Meeting Information

• 1600 UT (1000 MDT)
• AOC 317; IP: 146.88.16.8; phone: +1 575-835-7370

Agenda/Minutes

News, Travel, Visitors (McMullin)

• Overall status: Last week of CnB (B configuration move begins on Monday); severe weather over the next day+; RSRO still seeing missing sub-bands. Proposals due today at 1500 MST!
  • News from the ALMA Computing Planning Meeting (Joe/Jeff)
• Key dates: * 01 Feb: Proposal deadline for D configuration+ * 03-04 Feb: Dish verification review ($KA)
• Staff Travel:
• Visitors:
  • 05 Jan - 06 Apr: John Cannon sabbatical at DSOC

Commissioning priorities for the week (McMullin, Chandler)

• Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri:
  • 0900-1700 Testing/software development time
  • 1800-0900: Science operations
• Wed: Maintenance day

• Correlator: fswitch sub-band anti-aliasing causing phantom spectral lines when using recirculation
• Correlator: missing sub-bands (initially thought tied to the station board upgrades; backed out); still occurring through 29 Jan.
• Correlator: time mislabeling in SDM data (non-synchronous operation between correlator dumps and CBE can require additional 1/2 integration time padding for online flags.
• Construction: RFI sweep at Ku, K, Ka, Q pre-requisite for high pass filters for use with L301.
• Array: Switched power heuristics for reduction.
• Array/Construction: Dhawan/Rupen: RF switch tests with rapid monitoring.

Hardware status and updates (Langley, Perley, Rupen)

• Array (Perley/Langley):
  • EA16 to array on 01 Feb(?); EA13 to AAB on 01 Feb(?).
    • Antennas with 3-bit samplers: TBD
  • Links:
    • Current list of available receivers: http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/cgi-bin/evla/receivers-report
    • Upcoming receiver installs:
      • L: EA16 (02Feb), EA13 (15Mar)
      • S: EA16 (02Feb), EA13 (15Mar)
      • C EA16 EA13 (14Mar)
      • X EA13 (14Mar)
      • Ku EA13 (08Mar)
      • Ka EA16 (08Feb); EA13 (14Mar)
      • Q Done!
  • Issues:
    • List at: https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0Al6JLDuYrDsBdFV0SEhDblFmT0l5Sm9vSlh6QlVyaFE&hl=en&output=html
      • Looking at a public web-based observing log (searchable).
• WIDAR (Rupen):
  • Notes: Navigated issues with recent changes; upgrades to all but StBs. fshift testing this week.
• Computing (Robnett):
  • New link to Lustre guidelines: https://staff.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/Main/LustreUsersDoc (Robnett).
  • Notes:

Software status and updates (Butler)

• Links:
  • Software versions/updates: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/EVLASoftwareVersioning?sortcol=table;up=#Current_Software_Versions_in_Use
• New version of CBE; Executor update pending move. OPT 1.08 in webtest - key features are fast project loading; loads SBs as requested; auto-saving feature. Additional testers needed (Lorant?).
  • Release Notes: https://staff.nrao.edu/evla/sss/opt/sssOptReleases.shtml#1.08.00
• CASA Update (new functionality available/issues/enhancements):Notes: casapy-test broken; use casapy-stable until notified;
• AIPS Update (new functionality available/issues/enhancements):
• SDM Update: Notes: MCAF test is writing binary switched power tables; reconciled ArrayTimeIntervals - ready to move; needs updated filler to finally treat times properly in the XML tables.

Commissioning Reports

Spectral Line: Goss/Chomiuk: Bandpass stability monitoring

• Main event: report on bandpass stability monitoring; results posted at ECSV-107

Commissioning Group updates and Test Planning

• Key link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/EVLACommissioningOrganization

• NOTE: Please cc me on submitted tests so that it can be assigned the appropriate priority!

