2007 January 29

Yesterday, the future pier for the Roboscope was installed at our future site in Lovettsville. Participating in the digging and concrete pouring (and internet connectivity testing) were myself (Craig Tupper), Pete Johnson, Phil Wherry, Chris Nowland and Arlen Raasch, as well as our host, who shall remain anonymous for the sake of privacy. Pictures of the blessed event, courtesy of Phil, are posted at http://www.novac.com/robo/images/pier.html . Phil Wherry noted that this is the first "permanent" NOVAC observing facility/structure NOVAC has ever had. I think he's right. As of now, Roboscope remains in Pete's back yard, and is fully functional, available for imaging via browser on any clear night. Our goal is to move everything (scope, structure, computers/electronics) to the new site in early March, and get it installed and operational in one day. If we can pull that off, there will be almost no interruption in service.

2007 January 21

We're cruising. Robo is taking great images; check out the Images page for a few samples. The observatory has been rock-solid for the last three weeks; we've been open for business 7 nights, and had lots of users. Still hope to move soon, but don't wait, get an account and start imaging now!

2006 December 30

It's been a long year, and too long since I posted an update. Briefly:

• The 8" LX200R OTA arrived in early June (finally).
• After a few weeks of setup at my house, we moved the scope back to the observatory in Pete's yard in August
• In September, we fried another AP mount drive motor (the RA this time).
• In November, we got the repaired motor back and reinstalled it at Pete's.
• In December, we ironed out a few more bugs and started getting ready to move to a darker site.

2006 January 13

Good and bad news:

The new and improved Roboscope (with Astrophysics 600E GTO mount and SBIG ST-2000XCM single-shot color camera) was reinstalled in the observatory in Pete Johnson's back yard January 8, after 9 months of upgrades and repairs at my house.

But not quite completely installed. Before buying the AP mount, I did a lot of calculations to make sure that our 10" SCT OTA would still fit inside our structure. And, it does fit OK, in every orientation that I looked at. Unfortunately, the OTA does barely hit the side of the structure, if the scope is pointing about 30 degrees below the horizon, either east or west. And while we can prevent the telescope from slewing to a target that is below the horizon, a German mount can do really odd things, including pointing the scope temporarily below the horizon, when it flips from the east side of the pier to the west side.

It was, um, upsetting to see that. Rebuilding the observatory is not really an option. But there may be a silver lining. A few days earlier, Meade announced the introduction of their modified Ritchie-Chretien optics in a "standard-looking" SCT-like OTA, without the front-end focusing. They call it the LX200R. Anyway, I ordered an 8" OTA for only $1250, and am selling our 10" SCT for maybe a little less than that. Besides fitting inside our observatory (yeah, I'm sure) the 8"

1. will reduce the weight on our mount, which was a bit overloaded with the 10"
2. should provide better images - less coma, sharper stars

Now, the appeal: shipping of the LX200R's is supposed to start the end of this month. I ordered 4 days after the product was announced, but I have no guaranteed delivery date. Could be months for all I know, and I would like to have something up and running in the meantime. SO: if you have an 8" Meade SCT OTA that you would be willing to loan, I'd like to pop it in Robo until the LX200R arrives. Please contact me (Craig) if you can help.

2006 January 3

First status update for a while - sorry! Briefly, the upgrade to the Astro-Physics mount and SBIG ST-2000XCM was completed in early August. Unfortunately, as soon as that was done, we experienced a complete loss (hard drive failure) of the original Robo computer; Phil Wherry kindly built up an entirely new machine, and I (Craig) had to reinstall/reconfigure all of the software from scratch. It's been up and running since late September, with numerous nights of imaging time available to users while the scope was in my back yard, inside the Beltway. Meanwhile, I've been wringing out a number of hardware and software issues.

The system is now ready to head back to Pete Johnson's back yard in Centreville. Hope to be able to install it there in the near future. Meanwhile, Pete has installed a rain sensor on the observatory, which will probably become our first line of weather defense.

2005 May 21

Happiness! At its monthly meeting, the Board approved an upgrade to an Astro-Physics 600E GTO mount. At about the same time, we received a donation of a practically-new SBIG ST-2000XCM single-shot color camera -- exactly the camera I wanted to upgrade to. As of this date, the mount an camera have been received, and I am starting to put things together in my basement. We are going to try the Meade 10" f/6.3 OTA with the new camera and see how it works. It may be a few more weeks before we are back online, but we'll be better than ever! Meanwhile, John Deriso completed repairs of the LX200, so we'll be selling that as soon as we decide whether to keep the OTA.

