AGW3 + LUCI1 checkout (201806011 UT second half)

Observers: JHill (Austin) DThompson, MWagner, JPower (Tucson) OKuhn (LBTO)
Telescope Operator: GBechetti (LBTO)
AO Support: GTaylor (Tucson)
Telescope Support: RHansen (LBTO)
Software Support:
Instrument Support: JMorris (LBTO)
Engineering Support: DCox

Summary

We failed to get AGw3 active optics to converge with the spare wfs camera installed. What can be wrong? John is confused in the fog of observing? - probably true, but I don't think it is the problem. Hot pixels/bad columns are causing fake astigmatism? Camera has a parity flip from alternate amplifier readout? Normally we use IDL to work these things out, but I can't get IDL to accept my parameter changes.

Details

UT 07:30-ish Authorized as LUCI/LUCI for second half.

Geno has trouble with SX pointing. Homing M2 and M3 seems to fix it.

Using ACTIVE preset on-axis with a Persson star.

SX active optics with AGW3 won't converge. Starting wfsc image is somewhere around 000400.

GCS wfs camera image is impossible to see on the GCSGUI on this faint/normal guide star as a hot pixel messes up the stretch.

Hotspot is still at its default 279,247 pixels and Olga thinks it doesn't look too far off. Lenslets on this camera are clearly rotated from vertical. +2 deg? This wasn't corrected in GCS until the very end of the night. Lenslet are rotated on this camera by +2 to +3 deg (later Doug measured 1.3 deg). (MODS1 has -0.8 with upper spots to the right, and this is opposite direction with upper spots to left.)

08:31 Primary Zernikes cleared

08:39 Primary Zernikes cleared

08:35 add +1000 Z7

09:00 Primary Zernikes cleared

Astigmatism running away even though coma seems OK with rotation 186 deg [WFS_rotAngleOffs]. The previous AGW1 value of WFS_rotAngleOffs was +6 degrees.

09:07 Set Z5, Z6 Active optics gains to -1.0 but it didn't help. Not sure why......

09:09 Primary Zernikes cleared

09:11 change rotation [WFS_rotAngleOffs] from 186 to 96 deg. Guider image goes briefly to 0.6 arcsec FWHM, but then Z6 ran away again.

Are hot pixels/ bad columns creating fake astigmatism?

09:14 Primary Zernikes cleared

09:18 Clear Active Optics on M2

09:19 Change rotation from 96 to 276 deg - coma runs away

09:21 Clear Active Optics on M2

09:21 Change rotation from 276 to 186 deg [WFS_rotAngleOffs]

09:23 Change rotation from 186 to 6 deg [WFS_rotAngleOffs] - stop and restart GCS.

09:23 Clear Active Optics on M2

09:32 Clear Active Optics on M2

09:34 Apply +2000 Z7 to M2 (in two steps) but GCS doesn't see it. ????

09:38 Clear Active Optics on M2

09:38 Apply +2000 Z7 and +2000 Z8 (maybe Geno forgot to clear inputs on PSFGU M2? or maybe it was fine?)

09:40 Apply +2000 Z8

09:41 Clear Active Optics on M2

09:46 change rotation from 6 to 186 deg - Z5 runs away and Z7

09:50 Clear Active Optics on M2 and M1

09:50 change rotation from 186 to 96 - send alternately on primary Z5 0, 1000, 0, 1000

10:06 apply Z6 -1000 to primary

10:10 switch back to MODS for some science observing while John unsuccessfully tries to sort out his IDL problems.

last wfsc image before switching to MODS is 000753.

Later on 20180619 Doug and John worked out that there were two big problems stopping active optics from converging. This "spare" wfs camera uses the alternate amplifier so the images are parity flipped, and the high number >500 of hot pixels are messing up the spot centroiding on faint (mag 15) stars.

-- %USERSIG{JohnHill - 2018-06-11}%