Mini-Technical Operations Workshop, Hobart, June 12-15 2012

Ed Himwich (NASA Goddard)
Rich Strand (NASA Goddard)
Randall Carman (Yarragadee)
John Colley (Yarragadee)
Stuart Weston (Warkworth)
Brett Reid (UTAS)
Jamie McCallum (UTAS)
Jim Lovell (UTAS)
Stas Shabala (UTAS)
Yme Wyminga (UTAS)
Jacqui Howe (UTAS)
Vasaant Krishnan (UTAS)
Warren Hankey (UTAS)

Transport to and from Mt Pleasant will be available for those who need it. Morning and afternoon tea/coffee and lunch will be provided on Days 2, 3 and 4 at the observatory.

9.00 AM: Meet at Physics Building, Sandy Bay Campus, divide into two groups.

• Mt Pleasant: Installation and testing of Field System software, Mt Pleasant (Ed, Jamie, Brett)
• Sandy Bay Campus: Introduction to current AuScope Operations procedures: setup, observing and finishing (Jim, Rich, Randall, Dave, Stuart?)

8:30 AM: Meet at Physics Building, Sandy Bay Campus, travel to Mt Pleasant

• Morning:
  • Introduction to antenna, associated hardware and maintenance (Brett)
• Afternoon:
  • Pre-pass procedures and Operations (Rich)
  • Current and future AuScope observing setup, observation and logging procedures (Jim)

8:30 AM: Meet at Physics Building, Sandy Bay Campus, travel to Mt Pleasant

• Morning
  • Pointing and gain calibration with the Field System (Ed)
  • Introduction to the DBBC. What it does, control and calibration (Jamie)
• Afternoon
  • DBBC hands-on (all)
  • Mark5 recording system (Rich and Ed)

• Evening: Mini-TOW Dinner (TBA)

8:30 AM: Meet at Physics Building, Sandy Bay Campus, travel to Mt Pleasant

• Morning
  • Geodetic VLBI Science Overview (Ed)
  • RFI (Rich)
  • Impact of operations on data analysis (Rich and Ed)
• Afternoon
  • Open session. An opportunity to discuss any issues raised during the meeting in more detail, or cover other issues of interest. For example:
    • General troubleshooting
    • Spectrum analyser testing of RF/IF systems
    • Hydrogen maser monitoring and maintenance
    • Phase cal
    • Timing systems
    • Improving observatory performance, reliability
    • Unification of control/monitoring software for 'Patriot' antennas