New controller and data acquisition system

There are still various issues with the operations of the new detector controller for ALFOSC. Beyond our data acquisition software that has been upgrade to correct some errors, there are still various issues that are specific to the software that interfaces with the controller, and some that are specific bugs in the controller. A system was set-up by us that is also used by the people in Copenhagen to keep track of problems and solutions. Many issues have been resolved or are at least understood, but we have selected to improve the system only in big steps, not upgrading things every time a problem is solved to have as much as possible a well defined and stable system. A related issue is the decision to upgrade the PCI fiber interface card to the newer PCI express standard (see below), where we want this upgrade to also be included in an upgraded version of the detector controller for ALFOSC to not have different versions in operation at the same time.

The development of the NOTCam array controller was started with an initial assessment of the possibilities and limitations of the controller system design. This was needed in order to have a clear basis to define the user requirements for the new controller and data acquisition system for NOTCam. To be able to reach the readout speed originally aimed for it was agreed with the development team in Copenhagen to upgrade the design and use the newer PCI express standard interface card that connects the controller with the computer that operates it. A complete set of user requirements is in the final review stage and will be sent to Copenhagen shortly. These user requirements are significantly more extensive then those for the (optical) detector controller in ALFOSC as it includes things specific to IR arrays, while it also includes various additional commands that do not exist with the current detector controller and data acquisition software.

The planning for the new detector controller for FIES is not clear as this depends on a decision to buy a new detector. However, the user requirements will not be very different from those for ALFOSC. As soon as the situation for the FIES detector becomes clear we will review how best to fit it in with the development for the NOTCam detector.

To minimise any interaction with the rest of the observing system, the plan for the future is for each detector controller to be operate through a dedicated computer, while the control of all instruments will be done from one common instrument control computer. This common instrument control computer is in the process of being installed, configured and tested. The will ease script execution and provide a way of distributing the computing power needed to control instrument(s) and detector controllers. ALFOSC will be the first instrument to use this new setup and it is foreseen to solve specific software problems seen in the current setup with the new controller.