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: In A configuration (08 Jun). Holiday next Monday (so this meeting will likely start late). New versions of PCMC; CBE last week; peculiarities with BlB behavior; CBE issues with MPI (missing scans not completely gone - new guidelines to avoid). Call for Proposals goes out on Thursday. Discussions today on scan alignment, data rates, and an autoflagging demo.
• Key dates:
  • 30 Jun - Call for Proposals
  • 08 Jun - 12 Sep: A configuration (move from 31 May - 08 Jun).
  • 01 Aug - Proposal Deadline (C, CnB, B)
• Staff Travel:
  • LS: 9 May - 20 Jun
  • GvM: 25 May - 24 Jun
  • CC: 19 Jun - 26 Jun
  • MC: 18 Jun - 26 Jun
  • CC: 28 Jun - 30 Jun (CARMA TAC)
  • RP: 10 Jul - 23 Jul (UK, SA)
  • RP: 09 Aug - 21 Aug (URSI)
  • FO: 12 Aug - 12 Sep
  • RP: 10 Sep - 16 Sep (Brazil)
• Visitors:
  • Robert Harris (AC982): 24 Apr - 16 Jul (High frequency w/ Claire)
  • Michiel Brentjens: 11 Jun - 11 Nov (Holography; characterizing polarized beams)

Hardware status and updates (Langley, Perley, Rupen)

• Array (Perley/Langley):
  • Antennas: EA21 back to array 11 Jul. ACU meeting Wednesday at 1530.
  • Receivers: EA12 X band; EA21 spate of receivers by the end of the month (28 Jun)
  • Calibration (Perley): Gain compression/expansion still being looked at.
• WIDAR (Rupen):
  • Notes (Rupen/Sowinski): New PCMC last week; currently have no spares in either BlB/StB; working to rectify. Issues over the weekend with BlBs (both classic effing problem and the new partial shutdown which ultimately leads to a loss of communication.
• Computing (Robnett):
  • New link to Lustre guidelines: https://staff.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/Main/LustreUsersDoc (Robnett).
  • Notes: New 2TB disks have started arriving.

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
• SSS: Work on new OSRO/RSRO capabilities. Correlator: CBE work to hunt down issues with missing scans from the weekend. Work to push on data rates.
• Data Rate Discussion: Currently promising 25 MB/s; we're capable of approximately 15 MB/s. Work to improve warnings and notification about the limitations.
• CASA Update (new functionality available/issues/enhancements):Notes: new Autoflagging capabilities.
• AIPS Update (new functionality available/issues/enhancements): Notes: Eric out today; more next week.
• SDM Update: Notes: Ephemeris table status.

Commissioning Group Reports 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!

Commissioning priorities for the week (McMullin, Chandler)

• Mon
  • 0900-1700: Testing/software development time
  • 1800-0900: Science operations and testing
• Tue
  • 0900-1700: Testing/software development time
  • 1800-0900: Science operations and testing
• Wed: Maintenance day
  • 0630-1700: Maintenance operations
  • 1800-0900: Science operations and testing
• Thu:
  • 0900-1700: Testing/software development time
  • 1800-0900: Science operations and testing
• Fri (not-yet-a-holiday):
  • 0900-1700: Testing/software development time
  • 1800-0900: Science operations and testing
• Sat-Sun
  • Science operations + planned testing

Issues Affecting Science Observing:

• Correlator: [Rupen/Carlson w/ Momjian/Sault] V stokes issues.Further data taking; new theories; Bob leaves on Thursday; discussion on Tuesday.
• Correlator: [Pokorny/Rupen/McMullin] time mislabeling in SDM data (non-synchronous operation between correlator dumps and CBE can require additional 1/2 integration time padding for online flags).
  • Report (Rupen):
• Correlator: [Clark/Carlson] Delay rocking across bands. Ongoing discussion of implementation; pending Bryan's return
• Array: [Gustaaf] Amplitude wobbles seen on subset of antennas; phase jumps at scan boundaries also seen on subset of antennas (Ka, Q bands only thus far).
• Array: [All] Zoo of other effects (some data are very good, some still seeing antenna-based IF/Polarization issue).

