The VISA II (Visible to Infrared SASE Amplifier) project, a consequent experiment to the succesful VISA enterprise, entails the use of a chirped electron beam to drive a high gain SASE FEL. The resulting ultra-short pulses will be characterized using an advanced FROG (Frequency Resolved Optical Gating) technique, as well as a double differential spectrum (angle/wavelength) diagnostic. Implementation of sextupole corrections to the longitudinal aberrations affecting the high energy-spread chirped beam during transport to the VISA undulator is studied. Start-end simulations, including radiation diagnostics, are discussed. Initial experimental results involving a highly chirped beam transported without sextupole corrections, the resulting high gain lasing, and computational analysis are briefly reported. 334 2005 Particle Accelerator Conference /home/httpd/docserver/releases/20080613005430/public/paper/file/644/andonian_2005_644.pdf andonian_2005_644.pdf 3 644 FEL, VISA 3 2005 644 FEL 2007-10-16T15:49:51-07:00 2005