Topcon recently won a bid to supply UNAVCO Inc. with 100 GB-1000 GPS+ receivers. Under a five-year contract, Topcon will also make GB-1000 receivers available to educational and non-profit organizations that are members of the UNAVCO community. UNAVCO extends a group purchase option to its members.

UNAVCO is a non-profit organization that supports and promotes earth science by advancing high-precision techniques, such as GPS, for the measurement of crustal deformation. UNAVCO is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA. Topcon's GB-1000 receivers will function as Campaign Receivers on and in support of NSF's EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) network. They will be used in combination with strainmeters and satellite radar imagery to measure and map geologic movements across faults, magma movement inside active volcanoes and wide areas of deformation associated with plate tectonic motion. Five Topcon GB-1000's were used to study the recent volcanic activity of Mt. St. Helens in 2004. More information about UNAVCO and the organization's activities can be found at the website: www.unavco.org.

Topcon's GB-1000 modular GPS+ receivers feature dual-frequency, dual-constellation technology, enabling access to both GPS and GLONASS satellites. The result is greater accuracy and operational capability on sites where sky views may be obstructed by trees or terrain. These features can be critically important at remote monitoring sites. The portability, reliability, and durability of Topcon's GB-1000 GPS will enable UNAVCO teams to quickly establish control for project study areas and rapidly deploy temporary reference stations in response to volcanic or seismic events.

Source: Topcon, June 27, 2005