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Observers interact with CAOBS through a command line interface. Though there are many commands (see the caobs Commands section), there are only a handful that are used often.
caobs> set file filename | Loads a schedule file |
caobs> track # | Tracks on scan # of the schedule file for ever (or until the source sets) |
caobs> stop | Stops observing |
caobs> start (#/n) | Starts observing on scan # of the schedule and procedes to subsequent scans in the observation. It will cycle through the schedule n times |
caobs> corr command | Sends a command to the correlator |
caobs> stow | Stows antennas |
caobs> stow | Stows the antennas |
Many of the commands that were part of the caobs command-set pre-CABB, are now executed in the CABB processes. Other commands are no longer appropriate. CABB commands can be executed from within CAOBS by prefixing corr in the CAOBS command. The following list of CAOBS commands includes the CABB commands that are often executed from within CAOBS
attach ca0#|allConnect CAOBS to either antenna # or all
antennas. (This will be impossible if the ACC is dead or otherwise
unavailable.) Use this command to try to reconnect antennas that CAOBS
reports as ‘off-line’.
Related commands: detach, disable, enable.
cain cycle defaultset cycle period to 10 seconds
cain cycle pset cycle period to p seconds
cancelStops the current pattern (POINTing or mosaic)
Related commands: point.
catie commands(tied array control) is now done in CACOR. See cacor for information on CATIE.
corr commandsAny correlator command can be executed from within CAOBS by prefixing the command with ’corr[elator]’. Commands that are often executed in CAOBS are documented here. See cacor for more complete information on correlator commands.
corr[elator] acal [s1 s2] [a]Request that CACOR calculate an amplitude calibration. s_1 and s_2 are flux values for frequency 1 and frequency 2 respectively. If the source is PKS1934-638 or PKS0823-500, the flux values are not required. The ’a’ switch causes the command to be executed. (Without ’a’ the calculation is done, but it is not actually implemented.)
corr[elator] close[file]]Request that CACOR close the current file. CAOBS must be
stopped before executing this command.
CACOR’s display will show display FITS FILE: CLOSED.
A new data file will automatically be opened when a scan is started
if a file is not already open.
Related commands: stop.
corr[elator] dcal [a]Request that CACOR calculate corrections required to make the phase flat across the band (i.e. caclulates geometric delay offsets). The ’a’ switch causes these corrections to be applied. (Without ’a’ the calculation is done, but it is not actually implemented.)
corr[elator] pcal [a]Request that CACOR set the astronomical phases to zero. The ’a’ switch causes these corrections to be applied. (Without ’a’ the calculation is done, but it is not actually implemented.)
detach ca0n|allDisconnect CAOBS from either antenna n or all antennas.
Related commands: attach.
disable bellTurn off the terminal alarm. The terminal alarm is
sounded when CAOBS detects an error condition that you should know about.
Related commands: enable bell.
disable ca0n|allDisable the drive machinery and turret rotator
for either antenna ca0n or all antennas. This will leave
everything else as though it was observing.
Related commands: enable ca0n, set atten, attach, detach.
disable correlatorDetach the correlator from CAOBS.
Related commands: enable correlator.
disable turret ca0nDisable turret rotation for antenna n.
Data will be flagged if the turret is in the wrong position.
Related commands: enable turret.
enable bell Turn on the terminal alarm. The terminal alarm is
sounded when CAOBS detects an error condition that you should know about.
Related commands: disable bell.
enable ca0n|allEnable the drive machinery for either antenna
ca0n or all antennas. Use this command if CAOBS reports that the
antennas are disabled.
Related commands: disable ca0n, attach, detach.
enable correlatorAttach the correlator from CAOBS.
Related commands: disable correlator.
enable turret ca0nEnable turret rotation for antenna n.
Related commands: disable turret.
exitStop CAOBS and exit from CAOBS.
extendStop cycling through scans in a schedule file and continue
the current scan indefinitely.
Related commands: next.
initInitialise all CAOBS parameters to default values. This
is equivalent to exiting CAOBS and restarting, only faster.
Treat this command with caution.
Related commands: reset.
nextMove to the next entry in the schedule, i.e., move to the
next scan. This command will cancel an extend command and
has no effect in mosaic mode.
Related commands: extend.
point n runs point scan on source n in schedule.
Related commands: cancel, set point_pattern,
set point_ifflag, set point_antennas ####.
ppglobalLoads the global pointing solution into the ACCs. It
will rewrite pparams.dat
Related commands: ppload, ppfix.
pploadLoads the current pparams.dat into the ACCs.