Testing This week/soon

• CM/CBE: Data rate testing and push; work on new missing scans.
• V stokes testing (Momjian/Greisen/Rupen): Further testing (using well understood (VLA) observations).
• Astrometry (Bruthaler): UVW precision tests.

• Correlator: Rupen: S-band shadow testing
• Spectral line: Momjian: HI High resolution bandpass testing
• Array: *; Individual issue sleuthing (focus on phase jumps).

Commissioning Groups

• Big deadline is end of this month for incorporation into links for Call for Proposals due 30 June.

• Correlator(Rupen):
  • Notes: Testing as above.
• OSRO User Support (van Moorsel): Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/OSROTests
  • Notes: Gustaaf is back. New OSRO/RSRO documentation on-line.
• Observing Calibration/Flagging Strategies: Note: Meeting Wednesday to discuss the EVLA Data Reduction Meeting.
  • High Frequency (Claussen/Sjouwerman):Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/HighFrequencyObserving
    • Notes: Draft documentation due today.
  • Mid Frequency (Dhawan):
    • Notes: Ku SEFDs incorporated into OSS.
  • Low Frequency (Momjian): Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/LowFrequencyObserving
    • Draft User Documentation: http://evlaguides.nrao.edu/index.php?title=Category:LowFrequency
    • Notes: Documentation review ongoing.

• Observing Modes
  • Spectral Line (Goss/Ott): Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/SpectralLineModes
    • Draft User Documentation: http://evlaguides.nrao.edu/index.php?title=Category:SpectraLine
    • *Notes: Doppler documentation added to OSRO pages.

• • Adv: Solar (Perley):
    • Notes: Recent test results at: https://bugs.nrao.edu/browse/ECSV-167; first L-band to be deployed (EA24) on 13 Jul.
  • Adv: Pulsar (Brisken): https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/Pulsars
    • Draft User Documentation: http://evlaguides.nrao.edu/index.php?title=Category:Pulsar
    • Notes: As above.

• • Adv: Astrometry (Mioduszewski):
    • Notes: Begin testing of UVW precision issues (Brunthaler).
• Calibrator Models
  • Notes: A configuration data being collected.
• HPC (Bhatnagar/Owen/Golap):
  • Notes:
• Imaging (Ott/Golap):
  • Notes: SDM content of Mosaic modes discussion.
• Algorithm (Bhatnagar, Owen):
  • Notes: autoflag demo (Rau); seminar training on wideband (low-frequency) algorithm work starting Thursdays (Bhatnagar).
    • Tracking for MS-MFS: https://bugs.nrao.edu/browse/CAS-2480
    • autoflag task: tfcrop ready for internal testing. Algorithm details, how to run/use it, parameter options and a fewsample plots are listed on:
      • http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/~rurvashi/TFCrop/TFCrop.html Updates to this; please review.
      • The relevant JIRA ticket is : https://bugs.nrao.edu/browse/CAS-2676

RSRO/ECSO Reports

RSRO A configuration status: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/2011BRSROStatus

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
    • D.J. Saikia (10C-119/AI145)::RSRO-75; 300G(2); x7106-POC: Momjian (Low Frequency)
    • J. Irwin (10C-119AI145)::RSRO-75; 300G(1); x7333 -- POC: Myers (Low Frequency)
    • Peter Hofner (10B-124/AH1011)::RSRO-26; 200G(1); x7496 -- POC: Ott (CASA testing)
    • Sergio Dzib (10B-131); 200G;x7496 -- POC: Mioduszewski (Astrometry)
    • Jacqueline van Gorkom (10C-211/AV324); 200D/x7098 -- POC: Momjian (Low Frequency); Not present
    • Laura Chomiuk (*); 200B/x7497 -- POC: Goss (Bandpass stability)
    • Andreas Brunthaler::200E/x7246 -- POC: Mioduszewski (Astrometry/VLBI)
    • Jane Greaves::(AC982)::RSRO-4; 300G;x7106 -- POC: Chandler (High Frequency Documentation for Workshop)

Demo Science Status

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

AOB

Misc Actions

• Old/Low priority
• [McMullin]: Review/recover metrics for Priority 0 items.
• [Perley/McMullin]: SPW/IF/BB lexicon and mapper
• Development of WIDAR guidelines document (Michael)