How do I set the instrument up for standard, 8 CCD Mosaic mode?

To prepare the instrument, you need to run 'SetFiles' to configure all of the Arcon setup files. The Standard SetFiles [1] page shows a sample run of SetFiles for the standard 8 CCD mode of MosaicII.

How do I set the instrument up for single box/single CCD mode?

Occasionally the user would prefer to use a single CCD instead of the whole Mosaic. This requires the support person to 'SetFiles' with slightly different answers. The Single controller SetFiles [2] page shows a sample run of SetFiles for this mode of MosaicII.

How do I switch between 8 "a", 8 "b", and 16 channels?

Do "epar engpars" and change parameter "amplifiers" to either "a1a2" (for a amplifiers), or "b1b2" (for b amplifiers), or "all" for all 16 amplifiers. As one of the a-amplifiers is not working, it is best to use "b1b2" for 8 channel mode. Then you must do "setdet f+", just go in and out of this, it will then recompile the waveforms suitably. Note that we are using the 16 channels or 8 "b" amplifiers as default.

NOTE: If you started up in 8 channel mode and are changing to 16 channel, you should do a "all video cal in" to recalibrate the electronics (specifically the 8 channels that weren't recalibrated when you started up in 8 channel mode. This should be typed in the Arcon console (arcon_user) box.

How do I make OTF flats for new or visitor filters?

Check out Frank's email explaining the process [3].

How do I change the data acquisition from one machine to another?

For example, how does one move the data acquisition from ctioa0 to ctioa1? This detailed instruction list [4] will guide you through the process. It should only take about 15 minutes if both machines have Alta boards.

How do I recover an image which is in /tmp?

Using ~/scripts/pimfeed. First, on the data acquisition machine, in the blue IRAF (Data Acquisition) window, cd to where you want the images to go and take 1 exposure (for example, a test exposure). This sets the directory for the recovered files to go to. Then open a UNIX window (an xterm, for example), cd to the directory you chose above, and then do a ls -l /rawdat. Note the ID number of the files you want to recover (the number behind the "xpim", without the underscore. For example, if the ls resulted in something like...

mosaic@ctioa1>/rawdat% ls -al
total 102754
drwxrwxr-x 2 mosaic 512 Dec 13 06:31 .
drwxr-xr-x 8 root 512 Dec 9 10:06 ..
-rw-rw-r-- 1 mosaic 3024 Dec 13 05:00 fits18422.141
-rw-rw-r-- 1 mosaic 1707 Dec 13 05:01 hdr18422.141
-rw-rw-rw- 1 mosaic 32 Dec 13 05:01 xpim18422.141_0
-rw-rw-rw- 1 mosaic 35032680 Dec 13 05:04 xpim18422.141_1
-rw-rw-rw- 1 mosaic 35032680 Dec 13 05:04 xpim18422.141_2
-rw-rw-rw- 1 mosaic 35032680 Dec 13 05:04 xpim18422.141_3

... then you want to use the ID number 18422.141. So in the UNIX window, type~/scripts/pimfeed 18422.141. This should start the transfer of the image to ctio4m. Watch the DCA on ctio4m to see if things are working correctly.

How do start or restart Mosaic GUI without doing a complete Arcon restart?

If the Arcon windows ARE running, then in the IRAF Acquisition window, type

• gwcclose
• gwcopen

If the Arcon windows are NOT running, try...

• cd /m2xp/sources/sun/arInt
• start-arInt

Problem: Arcon appears hung, or freezes during reboot

Occasionally, the Arcon controllers get into a weird state.

SOLUTION: There are roughly 4 levels of severity with which the user can respond:

• Restart Arcon: Use the pull-down menu in the ctioa0 VNC window and select End Arcon Session, wait a few seconds, then select (Re)start Arcon. This will take a little while. It may take several (3-5) Restarts to succeed. Always try at least 3 Restarts before proceeding to the next level of severity listed below.
   
• Restart Arcon AND cycle the Trambox power: Use the pull-down menu in the ctioa0) VNC window and select End Arcon Session. Go through the side door in the 4- console to the computer room and find the Mosaic Trambox (on the same rack as the ctioa0 pizza box). Turn off the power, wait a few seconds, then turn on again. Go back to the console room, and select (Re)start Arcon from the pull-down menu in the ctioa0 VNC window.
   
