David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 1209 (2024-04-17)

Notes (S1208)

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Notes (S1210)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (1),  Minor Issues (1),  Small Defects (9),  Continuous Improvement (3)
	Images from 2024-04-17 >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2024-04-17)

Main aims

1. Targets.  Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by sky conditions.

 Equipment & Software

• 12" LX200 and ST-10XME
• 80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
• TheSky6, CCDSoft5, DeviceHub 6.6.1.1,  MeadeGeneric 1.3.9, UPB 1.5, ASCOM 6.6,   Pulsar Dome Firmware 1.51 & Driver 6.3.10
• Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
• SharpCap 3.2, PHD2  2.6.13, Siril 1.0.6, deCONZ 1.18.2, ASCOM 6.6 SP1
• [ DomeLink 1.0 / 1.1 - not used ]
   
• AstroMain 3.68.3,  AstroPlan 1.40.1,  AstroShCap 1.3.15, AstroGuard 1.10.4   (any new items or versions in bold)
  AstroVOE 1.13.2,  AstroSN 1.10.3,  AstroProtect 1.7,  AstroMove 1.12.12
  AstroWeather 1.24.1, AstroAllSky 3.20.4,  AstroObsCam 1.11.4 (not 1.11.5), AstroLaunch 1.11.3

Highlights

• Targets. 20/21 planned targets observations were completed, with other target missed due to cloud. One other target may also have failed due to cloud, and images from 4 other targets were later rejected later after review due to poor sky/cloud in second half of session.
• CCDCamera. There were no problems with the recently re-factored and extended CCDCamera object.  It particular there were no incidents in which CCDCamera, CCDSoft &  SBIG Camera froze and needed to be restarted.
•  Dome Closure.  Dome Closing didn't finish after 120s at end of session, and Dome could't move to the Park position under ObsManager controle.  Dome issue couldn't be fixed using current automated remedial methods.  User intervention was required in order to close & park the dome.

Notes:

• Aurora recorded from the Observatory on proceeding night 2024-04-16
   (see Aurora Images/Video from 2024-04-16 )
  

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

Dome & Scope Slewing Performance

Slew/Centering Performance

Guiding Performance

Sky Conditions (Locate Frames)

Night Sky Summary Plot Top axis: Sky Brightness at Zenith (in ADU/s) Lefthand axis: Local Time (hh LT). Righthand axis: Sun Altitude (degs)

