To: all ATNF staff and users
From: R.D.Ekers, J.W.Brooks, R.P.Norris
Date: 26 April 1996
Subject: MNRF Upgrade
Since we were awarded funding under the Federal Government's Major National Research Facilities (MNRF) program in November last year, we have been going through a process of consultation with the community, and technical and financial assessment studies within the ATNF, to determine the optimum parameters of the upgrade. We have now decided to proceed with the upgrade along the following lines. We plan to review the details of this plan in the ATUC meeting in May 96, and then submit it to the government at the end of May.
Details will be added to the MNRF WWW pages (accessible from the ATNF home page on http://www.atnf.csiro.au) as they become available. Further developments such as 7 mm receivers will remain on the AT future developments list and will be considered at a later stage if funding and manpower become available.
We plan to include in the upgrade:
High-frequency upgrade to the ATCA including: $M 12 mm receivers on 6 antennas + 1 spare 1.75 3.5 mm receivers on 5 antennas + 1 spare 1.11 (incremental cost) Extension of 3.5mm surface on 5 antennas from 0.81 15 to 22m Holography & adjustment of antennas and 0.10 subreflectors Construction of additional 4 water vapour 0.16 radiometers * 3.5 new stations 0.44 LO upgrade 0.75 SUBTOTAL 5.12 VLBI, including: Ceduna receivers for 1.2-18 cm 0.25 12 mm receivers for Mopra, Hobart, Ceduna 0.75 Hydrogen masers for Ceduna and Mopra 0.40 S-2 playback unit for correlator (for Ceduna 0.10 tapes) 7 PCFS & GPStiming systems 0.05 Ceduna 1.2-18 cm feeds and subreflector 0.39 upgrade * SUBTOTAL 1.94 Strategic Research, including MMIC developments 0.15 interference excision study 0.05 SUBTOTAL 0.20 Upgrade of Parkes LO/IF conversion $0.23M system Software development through the ATOMS $0.20M project Test equipment $0.50M Additional manpower $1.25M Additional management costs $0.30M International Collaboration funding $1.26M TOTAL $11.0M
* Subject to outcome of tests and design studies
Last updated: 26-April-1996
Ray Norris (rnorris@atnf.csiro.au)