RV139 (Astrometric/Geodetic VLBA-139) 2020 JAN 08 17:30 UTC DOY 008 Notes prepared by David Gordon NVI/GSFC Special notes for this session: =============================== This session will use the RDBE/DDC/Mark5C system at the VLBA sites, as in previous RV sessions. The X-band frequencies are: 8365.75, 8445.75, 8805.75 and 8925.75 MHz, and spans 560 MHz. The S-band frequencies are: 2232.75, 2262.75, 2372.75 and 2392.75 MHz, and spans 160 MHz. The ending in .75 MHz is necessary at the VLBA stations. Therefore it will not be possible to monitor phase cals using the 10 kHz filters. NOTE: WE ARE INCREASING THE CHANNEL BANDWIDTHS FROM 8 TO 16 MHZ. RV139 will record 8 16-MHz bandwidth channels using 2-bit sampling. The bit rate will be 512 Mbits/sec. The data will be correlated at the VLBA using the VLBA DiFX software correlator. There are 4 non-VLBA stations scheduled - HARTRAO, NYALES20, ONSALA60 and WETTZELL. These stations should see the "Special operations notes for non-VLBA stations" section below for special instructions. To facilitate fringe-finding, there are some long scans on fairly strong sources with most antennas at the beginning and near the end of the schedule. All stations please try to be onsource and recording data for these scans. These scans are: Source Start DURATIONS name yyddd-hhmmss Br Fd Hh Hn Kp La Mk Nl Ny On Ov Pt Sc Wz 2000+472 20008-173000| 300 343 336 308 336 320 332 300 371 308 337 371 371| 2318+049 20008-173745| 379 300 376 379 377 300 304 379 367 379| 1125+366 20009-171454| 374 398 480 397 366 360 399 375 480 | 2318+049 20009-172330| 385 385 385 385 385 385 385 385 385| We are again using the 'Fill' scheduling option. 'Fill' is run after a schedule is finished in the normal manner. It increases the scan times at stations, when possible, based on how much idle time each station has before its next scan. We used a 'FILL_OFF' margin of 5 seconds. Using 'Fill' on the original schedule, the average observing time increases from 47% to 61%, and the average idle time decreases from 24% to 10%. The observing time increases most at the faster antennas and least at the slower antennas. Purpose ======= This is the first of six coordinated astrometric/geodetic sessions in 2020 that use the full 10-station VLBA plus several geodetic stations capable of recording VLBA modes. This year's series is a continuation of the highly successful RDV series begun in 1997. These are now being run under the USNO's VLBA time allocation. These sessions are being coordinated by the geodetic/astrometric VLBI programs of USNO, NASA and NRAO. They have been designed so that the same data set may be used by each agency for its particular goals. USNO, NASA and Bordeaux Observatory will perform imaging and study possible corrections for source structure. These sources will establish a set of core reference sources with known structure and precisely known positions. These data will help provide the basis for evaluating the long term stability of the radio reference frame and the ultimate accuracy of wide angle astrometric measurements of extragalactic radio sources using VLBI. NASA and USNO will analyze this data to determine and maintain high accuracy terrestrial reference and celestial reference frames. The data will incorporate the VLBA stations into the VLBI reference frame through the inclusion of other geodetic stations for which we have long histories. This data will also produce highly accurate Earth orientation results and possibly the best nutation results ever produced. NASA and NRAO will