Differences between revisions 31 and 57 (spanning 26 versions)

NIKA dry run organization

Contents

NIKA dry run organization

Go back to the NIKA main wiki.

Goals of the run

Check that gaps in NCS data streams do not occur
Debug the IMBFITS formating so that they are at last produced without errors, and finally allow real time processing.
Test for the first time operations with only IRAM Granada personnel at the Telescope and NIKA Grenoble team using remote control.

Organization Plan

The dominant components of the goals 1 and 2 do not necessitate sensitive KID, so no cool down of the instrument is necessary. However the full instrumental setup for observations must be operational; this includes the electronic chain and real scans of the telescope commanded via PaKo.

Remark: We could test the new network cabling installed in the cable spiral room for the future control of the NIKA2 compressors, keeping the electronics at its storage location and making it run to control the detectors acquisition via the network from there. But we have decided to lift it up in the cabin hence mimicking real observations as much as possible with a warm cryostat, since the problems we had may be related to the network setup we used.

We will debug the IMBFITS step by step. People involved in the NIKA data & IMBFITS making & checking (Albrecht, Juan MP, Xavier, Alain, Robert, Samuel, and possibly Walter and Nicolas P) communicate via this wiki page to establish very clearly the main problems and actions to do to solve them (see tables below), and possibly use the data we currently have to start debugging, so that we are as ready as possible for May 7.

Remark: We need confirmation that the warm KIDs with the observation setup planed for this dry run will produce usable (in math. sense) values, otherwise this might cause somewhere problems.

After this dry run, we will make the status, and determine a date for another short test run (e.g. begin of June ?). Hopefully for this one only the problems that necessitate valid KID data remain (e.g. KID flags). In that case this short run would be cold.

Dates

Telescope time booked for the NIKA Dry run test:

Wednesday May 7, from 11:00 to 15:00.
Monday May 12, from 12:00 to 16:00.

They appear in the official telescope schedule under the project name is T21-13 (please update this wiki if you see a mismatch with the telescope schedule).

Table of IMBFITS problems to solve

The NIKA IMBFITS have had problems since their first creation (2^nd test run, Oct 2010). The latest exhaustive list of problems dates from the run 6 (June 2013) processing and has been tabulated on a dedicated wiki page; most of them are still valid. For reading convenience we gather here only the most important problems that need to be solved with the May 7 dry run.

Remark: Note that problems 4, 5 & 6 are most probably related.

Problem number (origin)	Description of the problem	Status	How to identify & diagnose the problem	How to investigate and possibly solve the problem
1 (NCS)	Some scans miss part(s) of the antenna traces.	Pandemic during pool 1 (run 8, Feb 2014), but marginal after mrt-lx1 kernel update by GP; to be verified as goal #1 of this dry run.	Monitor time vs sample number of antenna traces.	Monitor network & mrt-lx1 activity.
2 (IMBFITS & NIKA)	KID parameter coded in IMBFITS mismatch the data (e.g. numbers of KIDs) - fatal error.	Partially solved: AS's IMBFITS making script should now read the NIKA Kidpar, but we miss a description of the Kidpar by the NIKA team.	Compare at least the number of KIDs in the IMBFITS and of the hardware, e.g. with any FITS viewer.	Need better communication between NIKA team (FXD ?) & IRAM (AS, SL, RZ).
3 (IMBFITS or NCS ?)	Mis-synchronization of subscans in the IMBFITS tables: some subscans are incomplete and partially appear in the following subscan table - fatal error.	This problem appeared first time in IMBFITS of run 6; not solved; it is due to a synchronization problem in NCS and/or IMBFITS creation.	Check subscan length in IMBFITS, e.g. with any FITS viewer.	Check the time used as subscan start and end, delay of NCS messages ...
4 (NIKA)	NIKA FITS do not correspond to the time interval of observation.	Permanent problem since the first try in Oct 2010; not solved.	At least the last subscan missing. Visible with any FITS viewer.	Creation of the NIKA FITS (in IDL ?) not OK.
5 (NIKA)	NIKA tables in IMBFITS empty.	Permanent problem since the first try in Oct 2010; not solved.	Visible with any FITS viewer.	IMBFITS created offline do not show this problem, i.e. NIKA FITS were not available when makeIMBFITS was called in auto mode.
6 (NIKA)	IMBFITS are created many minutes after the observation, e.g. after 2 further pointings !	Permanent problem since the first try in Oct 2010; not solved.	Compare the end time of observations and of creation of IMBFITS; the last takes seconds.	#5 & 6 point to a significant delay in creation of the NIKA FITS.
7 (NIKA)	KIDs flags & types wrong (good/bad KID mis-identified).	Solved after run 8 on NIKA side. Need to be double checked.	Create IMBFITS with updated/correct flags and match KID characteristics with flag & type signification.	Need detailed documentation on the KID params.

Step by step guide for the Dry Run

NIKA hardware preparation

Coming soon...

