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  1. #1

    Default Scheduler does not start

    Last Saturday I upgraded form ACP Basic to ACP Expert and Scheduler.

    ACP works fine, no issues.
    ACP Expert works fine via the web, sofar no issues...

    ACP Scheduler works fine in simulator mode...however, I cannot get it started it real mode. Maybe my ACP settings are wrong, maybe I do need a separate startup script. Simply put, I need some guidance.
    So in ACP opening and closing dome is no issue, but here is yesterdays relevant part of the Scheduler log:

    2019-12-17 19:31:10.3: ++ Observatory Startup ++
    2019-12-17 19:31:10.3: Startup attempted, but no StartupObs script found
    2019-12-17 19:31:10.3: Weather safety is now disabled
    2019-12-17 19:31:10.3: Open the observatory dome/roof
    2019-12-17 19:31:41.5: **Dome closed while opening. Assuming weather closure.
    2019-12-17 19:33:41.5: but the weather remained safe for 2 minutes, something really went wrong.
    2019-12-17 19:33:41.5: Weather safety is re-enabled
    2019-12-17 19:33:41.5: **EXCEPTION IN SCHEDULER:
    2019-12-17 19:33:41.5: **Dome failed to open for reason other than hardware weather closure
    2019-12-17 19:33:41.5: Traceback:
    at DC3.Scheduler.Engine.DoStartupIf(Boolean openDome)
    at DC3.Scheduler.Engine.DoSchedulePass()
    at DC3.Scheduler.Engine.Run()
    2019-12-17 19:33:41.5: Weather safety is now disabled
    2019-12-17 19:33:41.5: Close the observatory dome/roof.
    2019-12-17 19:36:57.7: Weather safety is re-enabled
    2019-12-17 19:36:57.7: No operator intervention command tool specified
    2019-12-17 19:36:57.8: Release ACP sequencer
    Log closed at Tue, Dec 17 2019 19:36:59 UTC (actual time)

    Scheduler says it is opening the dome and then closing it, whereas the dome simply opens...as you know it is a 4m ScopeDome...

    Kind regards,
    Roelof

  2. #2
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    Ah the ScopeDome controller... I see you don't have a Scheduler Startup script. Are you aware of the need and role of the startup and shutdown scripts? That's how the Scheduler can automatically start and shutdown the observatory day after day.

    2019-12-17 19:31:10.3: Startup attempted, but no StartupObs script found

    But the problem here is that the dome is not opening when commanded by Scheduler (through ACP, it uses ACP to do this):

    2019-12-17 19:31:10.3: Open the observatory dome/roof
    2019-12-17 19:31:41.5: **Dome closed while opening. Assuming weather closure.

    2019-12-17 19:33:41.5: but the weather remained safe for 2 minutes, something really went wrong.
    2019-12-17 19:33:41.5: Weather safety is re-enabled
    2019-12-17 19:33:41.5: **EXCEPTION IN SCHEDULER:
    2019-12-17 19:33:41.5: **Dome failed to open for reason other than hardware weather closure

    ACP (and Scheduler, through ACP) need to open and close the dome via standard ASCOM commands. If you recall there were "difficulties" a few months ago. In this case Scheduler is telling the dome to open, and it is reporting that it is remaining closed for 2 minutes even though the weather is reporting good. You probably recall the long and difficult series of exchanges with ScopeDome in September in Scope Dome-Start up sequence ok, shut down sequence fails. At that time you said the opening was working somehow. There was a long series of emails with the ScopeDome developer(s) in which you participated. This issue was also addressed within a thread involving AutoFlats but I don't know how this customer managed to solve the problem (if at all). He also did not have a startup script.

    I believe that something must be done within the Scheduler startup script, or manually by you each evening before you manually start the scheduler. You could try starting the scheduler after you already opened the dome.

