UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA OBSERVATORIES / LICK OBSERVATORY

LLAMAS Operational Procedures

Daytime Laser alignment use | Laser Startup for on-sky operations | LGS Ops
General: Anyone in the dome must be wearing eye protection!

Daytime Laser alignment use

Procedure to allow laser use in dome during the day when dome shutter is closed.

  1. Make sure elevator is on 2nd foor and estop engaged.
  2. Make sure all doors are closed.
  3. Make sure poco_fe is running.
  4. Make sure naux_fe is running.
  5. Make sure dome shutter is closed.
  6. Rotate dome so that dome slit is aligned with telescope (POCDINW keyword should be clear and poco_fe will indicate "Dome Clear").
  7. Make sure none of the night-time, open dome software is running (i.e. stop LLAMASlaser.tcl, LSM-LLAMAS.tcl, and llamas_telcoc software if any are running).
  8. LLAMAS crew will ensure all other setup for alignment is done (e.g. open mirror cover, close doors and window shutters, retract rainscreen.
  9. Set poclaser=enable by typing modify -s poco poclaser=enable.
Laser can be disabled by rotating the dome, setting poclaser=disabled, opening a door, closing the mirror cover, pushing the LASER Emergency Stop button, etc.

Laser Startup for on-sky operations

Procedure to make sure safety systems are set up and ready for laser propagation. All software runs on nickelvnc.ucolick.org from the user account.
  1. One hour before laser propagation, email Space Command Laser Clearinghouse the Laser Status Report via the lgsStatusReportsLLAMAS.tcl program entering the correct PT local times for laser operations start and stop times and laser status.
  2. Make sure VNC :1 is running on noir so sounds triggered by the laser safety software can be heard. (Sounds can be tested from LSM-LLAMAS.tcl by clicking on LaserShutter - Sound.) Make sure speaker attached to noir has sufficient setting to hear sounds.
  3. Move telescope to cleared boresight position. Usually the start of night position will be Azimuth=180.0 deg, Elevation=80.0 deg (HA=0:00:00 Dec=27:20:24).
  4. Make sure all hardware safety interlocks are functioning (i.e. door, mirror cover, rain screen, etc.). This will usually be done by the LLNL LLAMAS team.
  5. Make sure guider diagonal mirror is OUT.
  6. Make sure llamas_telcoc is running. This program will monitor the current zenith distance of the telescope and make sure it is within FAA approved parameters. The background color of the ZD will change to yellow if close to an FAA elevation limit, and red if outside of the FAA approved elevations. It will generate the photo-torpedo sound if it shutters the laser because of zenith distance limits.
  7. Start LLAMASlaser.tcl. This software will show laser propagation status, as well as dome shutter open/close status and windscreen up/down status. The laser will be shuttered if the dome is not fully open or the windscreen is not completely down. There is also an enable/disable button so that the laser can be disabled manually.
  8. Start LSM-LLAMAS.tcl and load the appropriate .lsm file. Usually this file will be 180.0_80.0.lsm. AZEL lsm file naming convention is degreesAZ_degreesEl.lsm. This software works identically to the LSM.tcl software for ShaneAO LGS operations.
  9. It should now be safe to propagate the laser.

LGS Operations

General procedure for moving to a new laser target position.
  1. Make sure loop is open.
  2. Shutter laser.
  3. Move telescope to new target.
  4. Load new target's .lsm file into LSM-LLAMAS.tcl.
  5. Confirm LLAMASlaser.tcl and llamas_telcoc are running and show that lasing is permitted.
  6. LLNL LLAMAS team will confirm that all other safety systems permit laser propagation.
  7. Propagate laser and keep an eye on the software and its status, manually shuttering laser if the automated systems fail by pressing the hardware button or the enable/disable button in the LLAMASlaser.tcl GUI.
Elinor Gates
Last modified: Thu Jul 27 00:46:45 PDT 2023