Daily Reports
Oct 22nd, Tuesday
Special session prior the NIKA2 Pool - Summer 2024
10:30-13:00; Martino, Dave, Jean, Angel: New sweep for NIKA2; old sweep files: run79*.ini; new sweep files: run80*.ini. NIKA2 cold since Oct. 21st afternoon. Cryostat window closed and Al-tape sealed. Sweep works delayed due to an apparent failure of the synthesizer of array 1 (the spare unit used for substituting a bad one in past August). Thanks Martino and Alessandro for preparing the sweep.
Before the official time for starting the scheduled tests of the Pool, we started the DAQ twice to get some samples of noise traces (NIKA2 window still being closed, telescope stopped due to bad weather) using the run79.ini ('old sweep') and run80.ini ('new sweep') configuration files. Corresponding screen-shots are given below:
Monitor status and noise traces, 'old sweep', bad KIDs Ar1: 25/1041; Ar2: 2/579; Ar3: 26/1056.
Monitor status and noise traces, 'new sweep', bad KIDs Ar1: 14/1040; Ar2: 3/578; Ar3: 21/1054.
Oct 23rd, Wednesday
00:30-05:00; Ioannis, Jean, Angel: tonight's plan includes (i) checking instrument health, pointing and focus (old sweep: run79_tp.ini file), (ii) getting beam maps in TP & POL (new sweep: run80*.ini files), (iii) getting NIKA2-POL efficiency measurements (primary and secondary calibrators) pending from first tests of telescope's behaviour after painting (see this site), (iv) obtaining NIKA2-POL calibration observations of selected polarised sources recently observed with SMA (kindly compiled by Ioannis) and last not not least, we plan to do parallel tests on imbFITS creation by using the standard approach and the new codes prepared by Jean.
Weather conditions are favourable, quite stable atmosphere. Unfortunately, the synthesizer referred failed 3 times more after the sweep. From the planned observations, we were only able to get the beam maps in TP (scan 20241023s8) and POL (scan 20241023s9). The array 1 data of the latter are useless due to the last failure of the synthesizer, just when the last third of the beam map was left. The creation of imbFITS with the new codes and PIIC-QL analysis were successful. At this point it is becoming increasingly difficult to restart the synthesizer and when this is possible, the unit fails shortly after. We are awaiting its replacement by a synthesizer sent today by Martino and Alessandro.