Finalize 10.2.0

This message announces the release of FS version 10.2. It is intended for stations that have already upgraded to 10.1.

The most significant changes since 10.1 are:

• Support for FSL11. The FSL11 distribution is based on Debian bullseye and is the latest FSLx Linux distribution. The installation instructions for FSL11 can be found at: https://nvi-inc.github.io/fsl11/.

• Support for experiment names (session codes) of 16 characters or less. This enables use of the new IVS 12-character session codes.

• Support for the DBBC3 was extensively improved. It is now roughly complete for the DDC firmware releases available as of June 2023.

• The display server is now enabled by default. There were also other changes to make it easier to use.

• The plotlog utility, for examining data in the log files, has been expanded and updated. The changes include support for RDBEs, DBBC3s, and additional data types including recorder performance statistics.

Details on these and the many other changes and installation notes for updating from 10.1 can be found at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/2/10.2.html

A hierarchal index of all the FS web documents can be found at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/

Please let us know about your experiences.

FS 10.2-beta2 pre-release

This message announces FS pre-release 10.2-beta2. It is intended for testing by stations that have already upgraded to at least version 10.1.

The most significant changes since 10.2-beta1 are:

• The display server is enabled by default.
• Improvements were made to DBBC3 support: Tsys averaging/filtering, monitor display window, and multicast time-out handling
• The DBBC(2) sync prompt was restored in fmset for DBBC/Mark5B equipment
• The display of RDBE multicast data in the monitor window was refactored

Details on these and the many other changes and installation notes for updating from 10.2-beta1 can be found at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/2/beta1_to_beta2.html

The full details of the changes and installation notes for updating from 10.1 are at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/2/10.2-beta2.html

A discussion topic for feedback on the 10.2-beta2 release can be found at: #206

Please let us know about your experiences.

10.2.0-beta1

To: FS Users

From: Ed Himwich, Jon Quick, John Gipson, and Dave Horsley

Re: FS 10.2.0-beta1 available

(This is a republication of this release. There was an error in the original tag. It had to be deleted and a new tag created. Thanks to Rubén González for reporting this. All the original instructions and links should still work.)

This is a Beta release of FS version 10.2.0. It is intended for testing by all stations. You must have already upgraded to 10.1 before installing this update.

The most significant changes in 10.2 are:

• Support for FSL11. The FSL11 distribution is based on Debian bullseye and is the latest FSLx Linux distribution. The installation instructions for FSL11 can be found at: https://nvi-inc.github.io/fsl11/.
• Support for experiment names (session codes) of 16 characters or less. This enables use of the new IVS 12-character session codes.
• Several changes were made to DBBC3 support, including: DDC_E firmware is now recognized, the interpretation of TPI data was adjusted to agree with what was empirically determined to be correct, information on IF target levels was added, support for spot (noncontinuous) calibration was completed, and averaging/filtering of continuous calibration data was added.
• The plotlog utility, for examining data in the log files, has been expanded and updated. The changes include support for RDBEs, DBBC3s, and additional data types including recorder performance statistics.

The update and installation notes, which include the details of the many improvements and bug fixes, can be found at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/2/10.2.0-beta1.html

A discussion topic for feedback can be found at: #206

Patch release 10.1.1 available

To: FS Users

From: Ed Himwich, Jon Quick, John Gipson, and Dave Horsley

Re: FS 10.1.1 available

This is a patch release to update FS version 10.1.0 to correct a bug that can cause a crash due to communication errors with a DDBC2. It is only needed for stations using version 10.1 and that use a DBBC2. At this time it appears that the bug is only triggered if the DBBC2 is in a bad state. It may be that rebooting the DBBC2 will correct the bad state. Discussion of the problem can be found at Issue #191

The update and installation notes can be found at: 10.1.1 Update Notes

Patch release 10.0.1 available

To: FS Users

From: Ed Himwich, Jon Quick, John Gipson, and Dave Horsley

Re: FS 10.0.1 available

This is a patch release to update FS version 10.0.0 to correct a bug that can cause a crash due to communication errors with a DDBC2. It is only needed for stations using version 10.0 and that use a DBBC2. At this time it appears that the bug is only triggered if the DBBC2 is in a bad state. It may be that rebooting the DBBC2 will correct the bad state. Discussion of the problem can be found at Issue #191

The update and installation notes can be found at: 10.0.1 Update Notes

Finalize 10.1.0

To: FS Users

From: Ed Himwich, Jon Quick, John Gipson, and Dave Horsley

Re: FS 10.1.0 available

This is the official release of FS version 10.1.0. It is intended for use by all stations. You must have already upgraded to 10.0.0 before installing this update.

The most significant changes in 10.1.0 are:

• FS and drudg support for DBBC3 racks. Support for DDBC3s does not include setting the observing mode automatically from the schedule. Instructions for setting the mode configuration can be found at: https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/1/dbbc3_ops.html#_setting_the_experiment_mode_configuration
• Streamlined onoff output for the operator to make it clearer what the program is doing.
• gnplt no longer duplicates trailing comments in .rxg files.
• A new drudg option e-vlbi_override in skedf.ctl to automatically change the recorder to none and remove /fila10g if present in the rack name, if the target_correlator VEX parameter includes e-vlbi (case insensitive).
• A new drudg option close_scan in skedf.ctl to make it easier to breakaway from one schedule to run another schedule for a short time and then return to the original schedule. This can be useful for geodesy intensive schedules.
• Change the default FS git branch to main

The update and installation notes, which include the details of the many improvements and bug fixes, can be found at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/1/10.1.0.html

As with FS 10.0.0, this version has not been verified with every possible combination of hardware. Please test it carefully when you install it. We stand ready to help anyone who encounters issues.

