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IRIM to be Withdrawn (1Sep94) (from KPNO, NOAO Newsletter No. 39, 1 September 1994) The infrared camera IRIM will very probably be withdrawn as a facility instrument following the spring 1995 extragalactic observing period; i.e., about 1 June 1995. Proposals for use of IRIM should not assume its continued availability beyond this time. Proposers are encouraged to consider the capabilities of other IR facility instruments (COB, SQIID, CRSP) when planning observing strategies for the longer term. IRIM was the first KPNO IR facility camera, beginning service with a 58 X 62 InSb array in 1987. In this configuration it supported stellar, galactic, and extragalactic observing programs, including high resolution IR speckle imaging, for several years. In 1992 it was refurbished with a 256 X 256 NICMOS 3 array, obtained through an agreement with Tony Tyson (ATT Bell Labs), and new optics to optimize the pixel size for deep imaging on the 4-m telescope. It has been frequently scheduled for this purpose since. Fall 1993 marked its conversion to the Wildfire IR controller system, now common to all KPNO IR array instruments. It remains a simple, rugged workhorse platform for IR imaging. Although it goes once more to meet its makers in the lab, it may emerge again to serve the community in yet another guise. Ron Probst
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