Copyright (C) 2008 Aaron Bradley
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
This program allows for the control of an Optec (C) SSP-4 type photometer. In addition to controlling the instrument, this software allows for the recording and (in a future release) analysis of data obtained with the SSP-4.
- Version 1.0: UTC time is set based on MST. During MDT, UTC may be off by one hour.
- Auto-naming upon file save
- Time and date stamp
- Choice of multiple filters (automatic filter change on the SSP-4 itself has not yet been implemented)
- Choice of integration time, ranging from 1s to 60s
- Choice of variable gain setting
- Optional use of observing list
The program is written in Python 2.5 and is (hopefully) distributed as both a python program and a *.exe module. As such, this program will run Windows, X-Windows, Linux, and Unix-like machines.
In order to communicate with the SSP-4, the user must click on the 'Select Serial Port' option under the Setup menu. Without this action, the serial connection is not initialized and the instrument will not respond.
In addition, the user should set the temperature of the SSP-4. There is a 'Set Temperature' option under the Setup menu.
The observing list is an optional feature that allows the user to make a list of desired observables ahead of time, and then simply click on the name of the observable in the program in order to add the name of the target under the 'Notes' heading after each run.
The observing list is a text file (obslist.txt) located in the main program directory. To use the observing list, simply type the name of each target on one line in the text file. Be sure to list only one target per line. If the user finds that they would like to observe a target that was not included in the observing list, there is an automatically included blank entry in the list, and the name of the target can then be typed into the 'Notes' column by hand.
At present, only 20 targets are supported. If more are needed, please contact [email protected] and more will be added. Alternatively, the user can add more with minor knowledge of python programming.
The gain options changes the gain of the SSP-4's voltage-to-frequency converter. The three values supported by the SSP-4 are 1, 10, and 100.
The integration option changes the time that the detector aperture is open during data collection. The SSP-4 supports integration times from 0s to 60s with 0.01s resolution. Integration times of less than 1s are not recommended because the noise of the system's electronics require a longer integration. Integration times of greater than 60s are of limited use because the photometer can retain a maximum of 2 bytes.
The filter option changes what is printed in the column under the heading 'Filter.' The SSP-4 does not support automatic filter changes yet, and thus the program does not actually change the filter on the SSP-4. Hopefully this will be available soon.
The operating temperature of the SSP-4 photometer should be kept as low as possible. The minimum operating temperature supported by the SSP-4 is -40 degrees C. Please remember to set the temperature when the unit is first connected and ensure that the unit can cool for approximately 15 minutes before use.
This probably goes without saying, but the clock in the program is based on the system clock. If the system clock is wrong, the time in the program will be wrong too.
The open command allows the user to open any text document and add to the end of it or edit it. The main window of the program is actually a non-discriminating text editor.
When a file is opened, it is loaded into memory, and then copied into the main window of the program. If there is need for a more efficient way to do this, please contact [email protected] or do it yourself.
The save command in the program may seem a little strange at first. Clicking the 'Save' button or pressing Control-s will save the text in the main window at a text file. The text file will be automatically saved with the naming convention: day_month_year.txt. If you try to save a file and another file of the same name already exists, you will be asked if you want to overwrite that file. If all the data is still visible in the main program window, you should be fine to overwrite that file. This may seem like a stupid convention, but when you are at 14,000 ft at 4:00 AM, mistakes are bound to occur.
In addition, any data saved before 10:00 AM is saved in the file for the previous night's data. This is simply a convenience for nighttime astronomers. If the SSP-4 is used for daytime astronomy beginning before 10:00 AM, this convention may have to be changed.
If data is lost due to program glitch or accidental overwrite, there is a backup copy of the data printed to stdout. This is only helpful if the program is run from a terminal window or DOS console. An autosave feature may be another alternative.
The close command simply erases the text in the main window. After hitting close, the option to save the file appears as a yes/no question.
The exit command terminates the program. Again, the option to save the current working file appears as a yes/no dialog box.