Phoenix:
Project Status

Updated: 18 May 1996

Background

Project Phoenix observations at Parkes finished on June 6, 1995. The Targeted Search System was then used in a series of cooperative projects with Australian astronomers. These projects included alternative SETI experiments, observations of pulsars (using the wide band receiver system), and observations of a gravitational lens.

When the last observation was completed, we began packing up the system and support equipment for the trip home. Because of shipping schedules, we only had 36 hours. We removed each circuit board from the system, put it in an antistatic bag, and wrapped the bag in bubble wrap. The boards were then packed in foam-lined boxes. The RF Downconverter rack, IF equipment, X-terminals, control computers, test equipment, and support computers all had to be wrapped and packed. Thanks to help from the observatory staff, we finished with time to spare.

The TSS then began its journey back to California. The first stage, from Parkes to Sydney, was on a flatbed truck. The system was then enclosed in a large shipping container and hoisted aboard a cargo ship. Finally, in early August the TSS arrived at the Institute offices in Mountain View.

Most of August was taken up with "installing" the system. The system in the Mobile Research Facility (MRF - a 30 foot long facility container that houses the TSS) was set up in the parking lot. The power and communications lines were installed. Each subsystem was reassembled and tested.

The signal processing equipment is contained in special electronics racks in the MRF. Although space is a bit tight in the MRF, each rack is mounted on rails allowing the rack to slide forward thus providing access to the electronics from both front and rear.

In the picture below, a rack containing one of the CW signal detection computers has been opened to show the RFI shielding on the rack door. The black boxes at the bottom of the rack are part of the Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) that stores all 14 million channels from a single polarization, 10 MHz Multichannel Spectrum Analyzer. There are about 500 kg of disks in the rack giving 20 GB of storage.

Status

Targeted Search System

The system is now undergoing long term testing to improve reliability. This is necessary in order to support remote operation. By the end of the observations at Parkes, we were experiencing about one glitch or failure per day with a typical loss of 20 to 30 minutes of observing time. These glitches were due to a collection of errors, each of which may occur only once a week.

Many of these errors have now been eliminated. Other possible errors are being categorized so that the control computers can recognize them and take appropriate recovery actions. This is necessary for the eventual remote operation of the system.

The FUDD processors have been upgraded to allow more detailed tests of more candidate signals. We replaced the 100 MHz Pentium chips with 133 MHz chips.

New backplanes were installed in the Multichannel Spectrum Analyzer.

In order to support a series of long deployments of the system to observatories over the next few years, we are adding to our supply of spare circuit boards and creating a support facility in our lab.

The Next Observing Site

We are currently finalizing plans for use of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's 140 Foot Telescope (42-m) in Green Bank, West Virginia. This unique telescope, with the world's largest equatorial mount, will be our "main" site for observations until the Arecibo antenna becomes available. In order to begin observations in October, we must prepare a site adjacent to the telescope for installation of the Mobile Research Facility. The wide-band receiver system must be repackaged in a new frame to interface with the NRAO receiver mounting equipment. We expect to utilize about 25% of the available observing time, starting in October. (The telescope is in heavy demand.) This usage will increase over time. Our long-term plans include taking over operation of the 140 Foot when the new Green Bank Telescope (GBT) comes on-line in 1998.

The Remote FUDD Site

The remote site FUDD observations will take place at a former communications antenna near Woodbury, Georgia, now operated by Georgia Tech. Working under a contract from the SETI Institute, professors and students are upgrading the antenna control systems and software.

A new wide-band feed antenna is being built for the Woodbury antenna by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) under contract to the SETI Institute. CSIRO built the wideband RF system for the Targeted Search System.

Other Information

More information about Project Phoenix may be obtained from:
phoenix_info@seti-inst.edu
SETI Institute - 2035 Landings Drive - Mountain View, CA (415) 961-6633