.. _software: Software startup ================ This section describes how to start up HiPERCAM's instrument control software in preparation for observing. It assumes that the hardware has all been :ref:`powered up ` and the CCDs have been :ref:`pumped and cooled `. 1. HiPERCAM can be controlled from any unix system connected to its internal network via the switches in the control room or electronics cabinet, although it is usual to use the HiPERCAM data reduction PC (known as the *DRPC*; IP address 192.168.1.1) in the control room. At the login screen on the DRPC, enter the username ``observer`` and then the password - if you don't know the password, please :ref:`contact ` one of the HiPERCAM team members. 2. Open an xterm on the instrument control PC (known as the *rack PC*; IP address 192.168.1.2), which is mounted in the electronics cabinet on the telescope. You can do this in a number of ways: * By double-clicking on the desktop icon labelled *rack*. * By typing ``rack``, or ``ssh 192.168.1.2``, in an xterm opened on the DRPC. The username on the rack PC is ``insuser``. If you need to know the password, please :ref:`contact ` one of the HiPERCAM team members. However, you shouldn't need to enter either the username or password when using the above commands. 3. Type ``start_hicam`` in the xterm on the rack PC. The following windows should then appear: * ``hdriver`` is the python GUI used to control HiPERCAM. The user will first be prompted to enter the name of the ``hdriver`` log file: enter the date of the start of the night. If the file already exists, it will be appended to (ignore the comment about overwriting). If any of the CCD temperatures, pressures or flow rates are in error, the ``CCD Head Status`` window of the GUI will also appear. * ``HServer`` is the "thin client" which translates the user's commands entered in the GUI into NGC commands. * ``FileServer`` allows the HiPERCAM pipeline running on the DRPC to access the data on the rack PC over the internal network. * ``GTC_Offsetter`` shows the telescope offsets applied when automatically dithering on the GTC. Note that the values listed in this window are relative values, in arcseconds, whereas those entered in the file of offsets or json file loaded by the user in ``hdriver`` are absolute values in arcseconds. * ``NGC Control Panel`` is the ESO engineering GUI that provides low-level information and control of the CCD controller. This GUI is only opened if the ``start_hicam`` command is entered with the ``-g`` option, which is not recommended for most users. 4. Power on the HiPERCAM CCDs by clicking the *Power on* button in the *Setup* page of ``hdriver``. If an error is reported in the *Command log* box of ``hdriver`` and on the ESO GUI (if it has been started), try clicking it again - you should get a response of *OK*. Unlike with ULTRACAM and ULTRASPEC, no run file is created when the HiPERCAM CCDs are powered on. 5. Open an xterm on the rack PC to use for copying the Observing Blocks (OBs) from the GTC phase 2 web server - ``http://gtc-phase2.gtc.iac.es/science/Parser/sequences/`` - to where the json files are stored for use by ``hdriver`` on the rack PC - ``/home/insuser/.hdriver/apps/``. The OBs can be copied using the script ``get_gtc_json`` run in this xterm, e.g. typing ``get_gtc_json 01 18AGHIP 5`` copies over the ``GTC01-18AGHIP_0005.json`` file. 6. Open an xterm on the rack PC and type ``gtc_tweak_pointing``. This allows you to step the telescope to acquire targets, e.g. if you want to moves the stars in the HiPERCAM CCD images by 50 pixels in *x* and -100 pixels in *y*, type: ``> Enter desired x and y offset: 50,-100``. Note that the comma between the two values is essential - do not use a space. 7. Open an xterm on the rack PC and type ``python /home/insuser/gtc_tweak_focus.py``. This tells you the current position of the telescope focus and allows you to alter it by adding an offset in mm, e.g. if the current telescope position is -2.20mm and you want to alter it to -2.25mm, enter ``-0.05`` at the prompt. 8. Finally, open an xterm on the DRPC and type ``python3 ~/scripts/autoguide.py``. This script is used to provide autoguiding from the *x,y* positions of the stars given in the ``reduce`` log files. When prompted for the logfile, remember to give the full path to the file, e.g. ``/home/observer/reduce/2019_06_03/run0012.log``. You are now ready to observe. The DRPC desktop should look something like the screenshot below, assuming you have also started the ESO GUI. It is recommended that you open all of the above windows in the upper-left virtual desktop of the DRPC. .. image:: photos/hdriver_screenshot.png :width: 75%