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%META:TOPICINFO{author="CarlBignell" date="1190382790" format="1.0" version="1.1"}%
%META:TOPICPARENT{name="WebHome"}%
- 1 October: Call for Proposal Deadline
- 10 October: Proposals distributed to scientific (
 06/08/07) and technical referees
- 5 November: Test (hardware, software, etc) and Commissioning trimester time estimates due
- 15 November: Proposal reviews (scientific and technical) deadline
- 1 December: First draft of commissioning strategy
- 4 December: Proposal Selection Committee meets
- 17 August: Proposal dispositions emailed ()
- 1 September: Draft call for 08A proposals ()
- 1 September: Start constructing October through January astronomical schedule ()
- 7 September: 08A Call for proposals released ()
- 30 September: January schedule finalized
The following time-line is a master summary of the all the tasks listed below. It folds in our discussion on July 17 concerning the various interactions and dependencies of the various projects. The time-line also includes targets that we discussed on July 17 but that are missing in the discussion below.
This plan assumes that the Ka/Zpec tests in the 1st week of August are successful, that the Zpec tests at the start of Oct are successful, and that the track shutdown finishes on Aug 17. Within the next two weeks, I will add the contingency plan if the test prove unsuccessful.
Please don't edit the following time-line since it reflects a fair number of inter-dependencies. If you see something that needs to be changed or added, please send an email with your changes to Ron Maddalena.
- Week of Sept 24, Oct 1, and Oct 8: Ka-band/Spectrometer recommissioning. Contingent on Aug 10 decision. One 8 hr sessions per week of A-class weather (nighttime, dynamically scheduled).
- Oct 1 - Oct 13 : Zpec commissioning, A and B weather, dynamically scheduled. Contingent on Aug 10 decision.
- Oct 7 - 15 : CCB/Ka testing, A-class weather (nighttime, dynamically scheduled).
- No later than week of Oct 15 : Install C-band .
- Oct 18 : Decision as to whether to continue using the Ka-band single-pol configuration. Whether to schedule 100 hrs of Zpec observing. Whether to remove Ka and convert back to old configuration. Whether to proceed with Ka/Spec/CCB observing.
- Oct 21-Nov 2 : C-band astronomical commissioning, C-class weather
- Nov 2 : C-Band observing can start
- Nov 2 : Decision on how to proceed with traditional holography. Which receiver will we remove? When will tests start? Do we need to cut a mounting plate?
- Nov 2-15 : C-band baseline tests, C weather, and X-band baseline tests, B weather, dynamically scheduled.
- Week of Dec 3 : C-band removed, Mustang installed
- Dec 7 : Telescope at access for Mustang
- Dec 8 - week of Jan 15 : Mustang tests -- dynamically scheduled, A weather, nighttime.
- Week of Jan 21 : Mustang removed, C-band installed
- Feb 3-13: SDD software tests for Feb 13 release
See PTCS, Gain calibration, and SCAL sections for details on tasks that repeat throughout the trimester but that have no definite due dates.
- Install C band week of October 1
- Possible Ka installation in early-mid October if necessary (due to Zpec failure), requiring a full maintenance day.
- Zpectrometer Installation back up, Week of October 1-5 on a full maintenance day.
- Zpectrometer Removal, Week of November 26-30 (possibly sooner) on a full maintenance day.
- Tuesday December 4th (or Thurs depending on dyn sched)-- install MUSTANG. 8h access. 4h access requested during day on Friday December 7th.
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All activities which will impact the amount of astronomical time available for this
trimester should be briefly outlined below. This includes commissioning, specific equipment tests, and
all maintenance requirements as well as receiver and backend availability during this period.
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| PTCS Tests |
| Semester 07C - 1st October through 31th January |
|---|
| Band | Task | Shifts | Conditions | Tentative Dates | Comments |
|---|
| X | PNT | 4 | A | one per month | Pointing checks under benign conditions |
| X | PNT | 4 | C | one per month | Pointing checks under all conditions |
| Ka/Q | OOF | 3 | A | Oct,Nov,Dec | Test new OOF techniques under thermally benign conditions |
| Ka/Q | OOF | 3 | B | Nov,Dec,Jan | Test new OOF techniques under thermally extreme conditions |
| Ku | HOLO | 0.5 * 2 | B | Dec | Test traditional holography system integrity and phase stability |
| Ku | HOLO | 1 | A | Jan | Traditional holography maps in good conditions |
| X | SERVO | 0.5 * 8 | D | Any | Four hour chunks to test servo improvements, need to move antenna |
NOTE: in the above table "1 shift" means one 8 hour observing shift, on average.
A - clear skies (low opacity), low wind (less than 2.5 m/s), thermally stable (00:00 - 08:00)
B - clear skies (low opacity), low wind (less than 2.5 m/s).
C - clear skies (low opacity)
D - any observing weather.
E - can be done in parallel with maintenance, but needs antenna at access and M&C available.
When scheduled this work may exceed the time required for other maintenance activities.
Total 07C requirements: (15 x 8 hours) + (10 x 4 hours)= 160 hours.
