MDM Trouble Report for 2007 Jan 12

Telescope: 2.4m
Observer(s): Halpern, Shields (Columbia, Ohio)
Instrument: Airbags

Problem(s) Encountered:
This doesn't really qualify as trouble (yet), but seeing as
it is very foggy tonight and we may not get to observe,
I showed Joe Shields how I measure the leak rates of the
mirror support airbags on the 2.4m.  You can see in the table
below the present values compared to previous years.  They seem 
to be getting somewhat worse.  Bags 2 and 3 leak at least 100
times faster than they should, i.e., compared to bag 1 a few
years ago.  This is why the valves are constantly clacking,
and may wear out faster than they should.  Then what will we do?

   Tests of 2.4m Airbag Leak Rate

------------------------------------
                Leak Rate (lbs/min)
Date           Bag 1   Bag 2   Bag 3
------------------------------------
2001 Jun 27     0.02    4.44    1.00
2002 Jan 17     0       4.12    0.79
2002 Jul 29     0       4.2     1.0
2002 Nov 26     0.11    4.34    0.74
2003 Jun 13     0       3.80    0.68
2004 Jul  9     0       4.25    1.03
2007 Jan 12     0.5     4.80    1.27
------------------------------------

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Submitted on 2007 Jan 12 [23:32:00]