Hale Telescope Control Desk Operator's Manual
Hale Telescope
Control Desk
Operator's Manual
Copyright © 2008 Selden Ball
All rights reserved.
This is a brief description of the simulated Control Desk. It controls devices within the observatory as well
as the pointing of the telescope.
Although it's similar to the real thing, some artistic license has been taken.
For example, the real desk doesn't have an on/off button at the lower left.
Also, a second desk has been added to the left for control of the simulation's demonstration
features, which are not available in reality.
To start, click on the on/off button at the lower left corner of the desk's surface. That will activate the displays and switches. The button is blue when off, green when on.
Contents
Displays on Upright Surface
Displays on Horizontal Surface
Switches
Switches on Upright Surface
Switches on Horizontal Surface
Spinner knobs
Motion Control Buttons
Displays on Upright Surface
-
Top left: Siderial clock.
Shows the current simulated siderial time: the hour angle of the Vernal Equinox.
I.e. the RA currently at the meridian.
-
Top right: Local clock.
Shows the current simulated Pacific Standard time.
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Displays on Horizontal Surface
-
Far left:guages
- top left: VOLTS
AC line voltage provided by Palomar's electrical generator.
(permanently simulated 120vac)
- top right: ZENITH ANGLE
angle of telescope above horizon: 0 = horizontal, 90 = vertical
(not yet implemented)
- bottom left: RA RATE
RA tracking speed
- bottom right: WIND SCREEN
angle of top of windscreen above horizon: 0 = horizontal, 90 = vertical
(not yet implemented)
- Center left: Right Ascension dials
- upper dials: RA of telescope
- lower dials: desired RA, set manually
- Hours: 0-23 by 1; ticks at hours only
- Minutes: 0-60 by 5; big ticks at 5s, small at 1s
- Seconds: 0-60 by 5; big ticks at 5s, small at 1s
- Center right: Declination
- lower left tape label: "AXIAL WEIGHING AT 42 DEG"
To simulate balancing the simulated telescope:
- Set Dec to 42 degrees
- go to pulpit; open and turn it on
- adjust balance
- upper dials: Dec of telescope
- Degrees: red: 60-10 by 10, white: 0-90 by 10; ticks at 10s
- Degrees: 0-10(@0) big ticks at 1s, medium at 0.5, small @1/6
- Minutes: 0-10(@0) big ticks at 1s, medium at 0.5, small @1/6
- lower dials: desired Dec, set manually
-
Far right
- upper dial: FOCUS
(See also Switch #54.)
- Displays relative position of internal prime focus assembly
Inches below (in) and above (out) the central position
- lower dial: APERTURE
(See also Switch #53)
- Displays the diameter of the exposed mirror surface
as its covers rotate open and closed.
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Switches
A switch identification number is at the bottom of each implemented switch plate. This is artistic license for conveniencc. The switches on the real console are not numbered.
To manipulate a switch, click on the appropriate label on the switch plate.
If you look closely, you'll see the buttons which actually activate the commands.
Some labelled switches are unimplemented and have buttons which only move the switch.
Unlabelled switches are unimplemented and have buttons which do nothing but move the switch.
Some blank plates have buttons which do nothing.
Switches on Upright Surface
Left side
- 47 -- Laser beam (not on real desk)
- Turns on/off Adaptive Optics' laser
- 46 -- Dome Doors (not on real desk)
- Opens or closes dome observation doors
- 45: blank panel
- 44: blank panel
- 43 -- Tracking Drive
- Indicator lamp
illuminates when the telescope is tracking the target.
- ON
simulated telescope tracks Celestia's Selected object
Note: Sidereal/Track rotary must be in Track position
- OFF
- blank
- 42: selsyn supply
- simulation: does nothing
(should control whether RA & Dec dials can move)
- ON
- OFF
- blank
- 41: Control Master
- simulation: does nothing
(maybe someday switch between surface picture & real controls?)
- ON
- OFF
- blank
Right side
- 322 -- Dial Light Intensity Rotary Switch
- simulation: switch moves, but nothing else happens
- 31 -- Dial Lights
- simulation: switch moves, but nothing else happens
- 32 -- Power Reset
- recover from trip?
- simulation: switch moves, but nothing else happens
- 33 -- Low Lights
- simulation: switch moves, lower lights of dome and above floor
come on.
