  Global 21-cm experiments require exquisitely precise calibration of the
measurement systems in order to separate the weak 21-cm signal from Galactic
and extragalactic foregrounds as well as instrumental systematics. Hitherto,
experiments aiming to make this measurement have concentrated on measuring this
signal using the single element approach. However, an alternative approach
based on interferometers with short baselines is expected to alleviate some of
the difficulties associated with a single element approach such as precision
modelling of the receiver noise spectrum. Short spacing Interferometer
Telescope probing cosmic dAwn and epoch of ReionisAtion (SITARA) is a short
spacing interferometer deployed at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory
(MRO). It is intended to be a prototype or a test-bed to gain a better
understanding of interferometry at short baselines, and develop tools to
perform observations and data calibration. In this paper, we provide a
description of the SITARA system and its deployment at the MRO, and discuss
strategies developed to calibrate SITARA. We touch upon certain systematics
seen in SITARA data and their modelling. We find that SITARA has sensitivity to
all sky signals as well as non-negligible noise coupling between the antennas.
It is seen that the coupled receiver noise has a spectral shape that broadly
matches the theoretical calculations reported in prior works. We also find that
when appropriately modified antenna radiation patterns taking into account the
effects of mutual coupling are used, the measured data are well modelled by the
standard visibility equation.
