The first convoy of 3 trucks carrying BIMA pedestals traveled from Hat Creek to Cedar Flat on Sep 30/ Oct 1, 2004. Here are some photos taken by Dick Plambeck, who followed the convoy. Many thanks to our truckers (Mickey, Darren, and Al) and pilot car drivers (Ray, Larry, and Tex) for making the journey safely.

  1. Hooking up the trailers at Hat Creek, 4:30 a.m. Sep 30.
  2. Repairing scooter bars in Susanville. Scooter bars are lengths of PVC pipe that (ideally) arch gracefully over the load. When we encounter a low-hanging phone or TV cable wire (these can be as low as 14'; our loads are over 17.5'), the truck proceeds slowly under it. The wire slides over the scooter bars and bounces off the back undamaged. Our first set of scooter bars shattered when they nicked a metal railroad crossing sign on highway 44. It took about 2 hours to repair them.
  3. Accelerating back onto US-395 north of Reno after exiting to clear the overpass.
  4. Maneuvering against traffic to clear low-hanging traffic lights near Reno.
  5. Tex in his pilot car.
  6. Cruising along I-80 east of Fernley.
  7. Refueling in Hawthorne, NV. This was our overnight stopping point.
  8. Predawn start from Hawthorne on Oct 1.
  9. Retying those doggone scooter bars again, intersection of NV-360 and US-6.
  10. Repairing snagged phone line on NV-264, Fish Lake Valley. The one time the scooter bars failed.
  11. Winding over Gilbert summit, CA-168, about to drop into Deep Springs Valley.
  12. Grinding up CA-168 toward Westgard Pass from Deep Springs.
  13. Cedar Flat at last!
Click on the thumbnail to retrieve the full resolution photo (about 1 Mbyte each)
Hooking up the trailers at Hat Creek, 4:30 a.m. Sep 301 Repairing scooter bars in Susanville after we nicked the railroad crossing signals on Highway 442 Accelerating back onto US-395 north of Reno after exiting to clear the overpass3 Maneuvering to clear low-hanging traffic lights near Reno4 Tex in his pilot car.5 Cruising along I-80 east of Fernley, NV6 Refueling in Hawthorne, NV7 Predawn start from Hawthorne, NV, Oct 18 Retying the scooter bars, intersection US-6 and NV-3609 Repairing snagged phone line on NV-264, Fish Lake Valley10 Gilbert Summit, CA-168, about to drop into Deep Springs Valley11 Grinding up CA-168 toward Westgard Pass from Deep Springs12 Cedar Flat at last!13
more trucker photos...

Five more trucks arrived at Cedar Flat on the afternoon of October 1, 2004. Here is a panorama of Cedar Flat that evening showing 8 trailers with BIMA pedestals parked around the central array area. Click on the picture to retrieve the full resolution panorama (2.3M)

Cedar Flat panorama
Oct 5, 2004 - The ninth pedestal arrived at Cedar Flat yesterday. Today all pedestals were offloaded onto cribbing to await the arrival of the reflectors and the new bases. We began about 7 am and finished by early afternoon.
  1. Setting up the rigging.
  2. Offloading a pedestal.
  3. Perfectly level! Jim Morgan, Bigge Crane.
  4. All 9 pedestals offloaded in the central array area.
Click on the thumbnail to retrieve the full resolution photo (about 1 Mbyte each)
Setting up the rigging.1 Offloading a pedestal.2 Perfectly level. Jim Morgan, Bigge Crane.3 All 9 pedestals offloaded in the central array area.4
Oct 13, 2004 - The first convoy of reflectors travels from Hat Creek to Fallon, NV, on its way to Cedar Flat. The reflectors are 21 feet wide, so the Highway Patrol closes off sections of road to allow the trucks to pass. Here are some photos taken near Reno.
  1. Negotiating a tight traffic circle just off highway 395.
  2. Two trucks on the traffic circle.
  3. Dandini Blvd, Reno in the background.
  4. Pyramid Lake.
Click on the thumbnail to retrieve the full resolution photo (about 1 MByte each)
Negotiating traffic circle just off highway 395.1 Two trucks on the traffic circle.2 Dandini Blvd, Reno in the background.3 Pyramid Lake.4

Oct 14, 2004 - The first convoy of reflectors arrives safely at Cedar Flat. Photos by Curt Giovanine.
  1. First dish squeezes by fiber trenches near the future control building.
  2. First dish enters the central array area.
  3. Two dishes parked at central array.
Click on the thumbnail to retrieve the full resolution photo (about 0.7 MByte each)
1st BIMA dish passes by control building site.1 First dish reaches the central array area.2 Two dishes parked at central array.3

Oct 18, 2004. Nine BIMA pedestals and six reflectors at the central array area.

Click on the thumbnail to retrieve the full resolution photo (about 1 MByte each)
1 2 3