Phone:

Meeting ID: 2958

Chair: Tasso Tzioumis

Attendance: Oleg Titov (GA, Canberra); Shinji Horiuchi (SDCCC, Canberra);Claire Hotan, Aquib Moin, Cormac Reynolds, Hayley Bignall (Curtin); Tzioumis, Phillips, Carretti (ATNF Marsfield); Phil Edwards, Jamie Stevens (ATNF, Narrabri); Sergei Gulyaev, Tim Nanush (AUT)

Apologies: Steven Tingay, Jim Lovell

Agenda

• Review of Actions from last meeting

• Report from last VLBI session in July 2009
  • Telescopes
    • ATNF (Tasso)
    • UTas (UTas)
  • e-VLBI (Chris/Aquib/Tasso)
  • ARCS transfers (Claire)

• Next Observations in September 2009
  • General issues (Tzioumis/Phillips/Edwards)
  • Schedules (Edwards/C.Reynolds)
  • Support (Tzioumis)
  • Disks (Claire)
  • Mk5 disks (Chris/Tasso)
  • Transfers (Claire/Hayley/Chris)

• REPORTS/UPDATES
• Curtin cluster at Narrabri (Phillips)
• VLBI tests with GMRT (Tasso)
• eVLBI demo with Brazil

• Feb 2010 VLBI meetings
  • IVS meeting in Hobart (Lovell)
  • Astro meetings in NZ (Tingay)
  • LBA ops/eVLBI mtg?
• Update on New Zealand antenna (Gulyaev)
• AuScope Update (Lovell)

• Report from eVLBI workshop in Madrid
• Report from VLBI astrometry workshop at VLBA (Phillips)

• AOB
  • HI VLBI with ATCA?

Actions arising

(new items in blue)

GENERAL

• Swinburne archive of correlated VLBI data to be moved to ATNF & Curtin at end of all Swinburne correlation (Steven/Claire) - update 28/01/09 - Swinburne correlation complete. Claire transferring data to Curtin. Will tidy up before sending on to ATNF. Claire to advise ATNF on archive size. 11/2/09 - in progress. 21/5/09: All data in archive. Will check and make available to ATNF.Continuing (11/6/09)
  • Determine what meta-data should be archived (ATNF/Curtin)
  • Determine what muct be included in the user-accessible archive vs. archive at correlator (atnf/Curtin)
  • Recheck Swinburne archive at Curtin (Chris Phillips)
  • History of LBA observations based on this wiki available here (to permit preliminary sorting for archive) (Claire) * Provide additional advice to PIs on scheduling the ATCA to keep it phased up at 8 GHz and above (Tasso) - update 28/01/09 - Richard to have input regards polarisation properties. 11/2/09 - to be tested with observations in next session. Richard provided report. To be disseminated to community. (21/5/09) * New CABB systems may need experimentation to check best strategy and implementation for phasing the array. (Phil/Chris/Tasso) * Need to wait for CABB system to be finalised. (Tasso) * List on the Wiki available bands/polarisations at each LBA antenna. Also update “standard bands” (from S2) and define “standard” bands for wide-band recording. (Cormac/Tasso). 11/2/09 - initial progress within SCHED. Will be further followed up. * Review what information is already available in freq.dat in SCHED (Chris/Cormac) * Build ATNF version of SCHED while waiting for Chris Walker to implement changes in the distributed version (Cormac/Chris) * Curtin Cluster at Narrabri: Networking operational and configuration to be done on 12/06/09. To be brought to operation (Chris/Shaun/Jamie). DONE * 36 TB store on cluster may need configuring. Steven initiated contact with IVEC expert who is working with Chris. Needs DHCP. (Chris/Jamie/Shaun) * ARCS transfers. DONE * Prepare checklist for procedures for next session. (Claire) * Get observers to update disk usage on wiki (all) * Prepare for 2nd phase of implementation of transfers, to include Hobart, Tid (via Canberra ARCS node) and Ceduna (via Adelaide ARCS node). May need XRAIDs at ARCS nodes. To be explored with ARCS contacts (Steven). * Hobart transfers via ARCS to be tried in July. * Explore doing Tid transfers vis USB/eSATA disk copy to ARCS in Canberra (Chris/Claire) * Communication re networks (Claire) * Transfer times - send explicit list of required downtimes to Graham * Networking requirements - nominate someone from each institution to liaise with Graham re: port requirements etc. and be available to make changes (If you'll be travelling, nominate a deputy) * New actions with ARCS * Better coordination with ARCS (Tasso) * Wiki transfers page with “blackout times” (Claire/atnf) * Script to produce file counts & check for missing files (Jamie) * Checklist for all LBA observations. Initial copy from Hobart (Brett). To be developed during next session (Tasso/Claire/Hayley) DONE * Disk wiki to also show number of files at end of expt? (Claire) Superseded * Mk5 Disks. New units to be ordered for correlation in Curtin and/or Bonn. Steven and Tasso to coordinate. * Proposal to always correlate LBA data with all 4 Stokes, unless PI objects. Richard to write short report and justification, after checking with ATCA data. * Unified LBA monitoring and control, to include Ho & Cd. Initial tests done in May. Will be tried more fully in July. Continue to develop. (Simon/Jamie/Tasso) NEXT OBSERVING SESSION * Observing support for next session (Sept 09) * Observers organised for ATNF antennas. Tasso to coordinate. * Disks to observatories. Claire/Tasso to coordinate * Mk5 Disk list from Parkes to Claire (Ettore/Tasso) * Replace faulty disks in Parkes Xraid sets (Ettore/JER) * Set deadline for PI schedules for next session for 21 August (Phil) * PI letters to ask for .key files and direct PIs to calibrator list. (Phil/Chris/Cormac)

OTHER

• Follow up re disk problems at Ceduna in last session. Consult Simon/Jim (Tasso)

• eVLBI data pipeline to be set on Cave (Cormac/Chris)

• Ensure that all V271B sets are not rewitten. Transfers to Bonn in Sept. (All/Chris)

• Investigate and test file-systems on XRAIDs to avoid problems. (Cormac/Jamie/Chris)

• GMRT tests at Curtin (data compatibility) and organise Pks-GMRT VLBI (Tasso)

• Recorded VLBI with NZ in November? One 16 MHz channel with old system. (AUT/atnf)

• Investigate differential GPS setups for troposphere/ionosphere calibration (Chris/Cormac/Jamie)

• cdisko & recorder fixes and updates before session (Chris/Jamie)

• Collaborations with South America may be possible, to compensate for loss of Hart. TIGO (Chile), O'Higgins (Antarctica), Fortaleza (Brazil) & antenna in Peru. Tasso to investigate.
  • Small antennas to South America. Will continue investigating.
  • Initial contacts made. Will continue. Demo in 2009? (Tasso)

• Next LBA ops/e-VLBI meeting next February, during IVS week in Hobart (8-12th). May be able to have LBA meeting Thu-Fri (11-12). Tasso to explore and coordinate.

• Possible APAN e-VLBI demo in February, same period as IVS meeting. To explore further and minimise conflict. Contact AARNet. (Chris/Tasso)

• Next telecon: Thu, 27 August 2009, 1:30pm Sydney time (Tasso/Chris/Cormac)