We are continuing the acceptance and development tests on the telescope begun in July, 2000. The work planned for our next trip to Arizona, scheduled for 20-25 October, 2001, had to do with further tests of the control system, assessment of any mechanical problems arising from the first month of tests of automatic operation, and further mechanical work on the telescope enclosure. This work was intended to get the telescope ready for simulated operation (acquiring and tracking stars without taking any scientific data) beginning in November.

The work planned fell into three categories as follows:

1. MECHANICAL ADJUSTMENTS and augmentation of the telescope structure.
1. Assess the oil consumption by the azimuth bearing during the first month of operation of the telescope. Assess the efficacy of the oil-return pumps. Inspect the mechanical linkage for the roof drive and decide with Boyd any changes that we need to make. (We looked at the rate at which the oil level is dropping in the reservoir and concluded that the losses are less than a quart per week, perhaps much less. We'll have a much better idea after extended operation of the telescope in November. The level has dropped significantly since this summer, mostly as the result of thermal contraction. We also continued to monitor the mechanical linkage of the roof drive and decided it had stabalized.)
2. Finish putting the brush seals into main telescope enclosure, caulk the enclosure as needed, and put threshold molding into the two access doors. Finish putting the air sucking system together, and document it for the maintenance procedures. (We finished adding the brush seals, caulked the ones that would block wind-driven water, calked around the access doors, and bought and fitted the door thresholds. We still need some pieces of plastic to extend out under the brush seals in front and to screw the thresholds to the floor. We finished putting the air sucking system together, tested the effect of the auxiliary fans in the electronics boxes (unfortunately, ineffectual), and made pictures for documenting the air-sucking system.)
3. Put the TSU/FO sign on the side of the building and document it. Take various other pictures for documenting the telescope and procedures related to it. (We added the sign to the building.)
2. ELECTRICAL WIRING.
1. Document the wiring to the Galil breakout board and decide how to make it neater and easier to understand for maintenance. The thing looks like a rat's nest after a year of field wiring. (Williamson made up a drawing showing these connections, which we will add to our documentation.)
3. Work on the DRIVES and CONTROL SYSTEM.
1. Continue testing the code for automatically starting the telescope up and running it under complete computer control for routine operation. (We ran the telescope for all of the five nights we were at the observatory without significant problems. The telescope found and tracked roughly 500 stars during this time, and failed to find roughly 25 stars, which were either set in the west, too close to the zenith, had the wrong magnitudes, or were behind clouds. These tests show us areas in which our assumptions about acquiring stars do not work, but for the most part, the control programs are working splendidly. Williamson has done a wonderful job on them.)
2. Put code for making more rational log files into the telescope-control programs and test it. (Williamson started fixing these before the trip and changed them in response to our experience running the telescope. The logging will naturally get more complicated, but it's to the point of giving us the information for assessing the first routine operations of the telescope.)
3. Run more tracking tests with the fiber feed in the instrument head to determine the best exposure times and techniques to use for the guiding camera. (This is part of no. 1 above.)
4. Continue adding quality-control measures to the control system to make it more reliable and (dare we say it?) astronomer proof. (Williamson has added most of the logging we need for this and has identified some appropriate checks we did not anticipate making. He has also made checking the weather and status of the roof more relaible so that the observatory will be sure to close up completely in bad weather.)