    Please help me with the things you had to do when we originally worked on your system. Are you in a position to make up the startup and shutdown scripts? The templates that are provided with Scheduler should be a good starting point, but I don't know what might be needed to put the dome into working condition after powering up. Above all, though, do not open the dome in the startup script! It must be able to be opened with a simple OpenShutter() call from the Scheduler at the appropriate time, and it must report that it is Opening after that call..


    -- Bob

  3. #3

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    Bob,

    just to make sure you understand it: the Dome opens. It does not close even though the Scheduler says so.
    Also I do not have the problem in ACP. When I make plan to start at a given time it does so.

    As far as I know everything is OK with Ascom commands...ie it reacts properly on open and close commands and shuts down properly when a run is finishing.

    The original problem that Jacek of ScopeDome solved was an error in the Dome config script.

    I have never done any scripting...I was fluent in Fortran in my youth, but that does not really help. But if I need a start up script that I will have to try..

    Kind regards,
    Roelof

  4. #4

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    Bob,

    did as you suggested, ie started everything up manually and then started Scheduler. It worked fine, ie completed one recurring plan, then waited and started on the next plan. It did 3 out of 4 runs and then ran into problems and appears to have been in suspended animation for about 4 hrs and then could also not shut the dome. I have attached the ACP log. Grateful for your help, kind regards, Roelof
    Attached Files Attached Files

  5. #5
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    This ACP log appears to be from starting Scheduler at 0730 UTC and immediately having it go to Operator Intervention because of some failure in ACP. The last part about hte DOME/ROOF FAILURE is a result of the previous error. The problem was that ACP was frozen or otherwise unavailable when the scheduler was started and unable to communicate with it. Look for the previous Scheduler Engine log (it will be much larger and with a date just prior to this one) and post it. I will try to analyze what happened.
    -- Bob

  6. #6

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    Ok Bob,

    here is the preceeding log.

    Kind regards,Roelof
    Attached Files Attached Files

  7. #7
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    2019-12-18 23:38:44.7: Send Observation ngc 488 to ACP Sequencer
    --- look at this time lag! ----
    2019-12-19 04:05:28.2: WARNING: Failed to start ACP script (AcquireScheduler, try #0)
    2019-12-19 04:05:28.2: Exception from HRESULT: 0x800A9C68
    2019-12-19 04:05:32.2: WARNING: Failed to start ACP script (AcquireScheduler, try #1)
    2019-12-19 04:05:32.2: The RPC server is unavailable. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x800706BA)
    2019-12-19 04:05:36.2: WARNING: Failed to start ACP script (AcquireScheduler, try #2)

    ... etc for several minutes.

    ACP itself became stuck. This is almost certainly a reslt of one of the devices getting stuck. It did not happen while ACP was actually acquiring data, but when it was sitting there refreshing its displays and the web page (if open) from the devices (scope coordinates etc., dome azimuth, dome open/close, etc. I'm sorry to say but this is almost certainly not a bug in the software.

    I realize that this is a remote observatory and thus it's not easy for you to see what's going on. But at the point it got stuck last night (23:38) something unusual was happening. 4 and a half hours later, ACP became "unstuck" enough to reply back to the scheduler that it could not start a new run. But it was not running in a healthy state. Something out there was misbehaving. That's all I can say given the log info.
    -- Bob

  8. #8

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    Bob,

    thanks for the quick reply. At 23:38 it ended an observation and closed the ACP console. I am certainly not implying it is an ACP software problem, I am sure it has to do with the same issue that causes the start up failure...

    Kind regards, Roelof
    Attached Files Attached Files

  9. #9
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    Yes, as I said (and this is a guess) it was not actually acquiring data. The ACP run log looks normal, but... What is going on in the UserAction? I can't remember ... did I help you with adding logic to your observatory? Could that extra logic be having problems?
    -- Bob

  10. #10

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    Bob,

    the User Action is the one you made for the Dust Cover. I can of course remove the action to see if that helps. There are no other user actions.

    _-Roelof

 

 

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