Call for 74 MHz Proposals in the C and CnB Configuration

18 April 2006

In recent years, we typically have mounted the VLA 74 MHz dipole antennas only for parts of the A, BnA, and B configurations. The primary demand for 74 MHz in the past has been in these most extended configurations, and the significant detrimental impact on the VLA 1.4 GHz systems prevents us from keeping the 74 MHz systems mounted permanently on the VLA. From time to time, we get highly rated proposals for 74 MHz observations on the C or CnB configurations, but having only one or two such proposals in a configuration cycle has not made it cost-effective to mount the dipoles for just a single observation.

In order to enable multi-configuration and/or lower resolution 74 MHz science, we are issuing this special call for 74 MHz proposals including the C and CnB configurations at the June 1, 2006 VLA/VLBA proposal deadline. We will mount the dipoles for a limited period, from roughly early October 2006 (CnB configuration) through early November 2006 (C configuration), with the exact dates depending on proposal pressure. Because of the effects on 1.4 GHz, we cannot keep the 74-MHz systems mounted for the entire C configuration, so requests for 74-MHz observations in C configuration between late November 2006 and January 2007 will not be accepted. The limited demand in the most compact VLA configuration, and with our ongoing EVLA work, also make it impossible to offer 74 MHz in the upcoming DnC or D configurations.

Because of this special call and the demands of EVLA commissioning, we will not mount the dipoles for either CnB or C configuration in 2008. Thus, this call provides the only opportunity for 74 MHz proposals to use CnB or C configuration for several years, and we urge prospective proposers to take advantage of this opportunity.

As announced in the April 2006 NRAO Newsletter, all VLA proposals at the June 1, 2006 deadline must use the new on-line proposal tool. This tool and its user guide may be accessed via http://www.vla.nrao.edu/astro/prop/vlapst/ . Note that we expect to release a new version of the proposal tool in early May 2006, so we recommend that proposers wait for this new version before submitting their proposals.

--- Jim Ulvestad 18 April 2006


Modified on Friday, 26-Sep-2008 12:09:20 MDT by Mark Claussen