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NAIC/AO Newsletter No. 19
After the panels were installed a video photogrammetry system was used to set the surface accuracy to a little over 1 mm rms. Provided that there was no significant movement of the surface during the lift this accuracy will be satisfactory for initial operations. Construction of the tertiary reflector has been completed at the contractor's plant and it will be shipped to the observatory in early June. It will be assembled and installed by observatory personnel.
In addition to the dome assembly and lift, construction work has continued on the suspended structure. The repositioning of the elevation rails is 75% complete and the replacement of the azimuth rails and the hangers (the steel plates that attach the azimuth ring girder to the upper platform) has begun. The major remaining tasks are the repositioning of the girder holding the elevation rack gear, the installation of the masts and booms of the new platform tie down system, and the final alignment of the elevation and azimuth rails.
The new servo drive system for the dome, carriage house I, and the azimuth has been delivered to the observatory. The azimuth system will be installed in early June, then the elevation systems in July, once the elevation rack gear girder has been repositioned. Control systems for the dome receiver room rotary floor, the tertiary reflector, and the tie down system are under construction by NAIC personnel.
Factory acceptance tests for the 1-MW S-band (2.38-GHz) transmitter were completed in May and the transmitter is currently being packed for shipment to Arecibo with arrival expected in late June.
Installation is expected to take approximately sixteen weeks. The 2.5-MW turbine generator that will provide prime power for the transmitter has also been delivered and is currently being installed.
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