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Free Base Station Data
  CompassTools Base Station
Our base station is located on the campus of Denver University in Denver, Colorado. You may access it using the internal Base Provider Selection options of Pathfinder Office or directly by going to: ftp://freeDGPS.compasstoolsinc.com
     

Base Station Facts:

  • Receiver: Trimble 5700 Dual Frequency
  • Antenna: Trimble Zephyr Geodetic with Ground Plane
  • Logging Interval: 5 sec correction measurements
  • File Format: Trimble DAT and RINEX
  • DAT File Naming: 06050117.DAT (06 -Year, 05 - Month, 01 - Day, 17 - Hour in GMT
  • Contact: J.D. Main
  • E-Mail Address: solutions@compasstoolsinc.com
  • File Archiving: Files are posted to the FTP site every hour. Files will be kept on the system for a period of at least one year.
 
Reference Coordinates
NAD 83 (CORS96 - Ep:2002.0000)
39 40 28.29695 N
104 57 47.69959 W
1631.036 m (HAE)
ITRF (Epoch:2006.3527)
39 40 28.31758 N
104 57 47.74222 W
1630.151 m (HAE)
Orothometric Height (Geoid03) 1648.145m (5407.3 ft)
 

Coordinate Discussions:

The Coordinates above represent an updated survey from June 26th, 2006. 10 separate dual frequency GPS data files were post-processed using the NGS OPUS site. Each file was a 12 hour AM or PM logging session spanning May 1st through May 10th, 2006. The results were geometrically averaged using Trimble Pathfinder Office. The coordinates encoded as the reference location in the base files themselves use the NAD83 (CORS96 - Ep:2002.0000) coordinate system.

The ITRF (2006 Epoch) coordinates are useful if you're interested in true global geodetics. The International Terrestrial Reference Frame is updated continuously from GPS sites all over the world. As plate tectonic action moves the continents around by a few centimeters per year, the ITRF folks update the whole coordinate system.

It is often asked what the relationship between NAD83, ITRF, and WGS84 really is. The NGS WEB Site has a good explanation: http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/faq.shtml

In short, if one were to take a GPS receiver, place it on a point, and let it average sufficiently long, it would resolve to a coordinate that we would call WGS84. However, it doesn't really make sense to talk about coordinates without specifying the time epoch involved. The surface of the earth moves due to plate tectonics - several centimeters per year in all different directions. WGS84, as defined by the broadcast ephemeris of the GPS, is from a 2002 Epoch which translates to WGS84 (G1150). To move coordinates forward and backward in time (should you wish to get really technical about your geodetics), use the NGS Horizontal Time Dependant Positioning (HTDP) at http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/TOOLS/Htdp/Htdp.shtml

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