NG Protocol is an ascii communication protocol used by Mtnops telescopes at Steward Observatory. It is primarily used to control and get status from TCS but it is used on some peripheral systems as well like the 40 Inch Filter Wheel.
The syntax of NG protocol consists of 4 white space separated words which are header information. These are followed by white space separated arguments ending with a new line character.
The Header Data consists of:
| Word Number | Name | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | OBSID | The observatory Observatory ID | BIG61 (at the 61“) |
| 1 | SYSID | The System ID | TCS or FWHEEL |
| 2 | REFNUM | A 1-3 digit number to reference the instruction. This should be returned in the response | 123 |
| 3 | queryType | Whether the instruction is a COMMAND or REQUEST | COMMAND |
An example at the 61” kuiper telescope.
If you wanted the telescope RA the command would be “BIG61 TCS 123 REQUEST RA\n”
If you wanted set the bias rates in ra to 5 arcsecs per sec the command would be: “BIG61 TCS 3 COMAMND BIASRA 5\n”
There are plenty of example commands at the TCSng Commands page.
TODO