Important Contacts:

If you run into a problem, you can call Prof. Tammy Smecker-Hane (824-7773 at work, 509-7195 at home anytime) or James Kelley (824-6038 at work,   714 649 3438 at home only if it is before 10 pm, or email him at jwkelley@uci.edu).

If you need to reboot ucirob:

If ucirob crashes you may need to reboot the machine. You can't simply reboot the computer because the computer will be sending random signals to the rack. If you do, you're likely to get random motion of both the shutter, dome and lights! Instead follow this sequence:

1. Turn off the power to the rack (red button on top of rack) and turn off the power to the AC controllable outlet box (red button on the middle box in the rack) .
2. Reboot the computer.
3. Enter ucirob, which will set the state of the electronic input to the crate. Then exit ucirob.
4. Turn the rack and AC controllable outlet box back on.
5. Restart ucirob. Send the dome to the home position (Telescope/Send Dome Home) to make sure its properly initialized.

1. The dome does not rotate, and/or the slit does not open/close.
   
   Check to be sure the toggle switch on the light grey control box mounted on the wall to the right of the Observatory door is flipped to the "Automatic" position so that the computer can control the dome. To test whether the dome can move at all, you can flip the toggle to  "Manual" and move the dome using the switch. In addition, make sure the small controller box labeled "DC Speed Control", which is sitting on the back side of the crate, has its toggle switch set to "Run CW" and the rate set to 50 units. If the dome does not move in manual mode and the DC Speed Control box is not powering up then a fuse is likely blown, and it will require maintenance to fix. However if the dome is open, do not leave it open; call someone to come out and close it.
   
   
2. Mirror covers won't open/close.
   
   The N+S mirror covers open first then the E+W mirror covers open. If one of the N or S covers doesn't open then the E+W covers will remain shut. You can get up on the ladder and gently open them by hand, if needed. The electrical connectors to the mirror cover drive motors sometime become dislodged. Unfortunately these connectors are relatively easy to dislodge, but on the upside this helps prevent the exposed motor terminals from being broken off instead. If the mirror covers won't open, check to make dure the electrical connectors are making contact. If that doesn't work, check the controller on the bottom of the crate and make sure the "Automatic" mode is selected rather than "Manual" mode. That way the computer can control the mirror covers. Its common to have someone accidentially kick the switch into the wrong position.
   
   
3. The telescope will not initialize or will not move.
   
   Check that the the power cord for the RA/Dec amplifiers did not come loose. These cords go into the back of the crate in the middle panel that is blank. See if the power lights are on. You can tell whether the amps are on by trying to move the telescope by hand.  When the amps are on, current through the motor coils makes it impossible to turn the motors manually.  When the amps are off, the motors turn freely.  
   
   
4. CCDAuto crashes during use.
   
   Unlink the ST6, if you're using it. Then power down the CCDs (click on the "CCDs" button on the ucirob program), wait a minute, then power back up and try it again. Everything should work ok.
   
   
5. Cannont link to CCDs.
   
   If you cannot link to the CCDs, it may be that they are not getting power from the crate. We've had power spikes before that blow out the powerstrip that the CCDs are plugged into. To check this, power up the CCDs ("CCDs" button in ucirob program), and plug the desk lamp into the powerstrip that the CCDs are plugged into, which resides on top of the red tool cabinet. If the strip is dead, just plug the CCDs into another powerstrip and use an extension cord to get power from the outlet across the room under the printer. Contact Jim Kelley and ask him to fix the problem.
   
   
6. The red light and fan on the CCD does not turn on after hitting the CCD power button on UCIrob.
   
   Check to see if the USB cord is properly plugged into the computer controlling the CCD. For CCDAuto, this should be the Linux PC. For CCDOps, this should be the Windows PC.
   
   
   
7. A star at the center of the ST9 imaging CCD is not where it should be on the ST6 finder CCD.
   
   Check to see if the ST9 CCD has rotated with respect to the telescope. The flat side of the CCD should be parallel to the bottom of the telescope. Sometimes when the telescope makes very large moves near the horizon, the CCD is jolted out of position and must be reset by hand. If the ST9 is in the correct position, a star is at the center of the ST9, but well off to the side of the ST6 CCD, then the finder scope's orientation relative to the 24" telescope needs to be adjusted. Let the faculty or TAs know of the problem and let them make the adjustment, because its a little tricky. 
   
   
8. Telescope thinks its at the wrong focus setting.
   
   If you have changed the focus of the telescope and have not exited ucirob's Focus window when the telescope crashes, then the telescope thinks its at the wrong focus position. To fix this, write down the TUV settings that you think the telescope was left on and contact Tammy Smecker-Hane and have her edit these into the /home/UCIrob/Scope.dat file so that the next time you enter ucirob the telescope will know the correct focus position. Note also that the focus sets for CCD, EyePiece and Spectrograph are stored in the focus.dat file.
   
   
9. CCD frosts over.
   
   If the CCD frosts over, you need to turn off the temperature regulation, allow the CCD to warm back up, and then turn back on the temperature regulation, but set it to a higher temperature. The CCDs aught to be able to be set to about 25 degrees below ambient temperature. Note that the dessicant plug in the CCD may need to be baked out periodically to remove moisture. SBIG recommends baking the dessicant plugs for 4 hrs in an oven at 375 degrees.