Dome rotation issues
Sunday, June 9, 2024 5:56 AM
Problem(s) Encountered:
I discovered a sticky spot a little east of due north, where it can hang up if it's trying to track through (i.e., small moves following a target as in the northeast). It manifests as a noise like a continuous cricket, which is something straining to move the dome. It does not seem to occur if the dome comes into the spot with some momentum.
I described this problem in greater detail in an email to Ericand Justin, anticipating that I'd be eager to get to bed around now.
Second, as I was following a northern target west of the zenith, the dome took off moving left and occulted the telescope. This seemed to happen spontaneously, and it looked as if the dome was going to go all the way around when I stopped it by taking it off TCS control and moved it back to the correct azimuth with the hand paddle. The dome readout always appeared to read correctly.
Solution:
This is one of those issues that is somewhat a guessing game. An educated guess is that it is associated with the recent work performed on the dome encoder mount. I tightened the spring-tensioner 1.5 turns, which seems to have resolved the slight moaning sound when moving the dome west from dome AZ ~21 degrees. Things seem to be working ok but of course, teh real test is going back on sky. Thankfully, it sounds like the workaround is relatively simple if the problem occurs again.