}

3.5M Operations

STUI is a user interface for the APO SDSS telescope. It runs on unix and MacOS.

Starting and Stopping STUI

  • On unix, type "tui" at the command-line prompt. On MacOS, double-click STUI; if MacOS complains the application is unsigned then right-click STUI and select Open. If STUI is not yet installed, see the installation instructions.
  • If you have never run STUI before, set up your preferences before proceeding (for help on any item, right-click on the control and select Help from the menu that appears):
    • Select Preferences from the STUI menu.
    • Under Connections
      • Set User Name to some word that will identify you to other users. I recommend the first letter of your first name followed by part or all of your last name, e.g. "JGunn".
    • Under Exposures:
      • Set Save To to the desired parent directory for science and guider images. STUI creates a hierarchy of subdirectories that separates images from different programs and different dates. Thus you can pick one Save To directory and use it for all your observing.
      • Note: if you want your images to go into instrument-specific subdirectories, include that info in the image name, for example: "dis/dark" instead of "dark".
      • Select whether to auto-download science images to your computer and whether to automatically view those images in ds9.
    • Look through the other preferences.
    • Press Save to save all changes. (Or if you prefer to try things out first, press Apply to use your changes but not save them.)
  • Connect to APO.
    • Select Connect from the STUI menu.
    • Enter your program ID (e.g. UW01) and the associated password. If you didn't save a user name in preferences, type that in as well. Call your Observing Specialist at APO if you don't know your password.
    • Press the Connect button.
    • The displays should update to show current information.
  • To save your window positions and remember which windows to open at startup, select Save Window Positions from the STUI menu. Remember this so you can do it again when you have a better feel for where you like your windows.
  • When you are done observing, select Quit from the STUI menu.

Help

  • Many windows display help in a status bar near the bottom of the window. Simply place the mouse pointer over a control to display its help.
  • Detailed on-line help is accessible from from most controls and displays. You are reading one page of this help right now. To get help for a particular control, right-click on it and select Help from the menu that appears. This will open the appropriate section of the manual in your default web browser (warning: if you have multiple desktops the window may open in a different desktop).

Message window

  • You can send messages to other users using the Message window. Type in the lower pane and hit <return>. Messages appear in the upper pane.

SOP

  • Most observing is done using SOP (under the Inst menu). The available commands will change depending on which cartridge is loaded.

Guiding

  • The Guide window is available in the Inst menu. It has a number of hidden controls and shortcuts, so I strongly recommend you read the documentation before trying to use it.
  • If you have a guide window open then guide images will be downloaded even if you don't have Auto Get selected. However, only the most recent 100 images are ever kept on disk and all guide images are deleted when STUI quits.

Monitoring the Telescope

The following windows can help you keep track of what's going on:

  • Status: shows current position, offset, time, cartridge, etc.
  • Sky: shows the position of the telescope on the sky, including azimuth wrap.
  • Focal Plane: shows the orientation of the sky relative to the instrument.
  • Alerts: shows system alerts and allows you to acknowledge them and add rules for ignoring alerts.
  • Logs: show all messages received by STUI, with various filtering options. There are multiple log windows, each of which can have its own filters.
  • Interlocks: shows system interlocks