Release Note for Configure Version 7.9. 24-October-2007

This minor update re-enables the fiber locking utility, which allows
users to "import" a "lock" file which lock fiber to particular
targets in a field, but allows others to be reconfigured.  This
utility is useful when one ones to re-observer a subsection of a field
(perhaps the faint targets) while adding new targets, but without
loosing any of the original objects.  It is an "Expert mode" option.

Release Note for Configure Version 7.8.

V7.8 was found to be in error after to assigning a version number and
was never actually release.

Release Note for Configure Version 7.7. 20-December-2006

A new utility program "set_fibre_state" has been added to the
distribution.  This code allows the user to modify the fibre
availability file, in order to prepare files for Nod+Shuffle
observations and to allow the selective deallocation of individual
fibres.  For full documentation on this tool, which most users will
NOT (and indeed should not) need to use, is available on request for
the AAOmega instrument scientist (Rob Sharp - rgs@aao.gov.au).

Release 7.6 introduced multi-threaded generation of the fibre
collision matrix and added the Expert user "on-the-fly" allocation
algorithm.

A bug has been found in the "Generate Sky Grid" routine which creates
unusable sky grid positions (by setting the configure wavelength to
inappropriate values).  the Release 7.4 corrected this error.

Release Note for Configure Version 7.0., the first major release for
AAOmega, are also included at the end of this document.

Changes implemented in Version 7.0
----------------------------------
This is the first public release of Configure ti use the new
Simulated Annealing configuration algoritham.  A version which
implements the origional "Oxford" is also included.

The GUI display has been altered to show a bar graph of the results of
an allocation.

For information on the new routine, see :

http://www.aao.gov.au/AAO/2df/aaomega/aaomega_SAconfigure.html

and Papers by Brent Miszalski:

arXiv:astro-ph/0607125

To run the software, download the tar file and unpack:

tar -zxvf configure-7.7.Linux.tar.gz 

Set the environment variables

tcsh
setenv CONFIG_FILES /path/configure-7.7.Linux/data_files/

download the latest_config_files from the ftp site (into the
data_files directory)

and then run configure with :

configure-7.7.Linux/configure    --- For the Simulated Annealing code

or 

configure-7.7.Linux/configureTrad  --- For the origional "Oxford" algoritham


Changes implemented in Version 7.0
----------------------------------

When using the AAOmega system, there are now 8 guide fibres per field
plate.

There are 392 science fibres per field plate.

There are now 3 field plate options.  The 2dF top end system only has
two field plates, Plate 0 and Plate 1, which each have 392 science
fibres and 8 guide fibres.  There is a field Plate 2 option in
Configure7.0.  Field Plate 2 is a hybrid of the system.  It has the
maximum number of 'broken' fibres, having those from Plate 0 and Plate
1.  When configuring with Plate 2 the tolerances of fibre position are
increase to ensure that the configuration produced will be fully valid
on BOTH Plate 0 and Plate1.  This feature is intended for special
fields, such as standard star frames, and should not be used for
general configurations due to the loss of fibres and positioning
efficiency.

AAOmega is a dual beam spectrograph, but is essentially only a single
spectrograph.  All fibres are allocated to both arms of the
spectrograph.  This is distinct from 2dF where 200 fibres where
allocated to each of 2 spectrographs, each with only one arm.
Differential atmospheric effects mean that it is important to specify
the central wavelength for which fibres should be positioned on the
sky.  For a target list with multiple science goals it may be
desirable to configure targets optimised at different central
wavelength.  This mode is not yet implemented and all fibres are
configured for a single central wavelength.  Therefore, target types in
the in the .fld file of P1,P2 and P are identical at this time.

Any questions regarding this release of configure should be
addressed to Chris Ramage cr@aaocbn.aao.gov.au or to
Rob Sharp rgs@aaoepp.aao.gov.au