Startup/Shutdown Procedure for OU 0.4meter telescope and CCD

W. Romanishin  Oct 2009
wjr@nhn.ou.edu

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               *****TOP 7 THINGS YOU MUST REMEMBER**********

(1) MAKE SURE TELESCOPE END COVERS ARE IN PLACE BEFORE OPENING OR CLOSING
DOME SLIT (this is to protect optics from any falling debris)

(2) REMOVE 2X4/PIPE GIZMO AFTER OPENING SLIT. IF LEFT IN PLACE, THE
GIZMO WILL HIT THE BLACK BOX COVERING DOME ROTATION MOTOR IF YOU ROTATE
DOME.

(3) MAKE SURE ACTUAL TELESCOPE POINTING and TELESCOPE's COMPUTER IDEA OF
POINTING ARE THE SAME

(4) WHEN ENTERING ANY NUMBERS (object codes or coordinates) WITH TELESCOPE
KEYPAD, DOUBLE CHECK YOUR INPUT BEFORE HITTING "ENTER" - THE KEYS
SOMETIMES STICK.  MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CORRECT *SIGN* ON DEC INPUT!

(5)  WATCH TELESCOPE AND CABLES LEADING TO TELESCOPE AND CCDS CAREFULLY
WHEN DOING ANY "GOTO".  IF TELESCOPE SEEMS TO BE MOVING WAY TOO FAR, OR
ANY CABLES ARE BEING PULLED OR CAUGHT, YOU CAN STOP THE "GOTO" BY HITTING
"GOTO" AGAIN.

(6) UNPLUG ORANGE TRIPLE ELECTRICAL PLUG BEFORE LEAVING FOR NIGHT.  THERE
SHOULD BE *NO* LITTLE POWER STRIP LIGHTS ON WHEN YOU LEAVE.

(7) CLOSE DOME SLIT BEFORE LEAVING.  DOME SHOULD BE DARK and QUIET.

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    The OU 0.4m telescope, ST8, ST7XMEI, and AP7p CCDs, guide scope,
filters and filter slider, and focusers represent a cash investment of
about $34,000 (plus untold hours of my time setting stuff up and
maintaining it).  A modern telescope, with moving parts, cables,
electronics, and precision optics, requires a LOT of CARE and KNOWLEDGE to
use without causing damage to the equipment.  MUCH more than, say, a PC or
an automobile. (Learning to use a telescope to EFFICIENTLY do SCIENCE is a
complete other level beyond the basic level of using the telescope without
breaking it!)

    Safety of people and of the equipment *MUST ALWAYS BE OF PARAMOUNT
PRIORITY**.  Safety of people means (mostly) not bumping your head into
things in the dark dome, not tripping on the steps (and not falling asleep
on your way home!).  Unless you have a lot of experience, I don't want 
anyone observing alone.

   Safety of the EQUIPMENT requires each observer to be trained in its
use. The basic rule is:

                IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING,
                       DON'T TRY TO DO IT!!

   Here I will try to guide you through setting up the telescopes (main
and guide scopes) to take CCD images.  This assumes the CCDs are already
mounted on the telescopes and the telescopes are in at least approximate
focus.  I expect that you would have seen this whole procedure several
times with an experienced observer and also gone through it several times
under the close supervision of an experienced observer before you try it
without supervision.
     
(1) Plug in orange triple electrical plug into outlet on floor of dome
just to west of telescope.  This gives power to telescope, computers, and
lights (except for light near the stairs).  The dome rotation motor and
window fan are plugged into a separate outlet near the little door onto
the roof.

(2) Computers - There are 2 PCs used to control the CCDs.  The LX200
telescope is controlled with its own computer built into the telescope
base. I have labeled the PC computers WR4400 and OPTI20.  The WR4400
computer controls the ST7XMEI CCD that is mounted on the guide telescope.  
The OPTI20 controls the CCD mounted on the main telescope, either the AP7p
or ST8 for imaging, or the ST8 for spectroscopy.  To save space, there is
only one monitor, keyboard and mouse.  You switch between computers with
the KVM (keyboard-video-mouse) switch on top of WR4400 (or by hitting CTRL 
key twice rapidly on keyboard)

(3) CCDs and software.  Usually the AP7p CCD is mounted on the LX200
telescope and is used for direct imaging.  This CCD is run with a software
package called CCDsoft running on OPTI20.  The ST7XMEI CCD is mounted on
the Orion guide scope and is used to guide the main telescope.  This CCD
is run using a software package called CCDops running on WR4400.