- 34 -- Pilot Lights
- simulation: switch moves, lights atop gallery come on.
- 35 -- High Lights
- simulation: switch moves, lights at top of dome come on.
- 36 -- Coudé Flat
Note: Flat switch on Pulpit must be in Desk position for this
switch to work.
- Indicator: illuminates when the central Coudé Flat is in the down position and can be controlled.
- 45 degrees
Mirror is fixed at a 45 degree angle
- Man
Mirror follows manually set angle
(but there's no control knob or switch to actually set it)
- Auto
Mirror rotates so that it stays at 1/2 the Declination angle,
reflecting starlight
down the polar axis of the telescope's yoke.
- 37 -- MC-PFE
Main Control - Prime Focus Elevator
- Indicator: illuminate when override enabled
- Override: elevator controlled by control desk switch #57
- blank: does nothing (remove button)
- override defeat: elevator controlled by its own control panel
[Back to Contents]
Switches on Horizontal Surface
- 682: Top left rotary
- Siderial time: RA & Dec constant
i.e. telescope follows RA and Dec as set manually
- off
- Tracking drive: connects output of tracking signal amps to telescope's drives
i.e. simulated telescope follows Celestia's Selected object if Track switch is in On position.
Lower left: right to left
- 61: Lower left rotary
- Dome Rotation: left, stop, right
rotates dome relative to telescope position
- 63: wind screen
- up, stop, down
(does nothing: windscreen automatically tracks telescope)
- 64: blank panel
- 65: R.A. Rate
(see also RA RATE meter)
sets scale of RA Rate meter
- 300, auto, 3000
- 66: R.A. Rate
(does nothing)
- incr, blank , decr
- 67: Worm Clutch
(does nothing)
- coarse, normal, fine
- 68: blank panel
Lower right: left to right
- 53: Mirror Cover
See also Aperture dial
- open: opens mirror covers
- blank: stops mirror covers
- close: closes mirror covers
- 54: Focus
see also Focus dial
- in: moves internal prime focus assembly down,
carrying Cassegrain and Coudé secondary mirrors, along with
the support used for prime focus instruments.
- blank: stops motion
- out: moves internal prime focus assembly up
- 55: blank panel
- 56: blank panel
- 57: tape label P.F.E.
(Prime Focus Elevator: active when switch #37 is in
override state.)
- tape labels: up, blank, down
- 58: blank panel
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Spinner knobs
Causing these manual control knobs to spin with a mouse gesture
would have been too hard, so three directional buttons are used instead.
- Left manual spinner-knob: R.A. SETTING
The buttons are blue when off, blink green when selected.
- left diagonal button: rotate faster CW
- central square button: stop rotating
- right diagonal button: rotate faster CCW
- left round button: RA EX
Executes manual RA setting
- right round button: DEC EX
Executes manual Declination setting
- Central button: TRIP
- real: shuts down everything
- simulation: turns off telescope tracking
- Right manual spinner-knob: DEC. SETTING
The buttons are blue when off, blink green when selected.
- left diagonal button: rotate faster CW
- central square button: stop rotating
- right diagonal button: rotate faster CCW
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Motion control buttons
- buttons are blue when off, green when activated
- buttons are paired: SET/SLEW, N/S, E/W
- selecting one of a pair deselects the other
- click the activated round button again to deselect it and stop
- the nominal speeds listed below are taken from from _Photographic Giants of Palomar_; decl: p22, ra: p32
- this simulation moves much faster than those values
- Speed buttons
- top left round button: SET
- Declination: 40min of arc/minute of time
- RA: (assume same as decl: min of degree, not min of hour)
- top right round button: SLEW
- Declination: 45 degrees of arc / minute of time
- RA: 1 revolution /8 minutes (= 45 deg/minute)
- neither: guide (see switch #43)
- Declination: 1.5 min of arc/minute of time)
- RA: assume same
- neither: "very slow" manual or auto correction for comets, etc
(not the same as "guide" ? )
- Direction buttons
- top center round button: N
increases Declination of manual controls
- bottom left round button: W
increases Right Ascension of manual controls
- bottom center round button: S
decreases Declination of manual controls
- bottom right round button: E
decreases Right Ascension of manual controls
Contents
Displays on Upright Surface
Displays on Horizontal Surface
Switches
Switches on Upright Surface
Switches on Horizontal Surface
Spinner knobs
Motion Control Buttons