The following steps are normally performed at the beginning of
a night to prepare the FTS for observing:
In the dome:
- Turn on the master power switch (located on the north
side of the interferometer.) THIS SWITCH MUST BE ON BEFORE ALL OTHER
ELECTRONICS ARE TURNED ON. MOREOVER, THE INSTRUMENT MUST BE COMPLETELY
CABLED
BEFORE POWER IS TURNED ON.
- Plug in the external oven for the reference laser. The connectors can be
found on the north side of the instrument, above and to the left of the
auxiliary control panel.
- Turn on reference laser. Note that the laser does not come on
immediately, but only when the oven is warm, normally 10 to 15 minutes
after the oven has been plugged in. After roughly one hour the
laser will stabilize sufficiently for observing.
- Fill the dewars (see Section 4.2).
- Turn on the dewar preamps. This is done using the `on/off' switch
located on the blue preamp boxes mounted on each dewar.
ONCE THE PREAMPS ARE TURNED ON THE USE OF WALKIE-TALKIES IN THE DOME
SHOULD BE AVOIDED, AS THESE COULD CAUSE POWER SURGES WHICH MAY SERIOUSLY
DAMAGE THE DETECTORS.
- Open the dewar dark slides. Each dewar has a dark slide, which is
removed/installed using the levers on the south side of FTS, immediately
above
the dewar mounts. Normally the dark slides are opened at the beginning
of a series of FTS runs and are left open until all runs have been
completed.
At the fourth floor observing area (Section 3.1):
- Turn on the power to the master control panel.
- Turn on the power to the R1/R2 oscilloscope. If the laser has not
yet stabilized (
hour) the lissajous figure will vary in size.
- Check the acquisition and guide T.V.'s.
- Open the FTS entrance shutter.