MMA Imaging and Calibration Group
Minutes for meeting Tuesday, 1 Oct 2002 at 12:00pm EDT.
Date: 1 Oct 2002
Time: 4:00 pm EDT
(2:00 pm Socorro, 1:00 pm Tucson)
Phone: (434)296-7082 (CV SoundStation Premier Conference phone 3rd floor).
Past minutes, etc on MMA
Imaging and Calibration Division Page
Agenda
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Science IPT News - Wootten
News from my point of view.
The VertexRSI antenna continues to rise. Lift reportedly this week!
'2-Way ALMA/Japan' Meeting on Second Generation Correlator (2GC)
20/08/2002 in Maastricht -- Minutes and Specs. Comments: The 'no 90 degree phase switching'
spec looks alarming, given that the project may have DSB receivers deployed in
the higher frequency bands after arrival of the 2GC, if we believe a schedule
shown at the ACC meeting. It does not appear to many of us that the
WIDAR 'fault' of not providing 5kHz resolution across 2 GHz will keep us awake
at night.
Project News -
IPT Meeting 30 September 2002. Lots of milestones. See below for ours.
JAO-only Configuration Final Review -- Grenoble 30 Sept - 1 Oct 2002.
NRAO Director's ALMA Frontend Review 2002 October 3-4 NRAO Charlottesville.
Mitsubishi at ATF 17 October
ALMA/JP meeting Tucson 20 October
ALMA Science IPT Telecon October 21 TBD
ALMA Site Infrastructure Requirements Review 2002 October 22-24 NRAO Tucson
ALMA Antenna Transporter Requirements Review 2002 October 22-24 NRAO Tucson
ACC or ALMA Board meeting 2002 29-30 October Santiago.
ALMA Frontend/LO Reviews 18-22 November Charlottesville.
Carla Beaudet and Galen Watts of NRAO/GB conduct RFI tests at Chajnantor 3 - 20 December 2002
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Calibration - All
Milestones and planning revised. Telecon next week.
John Payne notes the interesting report in Electronics Letters
V. 38, No. 15, p 798 on a device similar to plans for the photonic calibration
device.
Note Shillue's email of 14 August, where he pointed out that
1. the costs of this system are unknown ranging from an expensive phase locked
system downward; that
2. swept in frequency, power will vary by >> 1%, ''much
lower but still significant for a broadband lens-antenna. The ouput power will
also change with time at a fixed frequency due to polarization effects
in the fiber. The time scale of the changes depends on environmental
factors not well understood without a field test. Careful calibration
and polarization control could be used to mitigate these variations.
3. The types of tests that are do-able at the ATF are limited. The only
calibrator is the one on the holography tower so that is a bit different
from a subreflector-mounted source. The frequency is not sweepable, but
can be stepped from about 70-110 GHz.
4. Practically speaking, there is no manpower set aside for photonic
phase cal, no specifications, no system design, no schedule, and the
budget is fictitious for lack of a better word.
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AIPS++ -
A report for the ASAC was conveyed to them. Comments? Flagging looks like
it wasn't done. Reports of difficulties reproducing these results by
one member of the science IPT. Has anyone else tried?
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Configuration - Holdaway
Please see Holdaway's Conway ASAC presentation.
The JAO will approve the configuration plan 30 Sept - 1 Oct in Grenoble.
John has submitted a plan but wishes to tidy it up some before releasing
it to ImCal.
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Meetings Past and Future - Wootten
Presentations for ASAC Face-to-face.
The ASAC will hold a telecon on 9 October. Its report is to be
finished by 3 October.
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Other
Monthly report for Jun-Jul has been submitted. Please send your report for August
and September activities, as this is the end of September!
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SMA News...
SEP 30, 2002 Congressional milestone: routine science imaging with five
antennas at 345 GHz; phase closure at 650 GHz.
available in draft form:
xxx Noise Characterization and Allan
Variances of Water Vapor Monitors Wiedner
********************************* DEPARTURES *********************************
OCT 15(tbc) Martina Wiedner
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Upcoming Meetings - Wootten
JAN 5/9, 2003 201st Meeting of the American Astronomical Society
JUL 13-26, 2003 Twenty-Fifth General Assembly of the IAU
JUL 22/25, 2003 IAU Symposium (221): Star Formation at High Angular Resolution, Sydney, Australia. Tyler
Bourke is a co-chair of the scientific
organizing committee. Good opportunity to show ALMA capabilities.
SEP 22-26, 2003 4th Cologne-Bonn-Zermatt-Symposium on The Dense Interstellar Medium in Galaxies
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Travel
Oh, always
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