User's Guide to the Tauchmann 22-inch Telescope

Table of Contents

Dome Shutter and Rotation

Dome Shutter Operation | Dome Rotation | Dome Parking

Dome Shutter Operation

Before opening or closing the dome shutter, make sure the mirror covers are installed to protect the mirrors from any dust or debris dislodged while moving the shutter.

The dome shutter has a lock (Figure 1) to keep the two halves firmly closed to protect the telescope from the weather. There are two handles to engage and disengage the dome shutter lock (Figure 2). To unlock the dome shutter, pull the green marked handle down. When the dome is unlocked it will be at nearly the same height as the red marked handle. To lock the dome shutter, make sure the two dome shutter doors are fully closed and pull down on the red marked handle until locking mechanism is fully engaged.

When the dome shutter is open you can stow the shutter lock handles in the clip near the bottom of the right dome shutter (Figure 3) to prevent them from blowing in the wind and obstructing the view through the telescope.

To open the dome, there are two handles at the bottom of the dome (Figure 2) and two ropes with handles attached to the top of the dome shutters (Figures 4 & 5). The ropes are tied off at either side of the dome. Figure 6 is a video showing how to properly tie off the ropes so that the dome shutter stays in the proper position.

To open the dome, do the following:

1. Unlock the dome shutter by pulling down on the green marked handle.
2. Untie the two dome shutter ropes from their cleats.
3. If there are two people present, the two dome shutter doors can be opened at the same time.
4. Grab the handle of the rope attached to the right dome shutter and pull right to open it. Sometimes things stick and one may need to alternate between pulling the rope attached to the top of the shutter and the handle at the bottom of the shutter door.
5. Grab the handle of the rope attached to the left dome shutter and pull left to open it. Sometimes things stick and one may need to alternate between pulling the rope attached to the top of the shutter and the handle at the bottom of the shutter door.
6. Tie off the dome shutter ropes so that the left shutter rope is tied off to the left cleat, and the right shutter rope is tied off to the right cleat. Ropes should be reasonably taut so that the dome shutter doors do not shift during operation due to wind loading, etc.

To close the dome, do the following:

1. Untie the two dome shutter ropes from their cleats.
2. If there are two people present, the two dome shutter doors can be closed at the same time.
3. Grab the handle of the rope attached to the right dome shutter and pull left to close it. Sometimes things stick and one may need to alternate between pulling the rope attached to the top of the shutter and the handle at the bottom of the shutter door.
4. Grab the handle of the rope attached to the left dome shutter and pull right to close it. Sometimes things stick and one may need to alternate between pulling the rope attached to the top of the shutter and the handle at the bottom of the shutter door.
5. Make sure the dome shutter is completely closed along the full length of the shutter.
6. Lock the dome shutter by pulling down on the red marked handle.
7. Tie off the dome shutter ropes so that the left shutter rope is tied off to the right cleat, and the right shutter rope is tied off to the left cleat. Ropes should be taut so that the dome shutter will remain closed regardless of the weather.

Figure 1: Tauchmann Shutter Lock in Unlocked Position (Locked position is all the way up.)	Figure 2: Shutter Lock Handles and Dome Shutter Handles
Figure 3: Shutter Lock Handled Stowed in Clip at Bottom of Right Dome Shutter.	Figure 4: Dome Shutter Left Rope
Figure 5: Dome Shutter Right Rope	Figure 6: Video - How to Secure Dome Shutter Ropes

Dome Rotation

Dome rotation is done using the Dome Rotation switch on the Telescope Control Box (Figure 7). To rotate the dome clockwise (right), push the dome rotation toggle switch to the right. To rotate the dome counter-clockwise (left), push the dome rotation toggle switch to the left. The dome will continue to move as long as the toggle switch is displaced to the left or right. The switch will return to its center position upon release and the dome will drift to a stop.

Warning: Before rotating the dome make sure no one is too close to the dome motor or its counterweight (Figure 8) to make sure no one will be injured or have items caught in the moving machinery. Make sure no one is leaning on the dome before rotating the dome. Finally, the dome opening ropes can get caught on the desk while rotating the dome, so always keep an eye out to make sure the ropes don't get caught.

Figure 7: Dome Rotation Switch

Figure 8: Dome Rotation Motor and Counterweight

Dome Park Position

Figure 9: Dome Park Position indicators