The startup procedure should be followed by the mountain support personnel every time there is

1. A new observer.
2. A new instrument.
3. Both a new observer and a new instrument.

The startup procedures are to be carried out on the observer's workstation, either hiltner at the 2.4-meter telescope, or mcgraw at the 1.3-meter telescope.

Step 1: Login to hiltner/mcgraw

If the console was left logged in, first log off all the way, and then log back in again as user "obs24m" at the 2.4m, or "obs13m" at the 1.3m.

Let X-windows launch and then use a terminal window to run the startup tasks.

Step 2: Create the telescope configuration (tel_config) file

The telconfig script is used to create the tel_config file used by xtcs and xmis. Run it by typing

    telconfig

at the Unix prompt. You are first asked if you wish to proceed. This prevents you from accidentally starting the script.

The prompts are self-explanatory. All inputs are case-insensitive, so that "direct" and "Direct" are the same to the script.

When telconfig is done, the observer's workstation is now ready to use xtcs and xmis with this instrument.

Note: you should do this even if the instrument has not been changed. This ensures that the next observer starts with a "fresh" telescope configuration file.

Step 3: Create the MIS filter table (filter.info)

If the instrument uses the MIS filter wheel, you next need to create the "filter.info" file with the list of the filters that are loaded.

If the instrument has its own filter wheel (e.g., CCDS, TIFKAM, and the MDM 8K imager), you may skip Step 3 and move on to Step 4.

To create the filter.info file, enter the command:

    misfilter

This is a script which will prompt you for the number of slots in the filter wheel (e.g., 8 for the MIS or 12 for the OSU4K filter wheel at the 1.3m) and then will ask you which filter is in slot 1 thru N.

NOTE: an important change with the new Linux system is that filters are numbered 1..N, not 0..N-1 as before. This is a more "logical" numbering system.

Respond with the filter name at each prompt. Case counts, so please use B, V, etc., up to 8 characters maximum. If a filter slot is empty, MDM tradition is to enter * (asterisk) for the filter name.

Once misfilter is done, the filter.info file for this run will be created in the proper place.

Note that if the observers requests a filter change during their run, you can run misfilter again to update the MIS filter.info file. There is no need to repeat any of the other steps in the usual startup procedure in that case.

Step 4: Upload the tel_config file to the data-taking workstation

ccdcom is run on krakatoa (2.4m) or tambora (1.3m), and needs the same tel_config file as xtcs and xmis. This tells ccdcom how to communicate with the TCS and MIS, and loads important detector information. The tel_config file you created in Step 2 above is uploaded to the data-taking workstation by the ccdconfig script:

    ccdconfig

As usual, you are first asked if you wish to proceed. The script will then connect to the data-taking workstation via scp (secure copy). After a rather long pause, the script will print the warning

"scp :warning :Executing scp1."

which you can ignore (this is normal), but watch for any subsequent error messages. If they occur, you will have to copy the tel_config file to krakatoa or tambora by hand.

Done: tel_config copied to krakatoa or tambora, which ever telescope is being used. ( the password is no longer required).

This step ensures that the tel_config files on krakatoa and tambora are identical to those on hiltner and mcgraw, respectively.

This is a good time to startup xtcs, xmis, ccdcom and check out the instrument.

For CCDS and TIFKAM see the Startup Proceedure page for those instruments.

This is the short form of the procedure above:

1. Login to (hiltner) as user obs24m (mcgraw) as user obs13m.
2. telconfig to build the tel_config file.
3. misfilter to create the filter.info file, if the MIS filter wheel is in use.
4. ccdconfig to upload the tel_config file to krakatoa (tambora) for ccdcom et al.