Message 13/446 Gino Tuccari                      Oct 10, 2000 12:15:30 pm +0200

X-Sender: tuccari@melampo.ira.noto.cnr.it
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 12:15:30 +0200
To: evntech@jb.man.ac.uk
Subject: EVNtech: Noto report with reliability notes - VIV status
Cc: tuccari@melampo.ira.noto.cnr.it
Sender: owner-evntech@jb.man.ac.uk
Precedence: bulk

Noto Station Report with reliability improvement notes

VIV status


The MKIV formatter is now used as standard in the VLBA4
Terminal. This avoid to manually operate to switch
between VLBA and MKIV modes, that implies to connect
different cables and change the setup in the Field System.
Then such modification is to be considered
as a simplification in the station operations, improving
reliability.

The realisation of a new version of TTY distributor
to be used in the VLBA4 environment was completed.
It has been produced for Cambridge, Effelsberg,
Noto, Shanghai, Torun, Metsahovi, Yebes, Pico Veleta,
and three units for Haystack. It will be soon distributed
to Torun, Metsahovi, Yebes.

The assembly of the headstack boards for the Noto
recorder is completed. A new triple-cap head is
going to be ordered.
After the November session the recorder will be upgraded
and as soon as the new head will be available the system
will be complete for a testing experiment.

Upgrade program (SXL-UHF receiver construction) was
delayed, due to the delay in the CSELT  production
of the L and S/X band feed systems.  Production order
has been placed before the end of 1999. The feeds
are in construction and some parts realised. The third
and last module of the receiver is completed, while
the other two have been successfully tested.
The cryogenic section is under construction.
A new software environment is in development to drive
the complex system, operating on the full set of receivers,
in primary and secondary focus.
This project is strongly motivated by frequency flexibility
reasons, but it will allow to get better performance in
L, S, X band. Moreover it includes the automatic control
for the entire set of bands and then represents a reliability
improvement.

The active surface for the Noto antenna, developed by
the Medicina staff, will be installed in the last quarter
of 2001. The necessary parts are in acquisition stage
and will be assembled in Medicina then transferred in Noto.  
A Heybond bonding machine has been acquired. A study of
cryogenic low noise amplifier was undertaken that should
produce L band front-end as first result.


Gino Tuccari