Set up cameras - make connections, start cooling. For main CCD (Ap7p)
click "Camera" then "Setup".  You can do most everything from "Camera
Control"  window.

If you are doing serious work that requires knowing exactly when an image
was taken, check and if needed reset the time on the computer connected to
the AP7p CCD (see "Setting Time" sheet)

(4) Opening dome- The number one rule about opening the dome is 

             KEEP THE TELESCOPE OPTICS COVERED UNTIL THE
                        DOME IS FULLY OPEN 

    This prevents junk around the dome slit from falling on the optics
as the slit is opened.

    You open the dome with the 2x4/ pipe gizmo - **REMOVE THE GIZMO
IMMEDIATELY AFTER OPENING SLIT**

(5) When you turn on the power to the telescope (using the slider switch
on the base of the telescope), the telescope computer **assumes** the
telescope is pointed near (but not exactly at) the equator (DEC=0) and on
the meridian (RA= current local sidereal time or hour angle equal zero (HA
= 0)). The telescope computer (internal to the telescope base- not a
separate PC) has NO WAY OF KNOWING WHERE THE TELESCOPE IS *ACTUALLY*
POINTING. IF the actual position of the telescope is way off from what the
telescope computer thinks it is,

             *YOU RISK DAMAGING THE TELESCOPE AND CCD** 

So the first thing to do is get the actual telescope pointing and the
computers idea of the pointing to agree:

(6) The telescope might have been parked at 0 degrees DEC and on the
meridian, as determined by the SETTING CIRCLES (use DEC circle on west
side of mount and HA circle below the telescope). If the telescope is NOT
at these coordinates, do the following:

Turn on telescope.  Use handpaddle to move telescope to 0 DEC and 0 HA as
determined by the setting circles. (There are 4 speeds, selected by the
buttons on the right hand side of the numeric keypad.  DO NOT USE THE SLEW
SPEED - I put some Velcro on the key to remind you not to use this speed.)
Once at DEC=0, HA=0, turn *OFF* telescope- wait 10 seconds. Then turn
telescope back on.

(7) The telescope should now know where it is to within a degree or so.  
VERIFY THIS by hitting "MODE" on handpaddle until the RA and DEC display
appear.

Check that the DEC readout is within a degree of 0, and that the RA
readout is within a few minutes of the ACTUAL local sidereal time (LST).  
To find the sidereal time (or at least what the *telescope computer*
thinks the sidereal time is) hit "MODE" until the time screen appears on
the handpaddle display. Because the telescope computer (particularly the
internal battery-powered clock) is not completely reliable,

*YOU MUST FIND THE ACTUAL SIDEREAL TIME INDEPENDENTLY OF THE TELESCOPE AND
CHECK THE TELESCOPE COMPUTER* 

To do this, use the astronomical calendar for Norman in the Redbook. The
calendar shows the sidereal time at OU at midnight for each night. Work
backwards (or forwards) to the current sidereal time. E.G. if the sidereal
time at midnight for the current date is 13h34m, and the current local
time is 9:53PM, then you are currently 2h7m before midnight, so the LST at
9:53PM is 13h34m - 2h7m = 11h27m.

Check that the telescope has the correct sidereal time to within 5 or so
minutes. (It should, but it is a good idea to check it before every
observing nite)

(8) Find one of the 33 naked eye "LX200 Alignment stars" stars that is
easily visible (see list on cork board).  Say the star Arcturus is up and
close to meridian.  Look up the star number of Arcturus in the table
(Arcturus is number 147).  On the handpaddle, hit the "Star" button (same
as 6). Then punch in 147.  MAKE SURE THE READOUT READS 147.  The keys are
sometimes sticky, and it is easy to input the wrong number.  If you make a
mistake, use the "W" (West) key to backspace. Once you are SURE that the
correct number is input, hit "ENTER" - verify that you have the correct
star by looking at the MAG value shown on the handpaddle (star magnitude
in computer database) to see if it matches that in the list on the
cork board.  Once you have verified this, hit "GOTO".

While the telescope is moving itself, use a flashlight to *CAREFULLY
WATCH* the telescope, CCD and cables going to the CCD , handpaddle,
focuser, etc.
 
