GPS Installation in the Eastern United States

Overview

March 14, 2008

In late April 2008, a crew of three field engineers from the Basin and Range and Rocky Mountain regions of PBO conducted a 6000 mile road trip from Salt lake City, UT through the southeastern US and back, and completed the installation of three permanent GPS stations in Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. P777 in Arkansas and P778 in Tennessee were installed on privately held land with abundant rock of good quality but heavy tree cover, which made finding suitable locations challenging. In North Carolina, P779 was installed at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI), a non-profit research organization that houses both optical and radio telescopes, in addition to other earth science instrumentation. The internet connection for data communications at P779 was accomplished via a pair of optical fibers, making it the only station in PBO serviced by fiber optics directly to the equipment enclosure.