John--I have been continuing to look at cloud sensor logic and results in CCDAP. Last night I had a run end after CCDAP detected cloudy, and then very cloudy conditions. It handled the run abort as expected, but after the roof was closed it tried to issue some other commands: (see log snipit below) tracking on, tracking off, a slew, another park, etc. This is the same things that happened in the log several weeks back when the same weather conditions were encountered during the wait for a meridian flip. It appears that the results were the same for both, so perhaps the merdian flip was not the issue (though I do need to look back to make sure the merdian flip wait did not keep the roof close command from being immediately when v.c. was encountered due to waiting for the flip). As with the prior log I sent you, this logic did not cause any REAL problems as the mount was already parked and Sky6 communication terminated and as it did not allow the slew issued to move the scope into my roll-off roof, but I do want want let my roof close automatically without my manual intervention in the close loop, until we know the logic works as it should and that my mount will always be parked and stay parked before the roof closes. Thoughts?

01:52:17 Altitude: 67 deg.
01:52:17 Exposing...
02:23:08 C:\Users\Owner\Documents\CCDWare\CCDAutoPilot3\Images\080325_NGC3628\HA55W_NGC3628_02092.fit
02:23:11 Guider stopped.
02:23:11 Dither: -1.5, -2.6,
02:23:18 Guider running
02:23:20 Guide Error X: 2.2, Y: 2.2
02:23:22 Guide Error X: 3.4, Y: 1.6
02:23:24 Guide Error X: 0.4, Y: 1.9
02:23:26 Guide Error X: 0.4, Y: 0.7
02:23:26 Altitude: 62 deg.
02:23:26 Exposing...
02:39:10 Pause after the current exposure for clouds...
02:40:15 Clearing, resuming run
02:43:24 Pause after the current exposure for clouds...
02:50:55 *** Aborting run due to very cloudy conditions (3).
02:50:55 Exposure aborted - C
02:50:58 Guider stopped.
02:50:58 Trying to park mount due to clouds.
02:51:02 Telescope tracking on
02:51:02 Telescope RA: 11 20 48.6, Dec: +13 32 47
02:51:02 Parking telescope...
02:51:49 Telescope parked.
02:51:51 Shutter is open. Now closing...
02:55:21 Shutter is closed
02:55:21 Closed dome due to clouds.
02:55:23 Telescope is not connected. Tracking Off cammand ignored.
02:55:27 Telescope is not connected. Tracking On cammand ignored.
02:55:27 P:TS1 TheSky6.Document: No connection.

Error code = 200 (0xc8).
02:55:27 Reading telescope coordinates failed.
02:55:27 Slewing scope...
02:55:27 Slew aborted - target RA and Dec coordinates = 0
02:55:27 Parking telescope...
02:55:27 Telescope parked.
02:55:29 Shutter is closed.
02:55:29
02:55:29 Total light exposure time is 2 hours, 54.7 minutes
02:55:29 Total dark exposure time is 0 hours, 0.0 minutes
02:55:29 Run completed.


Here is one that completed without clouds. It requests the close and then ends without extra commads being issued, so I do know that it works when clouds are not encountered:

07:19:43 Average ADU after bias subtraction: 22,251
07:19:43 C:\Users\Owner\Documents\CCDWare\CCDAutoPilot3\Images\080321_CalibrationFrames\Blue_Flat_NGC4725_02049.fit
07:19:44 Exposure adjusted to 2.4 sec.
07:19:47 Dither: -300.0, +0.0,
07:19:47 Exposing...
07:20:08 Average ADU after bias subtraction: 22,304
07:20:09 C:\Users\Owner\Documents\CCDWare\CCDAutoPilot3\Images\080321_CalibrationFrames\Blue_Flat_NGC4725_02050.fit
07:20:10 Series 4 completed
07:20:12 Telescope tracking on
07:20:16 Telescope tracking on
07:20:16 Telescope RA: 16 41 26.2, Dec: +29 08 08
07:20:16 Parking telescope...
07:21:08 Telescope parked.
07:21:10 Shutter is open. Now closing...
07:22:43 Shutter is closed
07:22:43
07:22:43 Total light exposure time is 7 hours, 21.9 minutes
07:22:43 Total dark exposure time is 0 hours, 0.0 minutes
07:22:44 Run completed.

Hi David,

What do you have checked on the Options page? On the Options tab, do you possibly have the Run box checked with a program to execute in both the "2. After Light Frames", and "3. Shutdown" sections?

Also, in automatic remote situations, it is a good practice to have "hardware" safety devices working for you. A "parked switch" goes a long way in ensuring that the roof doesn't open/close on an unparked scope. In addition, a camera in the remote observatory is, IMHO, a must to be able to visually tell what is going on should something not work as expected.

Thanks Frank for your response. I do not run any prgrams via the run under 2 or 3. I use the shutdown item only "close dome after dawn flats." It was my understanding from John and from the documentation that all items in the shutdown tasks would be executed whenever the CCDAP detected a cloudy (after wait period), a very cloudy, wet, or rain event. My understanding is that this would include a event detected during morning darks/before dawn flats. This what I was trying to confirm on that specific example.

Also, I do have two infrared systems to help ensure the scope is safe (parked fully) and another reflective sensor on the way to add a 3rd safety. I also have a camera in the OBS. Can never be too safe with the toys...