use these sessions to provide a service to users who request high quality positions for a small number of sources. While the quality of these results will be high, the observing and data reduction overhead required will be minimal because a small number of such sources can be incorporated into a session of the regular geodetic observations, instead of requiring special observations. For each RV session we will select a set of ~60 sources from the pool of geodetic and monitoring sources. A number of poorly observed and/or new requested sources will also be included to obtain or improve their positions. Schedule information ==================== This is a new schedule generated by David Gordon at GSFC using sked. Schedule file name: rv139.skd At the IVS Data Center (ftp://cddisa.gsfc.nasa.gov/vlbi/ivsdata/aux/2020/rv139): Sked file: rv139.skd Text file: rv139.txt At the VLBA/NRAO: VLBA Pointing files: rv139crd.br rv139crd.fd rv139crd.hn rv139crd.kp rv139crd.la rv139crd.mk rv139crd.nl rv139crd.ov rv139crd.pt rv139crd.sc Summary file: rv139.sksum Sked file: rv139.skd Text file: rv139.txt Vex file: rv139.vex This session uses the VLBA stations and 4 IVS stations. The IVS stations are: HARTRAO, NYALES20, ONSALA60 and WETTZELL. Below is the sked summary. Key: Br=BR-VLBA Fd=FD-VLBA Hh=HARTRAO Hn=HN-VLBA Kp=KP-VLBA La=LA-VLBA Mk=MK-VLBA Nl=NL-VLBA Ny=NYALES20 On=ONSALA60 Ov=OV-VLBA Pt=PIETOWN Sc=SC-VLBA Wz=WETTZELL Br Fd Hh Hn Kp La Mk Nl Ny On Ov Pt Sc Wz Avg % obs. time: 58 59 56 58 59 61 52 62 66 71 59 61 60 75 61 % cal. time: 6 6 3 5 6 6 5 5 4 3 6 6 5 4 5 % slew time: 28 27 34 26 28 27 23 25 15 15 27 27 24 8 24 % idle time: 7 7 6 10 6 6 19 6 15 10 7 6 11 12 10 total # scans: 485 500 225 437 522 505 408 474 318 280 508 510 396 326 421 # scans/hour : 20 21 9 18 22 21 17 20 13 12 21 21 17 14 18 Avg scan (sec): 104 103 217 115 98 104 110 113 179 219 101 103 130 198 134 # data tracks: 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 # Mk5 tracks: 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 Total TB(M5): 3.22 3.29 3.12 3.22 3.26 3.36 2.87 3.42 3.65 3.93 3.27 3.36 3.30 4.13 3.39 # OF OBSERVATIONS BY BASELINE | Br Fd Hh Hn Kp La Mk Nl Ny On Ov Pt Sc Wz Total -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Br| 332 18 282 354 353 321 338 133 51 390 356 221 67 3216 Fd| 31 297 452 469 283 383 93 46 386 479 291 52 3594 Hh| 67 17 29 0 43 141 202 8 25 76 221 878 Hn| 268 297 164 362 156 101 234 287 330 125 2970 Kp| 456 341 361 87 35 450 472 258 39 3590 La| 286 397 97 45 395 493 280 49 3646 Mk| 238 72 19 386 300 150 19 2579 Nl| 129 66 320 386 314 81 3418 Ny| 182 86 96 114 218 1604 On| 31 42 81 246 1147 Ov| 412 211 31 3340 Pt| 272 47 3667 Sc| 113 2711 Wz| 1308 Number of 2-station scans: 0 Number of 3-station scans: 239 Number of 4-station scans: 164 Number of 5-station scans: 76 Number of 6-station scans: 81 Number of 7-station scans: 66 Number of 8-station scans: 88 Number of 9-station scans: 81 Number of 10-station scans: 114 Number of 11-station scans: 34 Number of 12-station scans: 14 Number of 13-station scans: 6 Number of 14-station scans: 0 Total number of scans: 963 Total number of obs: 18834 INTENSIVE BREAKS ================ There currently is no IVS INT01 Intensive session scheduled on DOY 008 during RV139. However, there will probably be a USNO/VLBA Intensive on DOY 009, in which case Pietown and MK-VLBA will drop out for ~100 minutes for that. SOURCE SELECTION ================ There are a total of 76 sources in this session; 60 are from the geodetic source list and 16 are sources with