The Reionization And Transients Infra-Red (RATIR) camera is intended for robotic operation on the 1.5-meter Harold Johnson telescope of the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional on the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir, Baja California, Mexico. This paper describes the work we have carried out to successfully automate the telescope and prepare it for RATIR. One novelty is our use of real-time absolute astrometry from the finder telescopes to point and guide the main telescope.