Data acquisition

NIKA team:
IRAM computer group:

Online pipeline

In order to mimic as much as possible a typical NIKA session the online pipeline must be running. The instructions to start the online pipeline can be found here.

Observing session

The observations will be done using the account created for the 1st NIKA pool:

$ ssh -X nikaw-13@mrt-lx1 (ask I. Hermelo for the password)

To open the PaKo version for NIKA type:

$ gopako
$ pakodisplay
$ pakoNIKA

Once PaKo is open, you can run the following script:

PAKO> @ observe_DryRun

The script mimics a typical NIKA session of ~2 hours of duration:

PAKO> SET PROJECT t21
PAKO> SOURCE Uranus
PAKO> @ cont_pointing
PAKO> SET POINTING 5 5
PAKO> @ cont_focusZ -1.8
PAKO> SET FOCUS -1.5
PAKO> SOURCE 3C454 /cat *
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 0 -45 
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 0 +45 
PAKO> @ cont_lissajous 2 
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 45 -45
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 45 +45 
PAKO> @ cont_lissajous 4  
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 90 -45  
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 90 +45  
PAKO> @ cont_lissajous 6
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 135 -45  
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 135 +45
PAKO> @ cont_lissajous 8

SkyNikaDryRun

Continuum/PoolOrganization/DryRunNIKA (last edited 2014-11-18 10:54:14 by NikaBolometer)

-  ⇤ ← Revision 31 as of 2014-04-14 16:17:34 → 
  Size: 4667
  Editor: NikaBolometer
  Comment:
+   ← Revision 57 as of 2014-04-25 11:28:42 → ⇥
  Size: 7283
  Editor: gra-lx17
  Comment:
-Deletions are marked like this.
+Additions are marked like this.
 Line 13:
-. Check that the delays and holes in NCS data streams do not explode again when NIKA is running, and stay at a marginal rate until the problem is definitely solved.
+. Check that gaps in NCS data streams do not occur
 Line 23:
+ Remark: We need confirmation that the warm KIDs with the observation setup planed for this dry run will produce usable (in math. sense) values, otherwise this might cause somewhere problems.
-Line 26:
+Line 27:
+== Dates ==

