From reapsta at gmail.com Wed Mar 17 19:06:20 2010 From: reapsta at gmail.com (Craig Williams) Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:06:20 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Fwd: FW: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics In-Reply-To: <7E0C97968F4AC447B8D9B1F4D71B96F926529650@ITS-WIN-009.staffad.uwa.edu.au> References: <7E0C97968F4AC447B8D9B1F4D71B96F926529650@ITS-WIN-009.staffad.uwa.edu.au> Message-ID: <8c9621af1003170406h58337b1avd76d2c70282f0007@mail.gmail.com> Hi guys, Check out the message from Dr Fletcher in Physics below : tl;dr : we've found the stepper motors, random other bits, maybe the original documentation/circuit diagrams -----Original Message----- From: Andre Fletcher [mailto:abf at cyllene.uwa.edu.au] Sent: Wednesday, 17 March 2010 6:04 PM To: Craig Williams Cc: Ian McArthur(Physics); Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson; Jay Jay (Cyllene); Joe Coletti; aburrell at cyllene.uwa.edu.au; lance at physics.uwa.edu.au; timo at physics.uwa.edu.au Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics Dear Craig, and others, It's great that you and others in the UCC are thinking about reviving the unused radio dish in the School of Physics! This email contains some background information on the old Bofors gun-mounted radiotelescope dish (`The Dish') on the roof of the School of Physics. 1) Yes, I just found those stepper motors which we used to drive the Bofors gun mounted-dish for 2006 Open Day at UWA. These stepper motors were working then. 2) I have some limited documentation that may/may not relate to this project, which I managed to dig up in 2006, but I lack the expertise to know whether it is useful or not, or what to do with it. There are some circuit diagrams, for example, that might relate to the weather-proofed control box on the side of the Bofors mount. A former electronics technician, PETER SMITH, designed this control box (see item 4 below) for this project. 3) I believe I can find the helical antenna that used to go with the dish. It's either in the `Radio Room' in the School of Physics, or perhaps Lance Maschmedt or Joe Coletti might remember where it is. It might also be in Ken Frost's old office? 4) I don't think there is a receiver specifically for this antenna, but we do have some satellite receiver boxes that we managed to use in 2007, to detect satellites passing overhead. This was using a long cable connection to a Yagi antenna on top of the Physics roof tower. We successfully detected the satellite signal using the receiver box and an old PC. This was a reconstruction of a project set up by a former electronics technician, PETER SMITH. If necessary, we could probably contact Peter Smith; this would be a great help to those interested in reviving the dish project, as he was one of its main drivers. 5) However, somewhere there are parts for a low-noise amplifier (LNA), and I don't know if this was for the satellite detection project or for the Bofors dish (probably the latter?- the satellite detection project already works). There might be a circuit diagram(s) too for this LNA amongst the information that I have. Unfortunately, some of the components may have gone missing, as the plastic bag(s) holding components was found open when I rummaged through a storage room in 2006. 6) There are some big bolts that go with the Bofors gun mount (I think they're supposed to fasten it onto the battleship?). I'm not sure if they're on the mount, or stored elsewhere. I think that when a new proper platform gets built for the Dish, the Workshop can help out with that work without much difficulty (contact: John Moore and Workshop Manager: Gary Light). I'll be in the School of Physics almost every afternoon of the week. It's best for me to meet people on Tuesdays or Thursdays, say 2-3 PM, as I don't have teaching duties on those days. I'll be happy to meet with Craig and others of the UCC to talk about plans to revive the School of Physics Dish. I need a little time to find the information that I have on this project. How about Tuesday 23 March, 2 PM? I had a quick look at the UCC's wiki website on this project. http://wiki.ucc.asn.au/RadioTelescope That looks like a definite plan! Cheers, Andre Fletcher Room 4-5 School of Physics Quoting Ian McArthur : > Hi Craig, > > Yes, you should try Joe (glac at cyllene.uwa.edu.au) and Andre Fletcher > (abf at cyllene.uwa.edu.au), both copied into this reply. > \ > - ian > > On 17/03/2010, at 10:49 AM, Lister Staveley-Smith wrote: > >> Joe Coletti or John Moore? >> Lister >> >> On 17/03/2010, at 10:36 AM, Craig Williams wrote: >> >>> Hi Ian, Lister, Richard, Jay Jay >>> >>> We performed a preliminary inspection of the radio telescope >>> yesterday afternoon to draw up a plan of action. While doing so we >>> noticed that the original stepper motors are missing. >>> >>> We are hoping that these might still be located somewhere in >>> Physics - maybe down in the workshop? Who should we contact in >>> order to chase down where these might be? >>> >>> Our project log is here - http://wiki.ucc.asn.au/RadioTelescope - >>> if you are interested in staying informed about our progress :) >>> >>> Regards >>> >>> Craig Williams >>> University Computer Club >>> >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: Ian McArthur [mailto:mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au] >>> Sent: Friday, 12 March 2010 5:28 PM >>> To: Craig Williams >>> Cc: Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson; Jay Jay (Cyllene) >>> Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics >>> >>> Hi Craig, >>> >>> You should contact Jay Jay (copied in), our School manager. >>> >>> - ian >>> >>> On 12/03/2010, at 5:19 PM, Craig Williams wrote: >>> >>>> Lister, Richard >>>> >>>> In order to kick this project off we will need to organize access to >>>> the Physics roof to inspect the telescope and see what we have to >>>> work with. >>>> >>>> What's the easiest way to do this? >>>> >>>> >>>> Craig Williams >>>> University Computer Club >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: Ian McArthur [mailto:mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au] >>>> Sent: Thursday, 11 March 2010 12:47 PM >>>> To: Craig Williams >>>> Cc: Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson >>>> Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics >>>> >>>> Dear Craig, >>>> >>>> Thanks for you email. We would be happy to talk to you about trying to >>>> recommission the radiotelescope. The people you should contact are >>>> Lister Staveley-Smith and Richard Dodson. I have copied them in. I >>>> would like to clarify that the existing hardware would remain the >>>> property of the School of Physics. >>>> >>>> All the best, >>>> Ian >>>> >>>> On 05/03/2010, at 6:42 PM, Craig Williams wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hi Ian, >>>>> >>>>> I am writing on behalf of a group of members of the University >>>>> Computer Club who are interested in attempting to repair/commission >>>>> the defunct radiotelescope (the one mounted on the Bofors gun mount) >>>>> that is on the roof of Physics. >>>>> >>>>> I was wondering if you would allow us access to telescope and >>>>> permission to install or remove components from what has currently >>>>> been installed. >>>>> >>>>> If you have any question or have any requirements please get in >>>>> touch. >>>>> >>>>> regards >>>>> Craig Williams >>>>> University Computer Club >>>>> >>>> >>>> Professor Ian McArthur >>>> Head of School >>>> School of Physics >>>> The University of Western Australia >>>> +61 8 6488 2737 >>>> mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> Professor Ian McArthur >>> Head of School >>> School of Physics >>> The University of Western Australia >>> +61 8 6488 2737 >>> mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> > > Professor Ian McArthur > Head of School > School of Physics > The University of Western Australia > +61 8 6488 2737 > mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au From harrymc at decisions-and-designs.com.au Wed Mar 17 21:13:01 2010 From: harrymc at decisions-and-designs.com.au (Harry McNally) Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:13:01 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Fwd: FW: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics In-Reply-To: <8c9621af1003170406h58337b1avd76d2c70282f0007@mail.gmail.com> References: <7E0C97968F4AC447B8D9B1F4D71B96F926529650@ITS-WIN-009.staffad.uwa.edu.au> <8c9621af1003170406h58337b1avd76d2c70282f0007@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4BA0D55D.50905@decisions-and-designs.com.au> Hi Craig Is there a chance we can dismantle the thing and spirit bits down the stairs and off to UCC (Stories of the justifying the original cost of crane notwithstanding) ? Harry Craig Williams wrote: > Hi guys, > > Check out the message from Dr Fletcher in Physics below : > > tl;dr : we've found the stepper motors, random other bits, maybe the > original documentation/circuit diagrams > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Andre Fletcher [mailto:abf at cyllene.uwa.edu.au] > Sent: Wednesday, 17 March 2010 6:04 PM > To: Craig Williams > Cc: Ian McArthur(Physics); Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson; Jay > Jay (Cyllene); Joe Coletti; aburrell at cyllene.uwa.edu.au; > lance at physics.uwa.edu.au; timo at physics.uwa.edu.au > Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics > > Dear Craig, and others, > > It's great that you and others in the UCC are thinking > about reviving the unused radio dish in the School of Physics! > > This email contains some background information on the > old Bofors gun-mounted radiotelescope dish (`The Dish') on the > roof of the School of Physics. > > 1) Yes, I just found those stepper motors which we used to > drive the Bofors gun mounted-dish for 2006 Open Day at UWA. > These stepper motors were working then. > > 2) I have some limited documentation that may/may not relate to > this project, which I managed to dig up in 2006, but I lack the > expertise to know whether it is useful or not, or what to do with it. > There are some circuit diagrams, for example, that might relate to > the weather-proofed control box on the side of the Bofors mount. > A former electronics technician, PETER SMITH, designed this > control box (see item 4 below) for this project. > > 3) I believe I can find the helical antenna that used to go > with the dish. It's either in the `Radio Room' in the School > of Physics, or perhaps Lance Maschmedt or Joe Coletti might > remember where it is. It might also be in Ken Frost's old office? > > 4) I don't think there is a receiver specifically for this antenna, > but we do have some satellite receiver boxes that we managed to > use in 2007, to detect satellites passing overhead. This was > using a long cable connection to a Yagi antenna on top of the > Physics roof tower. We successfully detected the satellite > signal using the receiver box and an old PC. This was a > reconstruction of a project set up by a former electronics > technician, PETER SMITH. > > If necessary, we could probably contact Peter Smith; this would > be a great help to those interested in reviving the dish project, > as he was one of its main drivers. > > 5) However, somewhere there are parts for a low-noise amplifier (LNA), > and I don't know if this was for the satellite detection project > or for the Bofors dish (probably the latter?- the satellite detection > project already works). There might be a circuit diagram(s) too for > this LNA amongst the information that I have. Unfortunately, some of > the components may have gone missing, as the plastic bag(s) holding > components was found open when I rummaged through a storage room in > 2006. > > 6) There are some big bolts that go with the Bofors gun mount (I think > they're supposed to fasten it onto the battleship?). I'm not sure > if they're on the mount, or stored elsewhere. I think that when a > new proper platform gets built for the Dish, the Workshop can help > out with that work without much difficulty (contact: John Moore > and Workshop Manager: Gary Light). > > > I'll be in the School of Physics almost every afternoon of the week. > It's best for me to meet people on Tuesdays or Thursdays, say 2-3 PM, > as I don't have teaching duties on those days. > > I'll be happy to meet with Craig and others of the UCC to talk about > plans to revive the School of Physics Dish. I need a little time to > find the information that I have on this project. How about > Tuesday 23 March, 2 PM? > > I had a quick look at the UCC's wiki website on this project. > > http://wiki.ucc.asn.au/RadioTelescope > > That looks like a definite plan! > > > Cheers, > Andre Fletcher > > Room 4-5 > School of Physics > > > > Quoting Ian McArthur : > >> Hi Craig, >> >> Yes, you should try Joe (glac at cyllene.uwa.edu.au) and Andre Fletcher >> (abf at cyllene.uwa.edu.au), both copied into this reply. >> \ >> - ian >> >> On 17/03/2010, at 10:49 AM, Lister Staveley-Smith wrote: >> >>> Joe Coletti or John Moore? >>> Lister >>> >>> On 17/03/2010, at 10:36 AM, Craig Williams wrote: >>> >>>> Hi Ian, Lister, Richard, Jay Jay >>>> >>>> We performed a preliminary inspection of the radio telescope >>>> yesterday afternoon to draw up a plan of action. While doing so we >>>> noticed that the original stepper motors are missing. >>>> >>>> We are hoping that these might still be located somewhere in >>>> Physics - maybe down in the workshop? Who should we contact in >>>> order to chase down where these might be? >>>> >>>> Our project log is here - http://wiki.ucc.asn.au/RadioTelescope - >>>> if you are interested in staying informed about our progress :) >>>> >>>> Regards >>>> >>>> Craig Williams >>>> University Computer Club >>>> >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: Ian McArthur [mailto:mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au] >>>> Sent: Friday, 12 March 2010 5:28 PM >>>> To: Craig Williams >>>> Cc: Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson; Jay Jay (Cyllene) >>>> Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics >>>> >>>> Hi Craig, >>>> >>>> You should contact Jay Jay (copied in), our School manager. >>>> >>>> - ian >>>> >>>> On 12/03/2010, at 5:19 PM, Craig Williams wrote: >>>> >>>>> Lister, Richard >>>>> >>>>> In order to kick this project off we will need to organize access to >>>>> the Physics roof to inspect the telescope and see what we have to >>>>> work with. >>>>> >>>>> What's the easiest way to do this? >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Craig Williams >>>>> University Computer Club >>>>> >>>>> -----Original Message----- >>>>> From: Ian McArthur [mailto:mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au] >>>>> Sent: Thursday, 11 