Telescope Maintenance

This week in pole was spent repairing the telescope. Early in the week, we discovered that the central column of the AZ Wrap was in contact with one of the sets of cables it guides from the control room to the telescope. After the protective wrapping eroded away, the top of the central column basically turned into a saw and cut the five power cables that run to the deicing system. Shorts occurring during the process also caused faults on the regen system, which is on the same three-phase power as the deicing system. 

The damage.

With the help of one of the ice cube winter-overs and the machinist, we were able to repair the break in the deicing line. In order to prevent further disruption of the lines by the AZ wrap, we had to adjust the wrap itself. 

Repairing the AZ Wrap

The AZ Wrap guides cables and the compressor tubes from the control room up into the telescope. It ensures the cables are properly guided as the telescope slews over 360 degrees of motion. The cables are guided up by an extremely large spring, which allows the wrap to expand and contract as the telescope slews in CW and CCW directions. By expanding the top of the spring outward by a few inches to avoid further rubbing of cables on the central column, the entire dynamics of the wrap were altered, and few days had to be spent changing the wrap setup. There is still work to be done, but for now we are at least back to observing again. 

Extras:

• Really, who designed the AZ wrap anyway?

Next Week in Pole: South Pole Telescope observations of the planet Nibiru