News from the 30m Telescope

Mobile Phones at Pico Veleta Observatory

Test measurements by our engineers Juan Peñalver and Salvador Sánchez revealed that mobile phones interfere with our backends. This interference occurs not only while the phones are in use but also when on standby. We therefore request that visitors switch off their mobile phones while in the control building, the telescope building or close to the observatory. A detailed report will follow in one of our next newsletters.

HERA Users Manual updated

An updated (but still not fully completed) HERA Manual can be found at http://www.iram.es/IRAMES/otherDocuments/manuals/HERA manual v15.pdf

Unix data reduction

In each of the project accounts there is now a link to a file data.30m which contains the reduced spectral data of all backends including the 4MHz backends and the on-the-fly spectral line maps. There is no need to copy the spectra.30m files from the VAX computers anymore, except if continuum data are required.

IRAM Granada Web site

The web area concerning the Pico Veleta observatory has been completed and can be found under http://www.iram.es/IRAMES (an alternative link to this site is http://granada.iram.es/IRAMES) Please make a bookmark and update you links if you find it interesting.

Rainer MAUERSBERGER

Remote Observing from Madrid

A new station for remotely observing with the IRAM 30m telescope has been set up at the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional (OAN at Madrid) in the old observatory building south of the Retiro park near the center of the city. A first sucessful test run was made last August together with Javier Alcolea (OAN). Communication with the 30m telescope is currently possible only via Internet. An ISDN line is planned as an alternative later this year. After some more tests, equipment with documentation, printers, and communication tools the remote observing station is expected to be fully available sometime early next year. Astronomers in the Madrid area who plan to use this new station for their observations with the 30m telescope should contact Javier Alcolea (j.alcolea@oan.es).

Walter BRUNSWIG