Blog

My trip to Mexico is over. We wrapped up a few things before I left. In no particular order:Electrical power:The transformer at Site #2 that brings power to Site #3 died, so no electricity at Site #3. Electrical crew should be replacing it this week, as well as installing a new and improved ground system at tall of the sites.Dome azimuth home switches:We got it installed correctly at Site #2. This was after we broke one of the switches because there was a low-hanging bolt on the hydraulics that I missed, it snapped off the top of the switch as it moved by while rotating the dome. We replaced t...

The painters finished painting the first dome today at Site #1. They were working on the dome at Site #2 as well, but I didn't make it there this afternoon to check out the progress. I am heading back to civilization tomorrow morning, back to SPM Monday afternoon to finish up dome #3.Here is the dome at Site #1 after painting.

The telescopes arrived a little past 9am local time. All three containers were safely offloaded, and nothing appears to be damaged.We began to unload some items in the afternoon. The primary mirrors for telescopes #1 and #3 are now stored at the 2m building near the coating chamber. Tomorrow we will unload the remaining mirrors and start moving the smaller boxed items closer to the telescope enclosures. There are also several parts that will be installed with the domes (azimuthal encoder and home switch, a hoist that hangs from the shutter frame, etc.).Photos below.First truck arriving at obse...

The three telescopes have finally cleared customs this afternoon. They will leave Tijuana early Monday morning and arrive at SPM late afternoon or early evening.

They will try again tomorrow. UNAM people are working on the snag.

All three telescopes have made it to San Diego, and they will be delivered to SPM this coming Thursday. Preparations will start tomorrow for a place near the control room to unload the shipping containers.

The third and final telescope was shipped from DFM Enginieering, Inc. to the customs broker in San Diego on Friday June 23. It should arrive in San Diego Monday June 26, but I don't have any news as to when we can expect it to arrive at SPM. All three telescopes should arrive here at the same time. Here is a picture from DFM of the telescope container being loaded in their parking lot.                                                       ...