Static (inactive) image of WatchThis
Static (inactive) text display from a click on Umbr (partial)
WatchThis is showing a red or yellow light for a subsystem that I'm using or want to use. What can I do about it?
Click on the light to see a text display with additional information. More details, for certain cases, are below.
What source is Umbrella pointing toward?
Click on Umbr: In the resulting text display (example above), the 4th line has the source name and also the command right ascension, declination, and epoch unless the source is a planet or not astronomical (e.g., park or stow). The 8th line of this text display has local sidereal time (LST), hour angle, and command azimuth and elevation, and the 9th line has read-back (from encoders) azimuth and elevation.
What frequency is the receiver set for?
Click on Umbr: In the resulting text display (example above), the 16th line has the line-rest frequency in kHz. The sky frequency is offset from this rest frequency by your prescribed offset velocity plus the calculated site velocity with respect to the local standard of rest (LSR) or planet. These velocities are on the 13th line of this text display.
What is Umbrella doing now?
This is a more complex question. Determining what it is not doing is easier. If Cor is gray or yellow, then a spectrum is not in progress. If in doubt, click on Cor and read the resulting text display. If CDP is gray or yellow, then a continuum measurement is not in progress. If in doubt, click on CDP and read the resulting text display. If Umbr is yellow, then Umbrella may be waiting for your next command while doing nothing. To see the last active command to Umbrella, click on Umbr and read the 12th line of the resulting text display (example above). This shows the active command or blank if Umbrella is idle.
What is the system temperature?
Click on Umbr: In the resulting text display (example above), the 22nd line has the first two system temperatures as determined by the most recent calibration. Or click on CDP: In the resulting text display, the 10th line from the bottom, after tbase[], shows four system temperatures for receivers one through four. Typically only the first or first two of these are in use.
How can I see what the integration time (or some other parameter) is without stopping observing?
Click on Umbr: In the resulting text display, the integration time is on the 38th line (IntTime) in units of seconds for continuum or half minutes for spectroscopy. Almost all the other Umbrella parameters are there too. Use your mouse, if need be, to pull down the slide bar on the right of this window.
Umbrella can't read my schedule or source list. What's wrong?
Did you mispel it? Unix and Linux file names are case sensitive. When you start Umbrella from fourier using US, as usual, the default directory on Umbrella's computer (gauss) is set to point back to the directory on fourier that you started from. Schedules and source lists in this default directory can be found by Umbrella without specifying a path, but you'll need a path for files in other directories. For files on fourier in /home, tell Umbrella /fourier/home followed by the rest of the path. If, instead, you started Umbrella from gauss, then Umbrella's default directory is, of course, where you started from, and other directories need a path.
Why is Cpd yellow or red?
The Cpd traffic light monitors the status of the beamswitcher, the 13-mm calibration noise source, and certain other devices. If the status of these devices does not agree with Umbrella's last commands, then this light will be yellow. Maybe it will change to green if you wait until the last command has finished. Cpd red might mean something is broken. Click on Cpd: In the resulting text display, the second line should begin with Ready and end with Computer Control. Not Ready usually means that the beamswitcher is turned off upstairs in the box.
Why does Thrm stay yellow and delay observations for a long time after changing sources?
The Thrm light indicates the status of a heater and cooler servo for the splice plate, which is a heavy aluminum ring forming part of the surface of the antenna half way from the center to the edge. The temperature of the splice plate is controlled as a function of elevation to partly correct for gravitational distortions in the shape of the surface. The time necessary to change the temperature of the splice plate for a large elevation change can be up to several minutes, alas. The Therm traffic light will be yellow whenever the splice-plate temperature is out of (wavelength-dependent) limits for the command elevation.
Umbr is sometimes yellow even while I'm observing. Why?
The Umbr light is yellow whenever WatchThis thinks that Umbrella is not in use (idle) or not usable. But Cal is a special case because a Cal is needed in order to observe, but while you're doing a Cal, the previous Cal, if any, is being written over and unusable. No usable Cal gives yellow light.
Pnt is red. Help!
Click on Pnt: In the resulting text display, if AntennaAvailable is FALSE, then antenna motion by Umbrella is disabled. See Phil's notes on enabling antenna motion. If UPointActive is FALSE, then the UPoint program is not running or broken. Did you start Umbrella and UPoint from US as usual?
