Summary and Timescales

We have presented here various upgrades which we propose to make to improve the pointing and focussing performance of the JCMT. The major items of work are an improved inclinometry system, and mechanical modifications to improve the track itself. Various other lesser items are required to compliment these efforts. Once these improvements have been made, we will continue this work by investigating more subtle effects (such as the pointing model itself, the effect of receiver alignment), and will consider the possibility of a `real-time' inclinometry system.

We anticipate the following very rough timescales for the major items of this project.

• Start - July 1st 1992
• Specify requirements of inclinometers; demonstrate ability to meet these requirements - 3 months.
• Install new inclinometers and associated data-aquisition system - 2 months.
• Modify existing weather station software to log inclinometry data as required - 1 month.
• demonstrate ability of complete system to reliably and repeatably determine new track model - 1 month.
• design of antenna track leveling brackets - 2 months.
• manufacture of track leveling brackets - to be determined.
• installation of track leveling brackets - to be determined.
• modification and testing of improved focus procedures - 2 months.

Although a lot of these tasks can be performed in parallel, everyone involved in this project also has other duties. Thus it is likely to be at least a year before this project is significantly completed.

More detailed estimates and Gantt-style projections of effort and time-scales will be made as the project proceeds, and these will be made available to interested parties.