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+===== APO 3.5-m Users Committee Meeting, 6/02/2026 =====
+Attending: Nancy Chanover (NMSU), Amanda Townsend (APO), Chip Kobulnicky (UWy), Bill Ketzeback (APO), Misty Bentz (GSU), Kevin Schlaufman (JHU), Aleksandr Mosenkov (BYU), Adam Kowalski (CU), Moire Prescott (NMSU), Eric Bellm (UW), Russet McMillan (APO), Ben Williams (UW), Anne Verbiscer (UVa), Sarah Tuttle (UW)
+=== User feedback and comments from institutional representatives ===
+  * Wyoming - nothing to report
+  * Williams - no report
+  * Washington - a user pointed out that the calendars on the scheduling web page are provided in Postscript form and requested that they be changed to PDFs. Response: YES, we will do this!
+  * UVa - nothing to report
+  * Oklahoma - no report
+  * NMSU - nothing to report
+  * JHU - nothing to report
+  * Georgia State - nothing to report
+  * Colorado - nothing to report
+  * Colgate - no report
+  * BYU - nothing to report
+----
+=== Telescope and Instruments Report ===
+The detailed site report is included below, followed by additional information discussed during today's meeting.
+// 3.5-m Telescope and Instruments Highlights, 05/05/26 – 06/02/26 //
+) Overview
+The weather in May was rather typical for late spring, with a mix of clear to mostly clear nights. Some partial or full nights were lost to clouds, rain, wind, and elevated dust, and we had a handful of nights lost to elevated pollen counts.
+There were several issues with the telescopes and instruments during this reporting cycle. There was one report of difficult-to-clear motion errors on the 3.5m altitude axis. There was another issue where the telescope would not accept commands because the NA2 rotator axis controller connection to the telescope controls was unresponsive. A reset of the rotator controller corrected the problem. Another rare error was observed on both secondary and tertiary mirror controllers simultaneously. An actuator error that does not prevent observations and pointing can mask other problems, so the mirrors were homed before the start of the next night. We continue to see the occasional dropped connection with TUI, for both on and off-site.  There were several instrument issues last month, which are described in more detail below.
+In May we had one instrument team visit the site.
+) Operations
+.5m Telescope: The telescope has been performing nominally, with a few minor issues reported. There were reported altitude motion errors on one night, but no on-sky time was lost because these occurred during afternoon test slews. Communication issues occurred with both the NA2 rotator, and rare not-a-full-step errors were observed on the M2 and M3 controllers. Errors were cleared by homing the mirrors the following afternoon.
+.5m Telescope: Dcam and UVAcam are both available options for users. We continue to experience numerous ACP and various application errors on the telescope. Most can be resolved temporarily by restarting the software or rebooting the computer.
+KOSMOS: System is cold and stable. Instrument is performing nominally. There was one instance during afternoon checkout where the ICC needed a restart. The problem was discovered early and resolved quickly, with no on-sky time wasted.
+ARCTIC: The diffuser rotation mechanism is still unreliable. We manufactured some new parts, but have not had the opportunity to install and test them. The mechanism that moves the diffuser in and out of the optical path is still functional in the meantime. The instrument needed a reset of the robotics controller because a filter wheel was stuck one evening. The lower-left quadrant of the CCD has shown intermittent elevated noise in bias frames. They seem to appear for a few exposures at the start of the night and then clear on their own. We are investigating if it is related to the length of time the instrument sits idle or is just random. Users are cautioned to carefully inspect their data, especially their calibration frames.
+ARCES: No failures were reported this month in the thorium argon lamp power supply, which would result in lamp dropouts or weak lines. We are working to source a spare power supply, but finding a distributor has been difficult. If identified by an echelle user during their cals, the observing specialists have procedures to identify which is occurring and adjust the power supply or move the mirror by hand. Users are advised to carefully examine their calibration frames. A seal failure in the liquid nitrogen autofill system has caused the instrument vacuum to soften. Interorder light ratios remain rather good, so we will attempt to delay servicing as long as possible, hopefully until the July shutdown.
+NICFPS: System is cooled and usable. One controller was reset to correct vertical noise seen across the various channels.
+TripleSpec: System is cooled and usable.
+APOLLO: The instrument is usable for laser ranging. Maintaining the instrument's temperature during extreme environmental conditions remains challenging.
+Agile/ SoonerCam: Agile has been decommissioned. The Agile instrument rotator is still not performing nominally, and we will continue troubleshooting to prepare for SoonerCam. Parts to create a dummy weight for testing and modifications to the instrument filter wheel are in the planning stage. SoonerCam parts are on hand, assembled, and software development has begun. Software development is in the early stages of learning the Hamamatsu and Brandywine software APIs. Gordon reported good progress in understanding the GPS timing card software API.
+DIS: DIS has been decommissioned. Plans to remove the instrument from the observing floor during shutdown have been made.
