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Two 26 Meter Radio Telescopes for Long-Term Monitoring Programs and Surveys

J. Donald Cline (PARI), Michael W. Castelaz (PARI), and Anna Castelaz (Webb Institute)

Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute is a not-for-profit public foundation that operates two 26 m radio telescopes. The telescopes are separated by 300 m on a nearly east-west baseline. The two alt-alt mounted 26 m radio telescopes have been completely refurbished with new motion controllers for precise pointing and tracking. The telescopes have completed a period which includes repeated observations of radio sources at 1420 MHz to improve pointing accuracy. The pointing models include parameters such as orthogonality of the axes, east-west axis orientation, and flexure. We present the results of the pointing models that have produced a factor of 10 improvement. Also, the prime focus assemblies will be described. The radio telescope on the west edge of the baseline has a 6.7 GHz receiver that occupies the center of the focal plane and a 1420 MHz receiver that is offset 20 arcminutes from the center. The eastern 26 m radio telescope has a 327 MHz receiver for pulsar research. The focus assemblies are rooms about 3 m on a side and contain power, fiber optics, and multiple coax signal cables which provide reconfiguration flexibility of multiple feeds and electronics assemblies.