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GPS Campaigns - Monumentation - Tech 2000 GPS Antenna Mast
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Tech 2000 GPS Antenna Mast
The Tech 2000 mast (Tech2K) is a portable, fixed height antenna monument for campaign GPS surveys. It was designed to be used in place of a tripod/tribrach and offers several significant advantages over a tripod/tribrach system. Most importantly, the Tech2K featuresfixed antenna heights. The basic design consists of an aluminum mast composed of 1-3 sections, an arrow tip at the base of the mast, a 5/8" antenna thread at the top of the mast, and three chains under tension that connect the upper part of the mast to anchor points in the ground. The arrow tip is inserted directly into a benchmark's central point and the mast is secured and leveled by adjusting the tension of the chains.
Three mast heights are possible depending on the number of mast segments installed during setup: 0.6574 m, 1.1574 m or 1.6574 m. For the vast majority of surveys, two segments are used and 1.1574 m is referred to as the mast's "standard" height. The mast is leveled in the same way a rotating optics tribrach is leveled, the only difference being that turnbuckles on the chains are adjusted instead of knobs on the tribrach. The Tech2K has been used successfully in a variety of climates and environments, from the tropics to Antarctica. The most recent version of the mast has a metallic green finish and incorporates features and specifications based on nearly ten years of field deployments. |
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Pros:
- Fixed antenna height - a big advantage over the traditional tripod/tribrach
- More stable and robust than a tripod/tribrach
- Very compact and lightweight
- Consistent setup - the mast
is always centered as it is in physical contact with
the benchmark
- Level assembly features four bubbles for redundancy to ensure more accurate levelling
- Typically less than half
the cost of a traditional tribrach
Cons:
- Anchor points for mast stabilization can potentially be troublesome to install
- Requires hammer drill for installation
- Many parts to lose! (chains, chainlinks, turnbuckles, anchorpoints, arrow tips)
Required Materials, Tools, etc.
The following is a basic list of materials and tools needed for a Tek 2000 installation:
Mast kit:
- 3 mast segments
- level assembly
- antenna shaft
- collet
- chain coupling ring
- 3 chains
- 9 open chain links
- 3 closed chain links
- arrow tip
- Anchor hardware (lag bolts, eye bolts, stakes or threaded rod)
Tools:
- adjustable wrench
- hammer drill
- sledge hammer (if using eye bolts or stakes for anchor points in loose substrate)
Drawings and Phots:
The total cost for the mast kit is approximately $600
Last modified Tuesday, 13-Dec-2005 03:52:00 UTC
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