Related commands: ppglobal, ppfix.
ppfix n Loads the pointing parameters found by the pointing
scan with the catag number n
Related commands: ppglobal, ppload.
offset ca0n|all daz delForce either antenna ca0n or all
antennas to track a position offset from that specified by the schedule
file; daz, del are the azimuth and elevation offsets in
arcminutes. The offsets cease to apply at the next drive request (i.e., at the
next start or track command or when the next scan
starts).
reconfig array nameselects new antenna array. This command
needs to be followed by an init.
Related commands: init.
Warning: Reconfig commands are used when initialising and
calibrating the array after a reconfig. Executing them could distroy
your observations - it could take several hours to recover).
reconfig bszerosets baseline solution to zero in the file station_errors.file. Warning: Reconfig commands are used when initialising and calibrating the array after a reconfig. Executing them could distroy your observations - it could take several hours to recover).
reconfig clearClears global dealys and delay and phase offsets. Warning: Reconfig commands are used when initialising and calibrating the array after a reconfig. Executing them could distroy your observations - it could take several hours to recover).
reconfig ppinitresets az and el offsets to defaults for this station post. Warning: Reconfig commands are used when initialising and calibrating the array after a reconfig. Executing them could distroy your observations - it could take several hours to recover).
redrawRefresh the screen.
reloadReload the schedule file.
reset ca0n|allResets the ACC for antenna n, or all ACCs.
Do not restart your observations until after the antenna image in the
ATDRIVEMON display has returned to ‘normal’.
rtconnectEstablishes a connection with the RT (round-trip) system that controls the LO required for millimetre observations. This command needs to be given if the RT program is ever restarted while CAOBS is running.
set aver nAverage your data in time (note, this can also be set in
SCHED) - n is the number of integration cycles (which are
typically 10s) to be averaged. Stop the scan before using this
command. When observing large fields you should be careful not to average
so much that you significantly distort your image (azimuthal smearing
caused by time averaging increases linearly with distance from the phase
centre). Refer to Appendix D of Killeen (1993) for details. The current
averaging time is displayed on the CAOBS screen.
Related command: show status.
set diode on/off/switchingControls the noise cal. Switching is required for standard observations. On and Off are maintenance modes.
set el_limitDefine the elevation limit. The hardware limit is
12^\circ . You can use this command to skip sources in your schedule
file below a certain elevation. Please type init at the end of
your run so you don’t surprise the next observer.
Related commands: show el_limit, set rise_time.
set file filenameLoad the schedule file filename, which
must be in the directory $ATCA_SCHED on XBONES. Details of the
schedule will appear on the topmost section of the CAOBS screen.
Enter the start command to initiate an observation
using this schedule file.
Related commands: show file.
set genset_on ALL|CB|CAOnTurn on ALL generators, or generator for the control building only, or generator for antenna CA0n, respectively.
This can be done without stopping observing, however it is important to monitor progress as there may be no alarms if an generator fails to start.
Only generators on attached antennas will be turned on. This
allows additional control of antennas that are turned on.
Related commands: attach, detach set gennset_off.
set genset_off ALL|CB|CAOnTurn off ALL generators, or generator for the control building only, or generator for antenna CA0n, respectively.
This can be done without stopping observing, however it is important to monitor progress.
The power source will not automatically switch back to mains if
a generator fails after the power supply has switched to generator
when it has been called for by the set
genset_on command: In this case, you will actually have to request
the generator be turned off with the set genset_off command.
Related commands: set genset_on, attach, detach.
set hold nThe HOLD parameter is used to inhibit correlation only
during those cycles affected by antenna movement. This command sets the
hold period to n times the hold increment for every cycle (normally
512ms), irrespective of antenna drives. set hold 0 returns
to automatic hold calculation.
Related commands: disable hold.
set mm ca0n abSet the attenuation levels in the mm receiver. This command only works for the 12mm and 3mm wavelengths. Unlike the fine and coarse attenuators, the first attenuator setting (a) is applied to both ‘a’ polarisations (A1 and A2) and the second setting (b) is applied to both ‘b’ polarisations (B1 and B2). Each attenuator step introduces (or removes) 1dB of attenuation to the signal path. There are 16 mm attenuator steps (0-15).
In general this command should be executed while CAOBS is ‘observing’ (i.e. the correlator is in the ‘go’ state).