Actual Weather vs Pre-Session Weather Forecast

Session Event Log

Time     Event Detail 20:57:21 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 21:32 & 03:31 20:57:21   AutoStart Waiting AutoStart waiting till earliest start time at 21:32 21:32:19   AutoStart Delayed Session delayed due to too few stars 21:34:39 Session AutoStarting Session autostarting (21:34) 21:35:00   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (to set AutoSave No.) 21:35:27   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -20°C) 21:35:29 Session Created Session Created (Live, 2024-04-17 S01209, ImageSaveNum: 1209001) 21:35:34   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox. 21:37:20   Services Started Observatory Services started 21:37:26 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 21:37:28   AutoStart Delayed Session delayed due to too few stars 21:37:31 Session Pending Session pending (2024-04-17) 21:37:33 Session Initiating Session initiating (2024-04-17) 21:37:41   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (Set point -20°C) 21:37:47   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.40.1) 21:38:36   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 984) 21:39:19   Telescope Connected Telescope connected (TheSky6) 21:39:43 Session Equilibration Session ready to Open Dome 21:40:28   Dome Opened Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee 41s) 21:40:30   Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 21:43:54   Equilibration Ended Dome Equilibration ended (3.4 mins total) 21:43:56 Session Running Session running 21:43:58   Queue Started Observing Queue started (21 targets selected) 21:44:00     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 10, HIP 49253) 21:44:22       Dome Unparked Dome unparked 21:47:03       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:50:46       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide) 21:52:59       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 21:53:01       Focusing Started-Foc2 Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 21:54:57       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide) 21:56:39       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 21:56:56     Target Completed (NrZen) Target completed (Focus Field 10, HIP 49253) 21:57:19     Target Started (1/21) Target started (1/21, 13P/Olbers) 22:01:37       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:04:38       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3) 22:16:56     Target Completed Target completed (1/21, 13P/Olbers) 22:17:00     Target Started (2/21) Target started (2/21, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann) 22:20:19       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 22:35:32     Target Completed Target completed (2/21, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann) 22:36:24     Target Started (3/21) Target started (3/21, AT2022omj (CV)) 22:39:14       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:41:50       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4) 22:47:44     Target Completed Target completed (3/21, AT2022omj (CV)) 22:48:43     Target Started (4/21) Target started (4/21, UGC 8630 w/SN2024drv) 22:52:04       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 23:08:39     Target Completed Target completed (4/21, UGC 8630 w/SN2024drv) 23:11:03     Target Started (5/21) Target started (5/21, NGC 5235 w/AT2024grb) 23:14:08       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 23:16:42       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5) 23:32:46     Target Completed Target completed (5/21, NGC 5235 w/AT2024grb) 23:33:03     Target Started (6/21) Target started (6/21, AT2024crd) 23:36:14       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 23:38:54       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6) 23:44:47     Target Completed Target completed (6/21, AT2024crd) 23:45:23     Target Started (7/21) Target started (7/21, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)) 23:48:27       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 00:04:31     Target Completed Target completed (7/21, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)) 00:07:43     Target Started (8/21) Target started (8/21, M101 w/SN2023ixf) 00:11:19       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 00:27:17     Target Completed Target completed (8/21, M101 w/SN2023ixf) 00:30:03     Target Started (9/21) Target started (9/21, NGC 3206 w/SN2024bch) 00:34:01       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:37:08       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7) 00:53:47     Target Completed Target completed (9/21, NGC 3206 w/SN2024bch) 00:53:51     Target Started (10/21) Target started (10/21, NGC 3690 w/SN2023wrk) 00:57:10       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:59:50       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 8) 01:15:40     Target Completed Target completed (10/21, NGC 3690 w/SN2023wrk) 01:15:44     Target Started (11/21) Target started (11/21, 62P/Tsuchinshan) 01:20:04       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 01:31:52     Target Completed Target completed (11/21, 62P/Tsuchinshan) 01:32:45     Target Started (12/21) Target started (12/21, MCG -1-33-30 w/SN2024byg) 01:38:04       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 01:54:15     Target Completed Target completed (12/21, MCG -1-33-30 w/SN2024byg) 01:55:05     Target Started (13/21) Target started (13/21, AT2023sqn (CV)) 01:58:18       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 02:04:20     Target Completed Target completed (13/21, AT2023sqn (CV)) 02:07:05     Target Started (14/21) Target started (14/21, NGC 6433 w/SN2024efn) 02:10:01       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 02:25:59     Target Completed