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: C config final days (using additional science hours in high pressure zone; working well); first science with hardware stacking; last meeting of the year next week. Reminder of EVLA operations shutdown: 24 Dec-25 Dec (32 hours); 31 Dec - 01 Jan (16 hours); C configuration will be extended through to 18 January.
• Key dates:
  • Pre 08Jan: Call for Proposals for February 2011 Call (first for new semester based system; tentative)
  • 08-12 Jan: AAS with special NRAO sessions: Perley: 7 presentations scheduled for the EVLA special session.
    • NRAO Town Hall: http://science.nrao.edu/events/aas217townhall.shtml
    • Special Session: "Early Science with the EVLA": http://science.nrao.edu/events/aas217evla.shtml
    • Special Session: "Observing with ALMA": http://science.nrao.edu/events/aas217alma.shtml
  • 01 Feb: Proposal deadline for D configuration+
• Staff Travel:
• Visitors:

Commissioning priorities for the week (McMullin, Chandler)

• Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri:
  • 1300-1800 Testing/software development time
  • 1800-1300: Science operations
• Wed: Maintenance day
• Interrupt status for additional 3-bit testing; expected to be lab work only this week

Hardware status and updates (Langley, Perley, Rupen)

• Array (Perley/Langley):
  • EA24 to MP (13Dec), back to array (20Dec).
    • Antennas with 3-bit samplers: EA12, (EA15), EA22, EA28
  • Links:
    • Current list of available receivers: http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/cgi-bin/evla/receivers-report
    • Upcoming receiver installs:
      • L: EA26 (08Dec), EA16 (28Dec)
      • S: EA26 (15Dec), EA16 (15Jan)
      • C EA16 (28Dec)
      • X EA24 (21Dec - hohoho)
      • Ku EA26 (08Dec), EA16 (28Dec)
      • Ka EA16 (28Dec)
      • Q EA03 (??)
  • Issues:
    • List at: https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0Al6JLDuYrDsBdFV0SEhDblFmT0l5Sm9vSlh6QlVyaFE&hl=en&output=html
    • Array: Dhawan/Rupen: RF switch tests with rapid monitoring; issue still affecting; being replaced as identified. Looking at acquiring new switches to solve the problem in the long term.
• WIDAR (Rupen):
  • Notes: BlB stacking testing (opens up RSRO project 10B-186); panoply of small but serious issues (CM communication; effing problem; etc).
• Computing (Robnett):
  • New link to Lustre guidelines: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/Main/LustreUsersDoc (Robnett).
  • Planned filehost upgrade starting 01 Jan.

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 MCAF version (switched power robustness; archive robustness; interval definition refinement).
  • Release Notes: https://staff.nrao.edu/evla/sss/opt/sssOptReleases.shtml#1.07.00
  • Testing Tips: https://staff.nrao.edu/evla/sss/opt/testingTips.1.07.00.html
• CASA Update (new functionality available/issues/enhancements):Notes:
• AIPS Update (new functionality available/issues/enhancements): Notes:
• SDM Update:
  • Added links to ASDM information off of home page: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/ScienceDataModelResourcesAndDocumentation

Commissioning Reports

Observing:Chandler: Proposed Default Frequencies by Band (Extended OSRO)

• L-band: 2x512 MHz basebands centered at 1.25 and 1.75 GHz
• S-band: 2x1024 MHz basebands centered at 2.5 and 3.5 GHz
• C-band: 2x1024 MHz basebands centered at 5.0 and 6.0 GHz
• X-band: as VLA (8396 MHz, 8524 MHz)
• Ku-band: 2x1024 MHz basebands centered at 13.5 and 14.5 GHz
• K-band: 2x1024 MHz basebands centered at 21.5 and 22.5 GHz
• Ka-band: 2x1024 MHz basebands centered at 32.5 and 33.5 GHz
• Q-band: 2x1024 MHz basebands centered at 40.5 and 41.5 GHz

Calibration: Perley: Cross-observatory flux calibrator survey

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: Ongoing updates to OSRO, RSRO, OSS pages (forked by version/dates).
• Observing Calibration/Flagging Strategies:
  • High Frequency (Claussen/Sjouwerman):Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/HighFrequencyObserving
    • Notes: Minutes from last meeting coming; meeting this week; 3c454.3 flux monitoring on-going.
    • High Frequency: Claussen: Weak calibrator tests; needed.
  • Mid Frequency (Dhawan):
    • Notes:
  • Low Frequency (Momjian):
    • Notes:
• Observing Modes
  • Spectral Line (Goss/Ott):
    • Notes: Doppler: L302 seeing phase jumps for frequency shifts (Dhawan); bandpass stability monitoring data taken this week. Zeeman follow-up from Sault result ('before' data taken; after pending).
    • 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
  • 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: Pending
  • 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: Paused until Adam returns in January.
  • Adv: Pulsar (Brisken):
    • Notes: Discussions last week with Ransom; plans to piggy-back on phased-array testing in January; try to use CBE to create initial file (discussion on type of SDM, switching between de-dispersion mode and correlator mode). Paul to come for conversion from VDIFF to DSPSR format.
  • Adv: Astrometry (Mioduszewski):
• Calibrator Models
  • Notes: Tests in the queue
• HPC (Bhatnagar/Owen/Golap):
  • Notes:
• Algorithm (Bhatnagar, Owen):
  • Notes: Tracking for MS-MFS: https://bugs.nrao.edu/browse/CAS-2480; update from Frazer.
  • * Flagging*: Venkata: Autoflagging in CASA (Coming soon)

RSRO/ECSO Reports

10C-219 Irwin:

• Short visit; returning in January; first images made; re-encountered the RFI issue (need to hanning smooth).

10B-245

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
    • Satoko Takahashi (POC: Juergen Ott); area(s): continuum, mosaicing; 10B-126 (AT380): A Millimeter Study of the Embedded Star-Cluster in the Orion Molecular Cloud.
    • Greg Hallinan (POC: Kumar Golap); area(s):; 10B-209 (AH1020): Broadband Periodic Dynamic Spectra of Ultracool Dwarf Pulsars
    • Adam Leroy (POC: Ronin); area(s): post-processing/CASA; 10A-196 (AL746): Resolving the Starbursts in Nearby LIRGs and ULIRGs

Demo Science Status

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

AOB

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 [Rupen]: X, Ku band subbands are inverted (IF 1 is labelled as IF4, IF2 as 3, IF3 as 2, IF 4 as 1). Noted that this had been tested but there were enough changes to warrant a re-do.
    • 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.

• Ks_stacking_zoomed_marked.jpg:
  

• Screen_shot_2010-12-14_at_9.30.43_AM.png: