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; intense observing pressure in the 1200-2100 LST range - proposed to default to science observing on non-maintenance days to begin ~1500 LST to help alleviate the pressure (over the next few weeks); double maintenance day (Tue-Wed); Thanksgiving operations shutdown/re-start went smoothly. Call for proposals draft this week. PSC/RSRO committee meet next week.
• 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:
  • Vivek away until 02 Dec
  • Rick, Michael away until 03 Dec
• Visitors:
  • Bob Sault

Commissioning priorities for the week (McMullin, Chandler)

• Mon: Testing
• Tue, Wed: Maintenance days
• Thu-Fri: 0800-1300 MST for testing/development; science 1300+
• 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):
  • EA26 on Master Pad (04Nov); back to array (this week); currently it has X, Q, C, and Ka (K is installed but not yet functioning). EA16 to AAB (01Dec). EA24 to MP (13Dec)
    • 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 (02Dec), EA16 (28Dec)
      • Ka EA16 (28Dec)
      • Q EA03 (??)
  • Issues:
    • List at: https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0Al6JLDuYrDsBdFV0SEhDblFmT0l5Sm9vSlh6QlVyaFE&hl=en&output=html
• WIDAR (Rupen):
  • New CM/CBE versions; salient feature is asynchronous configurations which speeds things up substantially; less zeros. Evaluating impact in other areas.
• 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 OPT version delayed to next week. CASA released. MCAF new version in testing (supports modifications to SDM).
  • 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: Release out (Juergen's note); flagging issue with correlator averaging (Steve's note); may be tied to time stamp conventions which are being resolved. Switched power implementation sketched out for CASA (Myers).
• AIPS Update (new functionality available/issues/enhancements):
• SDM Update:
  • Added links to ASDM information off of home page: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/ScienceDataModelResourcesAndDocumentation

Commissioning Reports

Imaging: McMullin (for Liu/Ott): Proto-Mosaicing setup tool

RFI: Venkata/McMullin: L-band bandpass oscillation.

Group updates: *; User Support, Scheduling, High Frequency, Algorithm

Commissioning Group updates

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

• OSRO User Support (van Moorsel): Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/OSROTests
  • Notes: Readiness for call for proposals; helpdesk status.
• Observing Calibration/Flagging Strategies:
  • High Frequency (Claussen/Sjouwerman):Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/HighFrequencyObserving
    • Notes: Schedule a meeting; weak calibrator tests.
  • Mid Frequency (Dhawan):
    • Notes:
  • Low Frequency (Momjian):
    • Notes:
• Observing Modes
  • Spectral Line (Goss/Ott):
    • Notes:
  • 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: Irwin data update; in the building next week.
  • Planetary (Butler):
    • Notes:
  • 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:
  • Adv: Phased array/VLBA/VBLI (Deller, Lazio): Link: https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/EVLA/PhasedArray
    • Notes:
  • Adv: Pulsar (Brisken):
  • Adv: Astrometry (Mioduszewski):
• Calibrator Models
  • Notes:
• HPC (Bhatnagar/Owen):
  • Notes:
• Algorithm (Bhatnagar, Owen):
  • Notes: Tracking for MS-MFS: https://bugs.nrao.edu/browse/CAS-2480; update from Frazer.

In preparation

• * Flagging*: Venkata: Autoflagging in CASA (Coming soon)
• Polarization: Myers: Multi-band leakage/PA
• 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.

Commissioning Test Planning

• Antenna: Ongoing Ka, Q band wobble investigation (McMullin/Long)
• Correlator: CM 2010-11-29 20:33 UT version checkout (McMullin/Sowinski)
• Antenna: EA26 checkout for array use (Sowinski)
• M&C: MCAF version update testing (McMullin)
• High Frequency: Claussen: Weak calibrator tests; needed.
• Spectral Line: Momjian: Zeeman followup
• Spectral Line: Dhawan: Follow-up on frequency offset phase jumps characterization.
• Spectral Line: Ott: Doppler tracking sampling follow-up
• Polarization: Antenna cross polarization (Perley; Need script.); LSCX on 3C147; Postponed until wideband X available on EA24.

RSRO/ECSO Reports

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

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]: Confirm restriction of RSRO scan length at 90 s
• [Owen]: Outline issue with 90s scan length restriction.
• [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.