| The "Limits" portion of the Main Window diplays the status of the
three telescope position limits: N-S, E-W, and Elevation (or horizon), see
limits, below. Each limit can
be in one of three states: clear, near, or soft. The limit "clear" message changes to
"near" as one approaches the limit, "near" changes to "soft" when a software limit is
reached. When this occurs, telescope motion is halted and tracking and autodome are
disabled. The operator can move out of a software limit by either entering coordinates
that lift the telescope out of the limit, or by manually moving out with the
virtual joystick or
manual slew functions.
POCO will not permit a "Move to Target" if the target coordinates exceed any of the
telescope limits, but it is possible to track or to manually move into a limit. Manually
slewing into a limit may cause the telescope to coast past the software limit and into
a hardware limit. The best way to avoid this is not to use manual slew when near a limit.
If you do trip a hardware limit, call a support scientist or telescope technician.
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