Stand-alone mode: introduction
The Rawlings Array is the UK LOFAR station at Chilbolton, and is designed primarily to be connected with the rest of the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT). In this mode it is centrally controlled and data are transported in real time to the Netherlands.
For 2-3 days a week the Rawlings Array is usable in stand-alone mode, where data are taken and stored locally. The key station parameters for the Rawlings Array are described in this document. The Rawlings Array is equipped with the ARTEMIS back-end, giving it unique capabilities amongst LOFAR stations.
Applications to use the Rawlings Array in stand-alone mode can be submitted at any time: see the Call for Proposals for details. A list of previously approved and currently active proposals can be found here.
For more information, or to request time to use the array, contact lofar-obs~a.t~stfc.ac.uk .
Observing preparation
The most recent version of the Rawlings Array observing Manual can be found here. This covers the basic 'statistics' modes of observing - array co-variances, subband & beamlet statistics, along with beam-forming observing examples using the ARTEMIS backend. Note the manual is only as useful as Rawlings Array users contributions make it - any suggestions for additions/corrections should be sent to lofar-obs~a.t~stfc.ac.uk .
Before using the station, observers should familiarise themselves with the following documents:
New users
New users of the station should request an account on UK608 by sending the following information to lofar-net~a.t~stfc.ac.uk
LOFAR-UK UK608 USER ACCOUNT REQUEST FORM. PLEASE FILL IN ALL FIELDS THAT APPLY
- FULL NAME :
- FRIENDLY NAME (if applicable):
- EMAIL :
- INSTITUTE :
- PROJECT :
- SUPERVISOR (if applicable):
- LOFAR-UK CONTACT :
- PREFERRED USER NAME :
- REMOTE ACCESS LEVEL REQUIRED (default SSH):
- HOST FQDN/IP/NETWORK:
