CAMAC Progress Report

                     Week Ending: October 05, 2001
                               Week: 36


Tom Folkers:
     1. Worked with Tom Sargent on various fixes to problems 
        identified during last weeks tests.
     2. Spent one day at the 12 Meter working on the Millimeter Auto 
        Correlator

Tom Sargent:
     1. Got the system running again in the lab. Considered algorithms 
        for acquiring objects quickly without the oscillations that 
        the present scheme exhibits.  I had to alter several servo 
        parameters to get the program to work reasonably well with the 
        Lab system. The parameters used at the SMT don't work well in 
        the lab.
     2. I figured out how to use the lab system to test the automatic 
        encoder reset software and got that to work.  On the lab 
        system, which is slow, starting from the pre-index point it 
        takes about 2.5 minutes to run over the index mark 3 times.  
        The telescope responds much more quickly, so it will probably 
        take about 1 minute after the telescope has been slewed to and 
        settled on the pre-index position.
     3. We discovered that part of the azimuth problems was due to 
        slightly overdriving of the DAC unit that samples the Azimuth 
        encoder cosine/sine function. It was clipping about 5 to 10% 
        of the signal amplitude.  This is probably why we saw 
        Elevation work better than Azimuth.
     4. Starting to work on a method to improve/accelerate object 
        acquisition. It will be very similar to the acquisition 
        algorithm used by the Old VAX software in Fahren.
     5. Spent one day at the 12 Meter working on the Millimeter Auto 
        Correlator.

Pete Hubbard:
     1. Hooked new electronics up in lab after trip to SMT. All 
        working after trip back, no cards fell out of the chassis.
     2. Finished the coaxial cables the will read motor currents with 
        the new electronics.
     3. Vacation Oct 4,5 this week.

Dave Ashby:
     1. No Report.