• OSRO User Support (van Moorsel): Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/OSROTests
  • Notes:
• Observing Calibration/Flagging Strategies:
  • High Frequency (Claussen/Sjouwerman):Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/HighFrequencyObserving
    • Notes:
    • High Frequency: McMullin/Dhawan: Reference pointing with time averaging tests.
    • High Frequency: Claussen: Weak calibrator tests; needed.
  • Mid Frequency (Dhawan):
    • Notes: Ku band reference pointing test data obtained - report (John?).
  • Low Frequency (Momjian):
    • Notes: Meeting held; actions and assignments being finalized.
• Observing Modes
  • Spectral Line (Goss/Ott):
    • Notes: See reports.
    • Spectral Line: Momjian/Sowinski: Work toward resolution of Stokes V problems.
    • Spectral Line: Dhawan: Follow-up on frequency offset phase jumps characterization.
      • https://bugs.nrao.edu/browse/ECSV-132
    • Spectral Line: Ott: Doppler tracking sampling follow-up
    • Spectral Line: Discussion of potential default spectral line setups at each band.
  • Polarization (Myers/Perley): Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/PolarizationModes
    • Draft user documentation: http://evlaguides.nrao.edu/index.php?title=Category:Observing_Preparation
    • Notes:
    • Polarization: Antenna cross polarization (Perley; Need script.); LSCX on 3C147; Postponed until wideband X available on EA24.
  • Planetary (Butler):
    • Notes: Pluto/Charon detected at lowest frequency (Ka) with EVLA. Ongoing work with TNOs.
  • Scheduling/Rapid Response (Frail): Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/RapidResponseObserving
    • Notes: Minutes from last meeting posted at: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/23Nov2010
  • Adv: Solar (Perley):
    • Notes: Pending
  • Adv: Phased array/VLBA/VBLI (Deller, Lazio): Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/PhasedArray
    • Notes: Adam update.
  • Adv: Pulsar (Brisken):
    • Notes: Paul visit status.
  • Adv: Astrometry (Mioduszewski):
• Calibrator Models
  • Notes: Status
• HPC (Bhatnagar/Owen/Golap):
  • Notes:
• Imaging (Ott/Golap):
  • Notes: Meeting pending to discuss OTF mosaicing implementation.
• Algorithm (Bhatnagar, Owen):
  • Notes: Tracking for MS-MFS: https://bugs.nrao.edu/browse/CAS-2480; update from Frazer.

RSRO/ECSO Reports

Individual reports (updates)

Misc:

• RSRO Calendar: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/RSROCalendar
• RSRO DnC, C config status: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/2010CRSROStatus
• Test Project Codes == *TRSR*
• Guidelines for RSRO observing: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/RSROObservingPreparationGuidelines
• Notes:
  • Current Residents
    • Greg Hallinan (POC: Kumar Golap); area(s):; 10B-209 (AH1020): Broadband Periodic Dynamic Spectra of Ultracool Dwarf Pulsars
    • Ashley Zauderer (POC: Dale Frail); area(s): Time-domain science; scheduling.
    • Hendrik Linz (POC: Claire Chandler); area(s): high frequency observing (calibrators); AC982 (RSRO-4): 200G/x7496
    • Sergio Dzib (POC: ); area(s): ;

Demo Science Status

• https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/EVLADemoScience

AOB

• Action: Miriam: Review priorities with Jeff to see if integration of autoflag can be raised for this cycle. Discussion begun.
• Action: Joe: Post Urvashi's autoflag test information - get feedback for next meeting.Details on using the LOFAR package for autoflag are posted at: https://bugs.nrao.edu/browse/CAS-2676

Misc Actions

• [Frail/Butler]: Enable restrictions based on proximity to sun; review OST weather trending.
• [McMullin/Frail]: %REDWrite up disposition of RR items.
• [McMullin]: Review/recover metrics for Priority 0 items.
• [Perley/McMullin]: SPW/IF/BB lexicon and mapper
• Development of WIDAR guidelines document (Michael)
• List of known problems (can be used by OSRO commissioning team (van Moorsel)
  • • Med Priority [TBD]: Phase offsets within scans (phase jump at scan boundaries). R&L phase offset on some scans - probably L302 LO problem, needs tracking down. MR: Seen on EA07, EA25 (both RR and LL)
    • Med Priority [TBD]: Added. Phase change when frequency changes (needs to be tested).
    • Med Priority [TBD]: Anti-aliasing does not behave as advertised.
    • Low Priority [TBD]: First scan often bad.
    • Low Priority [TBD]: Phase (and amp) wobbles; long history.