Related commands: show mm, show atten, set atten, show coarse,
set coarse, disable auto, enable auto, set bypass.
set paddle in|outOperates W band room temperature paddle.
set point_antennas ####Defines which antennas will have
their pointing solutions solved for – so
set point_ant 2,3,4 would find pointing errors for
antennas 2, 3 and 4.
Related commands: cancel, point, set
point_pattern, set point_ifflag
set point_ifflag jklmDefines the IF channels to be used for
pointing, e.g.
> set point_if 12 would select XX and YY for the
first frequency.
Related commands: cancel, point, set
point_pattern, set point_antennas ####.
set point_pattern #Specify the # of cycles the antenna will be on any given pointing position during a pointing scan.
If # is a positive number, the pointing mode is selfcal – all antennas move at the same time. There must be at least 4 antennas enabled for this mode of pointing to work.
If # is a negative number, holography mode pointing is executed – the
array is divided into 2 sub-arrays and the pointing pattern is executed
by the two sub-arrays separately.
Related commands: cancel, point, set
point_ifflag, set point_antennas ####.
set rise_time {[n]}If a source is below the horizon, CAOBS will
wait for up to n minutes for the source to rise. If the
source will
not be up in that time, the array observes the next source in the
schedule file.
Related commands: set el_limit, show el_limit,
show rise_time.
set scanlength h:m:sIf you set the position to be observed using
the track 0 command, you can set the length of the scan.
set source sourcenameIf you set the position to be observed using
the track 0 command, you can modify the source.
set tton|ttoffTurn the test tone on/off.
show coarseDisplay the current coarse attenuator settings.
Related commands: set coarse, set atten, enable auto,
disable auto.
show el_limitDisplay the elevation limit.
Related commands: set el_limit, set rise_time.
show fileDisplay the schedule file name.
Related commands: set file.
show frequency cDisplay the frequency in MHz of conversion
chain c.
show lengthDisplay the length of the current scan.
show modeDisplay the epoch currently being used by CAOBS.
show nameDisplay the name of the current source.
show point_patternDisplay the pointing pattern during a pointing scan.
Related commands: set point_pattern, set point_ifflag,
set point_antennas ####, cancel, point.
show rise_time Display the time that CAOBS will wait for a sourcethat is below the horizon.
Related commands: set rise_time
show startDisplay the Universal Time of the current scan’s start.
show statusDisplay general array information.
start {[n[/m]]}Commence observations once you have used the
set file command to load your schedule file. This command
opens a data file and starts a scan. See below for mosaicing.
If you omit n/m then CAOBS starts a scan at the first
object in the schedule file and stops after the last scan in the file.
If you give a value for n then CAOBS starts a scan at the
nth object in the
schedule file. At the end of this scan, CAOBS starts a scan for the next
object in the schedule file and so on until the end of the schedule file.
If you include a value for m, then CAOBS repeats all the
scans in the
schedule file m times. If the source sets, CAOBS will
send the array
to the next source which has not set.
Related commands: stop, track, correlator closefile.
Warning: if all of your sources are set while this command is
still being carried out, then you will get the same number of terminal
beeps and twice as many lines of error messages as the number of sources
you have asked to be observed (e.g., for sources that are set when the
start command is run, m times the number of sources!).
For mosaic mode observing, the format for the command is
start n,k/m, where n is
the scan number in the schedule file, k is the
position (data line number) in the mosaic file and m is the
number of times to repeat the whole process.
stopStops the current scan. The antennas will stop moving. Use the
correlator closefile command to close the data file. A stop
command is
always sent to the antennas, even if no scan is underway.
Related commands: start [n]/[m], track, corr closefile.
stow {[ca0n]} or stow [n] Drives antenna ca0n to azimuth 90^\circ and
elevation 85^\circ. Brakes are applied to the drives once this position has
been reached. If you omit ca0n then all antennas are stowed.
To start observations after a stow, just use the start or
track
commands.
track {[n]} Track the source in scan n of the current schedule file continually until a stop command. If
n is omitted, track the first source in the schedule file.
If n=0 use the current settings, but allow them to be
modified by the set command.
Related commands: start [n]/[m], stop, corr closefile.
wrap north|southSpecify the desired wrap, after
stopping the
scan. Then restart the scan.
The command that
follows this must be a start or track command.
Anything else will cancel the request.
Users Guide last modified on 2011-04-27 15:49:06