Subr and LORF are both red. Help!
This might mean that Dop is not running. Did you start Umbrella, UPoint, and Dop from US as usual? Another possibility is that something is broken, and Dop is unable to talk with the subreflector or with the LORF box; this also causes both of these devices to show TIMEOUT.
Why is Tmpr yellow or red? What can I do about it?
The Tmpr traffic light monitors a set of thermometers inside the radome, some on the antenna structure. The antenna was originally rigged at about 12 or 13 C, and significant departures from this rigging temperature result in distortions in the shape of the antenna and gain loss especially at short wavelengths on small-diameter sources. In winter, the radome air is heated to about this temperature. If the temperature is too high, make sure that the top vent is open and the intake fans are on. Except for this, we have no way to cool it, so in summer the temperature is sometimes much hotter than ideal. As a function of your observing wavelength, WatchThis tries to estimate whether the temperature in the radome is high enough to be detrimental to your observations. You may disagree: Check the antenna gain by looking at a planet or other calibration source. A yellow or red light in Tmpr does not prevent observing.
Why is CDP yellow or red? What can I do about it?
The CDP traffic light shows the status of the continuum data processor. Click on CDP: In the resulting text display, the 5th line from the bottom shows the overall CDP status. On the 7th line from the bottom, after status[], the four numbers show the status of the four channels (A, B, C, D) of the CDP from the following tabulation:
status[] = 0 means unknown, no information 1 means OK and in use 2 means off, not in use 3 means overload (error) and in use 4 means too low and in use 5 or more means some other errorIf the At ... UT time is not updating, then this information may be stale. A Cal (calibration) will adjust for overload or too low (if possible) using the IF attenuators.
Why is LORF yellow or alternately gray and yellow? What can I do about it?
The LORF traffic light shows the status of the first local oscillator and the local-oscillator reference frequency (LORF), which controls the second local oscillator. If this light is yellow, check the INPUT SELECT switch on the 100 MHz GENERATOR in 3E08 against the setup booklet; it should be 25 MHz. Or the LORF GENERATOR may need to have its LORF POWER SUPPLY (high up in 3E08) recycled. Click on LORF: On the SetLORF line in the resulting text display, there is a three-letter code from the last check of the LORF-box status interpreted as follows:
1st letter c Computer control L Local control 2nd letter f Frequency switching s Signal frequency (not switching) P Signal+comparison (test mode) M Signal-comparison (test mode) 3rd letter p Positive comparison frequency n Negative comparison frequency a Alternating +/- comparison frequencyThe 3rd letter is ignored unless the 2nd letter is f. Any upper-case letter here is a no-fair state.
Why is LORF all gray a lot of the time?
WatchThis checks the status of the local-oscillator reference frequency (LORF) and compares the reading of a frequency counter with the commanded LORF. But checking this LORF counter is suspended whenever the CDP is in use, so the LORF status is then unknown, and the LORF light gray. Click on LORF: On the SetLORF line in the resulting text display, Unknown or Waiting indicates this state. Not to worry.
Why is Weda yellow? What can I do about it?
WatchThis contacts the National Weather Service for information about the current weather for nearby cities and towns in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The Weda traffic light will be yellow whenever WatchThis believes that this weather is likely to be detrimental to your observations. You may disagree. A yellow light in Weda does not prevent observing.
I clicked on a traffic light to get a text display, and then I told my window manager to kill it. The text display went away but then came back. Why does it keep coming back from dead?
Right click on a text window to make it go away.
What do those "Umbrla wpdio() waiting for ..." messages mean?
Look up the first (gs) and last (bs) of the three numbers in the following tabulation.
gs bs Waiting for: -- ---- ------------ 0 0x00 Computer control of all these functions 0 0x04 Beamswitcher off (direct) 0 0x0a Beamswitcher on (spinning and phase locked) 0 0x20 13-mm cal noise on (vane in) 0 0x40 13-mm cal noise off (vane out) 3 0x01 7-mm cal noise off (vane out) 3 0x02 7-mm cal noise on (vane in) 3 0x04 3-mm cal noise off (vane out) 3 0x08 3-mm cal noise on (vane in) (3-mm vane in also during 13-mm observing)
Revised: 1998 October 4, JAB