Pointing Session:
- Available pointing sources are displayed on Xephem, together with Antenna position. Fluxes are also displayed and given as "_mK" appended to the source name.
- check Pako pointing source catalog - Before starting the pointing session, we may be requested to move the azimuth by 60deg to reset the inclinometer of the az axis. - Always stay at more that 1 deg from the Sun. There are internal safeties that prevent the antenna to point to the Sun, but we may not get error messages. - try to get sources uniformly distributed on the sky, hence give priority to high elevation sources that are usually harder to reach. - Do one focus at the beginning. No need to do more focus than one every 2-3hours.
The antenna can point between 60 and 460 degrees in azimuth, between 20 and 80 degrees in elevation.
- If a source is available both at low and high azimuth, use command SET TOTO LOW (or SET TOPO HIGH) to stay on the source without moving. - The minimum number of sources to observe for the pointing model is 15. 30 is good enough. - the pointing sources should be observed on 'short' period, e.g. 3-4 hours to avoid daily pointing variations