Maintenance Day

[Thomas Droege <tdroege2@earthlink.net>]

This is just one of those days.  The TOM3 computer has been flakey for some
time.  It was very hard to get it started, but once started it ran OK.  It
finally died.  The new spare I had will not run the memory board.  Sigh! 
We have been working through all the old ISA board computers trying to find
one that would work.  Sigh!  The most likely candidate would not run the
serial port.  What a pain.  So we will have to learn to make the old memory
board design work with a new computer.

I don't just sit back and sleep while the computers automatically survey
the sky.  There is always something that needs attention.  I hope that all
this work is useful to someone.  

Meanwhile, Mike is painting the parts for TOM4 and TOM5.  We are painting
the various motions pretty colors so that the telescopes will photograph
better.  In the past a Mark IV just looks like a dark blob.  

Progress is being made even though sometimes it is a struggle.

Tom Droege


Tom  Droege Jennifer Malpass
tdroege2@earthlink.net