Telescope time booked for the NIKA Dry run test:
 * Wednesday May 7, from 11:00 to 15:00.
 * Monday May 12, from 12:00 to 16:00.
They appear in the [[http://www.iram.fr/IRAMFR/PV/sche/14/s19v1.html|official telescope schedule]] under the project name is T21-13 (please update this wiki if you see a mismatch with the telescope schedule).
-Line 28:
+Line 36:
-The NIKA IMBFITS have had problems since their first creation (2^nd^ test run, Oct 2010). The latest exhaustive list of problems dates from the run 6 (June 2013) processing and has been [http://www.iram.fr/wiki/nika2/index.php/RZdataProc|tabulated on a dedicated wiki page], most of them are still valid. For reading convenience we gather here only the most important ones that need to be solved with the May 7 dry run.
+The NIKA IMBFITS have had problems since their first creation (2^nd^ test run, Oct 2010). The latest exhaustive list of problems dates from the run 6 (June 2013) processing and has been [[http://www.iram.fr/wiki/nika2/index.php/RZdataProc|tabulated on a dedicated wiki page]]; most of them are still valid. For reading convenience we gather here only the most important problems that need to be solved with the May 7 dry run. 
 Remark: Note that problems 4, 5 & 6 are most probably related.
-Line 30:
+Line 39:
-|| ''' Problem number (and origin) ''' || ''' Description of the problem ''' || ''' Status ''' || ''' How to identify & diagnose the problem ''' || ''' How to investigate and possibly solve the problem '''||
|| 1 (NCS) || Some scans miss some antenna traces. || Problem became pandemic during pool 1 (run 8, Feb 2014). Should be marginal after mrt-lx1 kernel update by GP, to be verified as goal #1 of this dry run.  || Monitor time vs sample number. || Monitor network & mrt-lx1 activity.||
|| 2 (IMBFITS) || KID parameter hard coded in IMBFITS definition causing fatal error when mismatch with data characteristics (e.g. numbers of KIDs). || Partially solved: AS formating scripts now reads the NIKA Kidpar to read the parameters, but miss a complete description of the Kidpar by the NIKA team || Check reading errors messages when MOPSICS reads the IMBFITS || Need good communication between NIKA team (FXD ?) & AS.||
|| 3 (IMBFITS or NCS or NIKA ?) || Mis-synchronization of subscans in the IMBFITS tables: some subscans are incomplete and partially wrongly appear in the following subscan table. || Not solved, origin of the problem unknown. || Check subscans lengths in IMBFITS || Compare with NIKA FITS, check subscan start and end keywords used...||
|| 4 (NIKA) || KIDs flags sometimes wrong (god/bad KID mis-identified). || Solved after run 8 on NIKA side. Need to be double checked. || Process corrected IMBFITS and match KID characteristics with flag signification || Need cleared documentation of the flags signification.||
+|| ''' Problem number (origin) ''' || ''' Description of the problem ''' || ''' Status ''' || ''' How to identify & diagnose the problem ''' || ''' How to investigate and possibly solve the problem '''||
|| 1 (NCS) || Some scans miss part(s) of the antenna traces. || Pandemic during pool 1 (run 8, Feb 2014), but marginal after mrt-lx1 kernel update by GP; to be verified as goal #1 of this dry run.  || Monitor time vs sample number of antenna traces. || Monitor network & mrt-lx1 activity.||
|| 2 (IMBFITS & NIKA) || KID parameter coded in IMBFITS mismatch the data (e.g. numbers of KIDs) - fatal error. || Partially solved: AS's IMBFITS making script should now read the NIKA Kidpar, but we miss a description of the Kidpar by the NIKA team. || Compare at least the number of KIDs in the IMBFITS and of the hardware, e.g. with any FITS viewer. || Need better communication between NIKA team (FXD ?) & IRAM (AS, SL, RZ).||
|| 3 (IMBFITS or NCS ?) || Mis-synchronization of subscans in the IMBFITS tables: some subscans are incomplete and partially appear in the following subscan table - fatal error. || This problem appeared first time in IMBFITS of run 6; not solved; it is due to a synchronization problem in NCS and/or IMBFITS creation. || Check subscan length in IMBFITS, e.g. with any FITS viewer. || Check the time used as subscan start and end, delay of NCS messages ...||
|| 4 (NIKA) || NIKA FITS do not correspond to the time interval of observation. || Permanent problem since the first try in Oct 2010; not solved. || At least the last subscan missing. Visible with any FITS viewer. || Creation of the NIKA FITS (in IDL ?) not OK. ||
|| 5 (NIKA) || NIKA tables in IMBFITS empty. || Permanent problem since the first try in Oct 2010; not solved. || Visible with any FITS viewer. ||IMBFITS created offline do not show this problem, i.e. NIKA FITS were not available when makeIMBFITS was called in auto mode.  ||
|| 6 (NIKA) || IMBFITS are created many minutes after the observation, e.g. after 2 further pointings ! || Permanent problem since the first try in Oct 2010; not solved. || Compare the end time of observations and of creation of IMBFITS; the last takes seconds. || #5 & 6 point to a significant delay in creation of the NIKA FITS. ||
|| 7 (NIKA) || KIDs flags & types wrong (good/bad KID mis-identified). || Solved after run 8 on NIKA side. Need to be double checked. || Create IMBFITS with updated/correct flags and match KID characteristics with flag & type signification. || Need detailed documentation on the KID params.||
-Line 37:
+Line 49:
-== Task list ==
+== Step by step guide for the Dry Run ==
-Line 39:
+Line 51:
-|| I. Hermelo     || Create the organization wiki                              || (./) ||
|| Receiver group ||             ...                                           || {X}  ||
|| NIKA team      ||             ...                                           || {X}  ||
|| Computer group ||             ...                                           || {X}  ||
|| I. Hermelo     || Book rooms at the telescope (no transport on Wed 7th May) || {X}  ||
+=== NIKA hardware preparation ===

Coming soon...

=== Data acquisition ===

 * '''NIKA team:'''

 * '''IRAM computer group:'''


=== Online pipeline ===

In order to mimic as much as possible a typical NIKA session the online pipeline must be running. The instructions to start the online pipeline can be found [[ http://www.iram.es/IRAMES/mainWiki/Continuum/NIKA/DataReduction#Online_data_reduction | here ]].

=== Observing session ===

The observations will be done using the account created for the 1st NIKA pool:

{{{
$ ssh -X nikaw-13@mrt-lx1 (ask I. Hermelo for the password)
}}}

To open the PaKo version for NIKA type:

{{{
$ gopako
$ pakodisplay
$ pakoNIKA
}}}

Once PaKo is open, you can run the following script:

{{{
PAKO> @ observe_DryRun
}}}

The script mimics a typical NIKA session of ~2 hours of duration:

{{{

PAKO> SET PROJECT t21
PAKO> SOURCE Uranus
PAKO> @ cont_pointing
PAKO> SET POINTING 5 5
PAKO> @ cont_focusZ -1.8
PAKO> SET FOCUS -1.5
PAKO> SOURCE 3C454 /cat *
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 0 -45 
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 0 +45 
PAKO> @ cont_lissajous 2 
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 45 -45
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 45 +45 
PAKO> @ cont_lissajous 4  
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 90 -45  
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 90 +45  
PAKO> @ cont_lissajous 6
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 135 -45  
PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 10 20 135 +45
PAKO> @ cont_lissajous 8

}}}

{{ attachment:SkyNikaDryRun.png | SkyNikaDryRun | width=1200 }}

Diff for "Continuum/PoolOrganization/DryRunNIKA"