• Exit Arcon, turn off the Trambox, AND reboot ctioa0:
  First, exit Arcon, kill the ctioa0 VNC window, and turn off the Trambox. Now find the ctioa0 keyboard and monitor in the side computer room. Then follow these steps:

1. Press the "L1" key in the upper left corner of the keyboard; it may be labelled something else, like "Stop".
2. While holding down the "L1" key, press "A". You should see "ok".
3. Type "boot".
4. Wait for the reboot to complete. Turn the Trambox back on.
5. On ctio4m, type "view_a0" at the Unix prompt. This should start the VNC server and bring up the ctioa0 window. (See Using VNC with MOSAIC [5] for details.
6. Restart Arcon from the menu in the ctioa0 VNC window.

• This is the most serious mode and it should be done with the cognizance of NOAO personnel. This will be a total restart of the system. Follow the process in item (3) above for the data-taking computer, but only through step (c). Now:

1. Follow the procedure used to reboot ctioa0 to reboot ctio4m: log out of OpenWindows completelt, then type "L1 A" and then "boot" on the ctio4m keyboard.
2. Go to the grey panels in the side computer room and power off the Arcon. Wait 10 seconds, then power them back on.
3. Power the Trambox on.
4. Log back into ctio4m. Restart both ctioa0 and ctio4m VNC servers and clients by typing "view_a0view_4m" in a Unix window.
5. In the ctioa0 VNC window, Restart Arcon from the pull-down menu. In thectio4m VNC window, Restart DCA from the pull-down menu.
6. If this didn't help, notify your staff contact on the cell phone!

Problem: The MSE box on the MCCD Configuration comes up red with an X.

The most common explanation for this is that msmid is not running on the data acquisition machine.

SOLUTION: start up msmid on the data acquisition machine. This is described in step 2 of the detailed instruction list [4] for changing data acquisition computers.

Problem: Only the upper GUI (MCCD Configuration) comes up.

This usually happens because there is another copy of the GUI running on the data acquisition machine. The title of the GUI usually says "MCCD Configuration - Monitor mode".

SOLUTION: kill off all other 'arInt' processes. First do a ps aux | grep Int. Look for any 'arInt' processes. Kill these with kill -9 (process id number). Then you can EITHER restart Arcon (~3 minutes), OR, if you're in a hurry, you can go to the blue IRAF (Data Acquisition) window and type gwcclose, return, thengwcopen, and return. This should bring up both GUI windows.

Problem: Checking communication between data acquisition machine and Arcon boxes

try b1 vtt telemetry. The 'b1' can be replaced by b2, b3, and b4 to check communication and voltages on each box.

Problem: triggering not working?

Try turning off triggering. To do this, in the blue IRAF (Data Acquisition) window, type engpars and change the trigger parameter to 'no'. Then run setdet to download this change to the controller. Each box will now run on its own, not waiting for the master for trigger signals.

Problem: Debugging MSE communication

To start direct communication with the MSE system (which is connected via the serial port on the data acquisition machine), do the following...

• kill msmid
  • ps -awx | grep msmid
  • kill -9 #### (the pid corresponding to /usr/local/bin/msmid)
• tip ttya (communicate through serial port)
• After hitting return, you should get the "MSE>" prompt
• diag to bring up diagnostic menus
• quit out of diag menus
• hit return, then type "~" followed by a ctrl-d

Problem: the PVM on one or both machines is not recognizing the other machine

Occasionally, the one or both PVMs get into a weird state. This can be seen by typing "pvm", and then "conf" on either ctioa0 or ctioa8. Either machine should list both ctioa0 and ctioa8 as connected.

SOLUTION: Restart the PVMs from zero, following the instructions on the PVM restart [6] page.

This is a brief introduction describing how we use VNC (Virtual Network Computing) [7] to display the various windows which control use of the NOAO Mosaic imager, specifically Mosaic II at CTIO. The advantage of this is that support staff (both on the mountain and downtown) can monitor the use of the instrument, actually SEEING in real time any errors that appear.

Normal Operation

If the Mosaic has been up and running, the user should only have to click on the icons "Start_DCA", "Ximtool", and "Arcon". These buttons run the scriptsstart_dca_a8, start_disp_a8, and start_a0, which are found in the/ua80/mosaic/bin directory. The scripts start up the servers, if necessary, and then the VNC viewers.

These icons and/or scripts should bring up three VNC viewer windows (one for Arcon Acquisition, with a blue background, one for the DCA, with a green background, and one for the real-time display, also with a green background) on ctioa8. Once these come up, use the menus (right mouse button inside VNC window) to start up Arcon in the blue window, the DCA in the DCA window, and ximtool in the real-time display.

