BIWEEKLY CALENDAR OF THE ALMA PROJECT at NRAO
                            December 6 -- December 20, 2004


******************************** THIS FORTNIGHT*********************************
Antenna contract discussions continue.  Further tests on the prototype antennas
are planned to address unresolved issues.  Logistics for these tests will be
handled by Victor Gasho, with test planning and execution being carried out 
jointly by NRAO and ESO staff.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Past issues of this Calendar may be viewed at 
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/ALMACalendars.html
*******************************************************************************
General Happenings

SPdA:  Invitation for bid on 22 beds for Contractor's Camp released; completion and
enlargement of the ALMA Camp are in process.  Road work to OSF: 6 of 7 km complete;
estimated to be finished 2004 Dec 10.  Road work to AOS progressing beyond km 26.

Tucson: Talk by Y. Shirley: 1pm Tues Dec 7 Rm.N305 UofA Star & Planet Formation
Discussion Group.  ""Probing the Earliest Phases of Low-mass 
Pre-protostellar Core and Protostar Formation"
P-SI Tucson:  Phase noise tests are underway of LO reference signals;  #31 ALMA 
document 80.12.03.00-005-A System Integration Phase Noise Measurements 
LO Photonics tests on hold while preparations for re-activation of ATF holography
receiver progress.

ATF: Stanghellini visiting.  Project acceptance of AEC antenna expected within 
a matter of weeks.  Specific new tests are projected for the
prototypes by ESO and NRAO staff.

AOC: Computing IPT members attending all-hands meeting in Garching.  Correlator
team visiting.  Data Transmission System stability tests in progress.  Systems
folks attending Cryostat CDR at RAL, England.

 
NTC: B6 (1.3mm) cartridge beam pattern tests without window and IR filters to be
measured.  Second revision of B9 (.45 mm) sextupler testing continues, looks good.
First quadrant correlator boards 100% complete, excepting some to be redesigned.
First prototype tunable filter bank card being assembled for delivery in this period.

NAASC: Monthly meeting notes at https://wiki.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/NAASC 
(Internal only).

            
DAILY CALENDAR (Times EST )
 Mon 6  
 10:30 AM-12:00 PM: JAO/IPT Teleconference
 1:00 pm Star Formation Group meeting Videocon TUC, CV, AOC
 Tue 7
 4:00 PM-5:00PM: NAScienceIPT teleconference (open to all interested 
                                 parties) (434)296-7082
             Agenda: http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/ 
 Wed 8
 Thurs 9 
 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: Calibration Group telecon
 8:30 AM-10:00 AM: JAO Teleconference
  Fri  10
 1:00 PM AOC Colloquium:   Steve Doty, Denison University:   
         Toward Comprehensive Modeling of Star-Forming Regions: 
                 Recent Progress and Sights on ALMA
  Sat  11  
  Sun  12 
  Mon   13
 9:30 AM-10:30 AM: NA Project Office Staff Meeting
 10:30 AM-12:00 PM: JAO/IPT Teleconference
  Tue  14
 10:30 AM-11:30 AM: ASAC Teleconference
 11:30 AM-12:30 PM: Science IPT Teleconference
  Wed  15  
  Thu  16 Beethoven's Birthday
 8:30 AM-10:00 AM: JAO Teleconference
  Fri  17  
  Sat  18  
  Sun  19 
****************************** UPCOMING EVENTS ******************************
ALMA Calendar  
    
    * 2 December -- ALMA Board Telecon
    * 14 December -- ASAC Telecon
    * 5-7 Jan 2005 -- UNSC URSI Boulder meeting Commission J
    * 6 Jan 2005 -- ANASAC Telecon
    * 11 Jan 2005 - ALMA Town Meeting, AAS San Diego
    * 27 Jan 2005 -- ALMA Board Telecon
    * 24-25 Feb 2005 -- ASAC face-to-face meeting, Garching (tent)

******************************* TECHNICAL NEWS *******************************
Correction to last issue:  While it has been proposed that the Japanese
prototype antenna be retrofitted and sent to the ALMA site, this plan has
not been adopted by the JAO.
*******************************ALSO OF INTEREST*******************************
NANTEN-2 a 4m telescope previously operated by Nagoya University at Las Campanas,
was rededicated at Pampa la Bola on 25 November.  With a new 15 micron surface, 
this telescope equipped with .6mm and .3mm multibeam receivers from the University
of Cologne will provide wide-field submillimeter observations as a guide for
ALMA.  
*******************************************************************************     
Please send information for upcoming calendars by Friday evening of the
preceding biweekly period to Jennifer Neighbours or Al Wootten via e-mail 
(jneighbo@nrao.edu or awootten@nrao.edu).

The calendar will be issued between late Friday and sometime on Monday by e-mail
to all NRAO scientific staff members and anyone else interested. A specific
mailing list, alma-info, has been created for anyone wishing to receive it.  Past issues
are now available at http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/ALMACalendars.html