MDM Trouble Report for 2003 Sep 30

Telescope: 1.3m
Observer(s): Bentz (OSU)
Instrument: Templeton

Problem(s) Encountered:
The guider stopped functioning correctly after 15 minutes of 
actual data observations.  The telescope kept drifting east, so
that within 60 seconds the guide star had drifted out of the 
guider box, even though the guider screen was updating every 
two seconds and I could hear the telescope clicking as if it
was adjusting itself.  I was only at a dec of -10 and an hour angle of about -1.5.  I tried using other stars, and eventually moved to a different field with HA of -0.5 and dec of 0, but the telescope was still drifting.  After a conversation with Bob about it, and restarting the guider computer and the telescope, we figured a relay had probably gone bad in the guider system.  I need to take 5-15 minute exposures, so without the guider I wasn't able to observe the rest of the night, but as I have all my targets, I'm okay.

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Submitted on 2003 Sep 29 [23:33:22]