NOTE: The multiple Xview warnings which come up in the ARCON Acquisition window are harmless... we're just missing a font for the large countdown timer.

The following images show what should be the result of the instructions above. Click on either for a larger view.

  [8]   [9]   [10]

If pressing the icons produces no result, or the VNC clients start up but the menus appear inaccessible, you will probably have to kill the servers and restart them manually, as follows.

Manual Operation

On ctioa8, open an xgterm or xterm window. All of the following commands below (where it says "type...") should be typed into this window.

If the ctioa0 server is giving you trouble, type

1. rsh ctioa0 "source .login; vncserver -kill :9"
2. rsh ctioa0 "source .login; vncserver :9 -cc 3 -alwaysshared -geometry 1060x800"

This should start the vncserver on ctioa0 and output the following text:

New 'X' desktop is ctioa0:9

Starting applications specified in /arc/mosaic/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /arc/mosaic/.vnc/ctioa0:9.log

If line 2 generates an error message about a file in /tmp, remove the file (rsh ctioa0 "rm /tmp/file_name") and try line 2 again.

Clicking the "Arcon" button should now bring up the Arcon VNC viewer. If you would rather start the viewer manually , too, then type

• vncviewer ctioa0:9 -passwd /ua80/mosaic/.vnc/passwd &

The VNC viewer window should come up, and something like the following output should show up in the xgterm where you typed vncviewer.

[1] ####
VNC server supports protocol version 3.3 (viewer 3.3)
VNC authentication succeeded
Desktop name "mosaic's X desktop (ctioa0:9)"
Connected to VNC server, using protocol version 3.3
VNC server default format:
     8 bits per pixel.
     Colour map (not true colour).
Using default colormap and translating from BGR233. Pixel format:
     8 bits per pixel.
     True colour: max red 7 green 7 blue 3, shift red 0 green 3 blue 6
Got 237 exact BGR233 colours out of 256
Using 1 existing shared colours

In this xgterm window, you can now hit ctrl-X and type "bg" to put the vncviewer in background.

If the DCA VNC viewer is giving trouble, type

1. vncserver -kill :9
2. vncserver :9 -cc 3 -alwaysshared -geometry 700x700

This should start the vncserver on ctioa8 and output the following text:

New 'X' desktop is ctioa8:9

Starting applications specified in /ua80/mosaic/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /ua80/mosaic/.vnc/ctioa8:9.log

Again, if starting the server produces an error message refering to a file in /tmp, remove the appropriate file in /tmp and repeat step 2.

Clicking the Start_DCA button should now bring up the VNC viewer. If you would rather start the viewer manually, type

• vncviewer ctioa8:9 -passwd /ua80/mosaic/.vnc/passwd &

The VNC viewer window should come up, and something like the following output should show up in the xgterm where you typed vncviewer.

[1] ####
VNC server supports protocol version 3.3 (viewer 3.3)
VNC authentication succeeded
Desktop name "mosaic's X desktop (ctioa8:9)"
Connected to VNC server, using protocol version 3.3
VNC server default format:
      8 bits per pixel.
      Colour map (not true colour).
Using default colormap and translating from BGR233. Pixel format:
     8 bits per pixel.
     True colour: max red 7 green 7 blue 3, shift red 0 green 3 blue 6
Got 237 exact BGR233 colours out of 256
Using 1 existing shared colours
Same machine: preferring raw encoding

In this xgterm window, you can now hit ctrl-X and type "bg" to put the vncviewer in background.

If the real-time display VNC viewer is giving you trouble, type

1. vncserver -kill :8
2. vncserver :8 -cc 3 -alwaysshared -geometry 700x700

This should start the vncserver on ctioa0 and output the following text:

New 'X' desktop is ctioa8:8

Starting applications specified in /ua80/mosaic/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /ua80/mosaic/.vnc/ctioa8:8.log

Again, if starting the server produces an error message, remove the appropriate file in /tmp and repeat step 2.

Clicking the Start_DCA button should now bring up the VNC viewer. If you would rather start the viewer manually, type

• vncviewer ctioa8:8 -passwd /ua80/mosaic/.vnc/passwd &

The VNC viewer window should come up, and something like the following output should show up in the xgterm where you typed vncviewer.

[1] ####
VNC server supports protocol version 3.3 (viewer 3.3)
VNC authentication succeeded
Desktop name "mosaic's X desktop (ctioa8:8)"
Connected to VNC server, using protocol version 3.3
VNC server default format:
      8 bits per pixel.
      Colour map (not true colour).
Using default colormap and translating from BGR233. Pixel format:
      8 bits per pixel.
      True colour: max red 7 green 7 blue 3, shift red 0 green 3 blue 6
Got 237 exact BGR233 colours out of 256
Using 1 existing shared colours
Same machine: preferring raw encoding

In this xgterm window, you can now hit ctrl-X and type "bg" to put the vncviewer in background.

