[daip] Problems loading VLBA data into AIPS with FITLD

[Eric Greisen]

I have gotten a tape from the analysts and have run FITLD on it.
There are 22 files and the final output header was

>imh
AIPS 1: Image=MULTI     (UV)         Filename=MULTI       .UVDATA.   4
AIPS 1: Telescope=VLBA               Receiver=VLBA
AIPS 1: Observer=BG099               User #=   36
AIPS 1: Observ. date=29-JUN-2000     Map date=12-FEB-2001
AIPS 1: # visibilities    900786     Sort order  TB
AIPS 1: Rand axes: UU-L-SIN  VV-L-SIN  WW-L-SIN  TIME1  BASELINE
AIPS 1:            SOURCE  FREQSEL  INTTIM  GATEID  CORR-ID  WEIGHT
AIPS 1:            SCALE
AIPS 1: ----------------------------------------------------------------
AIPS 1: Type    Pixels   Coord value     at Pixel     Coord incr   Rotat
AIPS 1: COMPLEX      1   1.0000000E+00       1.00  1.0000000E+00    0.00
AIPS 1: STOKES       4  -1.0000000E+00       1.00 -1.0000000E+00    0.00
AIPS 1: FREQ         8   1.5349490E+10       0.56  5.0000000E+05    0.00
AIPS 1: IF           4   1.0000000E+00       1.00  1.0000000E+00    0.00
AIPS 1: RA           1    00 00 00.000       1.00       0.000000    0.00
AIPS 1: DEC          1    00 00 00.000       1.00       0.000000    0.00
AIPS 1: ----------------------------------------------------------------
AIPS 1: Coordinate equinox 2000.00
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type HI is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type AT is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type IM is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type CT is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type MC is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type OB is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type GC is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type TY is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type WX is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type PC is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type NX is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type CL is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type FQ is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type AN is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type SU is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type CQ is   1
AIPS 1: Maximum version number of extension files of type FG is   1
AIPS 1: Keyword = 'OLDRFQ  '  value =  1.53494900E+10

I messed up and set ECHAN to 8 by accident so only 8 of the     16
channels were loaded.

The FQ file PRTAB is
 primate   PRTAB(31DEC01)     36     12-FEB-2001  14:57:00    Page    1
MULTI       .UVDATA.   4  Disk= 2    FQ Table version   1
Title: AIPS UV DATA FILE FREQUENCY TABLE
Created by      FITLD on 12-FEB-2001 11:30:52
Last written by FITLD on 12-FEB-2001 14:03:27
Ncol   5  Nrow       3    Sort cols:
    Table has     1 keyword-value pairs:
   NO_IF    =            4
   Table format incompatable with FITS ASCII tables
 
COL. NO.         1              2               3              4              5
     ROW      FRQSEL      IF FREQ           CH WIDTH       TOTAL BAN      SIDEBAND
  NUMBER                  HZ                HZ             HZ
       1         1        0.000000E+00      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1
       1                  8.000000E+06      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1
       1                  1.600000E+07      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1
       1                  2.400000E+07      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1
       2         2        6.868000E+09      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1
       2                  6.876000E+09      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1
       2                  6.884000E+09      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1
       2                  6.892000E+09      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1
       3         3        2.785200E+10      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1
       3                  2.786000E+10      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1
       3                  2.786800E+10      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1
       3                  2.787600E+10      5.000E+05      8.000E+06          1

All what one would want.  I will give the analysts the tape and let
them send it to you (for $ ?? I do nopt know how NRAO handles
that...)

-----------------------------------------------

Now what you sent:

The messages imply that the files you were loading were in
random-groups UV FITS format, not the IDI format written by the
correlator.  I deduce that someone read IDI files in with FITLD
without concatenation and then wrote them out as random groups with
FITTP.  DOCONCAT and many other adverbs in FITLD apply only to IDI
files.

The presence in the headers you sent of a number of odd extension
types is puzzling.  They are types that are supposed to be removed
when FITLD terminates.  Therefore, I conclude that the FITLDs
mentioned above failed to terminate normally but, instead, aborted.
A failure recornized by FITLD would cause it to delete output files
not leave the output including dead UT files and the like.  With no
further information, there is nothing I can say about the cause of
these apparent aborts.

Eric Greisen