Target completed (14/21, NGC 6433 w/SN2024efn) 02:29:25     Target Started (15/21) Target started (15/21, C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS)) 02:32:16       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 02:40:42     Target Completed Target completed (15/21, C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS)) 02:43:57     Target Started (16/21) Target started (16/21, GCVS BL Lac) 02:46:48       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:49:27       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 9) 02:53:23     Target Completed Target completed (16/21, GCVS BL Lac) 02:54:15     Target Started (17/21) Target started (17/21, WDS GRB 34) 02:57:57       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:00:24       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 10) 03:00:38       SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 03:00:43       SoftSuspend Cancelled Soft Suspend is cancelled due to improved conditions 03:03:28     Target Completed Target completed (17/21, WDS GRB 34) 03:03:32     Target Started (18/21) Target started (18/21, NGC 6004 w/SN2024cld) 03:03:35       SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 03:09:01       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 03:25:07     Target Completed Target completed (18/21, NGC 6004 w/SN2024cld) 03:25:09   Queue Paused Queue paused for Session Suspension 03:25:12 Session Suspending Session suspending 03:26:00   Dome Closed Dome closed (Closing time 50s, Zigbee 44s) 03:26:02 Session Suspended Session suspended 03:31:56 Session Resuming Session resuming 03:32:41   Dome Opened Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee 41s) 03:32:43 Session Running Session running 03:32:45   Queue Resumed Observing Queue resumed 03:32:48     Target Started (19/21) Target started (19/21, NGC 6106 w/SN2024ahv) 03:34:51       SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 03:36:00     Target Failed (19/21) Target failed due to cloud (19/21, NGC 6106 w/SN2024ahv) 03:36:02   Queue Paused Queue paused for Session Suspension 03:36:04 Session Suspending Session suspending 03:36:51   Dome Closed Dome closed (Closing time 50s, Zigbee 44s) 03:36:53 Session Suspended Session suspended 03:43:12 Session Resuming Session resuming 03:43:57   Dome Opened Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee 41s) 03:43:59 Session Running Session running 03:44:01   Queue Resumed Observing Queue resumed 03:44:03     Target Started (19/21) Target started (19/21, NGC 6106 w/SN2024ahv) 03:44:06     Target Failed (19/21) Target failed due to missed start time (19/21, NGC 6106 w/SN2024ahv) 03:47:03     Target Started (20/21) Target started (20/21, GCVS SS Her) 03:47:57       SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 03:49:54       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 03:54:04     Target Completed Target completed (20/21, GCVS SS Her) 03:54:06   Queue Paused Queue paused for Session Suspension 03:54:08 Session Suspending Session suspending 03:54:57   Dome Closed Dome closed (Closing time 50s, Zigbee 44s) 03:55:00 Session Suspended Session suspended 04:02:13 Session Resuming Session resuming 04:02:58   Dome Opened Dome opened (Opening time 45s, Zigbee 41s) 04:03:00 Session Running Session running 04:03:02   Queue Resumed Observing Queue resumed 04:03:05     Target Started (21/21) Target started (21/21, HIP 87937) 04:09:10     Target Completed Target completed (21/21, HIP 87937) 04:09:13   Queue Completed Job Queue completed 04:09:14 Session Closing Session closing 04:15:49   Dome Closing Dome closure hasn't finished after 140s (ShutterState=Closing) 04:18:39     Dome Slew Dome slew held up at Az. 158.4° (Delay 180s) 04:18:41   Dome Park Aborted Dome Park aborted (0s, Az=158.4°) 04:19:48   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 67s total) 04:20:03   Telescope State Handbox reads 'Scope parked Turn scope off.' 04:20:25   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 04:21:52   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 04:21:55 Session Finishing Session Finishing started (Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 04:22:22     Dome (Find Park) Find Park started (Search Az 80.0 to 100.0°, Step 1.0°, Wide) 04:23:22     Dome Find Park aborted (Timeout (60s) waiting for dome to stop slewing) 04:23:25 Session Finished Session Finished 04:28:20 User Intervention User interventation to restart Dome Controller & Close Shutter 04:28:21   Pulsar Dome Restarting Dome Controller 04:29:03   Pulsar Dome Dome Controller has been restarted 04:29:07   Pulsar Dome Dome Service has been restarted 04:37:22   Dome Running test to see if Dome Driver is stalled 04:38:03   Dome Dome Driver/Dome Slaving found to be stalled. 04:39:06   Shutter Battery Shutter battery level has fallen below 88% 04:39:08   Shutter Battery Shutter battery level has fallen below 85% 04:41:26   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (to set AutoSave No.) 04:41:40 Session Resumed Session Resumed (Live, 2024-04-17 S01209, ImageSaveNum: 1209179) 04:43:17 User Intervention User request to close and finish session 04:43:19 Session Closing Session closing 04:43:21   Dome Closed Dome already closed (closed at 03:54, closing time 50s, zigbee 1,780s) 04:44:04   Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 39s), Az: 90.0 deg 04:45:48   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 04:45:52 Session Finishing Session Finishing started (Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 04:46:29     Dome (Find Park) Find Park started (Search Az 88.0 to 92.0°, Step 0.2°, Narrow) 04:47:30     Dome Find Park found (Best Park Az 90.4°) 04:47:36     Dome Dome has been synced at park position (Az 90.0°, Adjustment: -0.4°) 04:47:38   Dome Parked Dome parked 04:50:37 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts & Alarms