Here's a picture of our new mount, and here's an image of M88 taken by the donor of our new camera (through his scope, not ours), and another of M13.

2005 May 1

Our LX200 classic failed for the third time on April 3 (the dread "RA runaway"). John Deriso is fixing the RA motor again, but we've made the decision to upgrade the mount (we may keep the OTA) and camera. Discussions are underway with the Board. I expect to have some exciting news soon.

2005 March 14

We have about 45 users, able to take images via web. We are open tonight, with 5 users signed up.

Pete has been making very good progress with the observatory structure automation. The following functions are now controllable (by Pete or me) REMOTELY via internet, and/or have been automated:

1. The lid can be opened/closed. The angle of the lid is measured and converted to % open. Pete has implemented a script that runs every morning at 5am and commands the lid closed, in case it has been left open for whatever reason.
2. The 25w interior dome light can be turned on/off. This is potentially useful at night, when the system is not in use, as a double-check of telescope and lid status. We have a webcam inside the structure that shows the position of the lid and scope.
3. The electronics box vent fan can be enabled/disabled. The internal temperature of the electronics box is monitored, and the fan (when enabled) turns on when the box gets too warm.
4. We have 2 computers running. In case the telescope/camera/user interface PC completely locks up, we can power it off/on remotely. The observatory structure control PC has been running for months without incident. More PC redundancy / backup systems are planned.
5. I have a script running every 5 minutes; if it finds the telescope to be not in use by anyone, but tracking, it turns tracking off. This (and a couple other changes for double protection) will prevent the scope from wrapping around itself, as has happened a couple times in the past (ouch).
6. The CCD camera power can be turned on/off at the power supply. This may or may not be used, depending on whether MaxIm provides a .vbs script command that will power off the camera fan. We want to be able to turn the fan off (when the camera is not in use) to extend the fan's life.
7. The off-the-shelf weather station is functioning and recording basic data (temp, humidity, pressure etc.) automatically to a text file. The rain gauge is not sensitive enough for our purposes; Pete is looking to buy/build a replacement that will signal the lid to close if a single raindrop hits it, but won't be affected by dew. Pete's cloud sensor is also being overwhelmed by electronic noise, he plans to install shielding and a signal amplifier. Eventually the weather system will provide an automatic "go/no-go" signal to the lid. Once we get there, the goal is to modify the current user reservation system, using the Yahoo calendar. We would like for users to be able to make reservations at any time (without an invitation from me), and have the dome open "on demand", weather permitting. We will still have to have time limits for users, obviously; can't have people monopolizing the system.

What's going on with the imaging system and user interface:

1. I have the "queued observations" capability working well. I am running the queue every night we are open, after the last user is done. Those folks who have entered queued requests will find the images in their directories, assuming that the target was actually visible between 12-5, and successfully imaged. I am starting to work on the capability for each user to track their previous, and pending, requests.
2. Unfortunately we are still cooling the camera to only 1 degree C for the last couple weeks, instead of well below that. That's because the camera is frosting at lower temperatures, and Pete can't find the replacement desiccant. :-( We have more desiccant on order, as well as a replacement SBIG camera cooling fan for the one that is groaning and near burnout. I hope to install those items this weekend, or early next week. Until then, due to the 1 degree cooling, all images have been noisier (dark current) than usual. This has the secondary effect of making autoguiding much less reliable. The likelihood of getting a bright enough star on the small autoguiding chip has always been a bit marginal; in many cases the brightest star in a 20-second exposure is now less bright than a hot pixel (high dark current). This is especially true when shooting through color filters, which dims the star images, or into a haze, or low on the horizon into the muck, or out of the Milky Way. In some cases this has caused the autoguider to start "tracking" on a hot pixel, which never moves, with the result being an image with real bad trailing. Again, this should improve with desiccant replacement and cooling. Until then I have turned off autoguiding.

2004 September 26

The Roboscope is almost back in business, after a 2-month hiatus. Hope to have it available for imaging later this week. More details:

Robo was moved from my house to Pete Johnson's on August 1. Took about 6 hours to install scope et al into the structure, modify network settings etc. Due to clouds and schedules we couldn't polar align until August 15. On a subsequent night we discovered that the focuser was not acting properly. After contacting focuser manufacturer, finally diagnosed that I had made a bonehead mistake and installed the wrong 6-wire serial cable. I dropped off the right cable at Pete's on 9/19; and after fixing that and one other glitch; last night (9/25) was the first night that the entire imaging system was up and running, post-move. I took about 150 images.

