NURAGHE 0.6
===========
Nuraghe-0.6 will be released on Friday 29 January 2016.

New features
------------

SARDARAS backend integrated
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Roach component was integrated, even if some caveat must be taken
into account.

The Roach backend is connected directly to the focus selector (total
power backend) so bandwidth and signal level fed into the Roach are controlled
through the total power component. For example the attenuation (command
*setAttenuation*) of the Raoch component is binded to the TP.


There are 4 available configuration. Each configuration is specific for a single
installed receiver. The following table shows the deafulat value for each
setup:

============= ========= ========= ============ =========== =====
Configuration  FrontEnd Bandwidth TP bandwidth integration bins
============= ========= ========= ============ =========== =====
RK00	      KKG	1500MHz   1250Mhz      40 ms       1024
RC00	      CCB	1500MHz   1250MHz      40 ms	   1024 
RL00	      LLP	1500MHz   2000MHz      40 ms       1024
RP00	      PPP	1500MHz   2000MHz      40 ms       1024
============= ========= ========= ============ =========== =====

A system temperature is also available. The measurment is relative to the
bandwith portion selected by the *setSection* command.

The merging phase (the raw data coming from the roach are merged with the meta
data coming from the telescope control system) is, temporarly, perfomed
offline. At the end of the schedule a command *_send_backend_command* must be
issued from a shell of the user workstation.

Typically the configuration of the roach backend is done by the schedules.
Also it is possible to manullay configure the backenf to a sequence of
commands:

.. code-block:: discos

    > chooseBackend=Roach
    > initialize=RK00
    > integration=100
    > setSection=
 
The setSection syntax follows the general rules:

.. code-block:: discos

    > setSection=input,freq,bw,feed,pol,sr,bins

where:
	* input: it could only be 0
	* freq: start frequency (MHz), placeholder \* allowed
	* bw: band width (MHz), placeholder \* allowed
	* feed: feed identifier, it cannot be changed, placeholder \* allowed
	* pol: polarization, it cannot be changed, placeholder \* allowed
	* sr: sample rate, it cannot be changed, placeholder \* allowed
	* bins: number of frequency channels,  it could be 1024 or 16384, placeholder \* allowed

At present, the Roach component does not provide a user interface. 


Acknowledgement to SARDARAS development team: Andrea Melis, Raimondo Concu, 
Alessio Trois.

.. sectionauthor:: :ref:`cmigoni`, :ref:`amelis`, :ref:`mbartolini`, :ref:`aorlati`.


Local Oscillator for the LP-band receiver
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now the ``LPBandReceiver`` component can set the local oscillator, so
the component behaves as the other receivers, and it is possible to use 
the ``setLO`` command from the operator input console:

.. code-block:: discos

    > receiversSetup=LLP
    > setLO=2300

This new feature is only available using the L band feed (it is not 
possible to set the local oscillator in the ``PPP`` configuration). 

It is not allowed to set the LO inside the observed sky band. For instance:

.. code-block:: discos

    > receiversMode=XXL5 # Bandwidth 1625:1715
    > setLO=1650
    Error - Value not allowed. It is within the band...

It is also not possible to set a receiver mode in case the current LO value 
is inside the mode band:

.. code-block:: discos

    > receiversMode=XXL5 # Bandwidth 1625:1715
    > setLO=1500 # Ok, it is outside the RF band
    > receiversMode=XXL4 # Bandwidth 1300:1800
    Error - Mode not allowed. The LO value is within the band...

The bandwith value is always positive, while the IFs could be negative,
indicating that the IF band is inverted. For instance, in the following case:

.. code-block:: discos

    > receiversMode=XXL5 # Bandwidth 1625:1715
    > setLO=2300

the receiver panel will show ``startFreq=-675`` and ``bandwidth=90``. 

A 1000MHz low pass filter is applyed to the IFs, so it is not possible to 
set a LO value that puts the IFs over the low pass filter:

.. code-block:: discos

    > receiversMode=XXL4 # Band 1300:1800
    > setLO=200 # IF band: 1100:1600
    Error - Value not allowed. The IF bandwidth is outside the low pass filter.

.. sectionauthor:: :ref:`mbuttu`, :ref:`aorlati`, :ref:`spoppi`.


System changes
-------------- 

FitsZilla fits file
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The "signal" keyword was added to the mian header. Presently, three possible 
values are avilable:

.. code-block:: discos

    * SIGNAL #indicating that the subscan was performed on-source
    * REFERENCE # indicating the telescope was off-source during the subscan
    * NONE # meaning the the keyword is unknown or the keyword is not pertinet 
             to the current subscan

.. sectionauthor:: :ref:`aorlati`, :ref:`srighini`

Alias name for fully integrated backends
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The command *chooseBackend* now allows the use of aliases for backends. 
Standard names continue to work regularly.
The mnemonic names or aliases are the following:

=================== ============
Standard name       Alias
=================== ============
BACKENDS/TotalPower TotalPower
BACKENDS/XBackends  XArcos
BACKENDS/Roach      Roach	
=================== ============
 
.. sectionauthor:: :ref:`aorlati`.

Continuos calibration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In order to control the calibration mark from an external source (i.e. backends 
like the DFB or DBBC) the Total Power backend (focus selector) should be 
configured accordingly. The frontend also requires an identical configuration, 
this part has been addressed in previous release (see command *externalCalOn*).
The command *calSwitch*, when the Total Power is the current backend, has been 
slightly modified. It now allows for the following sintax :

.. code-block:: discos

    > calSwitch=N # where N is an integer value. One sample every N is acquired 
      with the noise cal turned on. This is the old behaviour of the Total 
      Power. It also disables the configuration EXT
    > calSwitch=OFF # switches off all the previous setup and disables the 
      calibration mark control through the Total Power backend
    > calSwitch=EXT # the mark will be controlled from external sources 
      (DBBC, DFB .....)

.. sectionauthor:: :ref:`aorlati`.

User Interface
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The backend panel associated to the Total Power backend shows an extended 
status word. Four bits were added:

.. code-block:: discos

    * ExternalMark # it turns yellow when the external mark control is enabled
    * FastSwitching # it turns yellow when the total power is sampling with the 
      mark swicthing under its direct control. Note: only when the sampling 
      is active.
    * Calon # it turns yellow when the noise mark is on (non-fast mode) 
      under the control of the Backend. This is not implemented yet. 	
    * ZeroRef # it turns yellow when the backend inputs are connected to the 
      500hm. It may be yellow during a system temperature measurement.
         
.. figure:: images/totalpower_extended_statusword.png
   :scale: 80%
   :alt: New Total Power Console
   :align: center

   Figura 1: The Total Power console of Nuraghe 0.6

.. sectionauthor:: :ref:`aorlati` 

Auto stow for wind
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The telescope will be parked (and the running schedule stopped) if an 
excessive wind is detected.

.. sectionauthor:: :ref:`spoppi` 

Change log
----------
A complete and browsable change log of this release may be consulted from our
`tracking system`_.
