LOFAR Development Newsletter
The LOFAR Development Newsletters
LOFAR Development Newsletter July 2025
At the end of June, we reached a major milestone: the dismantling of the Dutch LOFAR1 stations is now complete, and all stations have been equipped with LOFAR2.0 subracks.
LOFAR Development Newsletter May 2025
Thanks to the careful preparation, hard work, and a bit of luck with the nice weather, the upgrade of stations from LOFAR1 to LOFAR2.0 is steadily progressing.
LOFAR Development Newsletter October 2024
Good news: LOFAR1 has been switched off! This may sound contradictory, but this milestone allows us to prepare the telescope for the arrival LOFAR2.0 early next year.
LOFAR Development Newsletter December 2023
The year 2023 is almost over. Time flies when you are having fun! TMSS is in full production, much to the delight of Operations as it works like a charm! The Station team has made a final sprint in the last months of 2023.
LOFAR Development Newsletter September 2023
A waterfall of exciting developments, that’s how I would characterize the last three months: The LOFAR2.0 Test Station (L2TS) works like a charm, L2TS data is arriving at COBALT, the first pulsar has been observed, all timing distributor hardware has been delivered, we can control the L2TS through TMSS, and so on.
LOFAR Development Newsletter July 2023
LOFAR2.0 is more tangible than ever. The first complete test station is a fact, white rabbit hardware has been delivered, and the call for proposals has been published!
LOFAR Development Newsletter May 2023
We are proud to present a new edition of the LOFAR Development Newsletter. A lot is happening right now, so this edition is fully packed with good stuff!
LOFAR Development Newsletter March 2023
I want to start by giving a warm welcome to team Ruby. From January 2023, the LOFAR software development teams Red and Gold merged into the new sparkling team Ruby. In team Ruby, software developers from ASTRON, INAF, GLOW, and soon also FLOW, collaborate on new software for LOFAR.
LOFAR Development Newsletter December 2022
Fantastic news! The ILT Board approved the purchase of LOFAR2.0 hardware for 52 of the 54 stations (including BG and IT) plus spare parts. The ILT Board also agreed to collaboratively purchase hardware for the remaining two stations such that they can be upgraded as soon as funding is in place.
LOFAR Development Newsletter September 2022
For many people, summer is a time to relax, and I hope you managed to have a break as well. We had very dry and hot weather during the holiday season in the Netherlands. While most of us were desperately trying to keep the heads cool, some of us were bravely verifying the LOFAR2.0 design with the Dwingeloo Test Station.
LOFAR Development Newsletter July 2022
LOFAR2.0 is getting its final shape and the new station hardware is now tangible. In May we celebrated the inauguration of the Dwingeloo test station (DTS). As you will see from the contributions in this Newsletter, the first test results of the DTS are very encouraging!
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter April 2022
It's a beautiful time. The covid measures have been released, enabling us to meet each other in person much more frequently at the office. It's great to have these spontaneous conversations with colleagues again, giving new energy and inspiration.
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter February 2022
This LOFAR2.0 newsletter is bursting at the seams with highlights. It's fantastic how we continue to improve LOFAR together, and how enthusiastic the users are to start using those improvements!
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter December 2021
The last two months we have celebrated many successes: The first prototype subrack is flashing in the lab, the LOFAR4SW project reached the Critical Design Review (CDR), and the first dynamic spectrum with the new LBA RCU was observed, using software delivered by the Station Control team. Well done!
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter September 2021
I hope you had a good and relaxing summertime. The Timing Distributor team definitely did not relax and managed to pass the Critical Design Review (CDR) in August! Congratulations to all who contributed to this success!
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter July 2021
Over the last couple of weeks, I had several discussions with astronomers on future instrumentation. It is great news that green light has been given for the construction of the SKA, which will provide new and unparalleled capabilities to the science community.
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter May 2021
Welcome to the May 2021 edition of the LOFAR2.0 Newsletter in which we share recent highlights of the LOFAR2.0 development. My highlight for this edition is that the ILT Board approved the outcome of the LOFAR2.0 down scope, bringing our ambitions and our resources back in balance.
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter March 2021
Voila, here is the first LOFAR2.0 newsletter of 2021! It promises to be an exciting year for LOFAR2.0: In the Dwingeloo Test Stations (DTS) the LOFAR2.0 hardware, firmware and software will be linked together, and tested in the field for the first time.
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter December 2020
The year 2020 is already nearing its end. It has been a very different year from what we were used to. Fortunately, we have found new ways to keep in touch and to continue our activities.
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter September 2020
Many of us enjoyed a well-deserved summer leave. I hope you had a good and relaxing time. In the meantime, work on LOFAR2.0 design steadily progressed.
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter July 2020
I concluded the previous newsletter by saying that I miss you. Well, I still do! At the same time, I would like to make you a huge compliment on how you managed to adapt to working from home!
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter May 2020
We live in strange times that we never experienced before. Things that were obvious a couple of months ago are now uncertain.
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter March 2020
After a relaxing end of year period, the LOFAR2.0 development is in full swing again. It is fantastic to see the commitment and progress over the breadth of the system.
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter November 2019
As very briefly announced in the previous Newsletter, an important milestone has been passed: Congratulations to the Station and Timing Distributor team for passing the Preliminary Design Review (PDR)!
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter September 2019
LOFAR2.0 is now in full swing: An enormous amount of work has been delivered over the last couple of months. A lot of work went into the preparation of the Station and Timing Distributor (TD) PDR and the LOFAR4SW mid-term review this week.
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter June 2019
Welcome to this new edition of the LOFAR2.0 Newsletter, which aims to inform everybody involved in the development of LOFAR2.0 about what is going on in the Program.
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter April 2019
Welcome to this edition of the LOFAR2.0 Newsletter. A special welcome to the people from INAF who joined the team to work on the Receiver Unit (RCU).
LOFAR2.0 Newsletter December 2018
In the year 2018, we have seen the birth of the LOFAR 2.0 program. Today, the number of activities in the program is still growing and we expect to further ramp-up the efforts significantly in 2019.