Information relevant to purchase/construction of LANL CCD camera:

Mechanical: circular mounting plate, 6 inch diameter, 3/8" thickness is
      used to clamp detector package to back of filter wheel. One needs to
      be able to use 3 clamps at 120 degress to attach this. Alternatively
      the plate could be larger and include bolt holes at the appropriate
      locations, but the 6 inch plate is probably simpler.

      on current camera, optical distance from back of this plate to CCD 
      is ~1.11 inch, i.e. total optical distance from back of filter wheel to 
      CCD is 1.11+.375=1.485 inches.

      Note that dewar will be mounted horizontally (at Nasmyth focus), and
      will need to allow rotation of a bit more than 360 degrees. Weight
      should be roughly distributed symetrically around central axis if
      possible.

Dewar: hold time should be greater than 16 hours
      Remember that dewar is horizontal and must allow for complete rotation.
      Need to confirm vacuum fixtures can be used with APO pumps

Electrical: camera is on a rotator so there can be some stress on the cable
      and connector. Best design would have connector in the back (not side)
      of package. Use robust cable and connector.

      Cable length needs to be measured accurately, but will need to be 
      somewhere between 25 and 50 feet. Cable will run alongside others, so
      shielding and pickup issues need to be carefully considered.

Shutter: package must include a shutter

CCD: before purchase, need information on QE curve, cosmetics, readout noise.
   Note pixel scale at focal plane is about 34 arcsec/mm; 13.5 micron
   pixels would give about 0.45 arcsec/pixel.

CCD electronics: before purchase, need information on readout speed/readout
   noise combinations, support of multiple modes (readout speed, gain, etc),
   subframe readout capability. For standard astronomy usage (e.g. narrow
   band imaging), we would like a mode with <=5 electrons rms noise with
   a "manageable" readout time (<1 minute full frame?). For focussing, we
   would like a fast subframe mode. For rapid transient followup, we want
   a fast readout mode.

software: -Linux drivers for CCD camera
          -discussion of alert generation/response software

contact information:

   - primary contact is Jon Holtzman, holtz@nmsu.edu, NMSU phone (505) 646-8181
     NMSU FAX (505) 646-1602 (I will supply alternate contact information 
     during sabattical when available)

   - John Barentine, technical staff APO, jcb@apo.nmsu.edu, (505) 437-6822,
     FAX (505) 434-5555

   - Kurt Anderson, NMSU faculty, kurt@nmsu.edu, (505) 646-1032

   - Rene Walterbos, NMSU Astronomy department chair, rwalterb@nmsu.edu,
     (505) 646-5990

   - LANL contact: Tom Vestrand, (505) 665-9542

other issues:

   - develop a memorandum of understanding for use of telecope/camera
   - identify student to be associated with project