Paper 13094-107
Paper 13094-107
Tulancingo-I: the Mexican 32-meter radio telescope altazimuthal control system
On demand | Presented live 18 June 2024 
Abstract
This paper showcases the successful development of an altazimuthal control system for a radio telescope using industrial PLC platforms. The high-level programming language, structured text, is employed to perform the essential calculations for converting equatorial to altazimuthal coordinates and orchestrating the independent axis movements for time-based tracking. The tracking strategy is based on correcting the movement speed (variable rate) of each independent axis considering an acceleration ramp S to reduce the jerk, thereby achieving a smooth and uniform movement.
Presenter
Felix Diaz Santos
Univ. Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico)
Félix Díaz is an esteemed engineer renowned for his expertise in the design of automatic systems. He is a pivotal member of the Instrumentation Department at the Institute of Astronomy in Ensenada and is also a vital part of the technical team at the National Astronomical Observatory in San Pedro Mártir, affiliated with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Díaz's work primarily focuses on the development and enhancement of operational systems for astronomical research, contributing to significant advances in the field.