This loads a font easier to read for people with dyslexia.
This renders the document in high contrast mode.
This renders the document as white on black
This can help those with trouble processing rapid screen movements.
Decrease text size Increase text size Reset text size
Accessibility menu
Search icon
Menu

Monitoring programs at the ATCA and Mopra

The following notes are a summary of the programs that are available at the Australia Telescope Compact Array and Australia Telescope Mopra Observatory for the monitoring of astronomical observations and telescope engineering parameters.

To indicate which programs are available at which observatory, the following icons have been used:

Australia Telescope Compact Array
Australia Telescope Mopra Observatory

Some monitoring programs will have neither icon. This will be to indicate programs which are either still being planned or still being dreamt about!

The bird in our hand

MoniCA

  • Displays: Essentially all observatory monitor points
  • Machines: Any platform (except VMS)
  • History: Long term archive
  • Graphics: Yes, Java GUI, graphs and other GUI displays are available
  • Printing: Full printing of graphs, tables, etc. Also export to PNG images.
  • Data source: Diverse.
  • Documentation: More needed, some online help.
  • Advantages: Very powerful, user configurable.
  • Disadvantages: Can be slow on slow computers.

CAMON

  • Displays: All monitor points and some OBSCOM and SACCOM data
  • Machines: Any ATCA VAX or MOPRA:: (AXP)
  • History: Current only
  • Graphics: Text only
  • Printing: Text dumps - can be printed
  • Data source: pntdef, OBSCOM, SACCOM, et al.
  • Documentation: Good (VMS/on-line, WWW, ATUG)
  • Advantages: Fast. Runs on character cell terminal
  • Disadvantages: Non-pntdef pages must be compiled. Lack of uniformity of pages.

ASSISTANCE

  • Displays: General telescope status and current faults. Certain scan, source and coordinate information is also shown.
  • Machines: Any ATCA VAX
  • History: Current only (limited memory for certain tests)
  • Graphics: Text only
  • Printing: None
  • Data source: pntdef, OBSCOM, SACCOM, et al.
  • Documentation: Poor (ATUG only)
  • Advantages: Expert system. Runs on character cell terminal
  • Disadvantages: New checks must be compiled in.

COR_DISP

  • Displays: Amplitude, phase etc. for all spectral channels, also displays lag spectrum etc.. Gives user control over averaged channels and hence is the sole controling point for the channels that are sent to NOEL:: (and hence to VIS, CACAL, ASSISTANCE etc.).
  • Machines: ATRIA:: or MOPRA::
  • History: None, but accumulation mode allows you to average spectra indefinitely
  • Graphics: PGPLOT
  • Printing: Can dump B/W plots, which can then be printed
  • Data source: Correlator/CACOR
  • Documentation: Good (ATUG)
  • Advantages: Only program to view spectral information. Only access to the LAG spectrum. Control of continuum channel data sent to NOEL::
  • Disadvantages: Limited to use from ATRIA::/MOPRA::

LOPLOT

  • Displays: LO phase correction measurements
  • Machines: Any ATCA VAX
  • History: Typically 4-8 hours, but extended archive mode available
  • Graphics: PGPLOT
  • Printing: Colour or B/W plots
  • Data source: LOMON
  • Documentation: Good (VMS/on-line, ATUG)
  • Advantages: Specialist program.
  • Disadvantages: Singular in purpose.

VIS

  • Displays: Visibilities, delays, UVW, baselines, closure phase, time, frequency, sky-coordinates, paralactic angle, LO phase correction, + up to 3 user defined monitor points
  • Machines: Any ATCA VAX
  • History: up to 5000 integration cycles (~13 hours @ 10 second cycles)
  • Graphics: PGPLOT
  • Printing: Colour or B/W plots
  • Data source: CAGET, pntdef
  • Documentation: Extensive (VMS/on-line, WWW, ATUG)
  • Advantages: Very flexible plotting options.
  • Disadvantages: VIS only remembers monitor point history from when it was started. CPU/Memory intensive.

CAMPR

  • Displays: Any monitor point
  • Machines: Any ATCA VAX
  • History: Up to a month, but tape archives extend this.
  • Graphics: PGPLOT
  • Printing: B/W plots
  • Data source: CAMPA
  • Documentation: WWW
  • Advantages: Full resolution, complete history. File output available allowing third-party plotting packages to be used (e.g. Excel)
  • Disadvantages: Very slow.

Fawlty

  • Displays: All monitor points
  • Machines: DELPHI:: (VAX)
  • History: 6 hours or 1 minute maxima/minima
  • Graphics: DECwindows and Xlib calls
  • Printing: B/W plots
  • Data source: HISTORIAN
  • Documentation: Poor & outdated
  • Advantages: Fast.
  • Disadvantages: 1 minute maxima/minima. Poor scaling options. Unmaintainable code. Single machine use. Requires a lot of system resources.

