Download - Parkes ATUC Report Nov 2007
Parkes ATUCReport
Nov 2007
Stats• Scheduled observing time (2007)
– 85%
• Downtime (last 12 months): – 1% system faults– 3.1% high wind
Observer feedback
• 25 reports last 12 months– 9.7 for after-hours support– 9.4 for quarters comfort
-7.4 for RFI (immunity from)
From ‘Production and Impact of Radio Telescopes 2001-
2005’
Trimble & Ceja (2007)
Open Days, Sep 20073500 visitors2000 tower tourists
Receivers
• With new 16-26GHz receiver, can cover most of the the spectrum from 1.2 - 26GHz
• 20cm multibeam remains state-of-the-art for next 4-5 years (until FPA?)
Receiver developments
• Frequency agility - lightweight 18-20cm receiver – use Multibeam only for part of year – upgrade existing H-OH?
• 8GHz MARS receiver– Modify conversion to get 1GHz bandwidth– New S/X feedhorn for astrometry/geodesy
Pulsar/transient backends
• Pulsar timing– PDFB2 operational (1GHz x 2IF)– PDFB3 coming soon (1GHz x 4IF)
• Search mode– APSR coming soon (~8Gb/s BBR)– Search mode for PDFB3– MBDFB (new 13 beam search engine)
APSR – the Delluge
MBDFB
• Collaboration between Swinburne, Berkeley, Manchester, Cagliari, ATNF, Effelsburg
• 13-beam filterbank search engine with higher spectral resolution.
• Targets; MSPs, transients, relativistic binaries
Still lots out there
Spectral line
• Multibeam correlator still the workhorse– 2048 or 4096 channels max for nb > 2– Up to 16384 channels for single beam
• MOPS correlator needed for 16-26GHz receiver – possibly using PDFB3?
• s/w correlators possible (using CPSR,PAMELA)
Standing-wave problem
• Robert Braun et al. taking a fresh approach.
• Use randomised scatterers at aperture blockages
VLBI
• Parkes key element in VLBI array
• Mark 5b recorder now (almost) working
• eVLBI ‘PAMHELA’ on track
• 16-26GHz receiver
Mark 5 VLBI recorder
FPA 12m testbed antenna
The price of flexibility – more automation of routine configurations
Unattended operation?
• Completely unattended operation may leave ATNF exposed
• DCP within 1km, possibly asleep;– Maintaining observer vigilance – Remote monitoring, including fire alarms – Odd noises – early intervention
For the chop
• AT correlator
• WBC (Wideband pulsar correlator)
• Mark3A VLBI recorder
• S2 VLBI recorder
• PDFB1 lifetime is limited
• Pulsar analogue f/b ditto (post-MBDFB)