MDM Trouble Report for 2014 Oct 15

Telescope: 2.4m
Observer(s): John Thorstensen (Dartmouth)
Instrument: modspec + echelle CCD

Problem(s) Encountered:
Well, I'll be damned.  As I was fiddling after closing, I 
just idly tried auto-setting a position right in the zenith --
and the telescope went to it as if nothing had ever happened! 
I'm back in business!  

Why it had absolutely refused to move with the paddle, or
to slew to a position at 4h W, but WOULD slew to the zenith,
is a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a tortilla.

Original report follows.

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A little before 3 AM, I followed an object at +28 far into the 
west.  Before the telescope reached the 6h limit, I went to 
slew to the next object, which was a mere 4h west and nearly
the same dec.  The telescope refused to budge.  I figured the
telescope had hit a hard limit, so followed the procedure in 
the manual for getting out (hold start button, back out of limit
at set rate) -- nothing doing.  Cycled the stop/start on the 
control box many times, no dice, as well as the drive on/off
switch.  Curiously, I noticed that the tracking motor was 
going if left the track switch up ... it didn't actually cut 
out.  Interestingly (maybe), no messages were displayed on the 
monitor indicating a limit.  Also, if I pushed the paddle 
buttons with the drives off, the TCS gave an error message 
saying that I was trying to move with the drives off, so it
evidently does see the paddle.

Having no way to reposition the telescope, I closed the dome. 
I left the mirror covers open to avoid having them come down 
out of order; the dewar is not filled, and the instrument
dark hatch is open.  

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Submitted on 2014 Oct 16 [6:24:55]