Local Ties at SLR Station Riga

Abstract

The SLR station Riga operates a SLR system within ILRS (Riga 18844401, DOMES number 12302S002) and a collocated GNSS system (RIGA00LVA, DOMES number 12302M002) within IGS and EUREF networks. The reference geodetic mark (DOMES number 12302M001) was used for the mobile SLR system MTLRS operation in 1991. Domes 12302M002 is situated on top of an historical time service building which sits directly on the bedrock. Both other points are placed on concrete foundations built more than 50 years ago. All these points are included in the ITRF database. The first full local ties set was determined in 1995 using a 6 h GPS session run using three GPS receivers. In 2018 three geodetic pillars were installed to improve the local geodetic network at the site. In January 2021, a multitechnique survey campaign produced a new set of local ties and reported to the ITRF and related services. The obtained results show that the local tie stability is at the subcentimeter level over a 25 years period. The true stability may be better, taking into account the measurement technology used in the first survey 25 years ago. But to verify it we need to do more surveys.

ETAM: Next Generation Event Timer for Picosecond-Precision Time and Amplitude Measurements

“…For instance, the Riga Satellite Laser Ranging station currently uses a Time Selector/Amplitude-to-Time Interval Converter (TS/ATIC) system [19]. The system splits the input signals in two parts; it then feeds one part to an Event Timer, and the other to a peak-detector based device for measuring the amplitude.…”

“…The measurement of amplitude for short pulses poses a significant technical challenge. To accomplish this, the Riga Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) station currently utilizes a combination of Event Timing technology and an Amplitude-to-Time Interval Converter (ATIC) [19,21]. The ATIC effectively converts the pulse amplitude into a proportional time interval, which can then be measured using an event timer.…”