SOAR Issue Status
This page provides a brief summary of the status of significant issues with the SOAR Telescope and its associated instrumentation. The emphasis is on issues that are internal to SOAR. There are two tables - one comprising known issues, and the second second listing resolved issues in approximate reverse chronological order of resolution. The lists comprise only recurrent issues; responses to problems reported on individual night reports are not provided. In some cases there have been additional updates to "resolved" issues.
If a recurrent problem that you are aware of is not listed, please contact the instrument scientist, telescope scientist, or SOAR Director.
ACTIVE ISSUES
|
Issue |
Description |
Activity toward Resolution |
|
Remote connection capability |
Remote connections are limited to inefficient modes of operation following August 2023 cyberincident |
ITOps is implementing better connectivity but is resource-limited. |
|
Spartan IR Camera obsolescence |
Spartan detectors are failing; overall performance is slow |
The ISPI imager from Blanco is being upgraded and transferred to SOAR. Expected completion date now mid-year 2024. |
RESOLVED ISSUES (After Jun 2022)
|
Problem |
Date Resolved |
Description |
Solution |
|
Goodman internal flexure/jumps |
Dec 2022 + Feb 2023 |
Spectra would shift or jump during longer observations |
Visit from UNC repaired flexure compensation mechanism & trained local staff; updated GUI |
|
Goodman internal scattering |
Dec 2022 |
Internal reflection from camera barrel at certain (low) grating angles compromised flat fields and spectra |
Anodized camera barrel replaced with a barrel with a low-reflectivity coating |
|
Elevation brake faults |
Nov 2022 |
Mount control generated false brake fault alarms |
Implemented relevant part of new mount control hardware |
|
Elevation limit at 79 degrees |
Nov 2022 |
Damage to encoder tape prevented telescope from operating above ~79 degrees elevation |
New hardware (see previous) bypasses encoder that “sees” the damaged portion of the tape; a more permanent solution is pending. |
|
Rotator brake faults |
Aug 2022 |
Mount control generate false IR rotator brake faults |
Bypassed alarm trigger; will be fully resolved with new mount control hardware |
| SOI not in service | Aug 2023 | SOI is not available because a guider detector failed; can only be operated by “borrowing” the EM CCD from another guider (in this case, SOI) | SOI was decommissioned, Goodman imaging mode remains an acceptable substitute. |
| Guider Obsolescence | Oct 2023 | Original Nasmyth guiders used obsolete hardware, detectors were failing | New guiders implemented at both Nasmyth foci, additional (new) active-optics functionality still being configured |
Updated on April 22, 2024, 10:15 am