LEAPFROG TECHNIQUE OBSERVING INSTRUCTIONS
THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS AND WILL
CHANGE AS THE TECHNIQUE IS DEVELOPED
- Logout of current observing session if necessary
- run CIMA
- Put in observing number (a1961) and observer initials.
Select
'Line'
from the observing modes
- From the 'Choose receiver' widget: Choose ALFA
& then
'Select
this receiver now'. Dismiss widget
- From the 'Observer's interface' select Pointing Control.
- Within Pointing Control click on 'catalog'. Find and
select the catalog name, eg zoa_A.cat
- Select your first source from the list. Click on 'Point'.
Leave
this widget open (i.e. don't click 'dismiss')
- Checks:
- Check to see if the oberver's monitor is
running. If not,
either open one from the right-click menu on dataview, or open an xterm
and start it up with % /home/aoui/alfa/alfadatawin &
- Check to see if Quicklook is running. If not,
either open
one from the right-click menu on dataview, or open an xterm and start
it
up with % /home/aoui/alfa/obswin &
- Ask the controller to check if the ALFA amps are
switched
on.
- Open the 'User preferences'
- find the 'send to executive box' and type in 'source
/home/lerner/gen_obs.tcl'
then click 'send to executive'
- From the 'Observer's interface' select 'Receiver IF/LO
Control'.
- From the IFLO widget select New & Improved setup,
this brings
up the New & Improved IFLO control.
- Select your rest frequency by clicking on the spectral
line button
and choosing the HI rest frequency.
- Also choose 100MHz for the bandwidth.
- Click on 'Show These Choices' in the 'New Improved IFLO
control'
to check that the your choices are correct. (Don't worry if the display
differs from the permanent 'Display of Proposed IFO Settings' screen as
this only refreshes once observations have begun).
- Dismiss the Display you just opened.
- CLICK ON APPLY THIS SETUP.
- Dismiss the 'New improved IFLO Control' widget.
- Dismiss the IFLO Control widget.
- Click on Backend Control.
- Click on the 'ALFA Backend Control' button.
- Dismiss the Backend Control widget.
- From the WAPP ALFA widget click on 'Configure WAPP ALFA'
- Click on the 'Adjust Power' button. All the values for
'Power' in
the ALFA observation monitor should be blue, if not repeat the
configuration
steps. Then get assistance.
- From the 'observer's interface' select 'Command File
Observing'.
- If you know your observing script filename and path,
enter it in
the box next to the 'Command file' button. If you don't, click on the
'Command
file' button and use the file navigation tool to find your observing
script.
- Use the Starting Line Number box to find the line in
your observing
file you wish to start from.
- Click on 'Start Command Line Observation' to begin your
observations.
In case of
difficulties with the WAPP or CIMA,
try the following:
Just about all problems result from a communication failure
somewhere,
go through the following list of instructions until things are fixed:
-
In the case of a display problem: Perhaps the grabber has stalled. Try
clicking on 'restart grabber' - then confirm.
-
The Wapps may be acting up: go to CIMA and click on 'pulsar observing
mode'
- then 'more' - then 'restart wapps'
(you may need to 'restart grabber' on the alfamonitor window).
- Try logging out (and then back in) of CIMA entirely and
restarting the
observations..
-
Call the Friend of the observations.
developed by Steve Schneider, Erik
Muller, Robbie Auld & Sabina Sabatini Please email any comments
and suggestions to emuller@naic.edu
and cc to robbie.auld@astro.cf.ac.uk