, one from each of 3 sides of a 50-mm narrow-band filter.
In this case, the arcs are ~ 5 - 10% brighter than adjacent
areas of the image.
They were eliminated by masking off the outer 1 - 2 mm
of the filter.
Tibor has (Jan 2010) cut some masks of the appropriate size to use with these
filters.
ACAM has 2 near-pupil-plane wheels for filters and dispersers.
There are 7 positions in each of the standard wheels.
Position 7 should always be kept clear (empty) and position 6
in filter wheel 2 is reserved for the
disperser.
The other positions should all be occupied by filters, to minimise
the risk of problems with wheel imbalance, and with scattered light.
The standard holders will mount in the wheel only one way round.
If a holder containing a filter is swapped between the
wheels, the same side of the filter will face the sky.
To change a standard filter holder in a wheel:
- Point the telescope to zenith, lock it off.
- Locate the metal case containing the filter mounts and adaptors.
- Take from this case the blue T-shaped Allen key.
- Make a note of the filter changes required
before carrying them out.
- Position the medium-height step-ladder (or you may need the
full-height step ladder) on the
observing floor just to the left of ACAM for access to filter wheel 1, or to
the right for filter wheel 2:
- Unlock the filter wheel access door by
turning anti-clockwise the black knob indicated
(in blue, for clarity) on the image below.
- Support the door so that it does not suddenly drop open
or swing into
something.
Once the filter wheel door is open screw the knob back into
place so it does not get lost.
- Rotate the wheel manually so that the filter holder you wish to change
is at the 8 o-clock position for filter wheel 1 as you look towards
the Cassegrain A&G box, or at the 3 o'clock position for filter wheel 2, as
shown below (highlighted in red for clarity).
- Make a note of the
filter wheel position number marked on the
filter wheel.
- To insert or remove a filter holder loosen the 3 screws with the Allen
key (do not remove the screws).
Once the screws have been loosened, keep
a grip on the holder at all times.
- To remove a holder, rotate it anti-clockwise relative to the
mount and the bolts, to this position:
- Then pull the holder
towards the CCD:
- To fix a holder in place, rotate it clockwise until each screw is
in the cutaway slot.
- Tighten the 3 screws with the Allen key (even if there is no
holder present, to prevent them falling out). Do not over-tighten!
- Manually rotate
the wheel (at least 360 deg) to check that there are no obstructions.
- Make sure all tools and screws have been collected.
- Make sure all
filter-wheel access doors are closed and secure.
- Remove all steps
well away from telescope.
- Initialise all 3 mechanisms and move to a few
positions to check operation.
- Unlock the telescope (if you are qualified to do so).
- Update the filter
database to reflect the changes you have made.
- Store the empty filter boxes safely, in the observing-floor optics
cupboard (and not in the metal case for ACAM mounts/adaptors).
- After the science run, the filter should be removed, or
at least, the default filter set (UBVRIZ) should be restored.
The daytime duty support astronomer is responsible for this.
A full list of ACAM-compatible filters can be obtained from the ING filter database.
Dispersers can only be mounted in wheel 2 (they are too thick for
wheel 1).
The current VPH disperser is mounted at position 6 in filter wheel
2, and should not be removed.
The mount is similar to that used for a standard filter holder but
larger, to accommodate the dispersing element (see images below).
Fitting or removal is from the CCD
side of the wheel 2, as it is for the filters.
The rotational alignment of the disperser relative to the slit
and CCD is critical.
The space envelope allowed for the disperser is a cube, 50 mm on a side.
Once the dispersing element is fitted into its holder, it should not
normally be disturbed.
The holder should
only be removed (or adjusted) by the optics specialist
or instrument specialist.
A unique holder needs to be manufactured for each dispersing element.
Sometimes, e.g. when several filters are to be changed, it's better
to take out the entire wheel, and carry it to the control room
to change the filters there.
To remove a filter wheel:
- Locate a large Allen key (? mm).
- Position the medium-height step ladder on the left (filter wheel 1) or
right (filter wheel 2) of ACAM.
- Release the filter-wheel access hatch by turning the black knob
(at the top) anticlockwise. Support the door so that it doesn't drop,
or swing into anything.
- Screw the knob back into place, so that it doesn't get lost.
- The wheel is held in place by a long bolt passing through
its centre. The head of the bolt is on the far side of the
box (if you're standing on the step ladder).
Use the Allen key to loosen the bolt.
- With your other hand, hold the handle of the filter wheel
and press inwards (against the spring), parallel to its horizontal
diameter, to reduce friction on the bolt.
- The bolt will then turn easily, and can be pulled out.
- Pull the filter wheel out. It weighs ~ 2? kg. If the loading
(by the filter-holders) is asymmetrical, it's likely to spin under
gravity as it leaves the housing.
- To replace the filter wheel, carry out the above steps
in reverse.
Standard wheel 1 can be replaced with a special
wheel (cut, but not yet commissioned) that can accommodate up to
four 125-mm filters:
Filters installed in these non-standard wheels cannot be tilted.
The focal-plane slide (at the entrance of the instrument)
comprises 2 clear apertures
flanking a slit mask:
The slide can be moved to 8 positions. In positions 2 - 7, one
of the slits in the mask is placed on axis.
In positions 1 and 8, one of the clear apertures is placed on axis.