Additional Notes

Sometimes VNC doesn't gracefully let go of the X display it is using (sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes longer). If, for example, one of the VNC servers crashes (which I've never seen happen), and the user immediately tries to restart it, one may get an error saying that VNC is running on :9, even though it isn't. Such an error might look like

mosaic@ctioa8% startvnc_a0
A VNC server is already running as :9
[1] 3328
vncviewer: ConnectToTcpAddr: connect: Connection refused
Unable to connect to VNC server

[1]      Exit 1           vncviewer ctioa0:9 -passwd /ua82/mosaic/.vnc/passwd

To get around this problem, first try waiting about 2-3 minutes before running startvnc again. This should be enough time to allow the socket to be released. If this fails, try going through the manual startup and substitute another number, for example 8, whereever you see 9 in the above manual example. This will start up the VNC sessions on X display :8, but otherwise should be the same.

IF ALL ELSE FAILS: You can bypass VNC completely and start up the windows directly. To do this...

• Open an xgterm on ctioa8
• ssh ctioa0 and log in
• type ArconReStart.ow at the ctioa0 prompt

This should bring up the normal Arcon windows directly on the ctioa8 display. To exit this Arcon session, go back to the xgterm with the ctioa0 prompt and type

• ArconExit

This should kill all of the Arcon windows on ctioa8.

Connecting from other machines

To connect from other machines, you must (of course) have the VNC viewer application installed. This should be installed on most workstations, and can be downloaded for PCs and Macs from the VNC Homepage [11].

To view a Mosaic session, simply use the VNC viewer application to connect to ctioa0:9 (for the data acquisition windows) or ctioa8:9 (for the DCA windows). You must know the password to enter. NOTE!! You should ALWAYS enter as VIEWONLY unless you are trying to remotely help the observer. If you do not know how to do this, DON'T CONNECT!

Telescope

Console

To check VNC's, the commands and results should look like the following...

• ON ctioa0

mosaic@ctioa0% ps aux | grep vnc

• ON ctioa8

mosaic@ctioa8% ps aux | grep vnc

To check that PVM is working and correctly configured on both machines

• ON ctioa0

mosaic@ctioa0% pvm
pvmd already running.
pvm> conf
2 hosts, 2 data formats

pvm> quit

pvmd still running.

• ON ctioa8

mosaic@ctioa8% pvm
pvmd already running.
pvm> conf
2 hosts, 2 data formats

pvm> quit

pvmd still running.

If EITHER does not look like this, it is best to simply start from the beginning. 
This involves killing the pvm processes on BOTH ctioa0 and ctioa8 and then
restarting them.  To do this, follow the instructions on restarting the pvm [6].

Last updated June, 2010

This is a log of an actual run of SetFiles for MosaicII (SetFiles for MosaicI should be very similar). It demonstrates the setup for the standard 8 CCD Mosaic mode.

NOTE: the items in bold below are typed by the support person setting up the instrument. The (return) means simply hit the return key.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ctioa1% SetFiles -a
/etc/Environment

File setup for those who like to answer LOTS of questions

+++ Getting current settings from /etc/Environment...
+++ Getting current settings from /etc/Init_CPU_Info.nex...

(?) Software version (/m2xp/arcon) : (return)

(?) Do you have a Mosaic (no) : yes

(?) Is this the Mosaic II (no) : yes

(?) Is controller #1 present (yes) : yes
(?) Is controller #2 present (no) : yes
(?) Is controller #3 present (no) : yes
(?) Is controller #4 present (no) : yes

(?) Is the CCD electronics available (yes) : (return)

(?) Select the bootable name. There are(is) 1 possible choice(s)
for this name, based on the information given before:
0 Select bootable that's not in the menu
1 ComSeq1234II.Ooo
selection (ComSeq1234II.Ooo -> 1) : (return)
ComSeq1234II

(?) Select the controller name. There are 21 possible
choices for this name:

0 Select controller not in the menu
1 Arcon2001 
2 Arcon3001 
3 Arcon3002 
4 Arcon3003 
5 Arcon3005 
6 Arcon3006 
7 Arcon3007 
8 Arcon3008 
9 Arcon3009 
10 Arcon3010 
11 Arcon3011 
12 Arcon3012 
13 Arcon3013 
14 Arcon3014 
15 Arcon3015 
16 Arcon3016 
17 Arcon3017 
18 Arcon3018 
19 Arcon3019 
20 Arcon3020 
21 Arcon3021