     **MAKE SURE THE CCD OR TELESCOPE IS NOT GOING TO HIT SOMETHING AND 
THAT THE CABLES AREN'T ABOUT TO CATCH ON ANYTHING OR BECOME STRETCHED TIGHT**

If you need to quickly stop the telescope while it is doing a GOTO, say
because a cable is caught or you realize that you punched in the wrong
star number and the telescope is trying to point itself below the horizon,
hit GOTO:

                **TO STOP A MOVE IN PROGRESS HIT "GOTO"** 

(9) Assuming the telescope pointed correctly, it should be pointing close
to the star.  Find the TELRAD (squarish black gizmo on main telescope
tube).  Look through TELRAD from behind, siting along optical axis of
main telescope. Turn on TELRAD LED (using rotating switch and LED
brightness changer) to see the red "bulls-eye" pattern projected against
the sky.  Use the handpaddle to move the telescope to center the star in
the center of the bulls-eye as accurately as you can. (Experiment with
different telescope speeds by hitting the buttons on the left side of the
numeric keypad). Turn off the LED (to conserve batteries) by rotating
switch until it clicks.
  
     Now, assuming the TELRAD and main telescope/CCD are aligned, and you
are careful to put star as close to center of bulls-eye as you can, the
star should be in the CCD field. (But the central TELRAD circle has an
angular diameter of 30 arcmin, and the CCD field is more like 10 arcmin,
so the star might not be in the field of the CCD even if its in the
central circle.) Take a VERY short exposure (0.5 seconds) with the AP7p
CCD attached to the main telescope.  If the star is in the field, you
should easily see it.  If the star is on the CCD but not well-centered,
figure out which way to move the telescope, and about how much. (The field
of the AP7p CCD is about 10 arcmin = 600 arcsec, or about 40 seconds of
time in RA at the equator. The field of the ST8 on the main telescope is
similar.)  Move the telescope with the handpaddle (using the slow speed)
the required amount (hit "MODE" until the RA and DEC are displayed) and
take another short exposure. Once you are happy with the centering of the
star on the CCD, you need to tell the the telescope that you are pointed
at the star.  You do this by holding down the ENTER key on the handpaddle
until it beeps and the readout says "Coordinates Matched".  Verify that
this worked by going to the RA and DEC readout and checking that the
coordinates exactly match those in the setup star list.

    If you don't seem to see anything, make sure you are taking a "light" 
exposure (shutter open), rather than a "dark" and that the latest image
is being shown on the monitor. Don't take any longer exposure if you are 
pointing near the bright star.

  If the star is not on the CCD, try moving the telescope around with the
handpaddle in a organized pattern and take exposures until you see the
star. Then center star on CCD and match coordinates.  This "hunting
around"  can be very frustrating but is usually not necessary unless
someone has messed with the alignment of the TELRAD.
   
        **YOU SHOULD NOT REMOVE THE CCD FROM THE TELESCOPE**

(10) Once the telescope is set up, it should be relatively easy to move to
any of the objects in the telescopes catalog.  A warning though- the
coordinates for some of the objects in the catalog are not very accurate.
For instance, if you setup the telescope precisely and ask it to go to
M67, it will wind up quite a ways from M67 (several CCD fields away, I
think.) This is because the coordinates in the telescope catalog for M67
are incorrect. (I am not sure why- I think Meade just used some old
obsolete positional catalogs.  The open star clusters seem to have
particularly poor positions.)

If you want to look at, say a galaxy with a supernova in it, the
coordinates of the galaxy are likely to be in the telescope database, but
may or may not be accurate.  Say you want to point to the galaxy NGC 4565.  
You would hit the CNGC (also the "3") button on the handpaddle, then enter
4565, then hit ENTER - verify that the telescope indeed has the object in
its database, and then hit GOTO.  The telescope should slew to point to
NGC 4565.  Whenever the telescope is moving make sure it isn't going to
bump into anything and that the cables aren't going to snag.

Take a 10 or 20 second long CCD image. If you are lucky (telescope set up
correctly, position in LX200 database correct) you should see your object.
Sometime, you may be close to the object, but the object may be out of the
CCD field.  If you have a nice finding chart covering a bigger area of sky
than the CCD (say 30 x 30 arcmin) you might be able to recognize the star
patterns and see which way you have to move the telescope to center the
object.  You can make finding charts (using online Digitized Sky Survey)
for your objects and print them out on paper using IRAF. Alternatively,
you can go online using either computer and display an image from the DSS
on the screen to compare with the CCD image- this requires some juggling
of windows.

