Field System Status and Plans Ed Himwich, John Gipson, and Jonathan Quick

1. Field System Status and Plans Ed Himwich, John Gipson, and Jonathan Quick

2. Current Status • FS 9.7.7 • Some relatively small bugs known • Tape labels • Ground pick-up table in RXG files • S2 Help files not selected properly • Station help files not picked properly • disk2file=;in2net=;disk_record= • Time tag display information errors in data_check, scan_check • …

3. FS 9.7.8 (late Summer 2005) • Minor bugs fixed • Mark IV formatter bit slip detection (1 Ms/s) • Improved GNPLT version by Andrea Orlati • Nutation offset support in VEX parser • Mark5 support for “continuous” tape schedules • RDV geodetic schedules • VLBA correlation of FS recorded Mark5 disks • Field labels designed for disk packs • Automated ftp transfer • fs_check.tcl • Other small items generated by this meeting

4. FS 9.7.9 (early fall 2005) • S2 DAS support in DRUDG • Eliminate use of some mk5=… commands for normal operations • Phase-cal extraction support for Mark IV decoders? • CHEKR monitoring of Mark5 • Update Mark 5 “Remaining Capacity” display while recording

5. Automated disk2file ftp transfer • Two options • Daemon running on Mark5 computer detects new file and manages transfer • Detects problems, can manage multiple files • May be implemented by message sent after disk2file=abort • FS initiates transfer after disk2file=abort • Use a SNAP script to start a process on the Mark5

6. Operating System Issues • FS Linux 6 Distribution • Based on Debian “Sarge” • Clean Install or Upgrade from FS Linux 5 (woody) • 3rd Quarter 2005 (Jon) • Firewalls • Inexpensive, <US$100 • Should be used with older, no longer supported distributions • Good idea for current distribution

7. Diagnostic Software • Being developed to automate station check-out for CONT05, but should be useful for other stations • Most tests require a Mark IV decoder • Small amount of customization for each station • General scheme for each test: • Station set-ups equipment in mode to test • Run test SNAP procedure • Analyze/plot using Perl/Pgperl scripts • Can easily be adapted for Mark 5B • Expected to greatly improved sensitivity

8. Diagnostics Tests • Already implemented: • Baseband Bandpass shapes • Baseband LSB Image Rejection • Phase-cal power • Phase-cal spurious signals • Adding: • Baseband USB Image Rejection • Sampler statistics • Overnight stability tests • Short term stability tests • Examples

10. Longer term development items I • Documentation Update • Improve prediction of disk pack change times • Pointing software clean-up • Eliminate redundancies in pointing configuration information by introducing a source coordinate database file and reorganizing point.prc and ctlpo.ctl (aquir control file). • Documentation clean-up to reflect new procedures and utilities • Improved Tsys • Most items completed • Post processing program to generate AIPS (ANTAB) format TSYS files from Cormac Reynolds • Periodic firing of calibration diode with flagging needed • Convert from fort77/f2c to g77 • Will allow use of source level debugger • Must maintain compatibiltiy with f2c for older distributions

11. Longer term development items II • TNX (“Thanks”) command expansion • This command currently provides a syntax to eliminate the display of errors that the operator knows can’t be fixed and should be ignored • Will be extended to allow different error messages with the same number and two letter code to be distinguished • Will not allow an error that has not occurred to be masked off. • FSVUE • Integrated X client (Tcl/Tk) FS Operator Interface for FS • Second iteration now, uses client-server model • Allows multiple “Operator Input/Log Display” consoles for remote operation • Initially add-on, eventually main interface • Includes log display (scrolling doesn’t jump on new input) and operator input windows • Buttons to allow you to examine logs, help, and run various utilities: monit, logpl, msg, and others.

12. Longer term development items III • Band changes • Band configuration procedures added to set-up by DRUDG. • The DRUDG control file will be expanded to include a table of station defined procedures that can be used to set-up local station equipment for a band. These procedures can also be used manually by the operator as needed. Note that use of the existing SAVE_FILE command can be used in these procedures and INITI to recover the receiver set-up between FS terminations and restarts. • Add a command LOCONFIG. • This will be used after the LO= commands in the IFD set-up procedure. This can be used as trigger to start configuring the Los, if doing so in each individual LO= command might cause problems. By default, LOCONFIG will be a NO-OP, but it can be defined locally and do whatever is necessary for LO configuration in one step. • CALON and CALOFF SNAP variables. • This intended to deal with stations that have different cal control methods for different bands. The idea is that variables will be introduced into SNAP, specifically two: CALON and CALOFF. These can be defined by the band set-up procedures described above and used as $CALON and $CALOFF in procedures when the noise diode needs to be controlled.

13. Additional Future Items I • IF patching automation for Mark IV racks • EVN has hardware design, but not implemented in field yet. We will need one relatively simple SNAP command to support it: • A special version of PATCH and a way to control which version is used. • Mark IV decoder support • This is beyond the phase-cal monitoring mentioned above, mainly a few SNAP commands to control the decoder manually. Most of the effort here is actually divining what is needed and developing documentation

14. Additional Future Items II • Phase-cal control monitoring from VEX schedules • Mark IV decoder support already planned • Mark 5B support expected when device available • AIPS format file generated from post-processing • Support for VLBA digital switch board