Enter controller #1, selection (Arcon3018 -> 18) : (return)
Enter controller #2, selection (Arcon3019 -> 19) : (return)
Enter controller #3, selection (Arcon3020 -> 20) : (return)
Enter controller #4, selection (Arcon3021 -> 21) : (return)

(?) Interface card:

0 None
1 Parsytec
2 Alta

selection (2) : (return)

(?) Link number used to download (0) : (return)

(?) Muxnex command line options (-m) : (return)

(?) Observatory name (CTIO) : (return)

(?) Telescope name:

0 Select telescope not in the menu
1 none
2 ct4m
3 ct60
4 ct1m
5 ct36
6 ctschmidt
7 kp4m
8 kp36

selection (ct4m -> 2) : (return)

(?) Focal station:

0 Select focal station not in the menu
1 none
2 cf
3 nf
4 pf
5 cf14
6 cf75
7 cf135

selection (pf -> 4) : (return)

(?) Instrument name:

0 Select instrument not in the menu
1 none
2 argus
3 bme
4 cfccd
5 cs4m
6 cs60
7 csccd
8 cspol
9 echccd
10 fpccd
11 nfccd
12 pfccd
13 mosaic

selection (mosaic -> 13) : (return)

++++++++++++++++++++ New Settings ++++++++++++++++++++ 

NOTE: If you didn't get the questions to change the settings you
wanted to, then try 'SetFiles -help' to find the command line
option that best matches your needs.

(?) Do you want to install the changes (yes) : (return)

Installing files...

The old copy of /etc/Environment was saved as /etc/Environment.BAK
The old copy of /etc/Init_CPU_Info.nex was saved as /etc/Init_CPU_Info.nex.BAK

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The support person should then start up Arcon ('(Re)start Arcon' in OpenWindows menu) and check to that the system boots. It is probably best to answer "no" to the "synchronize parameters?" query during this startup. This allows for changes to be made in the parameters (such as detpars) before sending parameters out to the instrument and detectors.

It is usually recommended to do an 'End Arcon Session' after completing the setup, and then a '(Re)start Arcon', answering 'yes' to the "synchronize parameters?" query this time. This is not absolutely necessary, but it does confirm that the system will restart for the user when he/she does a '(Re)start Arcon' later.

(1-2 CCD mode)

This is a log of an actual run of SetFiles for MosaicII for the special case where the user only wants to use 1 or 2 CCDs of the array. This is CURRENTLY (Dec 99) configured to use Box #1, disabling CCD#1 and enabling only CCD#2 for use. CCD #1 is disabled to prevent crosstalk problems from showing up in CCD#2.

NOTE: the items in bold below are typed by the support person setting up the instrument. The (return) means simply hit the return key.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ctioa1% SetFiles -a
/etc/Environment

File setup for those who like to answer LOTS of questions

+++ Getting current settings from /etc/Environment...
+++ Getting current settings from /etc/Init_CPU_Info.nex...

(?) Software version (/m2xp/arcon) : (return)

(?) Do you have a Mosaic (no) : yes

(?) Is this the Mosaic II (no) : yes

(?) Is controller #1 present (yes) : yes
(?) Is controller #2 present (yes) : no
(?) Is controller #3 present (yes) : no
(?) Is controller #4 present (yes) : no

(?) Is the CCD electronics available (yes) : (return)

(?) Select the bootable name. There are(is) 1 possible choice(s)
for this name, based on the information given before:

0 Select bootable that's not in the menu
1 ComSeq1234II.Ooo

selection (ComSeq1II.Ooo -> 1) : (return)

ComSeq1II

(?) Select the controller name. There are 21 possible
choices for this name:

0 Select controller not in the menu
1 Arcon2001 
2 Arcon3001 
3 Arcon3002 
4 Arcon3003 
5 Arcon3005 
6 Arcon3006 
7 Arcon3007 
8 Arcon3008 
9 Arcon3009 
10 Arcon3010 
11 Arcon3011 
12 Arcon3012 
13 Arcon3013 
14 Arcon3014 
15 Arcon3015 
16 Arcon3016 
17 Arcon3017 
18 Arcon3018 
19 Arcon3019 
20 Arcon3020 
21 Arcon3021

Enter controller #1, selection (Arcon3018 -> 18) : (return)

