Telescope control system

TO BE DONE NEXT 6 MONTHS:

Install spare power supplies with easy switchover for the TCS crates.

We have been able to order the various spares that were mentioned in the last report. A returning issue noted in our search for spares is that the OS-9 operating system we have is relatively old and does not allow for more modern hardware. A study was made of a possible alternative to the present TCS system. This would be a VME system with a powerful processor, a small UPS to allow full file system update before loosing all power, redundant power supply consisting of 2 identical supplies with a control unit so that when the supply in use breaks the control unit immediately connects the other one, causing zero loss of observing time. The operating system would be real time Linux. The main advantage of a new system is that it is much more powerful and versatile, and spares should be off-the-shelf. However, the software is expensive to develop and maintain, and requires a significant amount of work to install and verify. The main advantage of keeping the current TCS is that it does not require extra work. The main issue is the availability and cost of spares. Potential sources for the required spars have been found, but these are typically refurbished units that are relatively expensive. It is thought that there are sufficient supplies of spares for at least 10 years, but that the cost of spares and maintenance effort will increase over the years. A detailed estimate of cost is being made, where likely the projected future of the telescope and its staffing will be the deciding factor.