(11) Sometimes you want to point the telescope at some given RA and DEC 
position, not at an object in the telescopes catalog.  An example of this 
would be when you wanted to image a moving object such as an asteroid or 
comet. 

To set the telescope to arbitrary RA and DEC, first hit the MODE button on
the handpaddle until the RA and DEC are displayed (there are 5 different
displays, they just cycle around as you hit MODE).  Then hit GOTO. Use the
handpaddle buttons to enter the RA coordinates, making sure the handpaddle
display agrees with want you want - if you hit the wrong button or the
keys stick, use the W button as a "backspace".  Once you have the RA
input, hit ENTER, then do same for DEC. To change the sign of the DEC, use
W key to backspace over sign, then PREV to go from - to +, or NEXT to go
from + to -, the E to go to first digit of Dec. After you verify you have
the correct RA and DEC input, hit GOTO. Telescope should start moving-
watch it move and be prepared to hit GOTO to stop motion if anything is
amiss.

(12) Focusing CCD: 

Assuming someone has been using the CCD recently, the focus should be
reasonably close. However, the focus does change significantly as the
telescope tube lengthens or shortens with changing ambient temperature.

The basic idea of focusing is to keep taking short exposures with the CCD
of a small region around a star and watch the shape of the star and the
peak count rate change as you change the focus of the telescope. (Or use
diffraction spikes- see Sky and Telescope article in RedBook)(We use a
small region of the CCD rather than the entire field only to shorten the
readout and download time) You change the focus to maximize the peak count
rate and get the star image (or diffraction spikes) as sharp as possible.

There are two focusing mechanisms to bring the CCD precisely into the
focal plane of the the telescope: (1) the built in focus knob on the back
of the telescope, which focuses by moving the primary mirror up and down
and (2) the TCF-S motor focuser, which moves the CCD in and out relative
to the telescope.  The TCF-S focuser has a limited travel distance (about
12 mm or half an inch).  The usual procedure when the CCD is first set up
is to put the TCF in about the middle of its range, then use the mirror
focuser to at least approximately focus the telescope onto CCD.  Fine
focus is achieved with the TCF-S.  Assuming the focus has been set up
properly on the previous use of telescope, and that nothing has changed,
you should NOT need to use the mirror focus, just the TCF-S to tweak the
focus.

Move telescope to you first object or near first object.  Find a 5th or
6th magnitude SAO star nearby to focus on. (Do NOT try to focus on the
bright Alignment star- long exposures on bright stars not good for CCD.)  
This can be done from the list of SAO stars near equator (in RedBook) or
with GUIDE8- run GUIDE8, move to near RA and DEC where you are pointing.  
Click on one of fainter stars you can see on GUIDE8.  Note SAO number.  
(Telescope knows coordinates of most SAO stars brighter than 7th mag or
so)

    To enter SAO number into telescope: Hit "STAR" (6) key , then
immediately hit "ENTER". Use arrow key to highlight "SAO". Hit "ENTER"
then "MODE". Put in SAO number of focus star- hit "ENTER"  If that star is
not in database, the display will say so- go back to list or GUIDE and
pick another. Hit "GOTO"

    Focus main telescope for CCD.  This is easiest done with the
"diffraction focusing" method. (See article on this from "CCD Astronomy"-
copy in Redbook). Attach the focusing gizmo (two thin square wooden rods)
to secondary mirror holder at front of telescope (using Velcro)- Be
careful not to touch correcting plate with fingers or gizmo. Best to put
it at 45 degrees or so from north-south line (so diffraction spikes not
confused with CCD bleeding).  Click on "Main CCD focus- TCS-F"  icon to
bring up focus motor control. In TCF-S window, click "File" and "Connect"-
you should be able to click on "In" and "Out" and see focus (DRO) number
change (1 unit is a very small movement). Move focus in and out using
focus control motor and look for sharpest diffraction spikes.  The minimum 
move that makes a real change in focus depends on seeing, but is probably
50 or even 100 focus units- i.e. don't try to get focus to within 10 
units. (You can set up TCF so that hitting button moves by 50 or 100 
units.)

To save readout time, use a subraster - put mouse up and to left of star
image, then drag to point down and right and let go.

