Wheaton46 - status 27 Aug 2012.
Shelter has been constructed, and power/data cables prepared. (Wind fence will be installed later.)
Telescope/mount is here, in pieces. Need to test (in the garage) drive system and focuser. I want to be sure all electronics work and interface properly with the control computer before I move the rig to the shelter.
Control computer has most software installed. Final configuration and script tweaking will take place after first light.
CCD (ST-8XE) has passed bench testing. See attached graphic - at 1x1 binning this camera is linear up to about 44,000 ADU.
Read noise is about 18e-.
Gain is about 2.64 e-/ADU.
Dark current is about 0.35 e-/pixel/second at -10C. (System will probably operate at -20C.)
These are typical test results for an ST-8.
AAVSONet telescope Wheaton46 should be operational in about 4 to 6 weeks...depending on the findings from various under-the-stars tests.
Here is the attachment - CCD ADU rate for various exposure times (using constant light source).
Thank you for all your time and effort bringing another nice scope into the robotic network!
Wayne