Filters up to 106 mm in diameter (field of view 7.2 arcmin)
can be mounted just behind either (or both) of these clear apertures:
Filters mounted in the focal-plane slit slide should be
removed after the observing run, because
at least one aperture needs to be clear to allow imaging through
filters in wheels 1 and 2.
Mounting a filter in the focal-plane filter holder
- Clear some space on a clean working surface.
- Locate the filter. NB the 106-mm *ANDV (Andover) narrow-band
filters belonging to John Beckman are stored in wooden boxes
in the GHAFAS cupboard on the WHT's Nasmyth-level walkway (and may be used
only by permission of John Beckman and his team).
- For 106-mm filters, locate a 106-mm focal-plane filter holder.
- For smaller filters, use the adaptor plate labelled
'for insertion into tilting part of focal plane slide'.
Any of the standard plastic adaptors can be used in the
standard-size mount attached to this plate.
- Blow any dust off the filter (see instructions under Section 1 above.
Be particularly
careful not to leave fingerprints on the faces of the filter.
- Mount the filter in the holder, and fix it in place with the
retaining ring (three small screws), which always faces the CCD,
regardless of whether the filter is being mounted in position 1 or 8:
Mounting (or dismounting) a filter holder in the slit slide.
- Point the telescope to zenith, lock it off.
- Make a note of the filter
changes to be carried out before carrying them out!
- Position the tall
step-ladder on the observing floor just to the left of ACAM for access
to the slit-slide access door at position 1, or to the right for access to
the door at position 8.
- Before opening an access door use the observing-system
command
acamslit -p 8
or acamslit -p 1
to send the slit slide to position 8 to make a change at position 1 or
send it to position 8 to make a change at position 1.
This places the
slit slide closest to the access door you will use to make the
change.
The image below shows position 8 access door being opened.
- Unlock the access door by turning anti-clockwise
the black knob indicated above.
- Support the access door as you rotate it towards you.
- Once the access door is open screw the black knob back into place
so it does not get lost.
- The filter holder slides in and out of the
filter-support bracket on the slit slide as illustrated below.
- The filter is secured in place with a locking screw shown
(in red, for clarity) on the image below:
- When installing a filter holder ensure the locking screw is
loosened (anti-clockwise), so that the
filter holder can slide in.
- Push the filter holder in until it is aligned with the
support structure
- Once the filter holder is in place turn the locking screw
(red, below) clockwise
to fix it in place - do not over-tighten.
- The locking screw should also be tightened, by hand, when a
holder is removed, so that it cannot work loose.
- Make a record of
any filter changes in filter database.
- These filters can be tilted to fine-tune the central wavelength
of the filter, by manually rotating the central screw highlighted in
yellow in the image below.
- The scale is 0 to 10 degrees with a resolution of 0.5 degrees.
- When you've finished removing or fitting filters,
close the access door and fit the screw to hold the door in place.
- Make sure all tools and screws have been collected.
- Make sure all filter-wheel access doors are closed and secure.
- Remove all steps well away from telescope.
- Initialise all mechanisms and move to a few positions to check operation.
- Unlock the telescope.
- Update the filter database to reflect any changes you have made
On the 22nd November 2010, after removal of all filters and mounts from ACAM,
the ACAM metal briefcase contained the following:
Filter mounts for the wheels
----------------------------
10 black-painted metal mounts for circular filters with
diameter 76 mm,
and 9 metal screw-thread retaining rings.
There is an additional metal ring which doesn't fit the mounts.
The black paint on these mounts is chipped.
These mounts fit in either wheel. Each mount has 3 projections
which are gripped by the retaining bolts in the wheel.
4 anodised metal mounts of similar size,
and 4 plastic screw-thread retaining rings.
These look like the above, but the surface is more matt.
These mounts fit in wheel 2 but not wheel 1!
Plastic adaptors and spacers for the above
------------------------------------------
These are all circular, diameter ~ 76 mm, and fit inside the
above mounts.
9 thick grey rings, internal diameter 48 mm.
4 similar rings, but with shallow recess, diameter 50 mm, to
support 50-mm diameter circular filters.
16 thin black rings (thin), internal diameter 59 mm,
plus one similar ring, inner diameter 48 mm.
~ 15? adaptors with 48-mm square aperture, with a shallow recess
to support nominally 50-mm square filters - about half of these
adaptors (light grey) take 50-mm square filters, and half (
dark grey) are large enough to take filters with diameter 52 mm.
7 similar adaptors, recessed to support 50-mm square filters,
but with a circular clear aperture, rather than square.
3 O-rings, diameter 76 mm, and 4 with diameter 50 mm.
Blanks for the above
--------------------
6 blanks, diameter 76 mm.
Adaptors for the focal-plane slide
----------------------------------
3 adaptors for the circular Andover filters, diameter 106-mm.
Masks
-----
Box of hand-cut masks for 50-mm circular and square filters,
made of thin black card.
Tools
-----
Allen key with blue handle + standard Allen key with same
diameter (apparently a better fit to some of the bolts).
Black card.
Bag of spare bolts.
Not included in the box
-----------------------
Filters (too much risk of damage), empty filter boxes
(no room, leave them in the observing-floor optics cupboard)
and cleaning materials (no room, they are in the
observing-floor optics cupboard).
Document history: original pdf version July 2009
by Kevin Dee of Engineering & Project Solutions Ltd.
