Allen Instruments Blog

May 21 Edition of the ACSM Radio Hour

bstull — Wed, 16 May 2012 03:31:56 +0000

Be sure to join host Curt Sumner for the ACSM Radio Hour (www.americaswebradion.com) on Monday May 21 at 10:00 AM EDT to hear the perspectives of Chuck Karayan on topics including: education of the profession (“college” and “continuing”); Absolute vs. Relative positioning; and the trend toward over-reliance on technology rather than professional analysis.

Chuck Karayan’s tenure in the surveying profession spans 50 years, and includes time spent in both the private and public sectors, as well as providing continuing education courses for professional surveyors. He is the owner of GeoLex Consulting Services, and is a senior lecturer (adjunct) at the University of Wyoming Outreach School, teaching courses in Coastal Water Boundaries and Inland Water Boundaries.

LightSquared, Failed Wireless Venture, Files Bankruptcy (Update 1)

bstull — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:57:51 +0000

LightSquared Inc. filed for bankruptcy after its plan to deliver high-speed wireless to as many as 260 million people ran afoul of U.S. regulators.

LightSquared, based in Reston, Virginia, listed debt and assets of more than $1 billion each in a Chapter 11 filing today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. The filing came after intense negotiations with creditors, who had requested that the company’s backer, Philip Falcone, step aside.

To read the entire article please select the following link:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-14/lightsquared-failed-wireless-venture-files-for-bankruptcy.html

NavSTAR Satellite Outage

bstull — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:31:47 +0000

NOTICE ADVISORY TO NAVSTAR USERS (NANU) 2012032
SUBJ: SVN35 (PRN30) FORECAST OUTAGE JDAY 139/2100 – JDAY 145/2100
1. NANU TYPE: FCSTMX
NANU NUMBER: 2012032
NANU DTG: 112215Z MAY 2012
REFERENCE NANU: N/A
REF NANU DTG: N/A
SVN: 35
PRN: 30
START JDAY: 139
START TIME ZULU: 2100
START CALENDAR DATE: 18 MAY 2012
STOP JDAY: 145
STOP TIME ZULU: 2100
STOP CALENDAR DATE: 24 MAY 2012
2. CONDITION: GPS SATELLITE SVN35 (PRN30) WILL BE UNUSABLE ON JDAY 139
(18 MAY 2012) BEGINNING 2100 ZULU UNTIL JDAY 145 (24 MAY 2012)
ENDING 2100 ZULU.

Real-Time, Precise Data Will Serve Professionals in the Redlands Community

bstull — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:21:43 +0000

Redlands, California—May 08, 2011—Esri recently installed a GPS base station to assist its GIS developers and to support surveyors, engineers, scientists, and those in public works and public safety in the community surrounding the Esri campus in Redlands, California. The base station, named GISA, has been accepted by the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) and incorporated into the national Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) network.
“GPS, originally designed as a US Department of Defense system, has become part of everyday life, with the technology in all types of devices from smartphones to shipping containers,” said Brent Jones, Esri surveying and engineering industry manager. “The Esri GPS base station is a great benefit to the community, as professionals can use it in surveying and positioning to achieve accurate locations in real time.”
Mounted on an Esri owned building in Redlands, GISA operates a Trimble NetR9, dual-frequency GPS/GNSS receiver with Zephyr Geodetic Model 2 antenna. GISA broadcasts real-time GPS/GNSS data on the Internet in industry standard Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) formats, which allows GPS users to obtain real-time centimeter positions. The City of Redlands allowed access to the Redlands Municipal Airport for testing of GISA. Allen Instruments and Supplies of Anaheim, California, performed a terrestrial laser scan of the GISA site to ensure that satellite signals would not be obstructed by the built and natural environment around the station.
GISA stores GPS and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals in data files on a secure Esri server accessible to the public via the Esri website gnss.esri.com.

About Esri
Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS technology, Esri software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world’s mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at esri.com/news.

Esri, the Esri globe logo, GIS by Esri, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products or services mentioned herein may be trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of their respective mark owners.

Press Information
Contact: Jessica Wyland, Esri
Tel.: 909-793-2853, extension 1-3345
E-mail: press@esri.com

Geomagnetic Storm Warning

bstull — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:06:49 +0000

SUBJ: IPS GEOMAGNETIC DISTURBANCE WARNING 12/09 ISSUED AT 2314UT/06 MAY 2012 BY THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE.
INCREASED GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY EXPECTED
DUE TO CORONAL HOLE HIGH SPEED WIND STREAM FROM 09-10 MAY 2012 _____________________________________________________________

GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY FORECAST
09 May: Unsettled to active. Isolated minor storm levels possible.
10 May: Unsettled to active. Isolated minor storm levels possible.