Has it really been over two months since the last update? How time flies. Sorry to have kept everyone in the dark for so long (both literally and figuratively). Here is a long overdue update on the status of the RRRT and the new control system.
The replacement TCS was ordered back in October and arrive shortly thereafter. The TCS was installed on the telescope, and when powered up produced errors. We began troubleshooting, however this took longer than we anticipated and the team had to balance this work with travel and other projects. At this point the controller is no closer to working than when we started back in October, and we seem to have run out of options. After several lengthy discussions, we have made the decision to purchase a new TCS from another manufacturer. This is largely driven by the fact that we need the telescope operational for the spring semester. We are hopeful that the new TCS can be ordered this week, and that we will have it delivered sometime over the holiday break. The goal is to have the RRRT back online by the end of January.
