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The BT-1 high resolution powder diffractometer in the NIST Center for Neutron Research uses an instrument control program (ICP) running on a VAX/VMS computer, CNBS. The computer is shared with BT-2,4 and 9.
This documention describes the functions of ICP that are commonly used for data collection at BT-1 to serve as a reference guide for users. Section 1 gives an overview of the data collection system and explains how to invoke the ICP program. Sections 2 and 3 describe the two main modes, i.e., the Prepare Mode and the Control Mode. Section 4 details how to control temperature. In Appendix A you will find a list of the more commonly used commands for the Control Mode. This documentation does not describe all of the features of ICP that may be used at BT-1. For example, information on controlling magnets is not included, but this information can be found in the complete ICP manual. Other appendices contain details on the bufop and edit commands.
Although ICP can be run remotely from any compatible terminal, commands that control the instrument hardware can only be executed when entered from a special session on the LINUX computer physically located at the BT-1 instrument.
When logged into CNBS, before starting ICP, you may obtain some information about the last data point by typing STATUS at the VMS prompt. From most NCNR UNIX systems, the command howisbt1 or howis bt1 gives the same information.