(?) Interface card:

0 None
1 Parsytec
2 Alta

selection (2) : (return)

(?) Link number used to download (0) : (return)

(?) Muxnex command line options (-m) : (return)

(?) Observatory name (CTIO) : (return)

(?) Telescope name:

0 Select telescope not in the menu
1 none
2 ct4m
3 ct60
4 ct1m
5 ct36
6 ctschmidt
7 kp4m
8 kp36

selection (ct4m -> 2) : (return)

(?) Focal station:

0 Select focal station not in the menu
1 none
2 cf
3 nf
4 pf
5 cf14
6 cf75
7 cf135

selection (pf -> 4) : (return)

(?) Instrument name:

0 Select instrument not in the menu
1 none
2 argus
3 bme
4 cfccd
5 cs4m
6 cs60
7 csccd
8 cspol
9 echccd
10 fpccd
11 nfccd
12 pfccd
13 mosaic

selection (mosaic -> 13) : (return)

++++++++++++++++++++ New Settings ++++++++++++++++++++

NOTE: If you didn't get the questions to change the settings you
wanted to, then try 'SetFiles -help' to find the command line
option that best matches your needs.

(?) Do you want to install the changes (yes) : (return)

Installing files...

The old copy of /etc/Environment was saved as /etc/Environment.BAK
The old copy of /etc/Init_CPU_Info.nex was saved as 
/etc/Init_CPU_Info.nex.BAK
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The support person should then start up Arcon ('(Re)start Arcon' in OpenWindows menu) and check to that the system boots. It is probably best to answer "no" to the "synchronize parameters?" query during this startup. This allows for changes to be made in the parameters (such as detpars) before sending parameters out to the instrument and detectors. At this point one should run newpset all to reset parameters for the new setup. Then, if the user wants a 2048x2048 CCD (for example), one would run setdet and set

• ystart = 2049
• ysize = 2048

It is usually recommended to do an 'End Arcon Session' after completing the setup, and then a '(Re)start Arcon', answering 'yes' to the "synchronize parameters?" query this time. This is not absolutely necessary, but it does confirm that the system will restart for the user when he/she does a '(Re)start Arcon' later.

Subject: Creating and Installing OTF Flat Fields
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 10:23:26 -0700 (MST)
From: Frank Valdes 
To: mosaic-ccdATtucana.tuc.noao.edu, pmasseyATtucana.tuc.noao.edu

In response to a question from Phil I am posting an updated version of something I sent around last fall.

I post this here for anyone interested or who might need to create the OTF flats, and as a record of the process as currently performed. This was updated from the previous version dated "Oct 28, 1999" to include information about how to set things up for personal use during an observing run. The only problem is how observers can install the files for general
use. Right now the files are put in a system directory owned by IRAF. I am considering making the directories have world permissions but with all previously installed directories being protected.

This information will be available on-line with "help mscotfflat" after the next update of MSCRED.

Frank

Creating and Installing OTF Flat Fields
    Frank Valdes - Aug. 25, 2000

1. Take one or more flat fields. The count levels have to be below 30000. If not divide the values by a number either before or after processing using MSCARITH. Since the OTF flats are spatially binned and digitized to reduce size it probably is not very useful to create a high quality flat from multiple exposures, a single exposure should be fine.

2. Process the flat(s). The processing should be only overscan and trim. If combining multiple flats with FLATCOMBINE set the processing as noted. The processing should save the raw exposures in the Raw subdirectory (or whatever is set for the "backup" parameter in MSCRED).

3. Run MSCOTFFLAT with the default values. The output name must be one word (that is an acceptible directory name) and should be the standard identifier for the filter. Typically this would be the first word of the filter name recorded in the header (with any characters which are not letters, numbers, or '.' replaced with '_'). The template name is one of the raw exposures.

ms> mscotfflat flat001 B Raw/flat001

This will create a subdirectory, B in this example, with the number of pl files equal to the number of extensions.

3a. You can check if things make sense by the size of the pl files being approximately 0.6-1.6Mb. You can also display the files and compare with the original data using:

ms> display B/flat1 1 fill+ ...
ms> display flat00[1] 2 fill+ ...

They should be very similar to the flat from which they were derived.

4. To use during your run with the real-time DCA display you would set the calibration directory in the DCA GUI to point to the parent directory containing the subdirectories of pl files (the directory you were in when you ran MSCOTFFLAT). This is done from the "Edit" menu, selecting "Path Params", editing the "Calibration Dir" field, and finally clicking "Apply". Also if you are going to use MSCDISPLAY with "process=yes" then go to the "mimpars" parameters and set the "caldir" directory parameter there too. Remember that directories in IRAF must end with '/' (or '$' for logical directories).

