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SETI
- Allen Telescope Array
- Optical SETI
- Interstellar Message Construction
- Project Phoenix 1995-2004
- Background Science
- History of SETI
- Center for SETI Research Team
- Other people doing SETI
- Hollywood's View of SETI
The Phoenix Half-time Report
by Peter Backus - Manager, SETI Observing Programs
Fans of American football are accustomed to a break in the action midway through the game. This half-time period gives the players a chance to rest and the TV viewers a chance to restock snacks and beverages. It also provides an opportunity for the sportscasters and former athletes in the studio to verbify nouns and otherwise damage the English language while examining in detail the first half of the game. They also have a tradition of citing the alma mater of every player they mention. This half-time report is often sponsored by the makers of popular snacks and beverages.
Here at Arecibo and across the Atlantic, the Phoenix Team is taking a break. Were halfway through our observing period and its time to review the plays of the first half.
Once again, we started with problems at Jodrell Bank. The Programmable Detection Modules showed a strange error. Every observation sequence would start out fine, but slowly and intermittently the data would become corrupted. The initial observation was always good but subsequent observations could be bad. Such intermittent problems are difficult to diagnose. Fortunately, Ken Smolek, veteran engineer from MIT, came up with a work-around solution. It eliminated the problem without knowing the cause, but thats good enough for now.
The Arecibo squad had some minor problems. One PDM showed unusual spectra. Long time engineering tech John Ross (USMC) and relative newcomer, software developer Tom Kilsdonk (U Wisconsin), teamed up to track the problem to a digital down-converter board. They also handled a faulty Clock Distribution Board.
Aside from the few problems, most of the team concentrated on making sure everything was working properly. At Jodrell Bank, Kevin Dalley and Randy McFarland (both of UC Berkeley) reviewed and developed software while Ben Sanchez (SJSU) kept an eye on the hardware. Ben is heading back to California for the second half with Ken Smolek taking his place. At Arecibo, Jane Jordan (MIT), captain of the software team, has kept a close watch on the detailed workings of the system. Shes come up with some new plays for the second half. The science team is regrouping as observations are ready to begin. Its almost time for the kickoff of the second half. We will keep you up-to-date!