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Standard Setup Files
Over 200 standard setup files have been created, covering many of the
normal modes of observing. They are available at the same place as
the code for SCHED in a ``setups'' subdirectory. Users may opt
to use these standard setups. However, now that BAND is available, it will make more sense for most users
to make their own setups, imbedded in the SCHED input file. See
the example egvlba.key for a template. The only parameters
required in such a setup are BAND,
NCHAN, BBFILTER,
BITS, and POL.
You need to know all of those just to pick the standard setup file
to use so why not make your own? In fact, as users get accustomed
to doing this, many of the standard setups may be dropped.
This file has not been updated from MARK5A to MARK5C.
There are cases, however, when use of the standard files is
recommended. These especially include precisely defined, and somewhat
complex cases like the Mark III standard modes (although MarkIII went
the way of the dinosaur long ago. Also, if none of the standard files
matches the exact needs of a project, there is likely to be one that
is close and can be modified as required. This is generally safer
than creating a setup file from scratch because it will be clear what
parameters are required.
The standard setup files take advantage of the defaulting ability of
SCHED. If you are interested in what most of the setup parameters
will actually be set to, the best way to do this is to run a simple
dummy schedule that uses the setup and look at the details reported in
the summary file. A simple file like the simple
example given earlier should do (with OBSTYPE set to VLBI), although cover and correlator
information will be required.
Standard setup files are named according to the following
conventions:
- ``v'' files:
- These are setup files for VLBI observations
using VLBA recording formats. The VLBA system is very flexible so
there are large numbers of options. There is much more information in
the name which might be best described with an example. The file v6cm-128-4-2-L.set is for 6 cm observations in VLBA format. The
first number after a ``-'' gives the total bit rate in Mbits/s which
is 128 in this case. The next number is the number of channels (4).
The last number is the number of bits per sample (2). If the file
only uses one polarization, there will be an ``L'' or an ``R'' at the
end. If the file uses upper and lower sidebands where all upper
sidebands could be used on the VLBA, there will be a ``UL'' appended.
These files can be used when observing with sites such as Effelsberg
which have a limited number of BBCs. All setup files, by convention,
end in ``.set''. Note that one can deduce the bandwidth and
sample rate from the above information assuming Nyquist sampling.
With 128 Mbits/s and 4 channels, the channel bit rate must be 32
Mbits/s. With 2 bits per channel, this means that the sample rate is
16 Msamples/s. Nyquist sampling implies 8 MHz bandwidth per channel,
which, with 4 channels, gives 32 MHz overall bandwidth.
- ``m3'' files:
- These are setup files for Mark III
observations. SCHED only supports Mark III observing for
systems with VLBA control computers and data aquisition systems.
These include the VLBA, the VLA, Green Bank, and, optionally,
Effelsberg. An example file would be m3e18cmd.set. This means
Mark III, mode E (4 passes per head position), 18 cm observing
wavelength, double speed. Here, double speed means recording at 8
Mbits/s per track. With Mark III, there is a one-to-one
correspondence between tracks and channels and there are a total of 28
possible tracks. Also, all sampling is in one bit mode. Mode E uses
7 tracks (channels) at a time so this setup specifies a total bit rate
of (7 * 8) = 56 Mbits/s and, with Nyquist sampling, 28
MHz total bandwidth.
- ``vla'' files:
- These are setup files for VLA-only
observations. The don't specify any tape related information.
- ``pt'' files:
- These are setup files for VLBA pointing and
antenna temperature measurements.
- ``pc'' files:
- These are setup files for VLBA pulse cal
tests.
- ``nug'' files:
- These are setup files for Mark II
observations. The standard ``nug'' files are not being maintained any
more and may will not have the stations in them that are doing Mark
II. They will need to be modified if anyone uses them. If they are,
please send examples to cwalker@nrao.edu so new standards can be
established. Mark II is no longer available on most antennas,
including all that are operated by NRAO.
Next: Examples of Setup Files
Up: Setup Files
Previous: Setup Files
Contents
Craig Walker
2014-04-14