14
2.3
Temperature Control and Timer description and use.
2.3.1 Temperature Control
Merlino observatory is provided of a cooling fan to keep the temperature inside the electronic
control cabinet below set limits. Optionally, for the use in cold countries, an optional electrical
heater may be provided to increase the internal temperature when needed. Both the cooling fan
end the heater are managed by the control panel via the Setup window, which is activable
pressing the Setup key in the Tool panel of the main GUI:
The High and Low Temperature setpoint are inserted on the right and the Cooling and / or
heating functions may be activated by checking the checkboxes on the left.
The checking of the two function’s operability is possible to click on the “T” keys near the
respective check boxes.
Hide key will close the Setup window.
2.3.2 Timer functions
The
timer functions have a fundamental function in the management of a remote observatory.
They allow to define the moment of observatory opening or closing by automatically executing
the Startup and Shutdown macros. Merlino software supplies the two functions of closing and
opening using independent software keys
.
At the software start, for safety reasons, the Shutdown Timer is automatically activated with
predetermined amount of second at the closure, usually an hour or 3600 seconds, in order to
permit a consistent period of operations (including the formulation of a more suitable operation
time) before the safety closing. This timer is extremely useful because it automatically executes
the Shutdown of the system also in case of loss of the Internet connection.
Therefore, quickly after the Startup, it is advisable to set up the operation time sufficient for
carrying out the intended activities in order to avoid an unintentional closing of the observatory
.
In order to do this it is necessary to press the SETTING key in the Shutdown frame. Such
operation will cause, on the left of the Merlino software interface, the opening of a black window
for the calculation of the times, as follows:
Summary of Contents for Merlino
Page 16: ...16...