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| High Frequency Instrumentation (Ka, Q, Zpectrometer, CCB, Penn Array) Tests |
- Ka Receiver, CCB Checkout/Re-Commissioning time in Oct - Nov. (Note: Brian is unavailable Nov 3 - Nov 19; we should ensure that Jules is available to look, help, and learn). CCB will need two 5h chunks, in LST ranges that allow 3c48, 3c147, or 3c286 to be seen. This is "A" weather, day or night.
- 5x8h MUSTANG commissioning runs, dynamically scheduled for the best weather. We'd like these in December the period December 8th-December 22nd; and Jan 1+. This is "A" weather, nighttime only.
- Zpectrometer Checkout/Commissioning: 1-13 October, two sessions of 6 hours , "A" weather, preferably not during Tuesday AM through Thursday prior to midnight.
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| Spectral Baseline Tests |
- C-band: Two 4 hour sessions separated by >2 weeks. October preferred. Dry weather required. - rnorrod
- X-band: Two 4 hour sessions separated by >2 weeks. October preferred. Dry weather required. - rnorrod
- Ka-band/Spectrometer recommissioning : Three 8-hr "A" weather nighttime sessions (using PTCS definitions), dynamically scheduled. - Ron Maddalena
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| Other Electronics Tests |
- 20m - BYU Test Coordination: A team from BYU will be here in the Fall to do tests on the 20m with an L-band Focal Plane Array. One of the primary areas of investigation is testing Dynamic Interference Rejection algorithims while tracking astronomical sources. As part of this there will be the need to setup low-power L-band radiators on and near the site for brief periods. The hope is to find periods (3-4 hours per day for 3-4 days spread over a week) when GBT and 43m operations will not be affected (not observing in L-band). Dates have not been set - the primary driver for the date is when the 20m de-mothball activities are completed - but the target is mid-October. - rnorrod
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| Software Tests |
Planning cycles for 07C include:
- Cycle 7: - Requested release date: 14 November 2007
- Cycle 8: - Requested release date: None
- Cycle 1: - Requested release date: 13 February 2007
Approximately 6-10 days prior to release date:
- Two blocks of 4 hours each for integration tests; full system and antenna. Preferably during a weekday.
Approximately 2-6 days prior to release date:
- One block of 6 hours for regression tests (full system and antenna) followed by around 8 hours of commissioning time. Preferably during a weekday.
- Notes: The commissioning time could be used for calibration tests, pointing, etc. The theory is that if the six hours of regression tests went horribly wrong, we'd revert to the current M&C version, the commissioning tests would then use the old version, and we could re-schedule. If the six hours of regression testing went well, the next eight hours would be a "sympathetic" observer using the new version, and a chance to catch/fix trivial problems. We'd revert to the current M&C version at the end of the commissioning tests.
Within +/- 2 business days of end of development cycle:
- One block of 4 hours for integration tests (to resolve/test any issues/solutions found during regression testing).
- We will schedule our release for a scheduled maintenance day. No additional time required. Ideally, it would be good to have a "sympathetic" observer scheduled to use the system directly after maintenance that day. If we have a dedicated release time rather than releasing during maintenance, we only need 2 hours.
Averages 18 hours of time per cycle.
-- AmyShelton - 19 Jun 2007
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| Receiver Maintenance |
- PF1 - Two weeks in the lab in fall.
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| Pulsar Dream Machine Testing |
We will need ~8 hours of on-sky (with antenna) testing of the incoherent modes of the new digital backend:
- Check characteristics for bright slow and fast pulsars
- Check for and characterize self-generated RFI
- Measure absolute timing characteristics using Spigot and/or GASP using high-precision MSPs
- Measurements will need PF1 (for 50-60MHz tests at 350MHz or 820MHz) and S-band (for wide-band tests)
-- ScottRansom - 16 Jul 2007
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| General Maintenance |
- Oct 1 - Jan 31
- One maintenance day (08:00-16:30) per week dynamically scheduled (Tue/Thu)
- scheduled on alternating weeks
- priority of paired day possibilities: Tue/Thu, Wed/Fri, Mon/wed
- Two maintenance days (08:00-16:30) per week dynamically scheduled
- scheduled on alternating weeks
- priority of paired day possibilities: Mon/Tue, Tue/Thu otherwise Tue/Thu, Wed/Fri
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| SCAL Measurements |
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4 hrs per month of "A" or "B" weather (using PTCS's definitions), 4 hrs per month of "C" weather
-- Ron Maddalena & Jules Harnett
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| Gain Calibration Measurements |
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12 hrs every 2 months of "A", "B", or "C" weather (using PTCS's definitions).
-- F. Ghigo
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| Balancing |
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A few hours of time will be needed to test the new balancing routines. These tests will require telescope motion since we need to test balancing at the half power point between an off and on position.
-- Toney Minter
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| Scheduling Constraints |
- Avoid scheduling project changes exactly at 0700 or 1900 ET to minimize operator overload
- Attempt to have project changes around 0730 and 1930 ET instead of at 0700 and 1900 exactly
- If not possible, attempt a half hour earlier around 0630 and 1830 ET
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-- CarlBignell - 21 Sep 2007 |