diff --git a/gdat.m b/gdat.m
index 883c7143e989482fa1033146f087a57c060576d0..72238b865b46977e0dcc249a84b4868d397b0068 100644
--- a/gdat.m
+++ b/gdat.m
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ function [trace,error,varargout] = gdat(shot,data_type,varargin)
 % optional arguments valid for all values of data_type (not passed on to loadMACHINEdata function):
 %
 % varargin{1}:  0 => no plot (default), 1 => plot 
-% varargin{2}:  machine name 'JET', 'TCV' (default)
+% varargin{2}:  machine name 'JET' , 'TCV' (default: JET or TCV, depending on where implemented)
 %
 % Additional input arguments for specific traces (passed on to loadMACHINEdata function)
 %
@@ -109,6 +109,8 @@ end
 doplot=0;
 if (nargineff>=3 & ~isempty(varargin{1})); doplot=varargin{1}; end
 machine='TCV';
+a=which('gdat');
+if ~isempty(findstr('osauter',a)); machine='JET'; end
 if (nargineff>=4 & ~isempty(varargin{2})); machine=varargin{2}; end
 
 % load data from specified machine