Observations: EHT with R2DBE

    Version as of 09:51, 20 May 2024

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    Prerequists


    R2DBE-Procedure

    • Prepare the Mark6 machines (pv-mark6-1 to pv-mark6-4) for recording. Instructions.
    • Download the vex-schedules (typically found on the EHT wiki) and copy them to /home/oper/shared/schedules on the control computer.
    • Log-into control computer as user oper
    cd /home/oper/shared/schedules
    vex2xml.py -f {vex-file} -s {code}
    

    NOTE: the two letter code given as {code} must match exactly (case-sensitive!) the code assigned to Pico by the vex file. Normally it is PV. If in doubt  open the vex-file and check the $STATION section.

    This will create an output file named like the vex file but with an .xml extension (hereafter {schedule.xml})

    Open the created {schedule.xml} file and verify that it has one entry for each scan that Pico should be observing. If it is empty check again the two letter station code you have given in the last step.

    • Start the schedules:

    on pv-mark6-1

    cd /home/oper/shared/schedules
    start_eht.py r2dbe1 {schedule.xml}
    

    on pv-mark6-2:

    cd /home/oper/vex
    start_eht.py r2dbe2 {schedule.xml}
    

    Repeat above steps for pv-mark6-3 and pv-mark6-4

    Note: starting the schedules can be done at any point prior to the session.

    Field System

    The field system is used for driving the telescope and to log information relevant to the observations

    • Download the schedule and copy it to /usr2/sched on mrt-vlbi (the standard VLBI PC).
    • Log into mrt-vlbi as user oper
    • create field system files from the vex schedule
    cd /usr2/sched
    drudg {vexfile}
        select station code (typically PV)
        select option 11 (=show/set equipment type) <enter>
        type 1 1 1 <enter>
        select option 3 (=make snap) <enter>
        select option 12 (=make procedures) <enter>
        select option 0 (quit)
    

    This will create two files:

    /usr2/sched/schedulename.snp
    /usr2/proc/schedulename.prc
    

    where schedulename is the name of the vex-schedule + pv (e.g. e17j28pv)

    • start the field system. On mrt-vlbi go to the "Field System" desktop. Click on the "Field System" icon.
    • Ignore any errors concerning dbbc or mk5
    • In the oprin terminal issue:
    schedule=schedulename
    

    Troubleshooting

    Restarting daemons: need new input_streams, m6service