Time     Type       Name Detail 04:15:49 Red Alarm Dome Closing Dome closure hasn't finished after 140s (ShutterState=Closing) 04:18:39 Red Alert Dome Slew Dome slew held up at Az. 158.4° (Delay 180s) 04:18:41 Red Alert Dome Failed To Park Parking aborted after 3 mins, Rotation Drive wheels are likely to be slipping (Dome at Az 158.4°)

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Operational Issues (2024-04-17 S1209)

• Critical Issues (0)
• Major Issues (1)
• Minor Issues (1)
• Small Defects (9)
• Continuous Improvement (3)
  

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• Dome's Shutter didn't fully close at end of session and wasn't successfully resolved by automated interventions by the ObsManager (04:09).    Logs show that Zigbee recorded the shutter starting to close at 04:09:20,  but the operation wasn't successfully completed. A zigbee warning  "Shutter hasn't finished closing within 60s" was logged  at 04:10:24, and is followed by a "Dome failed to close after 120s" message at 04:11:19.  Attempt to "clear a ShutterStatus that is stuck on 'Closing' " were started at 04:11:19 and 04:13:24 were were unsuccessful.  Finally after reattempting to Close Shutter again at 04:13:28  a 'Dome Closing'  red alert was raised at 04:15:49 with the message "Dome closure hasn't finished after 140s (ShutterState=Closing)".  Closing operations then moved on to 'Dome Parking' but this was also unsuccessful - the SlewToAngle(Az 90) command timed out after 180s.    Resolved by user intervention involving restarting Pulsar Dome and Device Hub.  Dome was finally closed & parked at 04:44.   The issue where the dome doesn't fully close is a known occasional glitch with the Pulsar Dome system, but it should be capable of being successfully resolved by the ObsManager when it occurs.   This deficiency in ObsManager needs to be fixed.  Both Pulsar Dome and Device Hub need to be restarted. A new RecoverDome() routine has been added to AstroMain 3.68.4 (2024-04-19) that performs the actions that RestartPulsarDome and RestartDeviceHub collectively use, but in a more streamlined manner.  Access to this new routine by ObsManager will form the basis of a fix to the issue here.  Fix attempted in AstroMain 3.68.4 (2024-04-19).  The 'Dome Closing Diagnosis & Recovery' code in PerformDomeMonitoring is commented out.  Two new Closing Stages are introduced,   new ClosingStageNo = 2 section checks shutter status / zigbee.BotShutterSensor and calls RecoverDomeByThread if the shutter isn't closed.  New ClosingStageNo = 3 waits for the RecoverDome() operation to finish, and cycles back to Stage 0 if shutter is open.  Similar addition introduced to Suspended Stages.
  Fix attempted  2024-04-18 (Pulsar Dome, AstroMain 3.68.4)
  
  User Intervention made at 04:28,  running as general session '2024-04-17'  the Dome Service & Dome Controller were restarted.   Attempt to get Volatile message weren't successful
  
  Time Line
04:09  Close Dome (Session Closing)
04:15  Dome Closing Diagnosis & Recovery    
04:28  Restart Dome (incl Power Reset)  
04:35  Restart DeviceHub
04:37  Dome Driver working correctly

ObsPics
04:09 to 04:28   Dome is Closing
04:28            Dome is Disconnected
04:29 to 04:36   Dome is vcNull
04:37            Dome is Disconnected
04:38            Dome is Error
04:38            Dome is Closing
04:39            Dome is Closed