few or no previous observions in IVS sessions. SCHEDULING ALGORITHMS ===================== This schedule uses the "SRCEVN SQRT" mode of Sked. In the absence of any constraints, Sked will preferentially observe strong sources that have high visibility. This mode attempts to smooth out the number of observations per source. RECORDING MODE and FREQUENCIES ============================== The data will be recorded using the following setup: 8 channels 1:2 fan-out 32 MHz sample rate 2-bit sampling This recording mode is a modified version of 256-8(RDV). There is no correlator speed-up factor. The frequency sequence covers 560 MHz at X-band and 160 MHz at S-band using 4 channels in each band. At the VLBA, the X-band uses two LO's in order to fit into the VLBA 512 MHz passband. At the Mark4 stations, the X-band uses both the high and low parts of the geodetic receivers. Because only 8 channels are available when observing with the VLBA/RDBE/DDC systems, a wider spanned bandwidth is not advisable. The following tables list the setup for the VLBA stations and the geodetic stations with DBBC, Mark IV, Mark 5, and VLBA5 back ends. VLBA | HARTRAO Chan Sky Tracks LO IF BBC | LO IF BBC BBC# 1 X 8365.75 2, 4, 6, 8 7600 B 765.75| 8080.0 A1 285.75 3 2 X 8445.75 10,12,14,16 7600 B 845.75| 8080.0 A1 365.75 4 3 X 8805.75 18,20,22,24 9600 D 794.25| 8080.0 B2 725.75 5 4 X 8925.75 26,28,30,32 9600 D 674.25| 8080.0 B2 845.75 6 5 S 2232.75 3, 5, 7, 9 3100 A 867.25| 2020.0 C1 212.75 9 6 S 2262.75 11,13,15,17 3100 A 837.25| 2020.0 C1 242.75 10 7 S 2372.75 19,21,23,25 3100 A 727.25| 2020.0 C1 352.75 13 8 S 2392.75 27,29,31,33 3100 A 707.25| 2020.0 C1 372.75 14 VLBA | NYALES20 Chan Sky Tracks LO IF BBC | LO IF BBC BBC# 1 X 8365.75 2, 4, 6, 8 7600 B 765.75| 8080.0 1N 285.75 3 2 X 8445.75 10,12,14,16 7600 B 845.75| 8080.0 1N 365.75 4 3 X 8805.75 18,20,22,24 9600 D 794.25| 8580.1 3N 225.65 5 4 X 8925.75 26,28,30,32 9600 D 674.25| 8580.1 3N 345.65 6 5 S 2232.75 3, 5, 7, 9 3100 A 867.25| 2020.0 2N 212.75 9 6 S 2262.75 11,13,15,17 3100 A 837.25| 2020.0 2N 242.75 10 7 S 2372.75 19,21,23,25 3100 A 727.25| 2020.0 2N 352.75 13 8 S 2392.75 27,29,31,33 3100 A 707.25| 2020.0 2N 372.75 14 VLBA | ONSALA60, WETTZELL Chan Sky Tracks LO IF BBC | LO IF BBC BBC# 1 X 8365.75 2, 4, 6, 8 7600 B 765.75| 8080.0 A1 285.75 3 2 X 8445.75 10,12,14,16 7600 B 845.75| 8080.0 A1 365.75 4 3 X 8805.75 18,20,22,24 9600 D 794.25| 8080.0 B1 725.75 5 4 X 8925.75 26,28,30,32 9600 D 674.25| 8080.0 B1 845.75 6 5 S 2232.75 3, 5, 7, 9 3100 A 867.25| 2020.0 C1 212.75 9 6 S 2262.75 11,13,15,17 3100 A 837.25| 2020.0 C1 242.75 10 7 S 2372.75 19,21,23,25 3100 A 727.25| 2020.0 D1 352.75 13 8 S 2392.75 27,29,31,33 3100 A 707.25| 2020.0 D1 372.75 14 Special operations for non-VLBA stations: ========================================= All non-VLBA stations: Please note that due to the frequency sequence, phase-cal will not be visible with a 10 kHz viewing filter in the USB channels. If you have another means to verify phase-cal, please use it. If you have a Mark IV Decoder, please contact Ed.Himwich@nasa.gov if you would like advice on how to set it up to check phase-cal for this frequency sequence. HARTRAO: This station uses a DBBC rack. Please use the procedures generated by DRUDG. BBCs 3 & 4 are used at X-band with IF A, input 1. BBCs 5 & 6 are used at X-band with IF B, input 2. BBCs 9, 10, 13 & 14 are used for S-band with IF C, input 1. NYALES20 and WETTZELL: These stations have Mark IV or Mark 5 racks. Please use the procedures generated by DRUDG. VCs 3 & 4 are used at X-band