Pete says his sky is probably only about mag 5. Not as good as I thought but still a big improvement over the ~4.2 in my back yard, under ideal conditions.

Pete has computer control of the structure lid working, and is going to get that set up so that I can drive it remotely. At that point, routine Robo operations will be back to a 1-person (me) job, with the scope 40 miles away in Pete's back yard. Pete is also on the verge of integrating his weather monitoring equipment. There are other developments in work that will make Robo operations more autonomous in the future.

We also experienced an unplanned test of the UPS (backup power supply) recently, when Pete's lawn maintenance company ran over his power cord. Everything in the observatory kept running for several hours without hitch. This UPS has plenty of power to keep us up and running until we can get to wherever the scope is in the future.

2004 July 29

The bad news: the weather has stunk lately, so 38 Robo users haven't been doing much imaging.

The good news: Pete has made good progress with the observatory structure, and we're about ready to move the telescope from my back yard to Pete's back yard. This is a major step towards our goal of moving to a WV mountaintop with mag 6.7 skies. In the short term, it will get us from mag 4.2 and bad horizons, to mag ~5.5 and much better horizons.

Depending on weather, a move this Sunday is possible. If not, asap thereafter. The move will probably put us out of business for 2-3 clear nights, to enable basic testing. After that, users should notice cleaner, more detailed images.

2004 May 10

Pete Johnson has finished building the electronics bay, and has attached it to the observatory structure. Next tasks include installing the UPS & power; installing internal temp sensors and computer; building out internet access; getting webcam online so structure is visible online, and implementing manual internet control of the lid. Once that's all done we intend to install the scope, while debugging and installing the rest of the sensors, circuits, code etc. until fully automated capabilities are achieved. Current structure pictures are available.

Meanwhile, testing and improvement of the telescope / camera / web user interface continues, with the telescope in Craig's back yard. Over 30 members have Robo access privileges, and most have taken CCD images, simply by logging in from their home computer. The telescope is seeing moderate use on any night when it is available, but there are usually one or two hours of imaging time that go unclaimed. If you would like to try your hand at it, read through the Roboscope User's Guide (available to members only).

2004 February 15

We've had two major setbacks, both of which we've recovered from. In early January, the right ascension drive on our LX200 telescope failed, in the dreaded "runaway" mode. It started slewing east at high speed and would not stop. Some determined diagnosis by Craig, and handy soldering by John, got us over that one for a couple bucks, avoiding about $400 for shipping the scope back to Meade for repair.

Also, our observatory control PC decided to break. Windows 2000 Pro would not boot. Even our IT wiz Phil couldn't save the patient; we had to reinstall the operating system, plus all of the astro software.

The development team has had two meetings, one at Pete's house and one at Craig's. Pete is making good progress with the weather monitoring equipment and structure control PC. During the meeting at Craig's house, the team decided to switch to Craig's structure as our primary. The team also decided to simplify Craig's design, by building an external box for the computers and electronics equipment. Bob will continue to work on his design as a back-up, in case Craig's should prove unsatisfactory for any reason. Craig's structure has been motorized, and has been outdoors (protecting the telescope etc.) since November. Pictures of the team, and the new primary structure, are available at http://www.wherry.com/photos/2004-02-07-novac-roboscope/

Craig has been working to finish a couple of mods to his structure, as suggested by the team. The current plan is to deliver Craig's structure to Pete's back yard, on the weekend of Feb. 28. The scope and camera will stay at Craig's, while Pete works on integrating the weather monitoring equipment, and other components, with the structure. The intention is to test the structure control system for a while, without the scope inside. Once we have confidence that the structure/controls will autonomously protect the scope and camera, we will install the telescope and camera. Then we'll test the whole shebang, before moving to a darker location.

Craig also got Comcast cable installed at his house. This will allow users to download images much faster, while the scope is still at Craig's house. Unfortunately, due to the telescope and computer problems, and Craig's focus on building his structure, the scope has been out of action in 2004. Hopefully it will be back up soon.

John obtained, and repaired, a fantastic used uninterruptible power supply. Ed donated a couple of webcams that we are using for testing; we eventually want one inside, and one outside, the structure.

2003 December 6

The observatory structure has been essentially completed by Bob Neff. On December 14, we intend to pick up the structure and deliver it to Pete Johnson's house. Pete will be responsible for integrating the structure with the weather monitoring equipment and controls, and testing it through the harsh winter months. Meanwhile, Craig has built a structure of a different design, which has been protecting the Roboscope outdoors for the last three weeks. Should Bob's structure not face up to weather well, we have a backup.