Minor Issues

• Dome's Shutter still couldn't be closed after Restarting Pulsar Dome (04:28). After a glitch in the Pulsar Dome system which meant that the shutter wasn't fully closed at the normal end of the '2024-04-17 S01207' session, and after the session had returned to the general session ('2024-04-17'),  the user intervened to run the Restart PulsarDome backdoor utility at 04:28. This closed the Dome service in AstroMain/AstroGuard and rebooted the Pulsar Dome via a Zigbee Smart Plug (04:28) and then restarted the Dome service (04:29). However it was still not possible to Close the Shutter. It was noted that it wasn't possible to acquire a 'Volatile' record via the Dome Driver using the custom button utility, 3 attempts to do so at 04:31.  In order to successfully restore a working connection to the Dome, the user had to also use the 'Restart DeviceHub' backdoor utility, and then reconnect to dome.   The utility starts by sending a Close Shutter command to the dome, rported as "Commanding a Dome Closure as a precaution. " however it gave the error "Dome Connection has been lost".  After restarting DeviceHub, the connect Dome operation was successful, an initial dome check gave Az 158.4° and Shutter Status 'Error' (part Open).  Test for Stalled Dome showed that dome could be commanded to slew clockwise by 10°.   Dome driver was concluded to be finally working.  A separate continuous improvement ticket has been raised to create a backdoor utility that performs the actions that RestartPulsarDome and RestartDeviceHub use, but in a more streamlined manner.  The utility will perform the basis of a routine that can be called by ObsManager to automatically recover Dome/Shutter Control during a live session.
  Resolved by user 2024-04-18 (Session, Pulsar Dome)

Small Defects

• Start Observatory Services incorrectly referred to as 'Manual (Services)' in logfile (22:31). This is a problem that was ticketed in session S1133 (2023-08-21) and a fix eventualy attempted in AstroMain 3.68.3 used for the S1209 session.  However the problem is still occurring.  The log should show 'AutoStarting (Services) for the records associated with Start Observatory Sessions section. Fix in AstroMain 3.68.3  (szTargetName = "Manual" is bypassed if szTargetName = "AutoStarting" in OpenSession() routine), missed a codeline that set szTargetName = "Session" which prevent the fix from performing as intended.  This was quickly fixed in AstroMain 3.68.4.
  Fixed 2024-04-17 (AstroMain 3.68.4)
   
• Session's finalised Report File contained two contents tables. This was a consequence of the non-typyical situation in which the Session Closing/Finishing was run for a second time (by the user) after restarting Pulsar Dome & Device Hub.   Resolved by editing the reporting file and manually removing the initial contents table, no other fix is required.
  Resolved 2024-04-19 (Session)
   
• Small fixes required to the presence & position of 'Percent Guide <1" ' text in the session's Guiding Summary table. This feature was added recently but the text positioning can be improved.  The text shouldn't be shown for Focusing/Waiting stage.  Table should show' % < 1" ' in relevant column headings. Fixed in AstroMain 3.68.4.
  Fixed  2024-04-18 (AstroMain 3.68.4)
   
• Information in the Contents section of the latest session's finalised log file are not displayed in nice columns when viewed on IPAD.   At end of live session the file 'Session.ObservatoryLog.htm' , containing the Current Session's finalised log file in htm format is uploaded to the observatory website where it can be viewed from PC Computer or IPad.  Viewing the page using MS Edge on PC Computer shows a normal Contents section with information in neat columns, but viewing the same page using Safari on IPAD shows item times and where relevent a target 'i/n' numbers,  eg  '(22:35)   3/21 ',   are not displaying in neat columns but are somewhat staggered.   Issue is due to using <font <font face = "Courier New" size="2"></font> tages for contents lines instead of encasing whole contents section in <code style="white-space: nowrap"></code> tags. Fixed in AstroMain 3.68.4.
  Fixed  2024-04-19 (AstroMain 3.68.4)
   
• Report message "Alert     Leaving the scope powered to prevent an Unparked Shutdown" wasn't appropriate as Scope was already powered off (04:44).  Due to an issue with Dome Closure, a second 'Session Closing' operation was run by the user at 04:43, afterthe  initial 'Session Closing operation was run by the ObsManager at  04:15.  In the first operation the Scope was Parked and Power Turned off as normal.  During the second operation a 'Checking Telescope' task failed with the message "Telescope (objScope) not found" (which is probably entirely expected at this point as telescope service has already been stopped), and was followed by a 'Turn Off Scope" section with the message "Leaving the scope powered to prevent an Unparked Shutdown".  This message is inappropriate / misleading as the scope had already been turned off.   The status of Switch should be checked before issuing this message.  If Scope is not connected and Scope is not powered, it can reported that the Scope is 'Most-likely Parked'.
  Fixed  2024-04-19 (AstroMain 3.68.4)
   