To see diffraction spikes, you will need to change windowing- click on
"image" then "brightness and contrast"- fool around with different
tools to change windowing

Remove focusing gizmo from telescope. Get back to full-frame CCD imaging 
mode.

If you are planning to be observing a long time, particularly at one
pointing, note the tube temperature and focus readout value on focuser
See "Observing from Downstairs" sheet for how to change focus value as
temperature changes.

(13) Filters.  There is an Optec filter slider that is controlled by a
small box on the west side of the telescope pier (labeled "MAX Filter 2"")  
There are 3 square white buttons.  Pushing a button will move the
corresponding filter into the light path.  The filters are mounted in a
holder that can be taken in and out of the slider. For now, we have only
one filter bolt, which has a V (position 1) and R (position 2), and a
"wide R" (position 3 - not a standard passband).

(14) Guiding - The telescope is driven by a small worm gear driving a
large circular gear which turns the telescope at approximately the
sidereal rate. The worm gear has imperfections, which result in the
telescope not moving uniformly.  If you take an exposure of 30 seconds or
longer, it is likely that the stars will be slightly trailed (or even
double) due to imperfections in the worm gear.  One way to take useful
data is to take lots of short exposures, throw out any that are trailed,
then shift and add the good ones.  This is inelegant, but it works.  It
does result in lots of "overhead" time (for CCD readout, etc). ("Overhead"
is time spent with the CCD shutter not open and not detecting photons-
needless to say, we want to minimize overhead.)  A more satisfying mode of
operation is to "guide" the telescope so that the telescope follows the
stars more closely.

There are a number of ways to guide a telescope.  I have used a separate
CCD camera on a separate telescope (Orion 120mm refractor) mounted on the
tube of the main telescope.  The guide scope feeds a SBIG ST7XMEI CCD. You
select a star on the ST7XMEI CCD, then the software takes repeated
exposures of a small area of the CCD around the star and keeps track of
the position of the star on the CCD chip. If the telescope deviates a
little from ideally following the star, the software notices this and
sends a command to the telescope drive to make a correction to move the
star back to its initial position on the CCD.  This procedure works fairly
well (if you have a bright enough guide star and the telescope tracking
errors aren't too big or fast) but there is always some time lag between
star drifting off and correction being made.

If CCDops won't talk to the ST7XMEI CCD, make sure power is on and cables
connected.  If still doesn't work, click on "Graphics/Comm" in CCDops and
click on "USB"- it seems to forget what kind of cable it is using.

 The procedure to set up guiding is roughly as follows (you should see
someone do this first!).  Find the object you want to observe using the
CCD on the main telescope.  Once this is done, switch over to the ST7XMEI
CCD computer (with KVM switch on top of monitor).  Follow procedure on
sheet labeled GUIDING with ST7XMEI CCD and ORION refractor. At present,
guiding is not set up on the Dec axis due to the very large backlash in
the dec gearing.  The alignment of the mount to the true north pole is
sufficiently good so that the drift in dec is pretty small for exposures
of a few minutes.

If you select a star that isn't bright enough, the software will complain
about "Star too dim" or something like that. If there are no bright stars
on the ST7XMEI field, you might try increasing the exposure time, but that
cuts down on the guiding accuracy, as corrections are made less 
frequently.
 
Another great annoyance is that the Orion is sometimes blocked by the
dome, even if the LX200 is looking out the slit.  This is a particular
problem at positions where the line between the Orion and LX200
optical axes is perpendicular to the slit.  Sight along the edges of
the telescopes and position the slit as well as you can so that both
telescope are looking out of the slit, and check the dome rotation
frequently if you are sitting on an object for a while.

The CCD on the Orion can be focused using the JMI focus motor between the
telescope and the ST7 CCD.  There is a piece of software that can control
the focus, but it may be easier to just use the manual "in" and "out"
buttons on the rectangular black box on west side of main telescope
(labeled "JMI SMART FOCUSER 232").  The focus of the Orion / ST7 CCD seems
more stable than that for the main telescope, so with luck you won't have
to mess with it. The better the focus on the guide CCD, the fainter the
guide star you can use, or the shorter the exposure.

(15) Flat field lamps.  To take "dome flats", move the telescope to dec=
-45 on the meridian.  Move the dome so that the two yellow painted stripes
below the Great White Spot (GWS) are aligned with the two yellow stripes
painted on the Plexiglas gear shield due south of the telescope. Once the
telescope is pointed, TURN THE TELESCOPE OFF, so that it doesn't keep
tracking.  The GWS is illuminated with two bulbs mounted on either side of
the telescope mounting arms.  Find the switch (on top of orange triple
outlet tap) and turn the lamps on. Suggested exposure times are on sheet
"domeflats". 

