Starting and Stopping the Observing System

Starting the Observing System

Two sets of instructions are provided according to your level of familiarity:

• Quick Instructions
• Detailed Instructions

Quick Instructions

1. Check the TCS is running in DRAMA mode. If you're in doubt shutdown the TCS and bring it up again.
2. Start a Remote Login session on crater from taurus
3. Login to crater as ingrid, password: ask Operations Team.
4. Type: 'obssys'. Select observing system according to news file and obsdata partition with most space.
5. Type: 'startobssys'.
6. Bring up the INGRID Mechanism mimics by typing 'disp_ingrid &'
7. Bring up the Observing Log by typing: 'obslog'. This may take a while.
8. You're now ready to observe !

Detailed Instructions

1. Before doing anything else ensure that the TCS is up and running with communications set to DRAMA mode. Separate documentation is available describing how to do this. Alternatively talk to the Duty Engineer or other members of the ING Operations Team.
2. If you are already logged onto the INGRID control computer proceed directly to Step 6.
3. Now locate the computer system which serves as a graphics workstation for controlling INGRID. Currently (10/11/00) this is 'taurus' located in roughly the corner of the WHT Control Room main control desk. Ensure that any applications running on 'taurus' have been logged out and that the graphical X-login prompt is visible.
4. Open a Remote Login session with INGRID's control computer. Choose the 'Options', 'Remote Login', 'Enter Host Name' menu options from the 'taurus' graphical X-login prompt. Currently (10/11/00) the name of the computer to enter is 'crater'.
5. At the 'crater' graphical X-login prompt log in using the account: 'ingrid'. See ING staff for password.
6. On logging on, a pink terminal window should appear with the title "Ingrid Observing System". This provides the command prompt for controlling all aspects of INGRID.
7. At the command prompt inside the pink terminal window type 'obssys'.
8. The obssys command displays a news file containing up to date information on observing with INGRID. It will then prompt for the version of the observing system to be used in the subsequent session. The news file should provide this information; alternatively see the operations whiteboard or talk to the Duty Engineer.
9. Having selected the observing system the obssys script provides information on which observational data partitions are available and how much room is available on each. It will then prompt for the disk partition to be used. When in use, the observing system will display warnings if there is space for less than 500 runs so there should always be partitions available with significantly more than this. ING policy is to provide sufficient space for 4 days observing without intervention from the computer facilities group. Select a partition appropriate to your needs. If in doubt, talk to the Support Astronomer or Duty Engineer.
10. Having selected the appropriate disk partition a summary of your chosen configuration will be displayed and control returned to the terminal prompt.
11. Now initialise the observing system by typing: 'startobssys'.

This will initialise each of the observing system internal subsystems (TCS link, INGRID Mechanism Controller, INGRID SDSU Controller etc ) in turn. If either the TCS or EPICS controller is offline you may continue to observe, but will lack appropriate status information for building into any observational data files that you may subsequently generate. If the INGRID SDSU Controller is offline observing is obviously impossible. Having initialised the internal subsystems the INGRID Real Time Display will be automatically started. This comprises an image display tool for viewing data (currently 10/11/00 this is XIMTOOL) and a Real Time Display Control Panel.
12. Bring up the INGRID mechanism mimic by typing: 'disp_ingrid &'

This brings up a new display window providing brief, text-based status information on the position of all the INGRID mechanisms. To view more detailed information (including the names of individual filters, pupil stops etc available in INGRID's mechanism wheels) select the 'Control' option from the 'File' pulldown menu.
13. Bring up the observing log by typing: 'obslog'

Up to a minute or so later a new display window should open providing a list of any INGRID observation files that have been produced that day (operationally it is convenient to consider an observatory day as running from around midday to midday).
14. You are now ready to observe !

Stopping the Observing System

1. Type: 'shutdownobssys'

This will close down each of the observing system internal subsystems (TCS link, INGRID Mechanism Controller, INGRID SDSU Controller etc ) in turn. In the case of the TCS link this involves shutting down the DRAMA messaging system; in the case of the mechanism control system this involves moving filter wheel positions to blanks. In the case of the SDSU Controller this involves powering down the INGRID camera electronics. Having shut down the main subsytems the INGRID Real Time Display (server + control panel) will then be shutdown.
2. Shutdown the observing log by closing it manually.
3. Shutdown the INGRID mechanism mimics by closing it manually.
4. INGRID is now in its stable shutdown state !
5. You should not need to, but if you wish you may now log out of INGRID's control computer.