March 2010 12:47 PM >>>>> To: Craig Williams >>>>> Cc: Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson >>>>> Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics >>>>> >>>>> Dear Craig, >>>>> >>>>> Thanks for you email. We would be happy to talk to you about trying to >>>>> recommission the radiotelescope. The people you should contact are >>>>> Lister Staveley-Smith and Richard Dodson. I have copied them in. I >>>>> would like to clarify that the existing hardware would remain the >>>>> property of the School of Physics. >>>>> >>>>> All the best, >>>>> Ian >>>>> >>>>> On 05/03/2010, at 6:42 PM, Craig Williams wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Hi Ian, >>>>>> >>>>>> I am writing on behalf of a group of members of the University >>>>>> Computer Club who are interested in attempting to repair/commission >>>>>> the defunct radiotelescope (the one mounted on the Bofors gun mount) >>>>>> that is on the roof of Physics. >>>>>> >>>>>> I was wondering if you would allow us access to telescope and >>>>>> permission to install or remove components from what has currently >>>>>> been installed. >>>>>> >>>>>> If you have any question or have any requirements please get in >>>>>> touch. >>>>>> >>>>>> regards >>>>>> Craig Williams >>>>>> University Computer Club >>>>>> >>>>> Professor Ian McArthur >>>>> Head of School >>>>> School of Physics >>>>> The University of Western Australia >>>>> +61 8 6488 2737 >>>>> mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> Professor Ian McArthur >>>> Head of School >>>> School of Physics >>>> The University of Western Australia >>>> +61 8 6488 2737 >>>> mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >> Professor Ian McArthur >> Head of School >> School of Physics >> The University of Western Australia >> +61 8 6488 2737 >> mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au > _______________________________________________ > RadioTelescope mailing list > RadioTelescope at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au > http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/radiotelescope > From reapsta at gmail.com Wed Mar 17 23:41:09 2010 From: reapsta at gmail.com (Craig Williams) Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:41:09 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Fwd: FW: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics In-Reply-To: <4BA0D55D.50905@decisions-and-designs.com.au> References: <7E0C97968F4AC447B8D9B1F4D71B96F926529650@ITS-WIN-009.staffad.uwa.edu.au> <8c9621af1003170406h58337b1avd76d2c70282f0007@mail.gmail.com> <4BA0D55D.50905@decisions-and-designs.com.au> Message-ID: <8c9621af1003170841y20515a0dx9c0fd645c55cf4f2@mail.gmail.com> We could probably do it, yeah - we could also probably use the Physics Workshop facilities to work on the mount and stuff. Before we do any dismantling I'd like to clear it with Professor McArthur though, so let's draw up a proper plan for why we want to take it apart, what we're going to do with it when it's dismantled, any special equipment we'll need to not break OH&S etc. On Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 9:13 PM, Harry McNally < harrymc at decisions-and-designs.com.au> wrote: > Hi Craig > > Is there a chance we can dismantle the thing and spirit bits down the > stairs > and off to UCC (Stories of the justifying the original cost of crane > notwithstanding) ? > > Harry > > Craig Williams wrote: > > Hi guys, > > > > Check out the message from Dr Fletcher in Physics below : > > > > tl;dr : we've found the stepper motors, random other bits, maybe the > > original documentation/circuit diagrams > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Andre Fletcher [mailto:abf at cyllene.uwa.edu.au] > > Sent: Wednesday, 17 March 2010 6:04 PM > > To: Craig Williams > > Cc: Ian McArthur(Physics); Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson; Jay > > Jay (Cyllene); Joe Coletti; aburrell at cyllene.uwa.edu.au; > > lance at physics.uwa.edu.au; timo at physics.uwa.edu.au > > Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics > > > > Dear Craig, and others, > > > > It's great that you and others in the UCC are thinking > > about reviving the unused radio dish in the School of Physics! > > > > This email contains some background information on the > > old Bofors gun-mounted radiotelescope dish (`The Dish') on the > > roof of the School of Physics. > > > > 1) Yes, I just found those stepper motors which we used to > > drive the Bofors gun mounted-dish for 2006 Open Day at UWA. > > These stepper motors were working then. > > > > 2) I have some limited documentation that may/may not relate to > > this project, which I managed to dig up in 2006, but I lack the > > expertise to know whether it is useful or not, or what to do with > it. > > There are some circuit diagrams, for example, that might relate to > > the weather-proofed control box on the side of the Bofors mount. > > A former electronics technician, PETER SMITH, designed this > > control box (see item 4 below) for this project. > > > > 3) I believe I can find the helical antenna that used to go > > with the dish. It's either in the `Radio Room' in the School > > of Physics, or perhaps Lance Maschmedt or Joe Coletti might > > remember where it is. It might also be in Ken Frost's old office? > > > > 4) I don't think there is a receiver specifically for this antenna, > > but we do have some satellite receiver boxes that we managed to > > use in 2007, to detect satellites passing overhead. This was > > using a long cable connection to a Yagi antenna on top of the > > Physics roof tower. We successfully detected the satellite > > signal using the receiver box and an old PC. This was a > > reconstruction of a project set up by a former electronics > > technician, PETER SMITH. > > > > If necessary, we could probably contact Peter Smith; this would > > be a great help to those interested in reviving the dish project, > > as he was one of its main drivers. > > > > 5) However, somewhere there are parts for a low-noise amplifier (LNA), > > and I don't know if this was for the satellite detection project > > or for the Bofors dish (probably the latter?- the satellite > detection > > project already works). There might be a circuit diagram(s) too for > > this LNA amongst the information that I have. Unfortunately, some of > > the components may have gone missing, as the plastic bag(s) holding > > components was found open when I rummaged through a storage room in > > 2006. > > > > 6) There are some big bolts that go with the Bofors gun mount (I think > > they're supposed to fasten it onto the battleship?). I'm not sure > > if they're on the mount, or stored elsewhere. I think that when a > > new proper platform gets built for the Dish, the Workshop can help > > out with that work without much difficulty (contact: John Moore > > and Workshop Manager: Gary Light). > > > > > > I'll be in the School of Physics almost every afternoon of the week. > > It's best for me to meet people on Tuesdays or Thursdays, say 2-3 PM, > > as I don't have teaching duties on those days. > > > > I'll be happy to meet with Craig and others of the UCC to talk about > > plans to revive the School of Physics Dish. I need a little time to > > find the information that I have on this project. How about > > Tuesday 23 March, 2 PM? > > > > I had a quick look at the UCC's wiki website on this