+----
+=== Additional site, telescope and instruments discussion ===
+We've experienced a mix of late spring good weather and some closures due to elevated pollen and/or dust. We had some telescope and instrument issues over the past month; see above for specifics. Nancy asked how long ARCES would be out of commission if the IOL degrades quickly and it requires servicing before the summer shutdown. Bill replied that it would be down for 2-3 weeks. The TUI connection problem described above has been difficult to diagnose. It does not seem to be correlated with software version, computer OS, or location of observer.
+A new version of TUI (3.2.2) was just released. The text on the TUI downloads page on the website will be updated in the next day or two to reflect the current way for users to download TUI (through GitHub).
+The job listing for an entry-level mechanical engineering position for the 3.5m is now posted: [[https://careers.nmsu.edu/jobs/mechanical-engineer-remote-locations-new-mexico-united-states-c27e97b9-8d02-4d3e-addf-be3de0f8b3f2]] . Please encourage any candidates who are interested in observatory work to apply.
+----
+=== 2026 Q2 3.5m scheduling ===
+The Q2 schedule is posted. There are two OPEN dates remaining (on June 18B and 22B); both are dark.
+Users should submit requests for this time to the scheduling team (Amanda Townsend, Russet McMillan, Ben Williams, and Nancy Chanover), and cc their institutional scheduler. Amanda reminded anyone with an unused ToO to notify the observing staff if plans have changed.
+=== 2026 Q3 3.5m scheduling ===
+Amanda is working on the Q3 schedule; thanks to everyone for getting their requests in and for answering follow-up emails. As a reminder, the 3.5m summer shutdown is scheduled for July 20 - August 2.
+----
+=== 2026 Q2 0.5 scheduling ===
+The ARCSAT Q2 schedule is posted. There is one open week at the end of June.
+----
+=== Update on Sunspot Situation ===
+In early January there was a mercury leak at the Dunn Solar Telescope. This led the NSF to move forward with decommissioning the telescope and the entire Sunspot site. Residents received notifications that their  leases were being terminated and APO was informed that our house trailer must be removed from the grounds by the end of August. The loss of three housing spots (in the trailer), plus additional pressure on the on-site housing that may be used temporarily for staff who have to relocate, may have an impact on general housing availability at APO this fall. We are in discussions with the NSF regarding additional impacts that the decommissioning will have on APO (most significantly access to water, but also keeping dust minimal when bringing down buildings, informing us of explosive detonations ahead of time, reducing light pollution at night, etc.). We will notify the user community of any developments that impact telescope operations and student training visits.
+----
+=== New ARC Board Chair ===
+Effective July 1, Chip Kobulnicky of the University of Wyoming will be the new Chair of the ARC Board of Governors. Congratulations, Chip! And thank you to Mike Crenshaw for his years of service in this important role.
+----
+=== Call for papers/grants info ===
+Nancy issued her annual call for scientific papers and student theses/dissertations that make use of data acquired with the 3.5m and/or ARCSAT. Please send her all such papers (accepted or published) covering Jan. 1 2025 to present no later than July 31, 2026. New this year: Nancy is also collecting information concerning funding awards that have been enabled through access to the 3.5m. Please send her the following information for any APO-related grants: PI name, Funding Agency/Program, Project Title, Total Budget (if willing to share it), period of performance (years only), and relevant 3.5m instrument(s). This information will not be made public, but will be summarized for the ARC Board.
+----
+=== New instrument initiatives ===
+  * Ocotillo - Sarah reported progress on having the necessary parts in the shop. Assembly is underway, software to control the camera is in work, and the first fiber bundle is in progress in the lab. All optics are in hand except for one, which she expects to receive in two weeks. The orange channel is ready for mechanical design. Once the red channel is in the building stage Caleb will shift to work on the orange channel. The blue channel is nearly optimized.
+  * ASPEN - Work on the Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector is proceeding as it will be used with ARCES even before ASPEN is completed. The ASPEN Preliminary Design Review is scheduled for later this month. This will be an important milestone in refining and finalizing the instrument design.
+  * SoonerCam: see site report for progress related to SoonerCam and the Agile rotator.
+----
+=== ACTION ITEMS ===
+Open action items from previous meetings:
+  * Nancy will ensure that the final report from the Future of ARCSAT Working Group is made available to the Users Committee and put on the wiki. Status: OPEN (pending receipt of final version of report).
+  *  APO:  update KOSMOS user manual web page regarding issue of flats bleeding into overscan region. Status: OPEN.
+  *  Nancy: include grant information in upcoming call for annual update on papers resulting from 3.5m/ARCSAST. Status: OPEN.
+New action items from this meeting:
+  * APO: update scheduling webpage to replace Postscript calendars with PDF versions.
+  * APO: update text on TUI downloads page to reflect new procedure for downloading TUI.
+  * UC reps: notify your users about OPEN time available in June.
+----
+=== All Other Business ===
+None.
+----
+=== Next Meeting ===
+The next Users Committee meeting will be on Tuesday July 7 at 10:30 MDT.
+----
 ===== APO 3.5-m Users Committee Meeting, 5/05/2026 =====