Date: Sun, 4 Apr 1999 06:05:35 -0600
From: long@apo.nmsu.edu (Dan Long)
Subject: obslog 990403 ( MJD 51272 )
                          SATURDAY APRIL 3, 1999
                     APACHE POINT OBSERVATORY SDSS 2.5m
                              OBSERVING  LOG
   For a variety of reasons no observing was done tonight.  For the first
few hours of the night, clouds prevented observing, for the last few hours
high winds were a problem.
   There were also technical problems, the most serious of which was the
inability to get the TCC to talk to the MCP.  Russell was not able to get
the MCP to respond to TCC commands.  This was apparently due to some
software not runnning on the MCP end.  Russell had been unable to get ahold
of Charlie Briegel for the last few days to attempt a trial run, so to my
surprise, tonight was the first attempt at TCC - MCP communications since
last year.
   The laptop computer was also missing from the enclosure.  I don't know
what happened to it.  Bill Boroski may have taken it back to Fermi Lab for
repair.  Something will be needed at the telescope for the engineering run.
Craig has some potential temporary replacements.
   I had trouble removing the fiber setup from the engineering camera.  The
pins which hold the head to the cartridge did not want to come out under
what seemed a reasonable force so I stopped.  As the TCC couldn't talk to
the MCP and clouds were moving in I did not pursue this any further.
   Here is my two cents worth.  I think it is generally a bad idea to try
and start a run on a weekend, due to the lack of availablility of personnel
( especially a holiday weekend ).  Despite my attempts over the last
several days to get a consensus on whether or not we were observing over
the weekend, I never got one.  So some people were going under the
impression we weren't going on the sky until Monday, while others were
assuming we would start tonight.  Given the weather tonight and the
forecast for Sunday, I don't think much would have got done anyway, but it
would be nice to at least have everyone on the same schedule.
                                   Dan