If you are upgrading from a 10.1.0 beta release, you can use the incremental update notices:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/1/beta1_to_beta2.html
https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/1/beta2_to_10.1.0.html

A hierarchal index of all the FS web documents can be found at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/

10.1.0-beta2: Merge branch 'beta2_notes'

To: FS Users

From: Ed Himwich, Jon Quick, John Gipson, and Dave Horsley

Re: FS 10.1.0-beta2 available

This message announces the release of FS version 10.1.0-beat2. It is intended for testing by stations that have already upgraded to at least version 10.0.0.

The most significant changes since 10.1.0-beta1 are:

• Improvements in Core3H mask handling for the DBBC3 DDC_U personality, making it usable
• A method of setting the DBBC3 boot configuration for the Core3H boards from an observing schedule was added
• fmset was made safe for setting the RDBE time and VDIF epoch without having to use other commands
• Incorrect DOT times are shown in inverse video in the RDBE monitor window
• Arbitrary multiples of 1 MHz phase-cal spacing for RDBEs are now logged correctly
• erchk now has a control file to allow stations to customize its display of errors
• Many other improvements were also added

Details on these and the many other changes and installation notes for updating from 10.1.0-beta1 can be found at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/1/beta1_to_beta2.html

The full details of the changes and installation notes for updating from 10.0.0 are at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/1/10.1.0-beta2.html

A discussion topic for feedback on the 10.1.0 beta releases can be found at:

https://github.com/nvi-inc/fs/discussions//172

Please let us know about your experiences.

10.1.0-beta1

To: FS Users

From: Ed Himwich, Jon Quick, John Gipson, and Dave Horsley

Re: FS 10.1.0-beta1 available

This is a beta release of FS version 10.1.0. It is intended for testing by stations with version 10.0.0 installed.

Some of the significant changes in 10.1.0 are:

• FS and drudg support for DBBC3 racks.
• Streamlined onoff output for the operator to make it clearer what the program is doing.
• gnplt no longer duplicates trailing comments in .rxg files.
• A new drudg option e-vlbi_override in skedf.ctl to automatically change the recorder to none and remove /fila10g if present in the rack name, if the target_correlator VEX parameter includes e-vlbi (case insensitive).
• A new drudg option close_scan in skedf.ctl to make it easier to breakaway from one schedule to run another schedule for a short
  time and then return to the original schedule. This is useful for geodesy intensive schedules.

Details on these and many other improvements and bug fixes can be found in the update and installation notes at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/1/10.1.0-beta1.html

A discussion topic for feedback can be found at:

https://github.com/nvi-inc/fs/discussions//172

Finalize 10.0.0

To: FS Users

From: Ed Himwich, Dave Horsley, Jon Quick, and John Gipson

Re: FS 10.0.0 available

This is the official release of FS version 10.0.0. It is intended for use by all stations. The version represents the most extensive update in the FS for many years, hence we have incremented the major version number to 10.

The biggest changes are:

. The FS runs on both 32- and 64-bit platforms.
. The old main and VGOS branches are merged into one version.
. The code is maintained in git and distributed via github.
. Using the display server is recommended.
. The installation notes have been restructured and are available as web pages.

This version has been tested for three Linux distributions (FSL8, FSL9, and FSL10) and several hardware configurations (DBBC2, DBBC2/FiLa10G, RDBE, VLBA5, Mark 5B, Mark 5C, FlexBuff, Mark 6). Preliminary versions have been running successfully for several months at a few sites. However, there are some situations where operation hasn't been verified. Please test it carefully when you install it. We stand ready to help anyone who encounters issues.

The installation instructions for upgrading from an FS9 version are available at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/0/10.0.0.html

If you are upgrading from a beta release, the simplest path will probably be to review the steps in the FS9 document and make sure all have been covered. However, in this case, to fetch the source and build the FS, use the steps at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/0/beta3_to_10.0.0.html#_fetch_and_make_10_0_0

If you prefer, there are also incremental updates notices:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/0/beta1_to_beta2.html
https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/0/beta2_to_beta3.html
https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/0/beta3_to_10.0.0.html

These should be nearly complete, but may have some out-of-date steps. The formatting and style may not agree with that used in the final 10.0.0 notes.

The full list of changes in 10.0.0 can be found at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/0/changes_10.0.0.html

A hierarchal index of all the web documents can be found at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/

Finalize 10.0.0-beta3

To: FS Users

From: Ed Himwich, Dave Horsley, Jon Quick, and John Gipson

Re: FS 10.0.0-beta3 available

This is an update to the previous pre-release of the new FS version 10.0.0. It is not intended for production. It is intended for stations that are currently running versions 9.13.2, 9.12.x, 10.0.0-beta2 to use for Beta testing. We expect this to be the last pre-release before the official 10.0.0 release.

The most notable changes since beta2 are:

• Update notes are now available in HTML format,with clickable links, including in the table of contents
• The display server now builds for FSL8 (Lenny)
• Update to fesh for access to cddis with FTP-SSL/HTTPS and for access to other data centers
• Printed feedback from the 'lo' command about the matching .rxg file used for the LO
• Two fixes for unusual crashes in drudg
• Several other bug fixes and improvements

We hope that the change to the new format, and the coincident restructuring, of the update notes makes them more readable and useful.

The full list of changes since beta2 and instructions for updating from that pre-release can be found at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/0/beta2_to_beta3.html

The full list of changes since FS9 and instructions for updating from FS9 can be found at:

https://nvi-inc.github.io/fs/releases/10/0/beta3.html

The latter document also includes links to other upgrade documents, such as from beta1 to beta2.