If you do nothing else the software will look in the specified calibration directory for a subdirectory which matches the first word of the filter string in the image header (with any characters that are not letters, numbers, or '.' changed to '_'). If you want to translate the header filter name to some other (directory) name you can add a "cal.men" file where the first column is the filter name (quoted if there are blanks) and the second column is the directory name. This file is also used to set the override choices for the filter in the DCA GUI.

The following is done to install the OTF directory for general use and requires the IRAF login.

5. Login as IRAF and go to the standard calibration directory:

Transfer the OTF directory to that calibration directory. One way is

% (cd /md1/4meter/nite1; wtar B) | rtar -xv

6. Edit the cal.men file. The first column is the filter name as given in the data files under the FILTER keyword. The second name is the directory name. The order of the entries in the order in which the filters will appear in the DCA list. Note the DCA list is only used to override the automatic filter selection based on the filter keyword.

7. Remove the OTF directory in your data area. One way is with "!rm -rf

". You can also restore the original raw flats for taping by moving the files from the Raw subdirectory back to the data directory.

8. I am maintaining a master MSCDB directory that includes current OTF flats. This serves the purpose of a backup, the  source to generate installation files, and the source to generate distribution files for users who might want them. So if you  create OTF files please notify me.

See also

ms> phelp mscotfflat 

Switching which computer acts as Mosaic data acquisition machine is fairly easy and fairly quick (15 min), if you know how to do it. Here is a detailed, straightforward example of how to do it. For this example, we show the move from ctioa0 to ctioa1.

HARDWARE:

1. move serial connection from ctioa0 to ctioa1

2. change nexus connections from ctioa0 to ctioa1 (4 cables "rj-11"), installing them in the same order.

• This assumes that ctioa1 has an Alta board. If it has a Parsytec board, one must replace it with an Alta board to allow Mosaic to function.

SOFTWARE:

1. on ctioa0: kill msmid
   1. su (log in as root)
   2. ps aux | egrep msmid
   3. kill -9 XXXX (XXXX = process id of mscmid)
2. on ctioa1: start msmid
   1. su (log in as root)
   2. cd /home/logs
   3. rm mseCommPortIsInUse!
   4.  /usr/local/bin/start-msmid
3. check that the new machine is registered
   1. rsh ctio4m -l mosaic
   2. pvm
   3. > conf (outputs list of registered machines)
   4. IF ctioa1 is not there...
   5. add ctioa1
4. log out & log in as mosaic

IF ctioa1 has been running normal arcon, you also need to run SetFiles [1] to finish the setup, setting "Software version" to /m2xp/arcon.

Checking on the PVMs

The main thing to check on regarding the PVMs is if they are connected to the proper machines. To check the status of the PVMs running on ctioa0 and ctioa8, open an xterm or xgterm and type:

mosaic@ctioa8% pvm

pvm> conf

2 hosts, 2 data formats

pvm> quit

pvmd still running.

Here we see that the pvm on ctioa8 is running and connected to ctioa0 and ctioa8. If both of these don't show up, move to "Restarting the Mosaic PVMs" below. A similar output should be obtained on ctioa0 if all is well.

Restarting the Mosaic PVMs

If the pvm on EITHER ctioa0 or ctioa8 is misconfigured or otherwise having problems, it is best to kill them and restart them. To do this first you must stop all pvms which are currently running. Then start them from ctioa0 (not ctioa8).

Stopping the PVMs

FIRST on ctioa8, type (in an xgterm)

mosaic@ctioa8% pvm

pvmd already running.

pvm> halt

mosaic@ctioa8%

Often on ctioa8 this will NOT stop the PVM. So you must check to see if it really stopped by typing

       mosaic@ctioa8% ps aux | grep pvm

If there are any pvm processes still running, kill them by typing

       mosaic@ctioa8% kill -9 procid

where procid is the process ID of the pvm process.

Finally (for ctioa8), check to see that there are no pvm files left in /tmp by typing

       mosaic@ctioa8% rm /tmp/pvm*

THEN do the same steps above for ctioa0. The halt command in pvm usually works on ctioa0, but it is still good to make sure with the ps command.

(Re)Starting the PVMs

To start the pvms up, open an xterm or xgterm on ctioa0 and type...

mosaic@ctioa8% pvm

pvm> conf

pvm> add ctioa8

pvm> conf

2 hosts, 2 data formats

pvm> quit

pvmd still running.

