Progress

[Tom Droege <tdroege@veriomail.com>]

I may have solved the intermittent problem on TOM.  At least it has run 24 
hours without putting out junk data.  The last thing done was to put an 
oscillation damping network on the input of the differential amplifier that 
receives the signal from the camera head.  I have always suspected this 
termination, but never have I actually caught it oscillating.  The symptoms 
match that of an oscillation.  Noise around the expected average value.  We 
shall see if this cure lasts.  The problem here is that one cannot put a 
proper driver in the camera head without putting too much heat there.  So I 
am using series termination of a sort.  Not ideal, but it should be able to 
be made to work.

Meanwhile, back on the porch, MIKE is set up and ready to go.  At the 
moment I have two I cameras on MIKE, but an I camera should give something 
with a V lens.  It will be interesting to see the difference.  With luck I 
will try some focus runs tonight.  We seem to be sitting in the middle of a 
low pressure cell with thunderstorms a couple hundred miles in all 
directions.

I have started writing up test procedures.  I just gave Dan the first 
couple of pages to use to test Stamp/Scanner boards.  The goal is to give 
you all enough tests to perform so that you can report the test that 
fails.  This will help me diagnose from a distance.

Tom Droege