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List of tasks that could possibly be automated, as discussed by Greg and Jeff
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- azimuth : royal pain in the arse right now because of
intermittent failures, but that may change soon
- snow removal : with dry air (jeff suggests nitrogen) blowing on
at least the tertiary, possibly the primary
- coarse actuator change : so much snow accumulates on the coarse
actuator bellows that a winter actuator change requires a bit of
brushing and TLC. We need to rethink the actuator coverings if
we ever want to be able to switch actuator positions remotely.
Greg says: Jeff says that switching actuator positions in the
way we would like (without spilling our helium) may be
possible. It sounds like it is a matter of someone trying it
out and watching it with one hand on the kill button. The
software changes will not be hard (in fact, now that I think
about it, it is probably just be a matter of going to the
"elevation limits" menu option and changing the two stow
locations. I have to think about it).
- cryogenics : not much more we can do about this. Timbuktu and
the X10 help a lot.
- batteries : again, not much we can do. But this is only
every 1.5-2 days.
Giles says: we expect 2-4 days with new batteries. They are
in SPARO closet and are labelled clearly as "2000" batteries.
Preamp batteries may be on floor - others are on top shelf on
right as you go in to closet
- chopper amplitude : will we ever be changing the throw on a
regular basis? Is it worth controlling this via GPIB port?
Giles says: doubtful