project. > > > > http://wiki.ucc.asn.au/RadioTelescope > > > > That looks like a definite plan! > > > > > > Cheers, > > Andre Fletcher > > > > Room 4-5 > > School of Physics > > > > > > > > Quoting Ian McArthur : > > > >> Hi Craig, > >> > >> Yes, you should try Joe (glac at cyllene.uwa.edu.au) and Andre Fletcher > >> (abf at cyllene.uwa.edu.au), both copied into this reply. > >> \ > >> - ian > >> > >> On 17/03/2010, at 10:49 AM, Lister Staveley-Smith wrote: > >> > >>> Joe Coletti or John Moore? > >>> Lister > >>> > >>> On 17/03/2010, at 10:36 AM, Craig Williams wrote: > >>> > >>>> Hi Ian, Lister, Richard, Jay Jay > >>>> > >>>> We performed a preliminary inspection of the radio telescope > >>>> yesterday afternoon to draw up a plan of action. While doing so we > >>>> noticed that the original stepper motors are missing. > >>>> > >>>> We are hoping that these might still be located somewhere in > >>>> Physics - maybe down in the workshop? Who should we contact in > >>>> order to chase down where these might be? > >>>> > >>>> Our project log is here - http://wiki.ucc.asn.au/RadioTelescope - > >>>> if you are interested in staying informed about our progress :) > >>>> > >>>> Regards > >>>> > >>>> Craig Williams > >>>> University Computer Club > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> -----Original Message----- > >>>> From: Ian McArthur [mailto:mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au] > >>>> Sent: Friday, 12 March 2010 5:28 PM > >>>> To: Craig Williams > >>>> Cc: Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson; Jay Jay (Cyllene) > >>>> Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics > >>>> > >>>> Hi Craig, > >>>> > >>>> You should contact Jay Jay (copied in), our School manager. > >>>> > >>>> - ian > >>>> > >>>> On 12/03/2010, at 5:19 PM, Craig Williams wrote: > >>>> > >>>>> Lister, Richard > >>>>> > >>>>> In order to kick this project off we will need to organize access to > >>>>> the Physics roof to inspect the telescope and see what we have to > >>>>> work with. > >>>>> > >>>>> What's the easiest way to do this? > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> Craig Williams > >>>>> University Computer Club > >>>>> > >>>>> -----Original Message----- > >>>>> From: Ian McArthur [mailto:mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au] > >>>>> Sent: Thursday, 11 March 2010 12:47 PM > >>>>> To: Craig Williams > >>>>> Cc: Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson > >>>>> Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics > >>>>> > >>>>> Dear Craig, > >>>>> > >>>>> Thanks for you email. We would be happy to talk to you about trying > to > >>>>> recommission the radiotelescope. The people you should contact are > >>>>> Lister Staveley-Smith and Richard Dodson. I have copied them in. I > >>>>> would like to clarify that the existing hardware would remain the > >>>>> property of the School of Physics. > >>>>> > >>>>> All the best, > >>>>> Ian > >>>>> > >>>>> On 05/03/2010, at 6:42 PM, Craig Williams wrote: > >>>>> > >>>>>> Hi Ian, > >>>>>> > >>>>>> I am writing on behalf of a group of members of the University > >>>>>> Computer Club who are interested in attempting to repair/commission > >>>>>> the defunct radiotelescope (the one mounted on the Bofors gun mount) > >>>>>> that is on the roof of Physics. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> I was wondering if you would allow us access to telescope and > >>>>>> permission to install or remove components from what has currently > >>>>>> been installed. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> If you have any question or have any requirements please get in > >>>>>> touch. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> regards > >>>>>> Craig Williams > >>>>>> University Computer Club > >>>>>> > >>>>> Professor Ian McArthur > >>>>> Head of School > >>>>> School of Physics > >>>>> The University of Western Australia > >>>>> +61 8 6488 2737 > >>>>> mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>> Professor Ian McArthur > >>>> Head of School > >>>> School of Physics > >>>> The University of Western Australia > >>>> +61 8 6488 2737 > >>>> mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>> > >> Professor Ian McArthur > >> Head of School > >> School of Physics > >> The University of Western Australia > >> +61 8 6488 2737 > >> mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au > > _______________________________________________ > > RadioTelescope mailing list > > RadioTelescope at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au > > http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/radiotelescope > > > _______________________________________________ > RadioTelescope mailing list > RadioTelescope at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au > http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/radiotelescope > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/radiotelescope/attachments/20100317/123c17aa/attachment-0001.htm From harrymc at decisions-and-designs.com.au Thu Mar 18 09:40:29 2010 From: harrymc at decisions-and-designs.com.au (Harry McNally) Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:40:29 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Fwd: FW: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics In-Reply-To: <8c9621af1003170841y20515a0dx9c0fd645c55cf4f2@mail.gmail.com> References: <7E0C97968F4AC447B8D9B1F4D71B96F926529650@ITS-WIN-009.staffad.uwa.edu.au> <8c9621af1003170406h58337b1avd76d2c70282f0007@mail.gmail.com> <4BA0D55D.50905@decisions-and-designs.com.au> <8c9621af1003170841y20515a0dx9c0fd645c55cf4f2@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4BA1848D.6000207@decisions-and-designs.com.au> Hi Craig Yes, the reassembled mount (even without dish and the 500mm plinth) might still be too heavy to stand on the UCC floor but I was thinking access to the roof has various OHS and supervision issues. It would be useful to have the mount somewhere that people can come and go freely. Physics Workshop sounds like a good alternative but are there isolated areas that allow a bunch of people to access without similar OHS and supervision issues ? I'd suspect the workshop people might not like free reign in their space. But if it could stand on the floor at UCC it would be pretty cool since it would be the centre of attention and easily accessible. All the best Harry Craig Williams wrote: > We could probably do it, yeah - we could also probably use the Physics > Workshop facilities to work on the mount and stuff. > > Before we do any dismantling I'd like to clear it with Professor McArthur > though, so let's draw up a proper plan for why we want to take it apart, > what we're going to do with it when it's dismantled, any special equipment > we'll need to not break OH&S etc. > > > On Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 9:13 PM, Harry McNally < > harrymc at decisions-and-designs.com.au> wrote: > >> Hi Craig >> >> Is there a chance we can dismantle the thing and spirit bits down the >> stairs >> and off to UCC (Stories of the justifying the original cost of crane >> notwithstanding) ? >> >> Harry >> >> Craig Williams wrote: >>> Hi guys, >>> >>> Check out the message from Dr Fletcher in Physics below : >>> >>> tl;dr : we've found the stepper motors, random other bits, maybe the >>> original documentation/circuit diagrams >>> >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: Andre Fletcher [mailto:abf at cyllene.uwa.edu.au] >>> Sent: Wednesday, 17 March 2010 6:04 PM >>> To: Craig Williams >>> Cc: Ian McArthur(Physics); Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson; Jay >>> Jay (Cyllene); Joe Coletti; aburrell at cyllene.uwa.edu.au; >>> lance at physics.uwa.edu.au; timo at physics.uwa.edu.au >>> Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics >>> >>> Dear Craig, and others, >>> >>> It's great that you and others in the UCC are thinking >>> about reviving the unused radio dish in the School of Physics! >>> >>> This email contains some background information on the >>> old Bofors gun-mounted radiotelescope dish (`The Dish') on the >>> roof of the School of Physics. >>> >>> 1) Yes, I just found those stepper motors which we used to >>> drive the Bofors gun mounted-dish for 2006 Open Day at UWA. >>> These stepper motors were working then. >>> >>> 2) I have some limited documentation that may/may not relate to >>> this project, which I managed to dig up in 2006, but I lack the >>> expertise to know whether it is useful or not, or what to do with >> it. >>> There are some circuit diagrams, for example, that might relate to >>> the weather-proofed control box on the side of the Bofors mount. >>> A former electronics technician, PETER SMITH, designed this >>> control box (see item 4 below) for this project. >>> >>> 3) I believe I can find the helical antenna that used to go >>> with the dish. It's either in the `Radio Room' in the School >>> of Physics, or perhaps Lance Maschmedt or Joe Coletti might >>> remember where it is. It might also be in Ken Frost's old office? >>> >>> 4) I don't think there is a receiver specifically for this antenna, >>> but we do have some satellite receiver boxes that we managed to >>> use in 2007, to detect satellites passing overhead. This was >>> using a long cable connection to a Yagi antenna on top of the >>> Physics roof tower. We successfully detected the satellite >>> signal using the receiver box and an old PC. This was a >>> reconstruction of a project set up by a former electronics >>> technician, PETER SMITH. >>> >>> If necessary, we could probably contact Peter Smith; this would >>> be a great help to those interested in reviving the dish project, >>> as he was one of its main drivers. >>> >>> 5) However, somewhere there are parts for a low-noise amplifier (LNA), >>> and I don't know if this was for the satellite detection project >>> or for the Bofors dish (probably the latter?- the satellite >> detection >>> project already works). There might be a circuit diagram(s) too for >>> this LNA amongst the information that I have. Unfortunately, some of >>> the components may have gone missing, as the plastic bag(s) holding >>> components was found open when I rummaged through a storage room in >>> 2006. >>> >>> 6) There are some big bolts that go with the Bofors gun mount (I think >>> they're supposed to fasten it onto the battleship?). I'm not sure >>> if they're on the mount, or stored elsewhere. I think that when a >>> new proper platform gets built for the Dish, the Workshop can help >>> out with that work without much difficulty (contact: John Moore >>> and Workshop Manager: Gary Light). >>> >>> >>> I'll be in the School of Physics almost every afternoon of the week. >>> It's best for me to meet people on Tuesdays or Thursdays, say 2-3 PM, >>> as I don't have teaching duties on those days. >>> >>> I'll be happy to meet with Craig and others of the UCC to talk about >>> plans to revive the School of Physics Dish. I need a little time to >>> find the information that I have on this project. How about >>> Tuesday 23 March, 2 PM? >>> >>> I had a quick look at the UCC's wiki website on this project. >>> >>> http://wiki.ucc.asn.au/RadioTelescope >>> >>> That looks like a definite plan! >>> >>> >>> Cheers, >>> Andre Fletcher >>> >>> Room 4-5 >>> School of Physics >>> >>> >>> >>> Quoting Ian McArthur : >>> >>>> Hi Craig, >>>> >>>> Yes, you should try Joe (glac at cyllene.uwa.edu.au) and Andre Fletcher >>>> (abf at cyllene.uwa.edu.au), both copied into this reply. >>>> \ >>>> - ian >>>> >>>> On 17/03/2010, at 10:49 AM, Lister Staveley-Smith wrote: >>>> >>>>> Joe Coletti or John Moore? >>>>> Lister >>>>> >>>>> On 17/03/2010, at 10:36 AM, Craig Williams wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Hi Ian, Lister, Richard, Jay Jay >>>>>> >>>>>> We performed a preliminary inspection of the radio telescope >>>>>> yesterday afternoon to draw up a plan of action. While doing so we >>>>>> noticed that the original stepper motors are missing. >>>>>> >>>>>> We are hoping that these might still be located somewhere in >>>>>> Physics - maybe down in the workshop? Who should we contact in >>>>>> order to chase down where these might be? >>>>>> >>>>>> Our project log is here - http://wiki.ucc.asn.au/RadioTelescope - >>>>>> if you are interested in staying informed about our progress :) >>>>>> >>>>>> Regards >>>>>> >>>>>> Craig Williams >>>>>> University Computer Club >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -----Original Message----- >>>>>> From: Ian McArthur [mailto:mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au] >>>>>> Sent: Friday, 12 March 2010 5:28 PM >>>>>> To: Craig Williams >>>>>> Cc: Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson; Jay Jay (Cyllene) >>>>>> Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics >>>>>> >>>>>> Hi Craig, >>>>>> >>>>>> You should contact Jay Jay (copied in), our School manager. >>>>>> >>>>>> - ian >>>>>> >>>>>> On 12/03/2010, at 5:19 PM, Craig Williams wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Lister, Richard >>>>>>> >>>>>>> In order to kick this project off we will need to organize access to >>>>>>> the Physics roof to inspect the telescope and see what we have to >>>>>>> work with. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> What's the easiest way to do this? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Craig Williams >>>>>>> University Computer Club >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -----Original Message----- >>>>>>> From: Ian McArthur [mailto:mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au] >>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, 11 March 2010 12:47 PM >>>>>>> To: Craig Williams >>>>>>> Cc: Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson >>>>>>> Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Dear Craig, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Thanks for you email. We would be happy to talk to you about trying >> to >>>>>>> recommission the radiotelescope. The people you should contact are >>>>>>> Lister Staveley-Smith and Richard Dodson. I have copied them in. I >>>>>>> would like to clarify that the existing hardware would remain the >>>>>>> property of the School of Physics. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> All the best, >>>>>>> Ian >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On 05/03/2010, at 6:42 PM, Craig Williams wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Hi Ian, >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> I am writing on behalf of a group of members of the University >>>>>>>> Computer Club who are interested in attempting to repair/commission >>>>>>>> the defunct radiotelescope (the one mounted on the Bofors gun mount) >>>>>>>> that is on the roof of Physics. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> I was wondering if you would allow us access to telescope and >>>>>>>> permission to install or remove components from what has currently >>>>>>>> been installed. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> If you have any question or have any requirements please get in >>>>>>>> touch. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> regards >>>>>>>> Craig Williams >>>>>>>> University Computer Club >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> Professor Ian McArthur >>>>>>> Head of School >>>>>>> School of Physics >>>>>>> The University of Western Australia >>>>>>> +61 8 6488 2737 >>>>>>> mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> Professor Ian McArthur >>>>>> Head of School >>>>>> School of Physics >>>>>> The University of Western Australia >>>>>> +61 8 6488 2737 >>>>>> mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>> Professor Ian McArthur >>>> Head of School >>>> School of Physics >>>> The University of Western Australia >>>> +61 8 6488 2737 >>>> mcarthur at physics.uwa.edu.au >>> _______________________________________________ >>> RadioTelescope mailing list >>> RadioTelescope at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au >>> http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/radiotelescope >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> RadioTelescope mailing list >> RadioTelescope at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au >> http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/radiotelescope >> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > RadioTelescope mailing list > RadioTelescope at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au > http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/radiotelescope From reapsta at gmail.com Thu Mar 18 11:59:30 2010 From: reapsta at gmail.com (Craig Williams) Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:59:30 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] More info from physics Message-ID: <8c9621af1003172059y12f18c21o67ee15a72a0a7182@mail.gmail.com> Some more stuff about the telescope (including a cool use i hadn't thought of ) ----Original Message----- From: Timo P. Vaalsta [mailto:timo at physics.uwa.edu.au] Sent: Thursday, 18 March 2010 11:49 AM To: Andre Fletcher Cc: Craig Williams; Ian McArthur(Physics); Lister Staveley-Smith; Richard Dodson; Jay Jay (Cyllene); Joe Coletti; aburrell at cyllene.uwa.edu.au; lance at physics.uwa.edu.au; timo at physics.uwa.edu.au Subject: Re: Radiotelescope on the roof of physics Hi All, The radio dish on the Bofors gun-mount was last tested by Ken Frost and I a couple of years ago. The designed purpose was to track oribiting weather satellites and recieve the high resolution image data. On recollection Ken and I managed to recieve the image data on a few occassions and then the dish was mothballed due to lack of interest. This was the high reolution images, not the medium resolution images that can be recieved by an fixed dipole or qudrapole antennas on the physics rooftop, which where at one time on live display in the Physics atrium. The status of the Bofors mounted dish was that it was largely ready to go. There remained only the minor matter of calibrating or rather tuning the gearing ratios to tracking rates. In brief: * The stepper motors, Low Noise AMPS, reciever electronics, and control box were last stored in the Electronics Workshop area. Since then moved for more permanent storage. * I wrote some preliminary code to control the Alt-Az mount control logic board that drives the stepper motors; connection via parrallel port of the computer. Though serial port will do, provided you have enough pinouts (more than one port needed.) * The Dongal and some of the satellite image construction software were or are on the old Astronomy computer I setup in the dome and on a computer donated by Peter Smith. I think the Smith computer has disappeared. * The Azimuth part of the mount is likely to be full of water. It needs to to syphoned out. Syphoning ceased when the dish was mothballed. * Lister at one time sought to obtain another reciever to record Natural sky radio sources, say the 21cm line. Ken and I looked into it, but no gear was purchased from the recommendations. In short - the dish was almost ready to go a few years ago. There isn't much to do if one wants to track weather satellites, just a bit of software writing to get it to track near Earth satellites, which is an exercise in celestial mechanics. Regards, Timo. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/radiotelescope/attachments/20100318/e3bf1a1d/attachment.htm From reapsta at gmail.com Thu Mar 18 12:21:50 2010 From: reapsta at gmail.com (Craig Williams) Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:21:50 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Similar project at UCalgary Message-ID: <8c9621af1003172121x1fd00a70lb41bc44af2a2970a@mail.gmail.com> http://www.ras.ucalgary.ca/grad_project_1996/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/radiotelescope/attachments/20100318/d93a7c79/attachment.htm From reapsta at gmail.com Tue Mar 23 17:47:36 2010 From: reapsta at gmail.com (Craig Williams) Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:47:36 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Radiotelescope Update Post Storm Message-ID: <8c9621af1003230247y152edc19y894a18d5481b9b22@mail.gmail.com> Hi all, With the damage to the University and Cameron Hall this afternoon's planned session slipped my mind - but it's a good thing we didn't try to do anything with the controller box stuck in UCC :) I've been up the physics roof to check out the damage, and I can happily report that our telescope is intact - the other two telescopes on the roof, however, are not. The optical scope was smashed and the other radiotelescope was shredded. I have also acquired the stepper motors - so we're still going to go ahead next Tuesday and we'll try and attach the stepper motors. Dr Fletcher in physics is going through some old documentation to try and find the original circuit diagrams. So we're definitely scheduled in for next Tuesday afternoon. [RPS] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/radiotelescope/attachments/20100323/ca076071/attachment.htm From reapsta at gmail.com Tue Mar 30 13:19:04 2010 From: reapsta at gmail.com (Craig Williams) Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:19:04 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Telescope Tuesday Message-ID: <8c9621af1003292219o9332145hbca6fbb326ebf802@mail.gmail.com> Hey guys As I've picked up the motors, we should probably work out how to control them. Telescopey stuff will be on tonight at UCC with the controller box and the motors. [RPS] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/radiotelescope/attachments/20100330/9d71e16e/attachment.htm From andrew at physics.uwa.edu.au Tue Mar 30 14:50:07 2010 From: andrew at physics.uwa.edu.au (Andrew Williams) Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:50:07 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Telescope Tuesday In-Reply-To: <8c9621af1003292219o9332145hbca6fbb326ebf802@mail.gmail.com> References: <8c9621af1003292219o9332145hbca6fbb326ebf802@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4BB19F1F.3000805@physics.uwa.edu.au> Craig Williams wrote: > > As I've picked up the motors, we should probably work out how to control > them. > > Telescopey stuff will be on tonight at UCC with the controller box and > the motors. Not sure who's on the project, or who has what experience with stepper motors. It was a very long time ago, but I spent quite a while playing with stepper controllers, both commercial boards and custom made hacks, so I'd be happy to help (although I can't make it to UCC tonight). In particular, you can get a lot more torque out of a stepper motor if you run it with a higher voltage and dropping resistors. For example, if it's a 12V 1A coil, the nominal coil resistance is 12 Ohm. If you run it with a 48V supply and a 36 Ohm drop resistor in series with each coil (rated to 36 Watts), you still get a nominal 12V across and 1A through the coil as a holding current, but you get much better torque because the higher voltage helps overcome the much higher coil impedance at turnon and increase the coil current faster. The downsides are bulky, hot, high-power resistors, quadrupled power use, and the need for FETs (and/or controller boards) that can handle the increased voltage, but in something that's stationary and mains powered, it's probably worth it. On another topic, as far as I can see from the docs you've sent out, the existing encoders are just potentiometers. I'm really not convinced that pots are a good way to get the position - even new, the linearity specs are probably only barely good enough, and pots are notorious for susceptibility to wear, moisture, dirt, etc, as far as the actual resistance is concerned. On top of that you've got susceptibility to noise on the analogue side before the ADC. Given the pots will be exposed to weather, and there's a lot of RFI from the steppers, I really don't think they are a good solution. I'd say a better idea would first be to assume your stepper motors have enough grunt to not miss steps, and calculate position using the step counts, plus a 'home' microswitch on each axis (you'll need limit switches anyway, but best to add an extra switch for home sensing as well). If the steppers don't have enough grunt, and you find they lose steps under load, you can do the higher voltage trick, or simply reduce the slew rate. Failing that, you can make your own quadrature optical encoders using slot optosensors from an old ball mouse, and a position disk laser-printed onto an overhead transparency sheet, then cut out. The 61cm telescope here uses a commercial stepper controller, and our code doesn't use any encoders at all for motion control - the steppers are grunty enough that they simply don't lose steps at the velocity/acceleration/jerk limits we use. What's more, we need position precision and stability down to a twentieth of an arcsecond, and overall pointing accuracy to a better than an arcminute, far better than a radio telescope. BTW, 'jerk' is the rate of change of acceleration, and it's something you're probably going to have to limit in the motion profile code. Andrew From lathiat at bur.st Tue Mar 30 18:38:49 2010 From: lathiat at bur.st (Trent Lloyd) Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:38:49 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Radiotelescope Project - First night update & findings In-Reply-To: <8c9621af1003152003u1648d51epbea75c3ffffe0f51@mail.gmail.com> References: <8c9621af1003032243v433a52ecv5f38913639c57036@mail.gmail.com> <8c9621af1003152003u1648d51epbea75c3ffffe0f51@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Myself [LAT], Harry [HMC], Adam [EDO] and David [SLX] had a look at the telescope today, here's what we have found: WARNING: There are LIVE 240V terminals exposed on several parts of the box, both in terms of the power supplies and even some leads running onto the logic board. So please leave the box alone for now until we can put insulated covers and better warnings on those terminals! The stepper motors are "HY200 3450 700A8" This seems to mean Hybrid 200 steps/revolution 3.4 diameter, 5.0inch length, 7A, 1 shaft, 8 leads (Data sheet attached) -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: HY200-1713-040 A6.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 577467 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/radiotelescope/attachments/20100330/2d08d40f/attachment-0001.pdf -------------- next part -------------- -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: IMG_0156.jpeg Type: image/jpg Size: 74157 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/radiotelescope/attachments/20100330/2d08d40f/attachment-0006.jpg -------------- next part -------------- It has a DC power supply for the logic board, supply 5V, GND, -12V and +12V which is tested working and voltages reading fairly well: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Successful first night, next step is to figure out the parallel interface, either find some schematics or I personally suspect it won't be too hard to reverse engineer it if necessary. And hopefully the side of things is more accurate and responds to the travel limits. Regards, Trent From harrymc at decisions-and-designs.com.au Wed Mar 31 11:01:29 2010 From: harrymc at decisions-and-designs.com.au (Harry McNally) Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:01:29 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Suggestions for safe operation Message-ID: <4BB2BB09.5040501@decisions-and-designs.com.au> Hello We made good progress last night evaluating the mount control box and stepper motors; lathiat's email summarises it "It works". (Email posted on ucc list atm). The wiring is robust and secure but I think is designed for the box to remain closed while in a powered state unless being manually operated by Physics technical staff. Given that people will want to examine and operate the system with the cover open, I'd like to suggest ways to make the system safe for any UCCan (regardless of experience around mains power) to be able to hack on it. There are two mains inputs, one for the large stepper motor power supply and a second for the +5, +12, and -12 volt UWA built interface board supply. In order to remotely power the system, a relay on the UWA built interface board controls the power (by switching the active mains wire) to the large stepper motor power supply. Two buttons on the UWA interface board allow the supply to be manually powered on and off and I assume the remote (parallel port) input provides a similar mechanism for when the dish is unattended. What all this means is that mains power is connected to the UWA interface board at a terminal block which is a potential point of contact for people working within the live mount control box. There is also another exposed active mains termination on the terminal strips that the stepper motors are connected to. I'd like to suggest: - that the large stepper motor supply is controlled by a sealed (diecast?) box with a fused IEC connector and containing an opto-isolated solid state relay and bolted to the power supply chassis. See: https://www.soanarplus.com/getProductWebDetails.do?prodId=SY4084 https://www.soanarplus.com/getProductWebDetails.do?prodId=PP4004 or https://www.soanarplus.com/getProductWebDetails.do?prodId=PP4003 The relay requires a 4 to 32 volt (possibly 5 volt logic) level applied to the opto-isolated input to "close" the mains terminals. Initially the UWA interface board could be modified to connect the existing relay drive circuit to the terminal block presently carrying