You can also take "twilight sky flats" by simply taking images of the 
twilight sky after sunset (or before sunrise).

 **DO NOT TAKE IMAGES OF THE SKY WHEN THE SUN IS ABOVE THE HORIZON**

The twilight sky is not completely uniform, obviously- it is brighter in 
the west after sunset, for example.  There is a zone of minimum
change of brightness somewhat east of zenith after sunset- see PASP
v. 108 , p. 944 (1996).

(16) Shutdown

When you are done for the night, first turn off CCD allowing it to warm up
slowly.  Turn "off" temperature regulation in software.  The temperature 
readout in the CCD window should start rising.  Leave the CCD powered
on for at least 10 minutes after you turn off temperature regulation.

While the CCD is warming up, you can do much of the rest of the shutdown
procedure:

  TURN OFF TELESCOPE DRIVE AFTER STOWING TELESCOPE AT Dec=-45 , HA=0
(dome flat position)

  Cover opening of main telescope with fitting cover- do NOT push the 
cover on with a lot of force- just push slightly so that it won't get
bumped off

  Turn off flat field lamps and allow to cool for a few minutes

  Cover finder scope with cap

  If there is any chance of rain, or telescope won't be used for a 
few nites, throw black grill cover over telescope

  Once telescope is covered, close dome slit 

  Transfer any data you want to save to a computer in classroom if
you wish 
 
  Once CCDs are warmed up, turn off CCDs and then turn off computers.
Remove CCDs if weather apt to be humid (or won't be used for days-
see next section).

  **PULL ORANGE TRIPLE PLUG OUT OF SOCKET** - The dome must be completely
DARK and QUIET - there should be NO little red or green lights on any
power strip or computer

(17) INSTALLING / UNINSTALLING CCDs ON TELESCOPES

Normally DrBill will put CCDs on and off telescopes, but if he is out of 
town or something:

If the weather is apt to be rainy or very humid, or CCDs not to be used
for more than several days, the CCDs should be stored in the airtight
plastic containers with desiccant.

If the weather is fairly dry it is probably OK to leave the CCDs on 
telescope after observing, if there is some chance of observing again in 
near future.

To put AP7p CCD on main scope:

Put telescope on meridian, pointing way south ("white spot" position is 
fine).  

Take out yellow plastic plug.  

Insert 2 inch nosepiece of CCD into opening of TCF focuser.  There are 3
thumbscrews to hold it in place.  The words of the white label on CCD
housing should be right side-up.

To insure the CCD is squarely in place, tighten thumbscrews "almost
tight". Then take left hand, put your fingers on white label, put your
thumb under the fans on CCD housing and gently push top and bottom of CCD
directly towards telescope so that the CCD is sitting squarely against
focuser tube.  With other hand, tighten 3 thumbscrews.

Aligning CCD North-South-East-West.  If you are just taking "pretty 
pictures" you don't need to worry about this, but for serious work it is 
good to have CCD oriented so rows run East-West and columns North-South.

To do this, first make sure telescope is on meridian.  You can check this 
by using the bubble level on the horizontal edge of yoke below the front 
end of telescope.  If its not level, turn on telescope, move telescope so 
that it is level, then quickly turn off telescope.

Use bubble level on top of CCD housing to level CCD. If you have to loosen 
thumbscrew and turn CCD, make sure you seat it squarely and tighten 
thumbscrews.

Once CCD positioned, connect the single connector to CCD.  Use small 
screwdriver to tighten screws holding connector in place.

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Guide CCD

   Put guide CCD on black telescope so that the connector edge is pointed
down and more-or-less horizontal. Push to make square like for main CCD. 
Connect the 3 cables to the guide CCD- one goes to power supply, one to 
the telescope, one to the computer.  The 3 connectors are all different, 
so there is no chance of plugging in wrong one.

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Uninstalling CCDs

Disconnect cables, loosen thumbscrews- HOLD ON TO CCD so it doesn't fall 
on floor!! 

Put yellow dust plug in end of telescope

Put CCDs in plastic containers- make sure containers are tightly sealed-
leave open only minimum time needed
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