MDM Observatory 1.3m Telescope Observing Report for 2011 Sep 07

Observer(s): Gaidos
Institution(s): University of Hawaii

Instrument: CCDS

Worked for 6 hours (last half of the night)
Conditions were Mixed most of the night.
Problems were encountered, see the separate trouble report for details.

Seeing and Weather:
   Beg: Overcast, Winds Moderate
   Mid: Patchy Clouds, Winds Light & Variable
   End: Clear, Winds Calm

Observing Summary:

Weather: Scattered low clouds and breezy at sunset; storm cells to the E and SE.  Clouds thickened after sunset.  Very gradual clearing after 10 PM.  Substantial clouds continue to block NW half of the sky through midnight.  Winds died down around midnight.  Substantial clearing around 12:30 AM and clear thereafter.
Problems/comments: FLI Guider camera is far out of focus: fixed using black guiding focus box
Continued problems with IE, e.g. Prospero hangs for ~3 minutes trying to talk to the IE and then gives 
WARNING: Instrument electronics not responding ACQTAG=CCDS.20110908031313
or
Error: Requested Operation Timed Out
Error: Cannot get instrument (IE) status
and then starts exposure
Timeout errors are now becoming chronic; occur on a large fraction of integrations
Jskycalc is not talking to the TCS and hangs (guis do not refresh) when  read telescope  is pushed.  Restart does not help.


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Submitted on 2011 Sep 8 [5:50:45]