MPROBE

  • Displays: current values of any single monitor point for all antennas.
  • Machines: Any ATCA VAX
  • History: None
  • Graphics: None
  • Printing: None
  • Data source: pntdef
  • Documentation: None
  • Advantages: Simple. Displays all the "behind the scenes" information about the monitor point setup.
  • Disadvantages: Singular in purpose.

WINDS

  • Displays: Observatory wind speed and direction
  • Machines: Any ATCA VAX
  • History: Up to 1 hour. No preprogram memory
  • Graphics: PGPLOT
  • Printing: None
  • Data source: OBSCOM
  • Documentation: Very poor
  • Advantages: Simple
  • Disadvantages: Singular in purpose. No preprogram memory.

Weather station PC

  • Displays: Observatory weather environment
  • Machines: Dedicated PC
  • History: 24 hours
  • Graphics: LABview
  • Printing: None
  • Data source: Hardware
  • Documentation: None
  • Advantages: All weather parameters presented
  • Disadvantages: No user interaction available

SETIVIEW

  • Displays: SETI software status
  • Machines: MOPRA:: (AXP)
  • History: less than 1 minute
  • Graphics: Text only
  • Printing: None
  • Data source: SETIOBS, SETIMON
  • Documentation: Good (WWW)
  • Advantages: Good probe into software
  • Disadvantages: No user interaction available. Singular in purpose.

READ_LOG

  • Displays: Log files from SETIOBS or SETIMON
  • Machines: Mopra
  • History: To the extent of the log file
  • Graphics: Text
  • Printing: None
  • Data source: SETIOBS.LOG or SETIMON.LOG
  • Documentation: Good (WWW)
  • Advantages: Access to SETI information, even on currently open files
  • Disadvantages: Singular in purpose.

SCAN_LOG

  • Displays: Scans the log files from SETIOBS or SETIMON for interesting information
  • Machines: Mopra
  • History: To the extent of the log files
  • Graphics: Text
  • Printing: None
  • Data source: SETIOBS.LOG or SETIMON.LOG
  • Documentation: Good (WWW)
  • Advantages: Access to SETI information, even on currently open files
  • Disadvantages: Singular in purpose.

VAXstation clocks

  • Displays: AEST/UT/EDST or LST with dates, alarms and other novelties.
  • Machines: Any ATCA VAX
  • History: None
  • Graphics: X/Motif
  • Printing: None
  • Data source: VMS system time
  • Documentation: Good (WWW)
  • Advantages: Cute
  • Disadvantages: Singular in purpose.

The servers

The following programs are servers that exist to provide the data to some of the above programs:
  • MoniCA Server: Large historical archive (and current values) for most monitor points. Can be accessed from any programming language through a simple ASCII socket interface or even more easily with Java.
  • CAGET: 5000 integration storage of visibilities, delays, source name, frequencies, RA/Dec. Derives its data from OBSCOM.
  • OBSCOM, SACCOM, PNTDEF: Global memory. Maintained on NOEL and copied about the VAX cluster by CADATA. Data insertion by programs like ARRAY CAOBS and the Correlator Ghost.
  • CAMPA: Compact Array Monitor Point Archiver. Stores changed monitor point values along with their timestamps in UT-day files. Compression ratio of 4:1 is achieved. Hard-disk storage for 1 month and then DAT tape.
  • LOMON: Local Oscillator MONitor. Retrieves LO phase correction data from the LO Phase Stabilisation PC (via serial line). Stores the data in a shareable file and writes the current values to OBSCOM.
  • HISTORY: Saves six hours of one minute characterisations for the FAWLTY database.

Miscellania

The following minor programs and monitoring facilities also exist.
  • atdrivemon: Look at antenna servo/drive performance.
  • atlogobs: Updating log of useful messages.
  • ADM: Antenna Direction Monitor
  • TkMON: Tcl/Tk version of MPROBE
  • CABSLN, CAPT, TIP and other calibration programs
  • VMS monitoring tools

Future plans and dreams

  • New software to monitor mosaicing observations.
  • VIS++ : Complete monitor point and visilbility plotting package. Completely generic with the option of keyboard or mouse command entry. Will require access to the CACHE server.
  • Revised ASSISTANCE. Complete expert system with more AI. Can be used to auto determine data limits. Accomplishes what FAWLTY never quite did in the intelligent fault diagnosis role.
  • Revised version of CASNAP. More user interaction and on-line image profile analysis. On-line 2D imaging may be catered for.

Original: dmckay (12-MAR-1995)
Modified: David Brodrick (4-APR-2006)