[mmaimcal] forwarded message from Robert Brown

[Al Wootten]

Michael says:
My impression has been that we have NOT made the decision. [to agree to
12m antennas]

This is true.  As I understand it, we would like for them to build asap
a prototype 12m antenna and then we will compare its merits and failings
with our prototype 10m antenna.  If the 12m can meet the specs, then we
may consider it.  Part of the reconsideration should include the science
case.  It is a considerable problem, in my view, that failures to publish
data owing to problems with reconciling interferometer and single dish
scales, or problems with the systematic errors in single dish calibration
such as prevent Marc Pound from publishing his NGC2024 map (which BIMA trumpets
 as a success of integration of single dish and interferometer data), are not
public.  People only hear of success stories; and perhaps the failures
are attributable to poor experiment design or software inadequacies or
perhaps insufficient innovation on the part of the experimenter.  But
somehow we have to learn of the failures and discover what part of the
failure we can attribute to poor experiment design which might be avoided
by having smaller antenna sizes.  After all, we know most experimenters
who propose on the MMA will be average in their abilities, and we don't
make it hard for their experiment to fail, it will fail.  If this is in
any part because we agreed to go along with 12m antennas, then this is
a failure in our design for the MMA.

Clear skies,
Al