the 240 volt mains wires. The solid state relay control could then be wired to that terminal block. - that a quad switched power point is installed inside the box and that a mains cable terminates behind that and feeds out of the cabinet through a sealing and cable restraint gland either at the rear or side of the cabinet (so the cabinet can still be stood on the bench). See: http://au.farnell.com/lapp-kabel/52105450/gland-viton-m16-5-8-6-8mm/dp/1691684 - that any power supplies for the UWA interface board or a replacement are provided by wall-wart power supplies so there is no access to mains wiring anywhere in the box; hence the quad power point. - that a perspex cover is installed on the larger stepper motor power supply around the filter capacitors to prevent contact with the ~100V DC supply power at the capacitor terminals. - that a perspex cover is installed above the stepper motor driver modules to prevent screws or other conductive parts from dropping onto the module PCB or power MOSFETs; allowing for air flow for heat off the modules. Once those modifications are in place and have been inspected and/or tested by UWA safety people, I think anyone can gleefully (and safely) hack on the control box. All the best Harry From andrew at physics.uwa.edu.au Wed Mar 31 11:34:50 2010 From: andrew at physics.uwa.edu.au (Andrew Williams) Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:34:50 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Suggestions for safe operation In-Reply-To: <4BB2BB09.5040501@decisions-and-designs.com.au> References: <4BB2BB09.5040501@decisions-and-designs.com.au> Message-ID: <4BB2C2DA.4000908@physics.uwa.edu.au> Harry McNally wrote: > In order to remotely power the system, a relay on the UWA built interface > board controls the power (by switching the active mains wire) to the large > stepper motor power supply. Two buttons on the UWA interface board allow the > supply to be manually powered on and off and I assume the remote (parallel > port) input provides a similar mechanism for when the dish is unattended. Running the active mains wire to the logic board was a crazy design decision - the relay should have been near the power supply, as you've suggested. > Once those modifications are in place and have been inspected and/or tested by > UWA safety people, I think anyone can gleefully (and safely) hack on the > control box. Personally, I'd recommend dumping the existing custom logic board entirely, and driving the commercial motor controller boards directly. All they need is a logic level on one input to set direction, and pulses on another input to step, and you can do all of that better with a microcontroller. It looks like the board just gates a fixed-rate clock to the stepper pulse lines, and you get much, much better response if you ramp the velocity to limit the acceleration (and better yet if you ramp the acceleration to limit the 'jerk'). Are the steppers wired up in unipolar mode (half of each phase energised at any given time), bipolar series, or bipolar parallel? The wiki has gone, so I can't re-read the controller specs. What voltage is the stepper motor power supply, and what value (and power rating) are those four big resistors on top of it? I'm guessing each pair of resistors is in series with one of the motor power supply lines? They would be the 'Rs' series resistors in the wiring diagrams in the motor data sheets. The protection diodes are probably built into the controller, but might be external. Andrew From andrew at physics.uwa.edu.au Wed Mar 31 15:04:29 2010 From: andrew at physics.uwa.edu.au (Andrew Williams) Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:04:29 +0800 Subject: [RadioTelescope] Suggestions for safe operation In-Reply-To: <4BB2E5DB.4050706@decisions-and-designs.com.au> References: <4BB2BB09.5040501@decisions-and-designs.com.au> <4BB2C674.9010304@physics.uwa.edu.au> <4BB2E5DB.4050706@decisions-and-designs.com.au> Message-ID: <4BB2F3FD.3000809@physics.uwa.edu.au> Harry McNally wrote: > thing we found is that the local oscillator driver circuit causes the steppers > to judder rather than step at some midrange step rates. So there may be issues > with the interface board and it may end up being put aside. I'm wondering if > we can't use a small computing device to clock the stepper driver modules > directly using software. It hinges on the step rates that are needed which is > early days. Taking this back on-list... Juddering at _midrange_ step rates sounds bad - if it works OK at higher and lower rates, I'm not sure why it would fail in the middle, except maybe at a specific resonant frequency? > We'd welcome your experience with stepping large masses (aka telescopes) > although after the resolution you've described in your longer email, the old > gun mount is a tad rudimentary :-) The motors on our telescope look about the same as the ones you have - not sure of the exact specs, but they are physically around the same size, 1.8 degree steps, and a 120V drive system (with large series resistors). Our motors are geared down by a factor of 6480 to drive each axis, for 1 arcsecond on the sky per step, and the controller is a 'microstepping' controller, that doesn't just switch the two phases to reverse polarity, it smoothly varies the currents in both phases in 20 'microsteps' per full step, so the motor is left hovering between the poles except at the full step boundaries. Microstepping controllers are very expensive, and I doubt yours can do that, but it doesn't need to. Motion control in a moving reference frame gets interesting - the Earth is turning, so the position of every 'fixed' galaxy has an alt/az that changes with time. That means the final telescope position depends on how long it takes to slew from the original position (as well as what time you start slewing), but of course the slew time depends on the final position. Solving differential equations for every slew makes it particularly ugly if you want to work out an acceleration profile, a certain time at maximum speed, then deceleration, in advance. It also means you need to accelerate and decelerate not from/to a full stop, but from/to the sidereal track rate (accounting for the rotation of the Earth). The sidereal tracking rate for an alt/azimuth mount also depends on the position, with a singularity directly overhead where it has to move infinitely fast in azimuth to follow an object passing overhead. What we did was split the motion control into two entirely separate streams. The sidereal track rate to follow the rotation of the Earth is calculated at a low level (for us, it was just a constant rate in one axis, because we have an equatorial mount, but it's not hard to work out a sidereal rate in alt/az). Every 50ms, that sidereal rate in each axis is then added to the velocity calculated for a ramp-constant-ramp slew between two 'fixed' points (fixed in the new, sidereal reference frame). Other velocities are added as well, for dynamic tracking (using a high speed camera on a bright star), telescope flexure (using a model of how the tube and other structures bend depending on position, etc, but you wouldn't need those. You can probably get by without a lot of this, but at the very least, you'll need to calculate and apply a sidereal trackrate in both axes, handle transitions between slewing and sidereal rates, and deal with the singularity at the zenith... Andrew