The JCMT Control Room Refurbishment

Over the years since the JCMT was brought into service in 1987 most of the equipment and facilities in the room simply came in as needed and stayed more or less where they first sat. In the end this led to a rather untidy situation, and one unbefitting a world-class facility. The Director, JCMT determined that the control room would be upgraded and I was given responsibility for achieving this task. In my first comments on the situation (10th January 1994) the stated goal of the control room refurbishing was 'to provide a professional working environment for visitors and staff', and in the same memo I noted that'...the control room is the TO's office; the rest of us are visitors.' I have tried to keep these ideas in mind throughout.

Familiarity with other control rooms around the world, and thinking the problem through led to a number of guiding principles, including that:

1) the number of work areas in the control room needs to be limited to not more than four, including the TO's area. Basically a work area centers on a workstation, and needs to include sufficient flat space (yes, we still use paper!). The latter needs to be large enough, and the total area of the control room is small enough that four is a reasonable maximum. Anything else constitutes severe overcrowding;

2) the TO area needs to be clearly demarcated and contain a control console of sorts. In this area all relevant information, such as the progress of the observations and the electromechanical status of the telescope and carousel, should be readily to hand;

3) potentially RFI-sensitive equipment should not be present in the control room, but should be in a shielded environment. The major issue which has surfaced in this regard is the location of the DAS IVC rack. From the point of view of the premium on control room floor space it would be advantageous to move it to an alternative location, and

4) directed lighting is required to reduce glare from terminal screens and provide light where wanted. In addition the known physiological effects of fluorescents indicate a requirement for incandescent track lighting.

To test out some 'proofs of concept' early on we first (i) rearranged the TO area to provide an L-shaped working area, and (ii) provided a video link from the observing status screen into the so-called 'crew room' downstairs. Without a doubt the first has improved the TO sense of function, and the second the level of contact with the observing while being able to eat in peace. It is ironic that more positive comments have been received from observers on this second issue alone than anything else.

Although progress has been slow at times, we are quite pleased with the results to date. Most of the actual work has been done as part of the power and grounding project by Joseph Fletcher and Doug (Chase) Reed. Joseph has just left us to return to Canada (and an uncertain future), and this is a good place to record for posterity our appreciation of his contribution to the control room upgrade project. His efforts have helped greatly to maintain momentum in the project, and his straightforward and commonsense practical approach to the details has undeniably been extremely effective. He has been responsible also for the many drawings and floor plans we have put forth.

The floor plan to which we are working (see Figure 1) was arrived at through a long process of concensus- taking, after which we arrived at essentially the plans we started with a year before, which was rather gratifying. For some time the alternative plans were available on the Web as part of the concensus review.

This plan required the removal of the supporting wall to the right of the main sloping window, which resulted in a significant improvement in the spaciousness of the room. Above the work surfaces, as indicated in Figure 2 in section, there are to be wall-mounted cupboards and shelving, which will provide storage and room for reference materials.

Figure 1. This image is available in more detail as a Postscript file elsewhere. The floor plan to which we are working. The plan divides the room conceptually into an operations area, facing the telescope, and a data analysis area facing the outside wall. The basic aspects of the plan provide for a significant increase in workspace via four large surfaces. Additional working surface is provided by the T-shaped extension into the room on the operations side, which also serves to give clean definition to the TO area.

Figure 2. This image is available in more detail as a Postscript file elsewhere. A sideview of the working surface and wall-mounted shelving, showing the proportions in relation to a typical workstation

We will also have a couple of roll-out extensions under the working surfaces.

A summary of recent progress would include:

1) The electrical work is now essentially complete. All electrical cableways have been installed, and computer connections and electrical circuitry are complete. Dimmable incandescent track lights and better fluorescent fittings are in place. All switches and controls have been moved to the wall by the exit.

2) Most of the plasterboard finish is completed, including the area around where the old roof support used to be.

3) The electronics racks have been ordered. These will be embedded in the computer room wall. Two of these are unshielded, and one is shielded. The former will contain monitoring equipment, cable patch panels and non-RFI-sensitive electronics. The shielded rack will eventually contain the DAS IVC rack if it proves possible to move it. In the meantime, there are a number of items which could go in this rack, and it will be possible to test its RFI shielding ability. Delivery of the racks has just taken place; however, installation has been pushed back to October in view of the low priority of the control room upgrade project in relation to other projects.

4) Many observers (not to mention local staff) will be happy to know that the air conditioner which used to pour cold air on all present has been moved into the ceiling space. This is one of the evidences of Joseph Fletcher's practical approach to apparent difficulties; we have all complained about this problem for a long time, and he did something about it.

Most of the cellulose ceiling tiles have been installed, replacing the fiberglass ones originally in use. The humidifier, originally mounted on the wall by the exit has been replaced by a new one flush with the wall, and moved to the left to make room for cupboards and shelving along the back wall.

5) We have ordered the larger part of the furniture (that is, the five main desk areas, under-desk cabinets, and wall-mounted cupboards) which appears in the approved plan from a local cabinetmaker, and this should be delivered by the end of August. The furniture will be in a knock-down, ready-to-assemble form, and can be installed as manpower permits.

The next few months should therefore see the larger part of the refurbishment completed, in time for the new receivers. There are still a number of aspects which need work, however. For instance, the final pieces of furniture, mostly in the corner behind the DAS IVC rack, need to be ordered. A second, and rather major project is to define and build the monitoring and electronics racks either side of the computer room door. It is clear to me that part of the monitoring equipment will need to include hardwired telescope, carousel and other status information which can operate independently of the control computers. The precise specification of these pieces of equipment is a subject of continuing discussion.

Henry Matthews, JAC