• During second test in 'Test For Stalled Dome' operation a poorly formatted exception message was reported.  Exception reported whilst running 'Restart DeviceHub' with the exception message 'Property write ASCOM.DeviceHub.Dome Slaved is not implemented in this driver.'.  This is most-likely to have occurred as the Telescope wasn't in-operation / wasn't connected at this time.  As a result the second part of the test 'failed' and it an alert was reported with misleading message "Dome is confirmed to be stalled". Fixed in AstroMain 3.68.4.
  Fixed  2024-04-19 (AstroMain 3.68.4)
   
• A 'Log file recording Exceptions whilst getting Dome.AtPark.  Log file contains a series of exceptions whilst getting Dome.AtPark property with the exception message "Object reference not set to an instance of an object." Exceptions are most-likely associated with RunObsServices() routine attempting to get Dome.AtPark whilst objDome is not avalable as DeviceHub was being restarted. Fixed in AstroMain 3.68.4 , the 'Get Dome Azimuth' section tests the state of Dome.bRestartingDome = False And bRestartingDeviceHub = False before entering the code section.  AtPark isn't called and therefore the exception isn't produced.
  Fixed  2024-04-19 (AstroMain 3.68.4)
   
• Report messages from 'Dome Closing Diagnosis & Recovery' and 'Closing / ParkDome' are interlaced (04:15). Messages from two threads are intermixed at 04:15 to 04:17.   'Dome Closing Diagnosis & Recovery' has been disabled in AstroMain 3.68.4 and replaced by 'RecoverDome' routine that is correctly interlaced into other ObsManager actions & reporting
  Resolved  2024-04-17 (AstroMain 3.68.4)
   
• A 'Test For Stalled Dome' operation was unexpectedly started by AstroMain after DeviceHub was restarted (04:37). Check is this was expected or not at this point.  The operation appears to have been part of the wider 'Restart DeviceHub' operation.  The Test for Stalled Dome is part of currently designed RestartDeviceHub.   Fixes have been added to AstroMain to improve the reporting of the Tests.   The Test For Stalled Dome is not included in the new RecoverDome() operations.  Ticket closed after review 2024-04-20.
  Closed after review 2024-04-20 (AstroMain 3.68.5)

Continuous Improvement

• The 'Checking Dome Charging' section at end of Closing stage is unnecessary and should be removed  (04:45). The Checking Dome Charging section typically produces messages like "Dome hasn't started re-charging after 1.7 mins" followed by  "Dome may not have parked at correct physical Az". These messages don't neccessarily give a true view on the outcome of the parking operation and the subsequent FindPark operation to precisely align the two halves of the dome's induction charger, and for charging to begin after a number of further minutes.  Implemented change in AstroMain 3.68.4.
  Done  2024-04-19 (AstroMain 3.68.4)
   
• Create a new 'RecoverDome' utility. Following issues in S1209 session where 1) 'Dome's Shutter didn't fully close at end of session and wasn't successfully resolved by automated interventions by the ObsManager (04:09), and 2) Dome's Shutter still couldn't be closed after Restarting Pulsar Dome (04:28), it is proposed to create a new backdoor utility that performs the actions that RestartPulsarDome and RestartDeviceHub use, but in a more streamlined manner.  The utility will perform the basis of a routine that can be called by ObsManager to automatically recover Dome/Shutter Control during a live session.  Implemented in AstroMain 3.68.4. A new 'Recover Dome' button has been added to AstroMain's More/Backdoor tab, with a button routine that calls new routine RecoverDome().
  Done  2024-04-19 (AstroMain 3.68.4)
   
• Make small changes to AstroGuard's Manager to make it compatible with AstroMain's new RecoverDome utility. This allows Connect AstroGuardServices (triggered by Connect.dat flag file) to not unexpectedly attempt to Connect to Telescope if PriorScopeConnection at time of Disconnect AstroGuard Services was false.
  Done  2024-04-19 (AstroMain 3.68.4)

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