The pvm command starts up pvm on ctioa0, and the "add ctioa8" command starts the pvm up remotely on ctioa8. The "conf" command confirms that the pvm was started on ctioa8 and that the link between ctioa0 and ctioa8 has been established.

To confirm that all is running well, go to ctioa8 and type (in an xgterm)

mosaic@ctioa8% pvm

pvmd already running.

pvm> conf

2 hosts, 2 data formats

pvm> quit

pvmd still running.

Check VNCs

(1) check that VNC is running on both ctioa0 and ctioa8 (no need to restart them if they are already running). The commands and results should look like the following...

- ON ctioa0

mosaic@ctioa0% ps aux | grep vnc 

- ON ctioa8

mosaic@ctioa8% ps aux | grep vnc

Check PVMs

(2) check that pvm is working and correctly configured on both machines

- ON ctioa0

mosaic@ctioa0% pvm
pvmd already running.
pvm> conf
2 hosts, 2 data formats @@

pvm> quit

pvmd still running.

- ON ctioa8

mosaic@ctioa8% pvm
pvmd already running.
pvm> conf 
2 hosts, 2 data formats

pvm> quit

pvmd still running.

If EITHER does not look like this, it is best to simply start from the beginning. This involves killing the pvm processes on BOTH ctioa0 and ctioa8 and then restarting them. To do this, follow the instructions on restarting the pvm. [12]

Check out Arcon

Start up Arcon on ctioa0 and watch for errors in the Arcon Console window.

Also check the TCS and MSE boxes in the Mosaic GUI.

Check STB

Check data

• Noise in zero
• Gain and read noise

Check flat field lamps and counts

Confirm that counts listed on web page for given exposure times are approximately correct.

in Spanish

Al entrar a Mosaic

• Login en ctioa8 como mosaic
• Password
• Entrar en ambiente windows con startx
• Cerrar la ventana [ K desktop environment ]

Los problemas comienzan aquí, ya que automáticamente debería abrir las ventanas de ctioa0 y DCA. Cuando el VNCserver fue terminado apropiadamente se puede abrir el VNCviewer a ctioa0 y DCA, directamente desde los íconos. En caso contrario, la ventana del DCA puede abrirse, pero no es posible seleccionar la partida del programa con el botón derecho y requiere hacer vncserver -kill ctioa8:9 y vncserver -kill ctioa8:8. Luego si esto ha sido solucionado, y ambos servidores ( ctioa8, ctioa0 ) estan en el listado de pvm ("conf" para listar; por ejemplo "add ctioa8" si ctioa8 no aparece; "quit" para salir), DCA partirá bien en caso contrario se deben agregar en el pvm. También pude ocurrir que haya otra sesión de DCA corriendo en cuyo caso, hay que verificar el PID con ps -Al | grep dca, y luego terminar el proceso con kill -HUP PID.

• Abrir el Ximtool desde el ícono
• Hacer RE-START MOSAIC
• Contestar yes cuando pregunte por sincronización de parámetros

Verificar que se abre la ventana azul de Arcon y comienza el proceso de booteo. Durante este proceso debe abrirse la ventana de la GUI para shutter y filtros. En el momento que aparece, la etiqueta MSE debe aparecer en verde y mostrar las temperaturas del CCD. Si esto no sucede hay que matar la ventana dando ungwcclose desde la ventana de Arcon Acquisition, y luego desde una ventana del ctioa8 matar el proceso msmid determinado su PID con ps -ax | grep msmid y luego kill -9 PID. Después verificar que en el directorio /home/logs no está el archivo mseCommPortIsInUse! , si existiera borrarlo con un rm mseCommPortIsInUse!. A continuación hacer un start-msmid, en este punto co es obligatorio pero la mayoría de las veces requiere apagar la unidad de filtros en el pedestal, mediante el control remoto del power, en la sala de computadores. Finalmente desde la ventana Arcon Adquisition dar el comando gwcopen y la GUI debe abrirse funcionando normalmente.

• Tomar una imagen de test

Al salir de Mosaic

• Hacer un Arcon End Session
• Cerrar ventana vnc de ctioa0
• Cerrar programa DCA mediante click en File-Quit
• Cerrar ventana vnc de DCA
• Cerrar programa Ximtool mediante click en File-Quit
• Logout en botón de barra de estado de K desktop
• Dar exit desde el modo texto

That's all folks.



Enrique & Manuel

Dark 600 sec, all amps

[13]

Dark 600 sec B amps

[14]