Progress Report for February

[Tom Droege <tdroege2@earthlink.net>]

Status Report for February 2002

Due to unexpected clear weather in February, the stack of CDs is now 436 
high. This up from 371 last month. February added 65 for those of you that 
cannot subtract.  It would appear that the first data without messy 
problems starts about the first of this year.  Sigh!  So it will be until 
the end of this year that I declare the engineering run to be over.

Dan is busy getting a run of 12 cameras ready for me to install CCDs.  I 
don't have enough shells and filters installed for all 12, but these should 
arrive soon from Cary Chleborad.  Everything is wired and most of the 
tubing and disconnects are installed.  We need a shipment of more 
disconnects.  Then it will be down in the basement to try to make shutters 
that do not stick.  I hope to soon have enough cameras to exchange with 
those that have cameras with problems.

I have ordered Declination motors with a lower gear ratio.  I was given 8 
week delivery.

My Unix course has paid off.  I have just (yesterday) successfully run 
Michael's pipeline with the test data.  It did not run the first time.  But 
I had learned enough to recognize where he was putting the error messages 
and that I had not set file permissions correctly.  I am slowly working my 
way through Michael's documentation to see what he is doing.

My thanks to Michael for a great documentation effort.  If I can figure out 
what he is doing, then anyone can.

We have received paperwork back that makes "The Amateur Sky Survey" an 
official US Government charitable organization.  Good for 4 years.  But I 
made at least one error in what I requested, so it remains to be seen if it 
will do what I want.  ***Do Not Send Money***  I would not know what to do 
with it and I still want the option of backing out.  It may be more trouble 
than it is worth.

Tom Droege