[Gmvatech 1] tests after next GMVA session

[Walter Alef]

Dear VLBI friends of the GMVA, 
(my Dutch friends are included as 4 Gbps is also relevant for the EVN ;-) )

As I told during the GMVA technical meeting we are setting up a test of the 
GMVA/ALMA recoding mode. This is a 4 Gbps mode, so you can only participate if 
you have the necessary equipment for 4 Gbps. This is a DBBC2 + FiLA10G output 
and an appropriate recorder. 

For recorder presently I assume that your station will use a Flexbuff setup 
for the GMVA session. If you are certain enough that the Flexbuff recording 
will be sufficient we will not send modules for the next GMVA session, but 
expect you to transfer the data via Internet. Details about this will have to 
be discussed separately, as this is independent of the 4 Gbps test.

The DBBC2 + FiLA10G will deliver 2 streams of data, one for LCP and one for 
RCP. They are output via the 2 Ethernet ports of the FiLA10G. So both have to 
function properly and have to be connected to your recorder.

There are still some issues with this mode which we try to solve in the next 2 
weeks (at least if you use a Mark 6). The recording part needs some further 
testing, I guess, also if you use a stationary RAID. Who would volunteer for a 
recording test with this bitrate and setup?

The firmware for the DBBC2 though (512 MHz contiguous, submode of the PFB 
firmware) seems to work correctly. (provided you have the correct version 
installed; info will follow)

We are assembling instructions, which we will publish very soon. 
-- 

        Regards,
                        Walter

Dr. Walter Alef 
Head, VLBI Technology
Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
Bonn, Germany
walef at mpifr-bonn.mpg.de=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
For private email use: walef at netcologne.de ---------------------------------