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The inner \\(\\sim\\)200 pc region of the Galaxy contains a 4 million M\\(_{\\odot}\\) supermassive black hole (SMBH), significant quantities of molecular gas, and star formation and cosmic ray energy densities that are roughly two orders of magnitude higher than the corresponding levels in the Galactic disk. At a distance of only 8.2 kpc, the region presents astronomers with a unique opportunity to study a diverse range of energetic astrophysical phenomena, from stellar objects in extreme environments, to the SMBH and star-formation driven feedback processes that are known to influence the evolution of galaxies as a whole. We present a new survey of the Galactic center conducted with the South African MeerKAT radio telescope. Radio imaging offers a view that is unaffected by the large quantities of dust that obscure the region at other wavelengths, and a scene of striking complexity is revealed. We produce total intensity and spectral index mosaics of the region from 20 pointings (144 hours on-target in total), covering 6.5 square degrees with an angular resolution of 4\\(\"\\),at a central frequency of 1.28 GHz. Many new features are revealed for the first time due to a combination of MeerKAT's high sensitivity, exceptional \\(u,v\\)-plane coverage, and geographical vantage point. We highlight some initial survey results, including new supernova remnant candidates, many new non-thermal filament complexes, and enhanced views of the Radio Arc Bubble, Sgr A and Sgr B regions. This project is a SARAO public legacy survey, and the image products are made available with this article.

We present the confusion-limited 1.28 GHz MeerKAT DEEP2 image covering one \\(\\approx 68'\\) FWHM primary beam area with \\(7.6''\\) FWHM resolution and \\(0.55 \\pm 0.01\\) \\(\\mu\\)Jy/beam rms noise. Its J2000 center position \\(\\alpha=04^h 13^m 26.4^s\\), \\(\\delta=-80^\\circ 00' 00''\\) was selected to minimize artifacts caused by bright sources. We introduce the new 64-element MeerKAT array and describe commissioning observations to measure the primary beam attenuation pattern, estimate telescope pointing errors, and pinpoint \\((u,v)\\) coordinate errors caused by offsets in frequency or time. We constructed a 1.4 GHz differential source count by combining a power-law count fit to the DEEP2 confusion \\(P(D)\\) distribution from \\(0.25\\) to \\(10\\) \\(\\mu\\)Jy with counts of individual DEEP2 sources between \\(10\\) \\(\\mu\\)Jy and \\(2.5\\) mJy. Most sources fainter than \\(S \\sim 100\\) \\(\\mu\\)Jy are distant star-forming galaxies obeying the FIR/radio correlation, and sources stronger than \\(0.25\\) \\(\\mu\\)Jy account for \\(\\sim93\\%\\) of the radio background produced by star-forming galaxies. For the first time, the DEEP2 source count has reached the depth needed to reveal the majority of the star formation history of the universe. A pure luminosity evolution of the 1.4 GHz local luminosity function consistent with the Madau & Dickinson (2014) model for the evolution of star-forming galaxies based on UV and infrared data underpredicts our 1.4 GHz source count in the range \\(-5 \\lesssim \\log[S(\\mathrm{Jy})] \\lesssim -4\\).

The construction of the KAT-7 array in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape in South Africa was intended primarily as an engineering prototype for technologies and techniques applicable to the MeerKAT telescope. This paper looks at the main engineering and scien- tific highlights from this effort, and discusses their applicability to both MeerKAT and other next-generation radio telescopes. In particular we found that the composite dish surface works well, but it becomes complicated to fabricate for a dish lacking circular symmetry; the Stir- ling cycle cryogenic system with ion pump to achieve vacuum works but demands much higher maintenance than an equivalent Gifford-McMahon cycle system; the ROACH (Recon- figurable Open Architecture Computing Hardware)-based correlator with SPEAD (Stream- ing Protocol for Exchanging Astronomical Data) protocol data transfer works very well and KATCP (Karoo Array Telescope Control Protocol) control protocol has proven very flexible and convenient. KAT-7 has also been used for scientific observations where it has a niche in mapping low surface-brightness continuum sources, some extended HI halos and OH masers in star-forming regions. It can also be used to monitor continuum source variability, observe pulsars, and make VLBI observations

The African Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (AVN) is a pan-African project that will develop Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observing capability in several countries across the African continent, either by conversion of existing telecommunications antennas into radio telescopes, or by building new ones. This paper focuses on the conversion of the Nkutunse satellite communication station (near Accra, Ghana), specifically the early mechanical and infrastructure upgrades, together with the development of a custom ambient receiver and digital backend. The paper concludes with what remains to be done, before the station can be commissioned as an operational VLBI station.