MMA Memo #139

Fast Switching Phase Calibration: Effectiveness at Mauna Kea and Chajnantor

M.A. Holdaway [1], Simon J.E. Radford [1], F.N. Owen [1], Scott M. Foster [1]

September 26, 1995

Keywords: fast switching, phase errors, phase calibration, atmosphere, Chile, Mauna Kea

We present estimates of how well fast switching phase calibration would perform at the Chajnantor, Chile, and Mauna Kea VLBA sites. Fast switching at Chajnantor would achieve better than 30 degrees r.m.s. phase errors at 230 GHz about twice as often as at Mauna Kea. We also investigate how the residual phase errors depend upon the slew speed of the antennas (0.5 deg per s through 2.0 deg per s). At 230 GHz, faster slewing provides a significant improvement in the fraction of time the array will be able to achieve 30 degrees r.m.s. residual phase errors. At 690 GHz, faster slewing will provide two or three times more observing time available with 30 degrees r.m.s. residual phase errors. Increasing the total continuum bandwidth from 4 GHz to 16 GHz provides a marginal improvement in the residual phase errors.

[1] NRAO/NM

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Last modified: 09 December, 1999