with IF 1. VCs 5 & 6 are used at X-band with IF 3. VCs 9, 10, 13 & 14 are used at S-band with IF 2. ONSALA60: This station uses a DBBC rack. Please use the procedures generated by DRUDG. BBCs 3 & 4 are used at X-band with IF A, input 1. BBCs 5 & 6 are used at X-band with IF B, input 1. BBCs 9 & 10 are used for S-band with IF C, input 1. BBCs 13 & 14 are used at S-band with IF D, input 1. The IF3 command in the procedure IFDSX assumes that VC3 and VC10 will be patched to High. Please verify that the switches for your IF3 module are wired this way, and if they are not please edit the IF3 command to change the switches. The standard wiring is described in "help=if3". If you have questions about the wiring, please contact Brian Corey at Haystack. If you wish to record back-up channels, please add appropriate valo=..., va=... vblo=... and vb=... commands in the VCSX8 procedure. CHECKLIST for non-VLBA stations =============================== Please follow the checklist below to ensure you have done all the necessary steps for this session: 1. Make .prc file with DRUDG and check them out, or use the procedures from the last RV session. Check out parity check procedures. 2. Make the .snp file with DRUDG. 3. Set up your system to monitor the clocks with the "gps-fmout" or "fmout-gps" commands. If you have questions about this, please contact Ed Himwich as soon as possible. 4. Send a "ready" message an hour or so before the session to the ivs-ops mail list (ivs-ops@lists.nasa.gov). Copy analysts@nrao.edu on your ready message. 5. Send a "start" message soon after you have started recording. Copy analysts@nrao.edu on the message. 6. At the end of the session, send a "finish" message summarizing how the session was conducted. Copy analysts@nrao.edu on your message. 7. Transfer your log file to your normal IVS data center. The directories for the IVS servers are listed below: ftp ivsopar.obspm.fr/ivsincoming ftp ivs.bkg.bund.de/ivsincoming Correlation =========== This session will be correlated at the NRAO/VLBA on the VLBA DiFX software correlator. Most of the Mark4 stations are now E-transfering their data to Haystack, where it will be copied and shipped to the VLBA in Socorro, New Mexico. These stations will need to coordinate this with Haystack Observatory (contact: Jason SooHoo at jsoohoo@haystack.mit.edu). The VLBA needs to process the session at their correlator as soon as possible because of limited media. So please try to set up the E-transfer as soon as possible after the session ends. If you need to ship the media instead, please ship it to Socorro as soon after the session as is practical. It should be shipped to the following address: Socorro address for media shipping: VLBA Array Operations Center National Radio Astronomy Observatory Attn: Juan Cordova 1003 Lopezville Road Socorro, NM 87801 U.S.A. Phone: 575-835-7000 Shipping and VLBA contact information is also given at: https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/vlba/contact/shipping_information. Please use one of the recommended shipping companies (FedEx, UPS, DHL, TNT). Please ship your media to the VLBA the same day the session ends or the next business day (just like the R1/R4 media is shipped). If you know that there is going to be a problem sending your media to the VLBA the same day the session ends or the next business day, please let us (David.Gordon-1@nasa.gov) know as soon as possible so that we, along with the VLBA, can determine the best course of action. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know.