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An overview of observing strategies for some default observing modes:
| Observing mode | Observing mode explanation | Strategy Name | Strategy type | Number of station beams / target fields (excl. calibrator) | Antenna set | Filter | Frequency range/ subband list Subband List | Default station list | Default settings | Free settings | Recommended settings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LBA Imaging | Imaging with the Low Band Antennas (LBA) is performed with one or more target beams and a calibrator beam in parallel. Scheduling units / scheduling blocks are created with one observation per scheduling unit and these are scheduled independently. | IM LBA Survey - 3 Beams / LBA Co-Observing / LoLSS | Default imaging strategy for ??-?? MHz. Observations can be requested in co-observing mode where high level dataproducts are made available to the user for 1-2 target fields per observation and the other targets are used towards the LoLSS survey. | 3 | LBA_Sparse_Even | 30-90 MHz | NL. Mandatory RS210, RS310, (RS508 or RS509) | Demix | Duration of 3x1 hr or 1x8 hr | ||
| IM LBA LoDSS - 5 Beams | Default imaging strategy for 10-30 MHz for the LoDeSS survey for 5 independent target fields. | 5 | LBA_Sparse_Even | 10-90 MHz | NL. Mandatory RS210, RS310, (RS508 or RS509) | Duration of 5 hours | |||||
| HBA imaging | Imaging with the High Band Antennas (HBA) is performed with one or more target beams within the tile beam. Calibrator observations will be scheduled before and after the target observation, but one of those can be omitted. | IM HBA LoTSS - 2 Beams / HBA Co-Observing | Default imaging strategy for 120-168 MHz  . Observation can be requested in co-observing mode where high level dataproducts are made available to the user for 1 target field per observation and the other target field is used towards the LoTSS survey. | 2 | HBA_Dual_inner | 110-190 MHz | LoTSS subband list. Range . Subbands that have high RFI are replaced by higher frequencies for spectral line studies. | All stations, including International stations, | Recording at 64 ch/subband, 1 second. Preprocessing output at 16 ch/subband, 1 second time resolution | Duration of 8 hrs or 2x4 hrs, depending on elevation. | |
| IM HBA - 1 Beam | Similar to LoTSS, but with a single target beam | 1 | HBA_Dual_inner | 110-190 MHz | LoTSS subband list. Range . Subbands that have high RFI are replaced by higher frequencies for spectral line studies. | NL | |||||
| IM RT HBA - 1 beam / Fast response | Similar to LoTSS, but with a single target beam and omitting the first calibrator observation such that the target observations is performed as soon as possible. | 1 | HBA_Dual_inner | 110-190 MHz | LoTSS subband list. Range . Subbands that have high RFI are replaced by higher frequencies for spectral line studies. | NL | |||||
| Beamformed complex voltage / baseband | This beamformed data mode provides the highest time resolution data. Currently it is offered on a single pointing with several default observing and processing setups. | BF Pulsar Timing | Default beamformed strategy that delivers folded pulsar profiles for known pulsars at 110-188 MHz at a frequency resolution of 195 kHz. | 1 SAP, 1 TAB | HBA_Dual | 110-190 MHz | 51-450 | Core | |||
| BF CV Pulsar Timing Scintillation | Default beamformed strategy that delivers folded pulsar profiles for known pulsars at 110-188 MHz at a higher frequency resolution than the regular pulsar timing observations. | 1 SAP, 1 TAB | HBA_Dual | 110-190 MHz | 51-450 | Core | |||||
| BF CV 8-bit / Compressed raw data | Default beamformed strategy that delivers raw data compressed to 8-bit for flexibility in the analysis. This can be used for pulsar and FRB searches or scintillometry studies. | 1 SAP, 1 TAB | HBA_Dual | 110-190 MHz | 51-450 | Core | |||||
| BF CV FRB / Fast Radio Burst | Default beamformed strategy that delivers a dynamic spectrum at a specified dispersion measure using digifil. This is used for known fast radio bursts. It can in addition deliver the raw data compressed to 8-bit. | 1 SAP, 1 TAB | HBA_Dual | 110-190 MHz | 51-450 | Core |
When the user selects an observing strategy from the drop down menu , the "Scheduling Unit - Add" view expands and the Station Specification, Scheduling Constraints Specification and Task Parameters sections are shown, respectively.
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It is possible that a task after observing has failed. This can be either due to not meeting the requirements specified in the tasks or due to external circumstances. This requires the FoP to add more tasks to the SU and repeat the process mentioned above. One can add new tasks in a SU by being in the "Scheduling Unit - Details" menu and then clicking on the 'paper-and-pencil' icon next to the "Task Details" section. Or, copy the failed blueprint of the SU to a (renamed) draft SU and blueprint it. In this case, make sure that the new SU does not retain any fixed timeslot from the failed copy. Also, make sure that you open a ticket in the Helpdesk for any archived data related to the failed SU to be removed from the LTA.
This concludes the Observation Specifications description. However, this is not where the responsibilities of the FoP end, as after the observation was successful the FoP has to do the Reporting.
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