PC Installation

I reinstalled the CCD camera and filter wheel today, after having cleaned the camera’s CCD window.

Installed a permanent observatory PC. Specs on this machine:

• an older Dell computer running XP, so all the drivers should work well;
• main C: drive replaced with a solid-state drive, so there are no moving parts except the fan. I’m hoping this will mean it can run in cold temperatures with no problems.
• Wireless link back to the house for access to network-based storage. This older PC didn’t have built-in WiFi, so I added a PCI card, and chose one that has an external antenna, since the PC is some distance outside my house.

It took a while to get all the drivers configured, serial ports properly lined up, etc., but everything seems to be working. Now it’s forecast to be cloudy for at least a week, so it will be a while before testing this new setup.