on-line manual
On power up the VME rack will load the real-time operating system which in turn loads the autoguider application. Once loaded the autoguider system software is executed.
The first action of the autoguider system software is to self-test all the hardware. If successfully tested, the autoguider software then attempts to 'ping' its CCD controllers. If it cannot find a controller, the autoguider software defaults to test-mode, which allows the user to use the autoguider with artificially generated starfields. The system is now ready for use.
The only command necessary at this stage is:
agping
which establishes a communication link to the autoguider system software in the VME rack. Once this has been achieved, all other commands can be utilised.
autodisp
This produces a window based image display environment with menu options and button controls for majority of autoguider functions.
Command: agping 'rackName'
Decription
This command provides a mechanism to determine if the autoguider
system has booted and is running. Due to the nature of its
implementation, it is only able to determine if the DRAMA interface
task is operational on the autoguider system.
Options
none
Command: agstargen 'function' 'value'
Decription
In order to allow testing of the autoguider when no CCD (or CCD
controller) is available, a test generator has been included which
provides test frames suitable for checking the functionality of the
autoguider. The interface to the test generator is provided by the
agstargen command.
Options
ENABLE - Enables the star test generator
DISABLE - Disable the star test generator
TESTCARDENABLE - Enables the testcard generator
TESTCARDDISABLE - Disables the testcard generator
NUMSTARS 'n' - Sets the number of stars that the
test generator should generate.
This can be between 1..10 inclusive
XMOTION 'value' - Sets the pixel increment in the X
direction which will be added to the
star x-position each frame. The
value is in pixels between 0..5
YMOTION 'value' - Sets the pixel increment in the Y
direction which will be added to the
star y-position each frame. The
value is in pixels between 0..5
RESETMOTION - Returns the test stars to their
defined positions before motion
was added
Command: agtest [POST | PROCTEST | RAMTEST | DR11WTEST]
Decription
The agtest command allows self-testing of the autoguider system
hardware. Each test provides complete testing of registers (stuck
bits, connected bits, etc.), clocks, RS-232 ports (using loop-back
testing), RAM (again stuck bits, coonnected bits, etc.), ID registers
and board existence in VME rack, for example. Note that this command
is an engineering function only and is provided for diagnostic
purposes only.
Options
POST - The power-on self-test command
provides a mechanism to execute the
autoguider POST function. This tests
all the hardware in the autoguider
system
PROCTEST - Tests the facilities of the VME CPU card
RAMTEST - Tests the facilities of the VME RAMcard
DR11WTEST - Tests the facilities of the DR11-W
interface card
Command: agwin [acq | gui] [pos | size] 'x' 'y'
Decription
Allows the setting of the position and size of the acquisition and
guide windows. Position co-ordinates are provided in pixels referenced
to the readout corner of the of the device (on the display this
corresponds to the top-left of the screen). Size values are also in
pixels and should be set to a size greater than (1,1). The maximum
values for the co-ordinates and sizes depends on the the size of the
CCD device (all current Peltier cooled CCDs have dimensions (400,288)
pixels, with a bias strip accounting for the first 10 pixels in the
x-direction).
Note that when setting the window positions, the co-ordinates refer to
the centre of the window.
Options
ACQ - apply operation to the acquisition window
GUI - apply operation to the guide window
POS - change position of window
SIZE - change size of window
x, y - define (x,y) position or size
Command: autotime 'integrationTime'
Decription
Sets the image capture integration time.
Options
integrationTime - the integration time in msec. Value
must be in the range 50msec..30sec
inclusive
Command: autotv [ON | OFF]
Decription
Enables or disables the autoguider continuous acquisition (TV) mode.
This mode continuously reads ou the CCD using the given integration
time. The image data is avaiable via the appropriate monitored DRAM
parameter.
Options
ON - enable continuous acquisition
OFF - disable continuous acquisition
Command: field
Decription
Performs a field operation. An image is acquired using the selected
acquisition time. The image is then processed and up to a maximum of
10 objects suitable for using as guide objects are identified. The
identified objects are categorised and their associated data is
available via a DRAMA monitored parameter. This client initiates the
field operation and returns immediately. The updating of the monitored
parameter should be used to indicate completion of the operation.
Options
none
Command: guide [ON | OFF | ON STAR 'n' | ON PIXEL 'x' 'y']
Decription
Enables or disables the autoguider guide mode. The options allows the
client to select autoguiding on an object from the list obtained by
the field command, or to guide on a particular location in the image.
When guiding on a specific pixel, the guide window will be centred on
that location. The guide window will be prevented from being placed
outside the acqusition window. The pixel position is given in pixels
relative to the readout corner of the CCD device; on the display this
corresponds to the top-left of the screen. When guiding on an object,
the value must be a valid entry in the star-log and must have a value
in the range 1..10.
Options
none - enable guiding on object 1
ON - enable guiding on object 1
OFF - disable guiding
ON STAR 'n' - enable guiding on object 'n'
ON PIXEL 'x 'y' - enable guiding at location (x,y)