Both IRAM observatories participated in the Global VLBI session which took place during October 13th-18th, 2005. Pico Veleta started on time, but had to stop early on the 16th October due to bad weather.
Plateau de Bure observed with all six antennas for the whole duration (apart from a short break due to a snow shower, and observations on 3C237 and 3C274 on October 15th which were too close to the sun for Bure). The observatory was operating with the repaired CNRS maser.
Fringes from both observatories have already been confirmed from the correlator specialists at the MPIfR Bonn.
The observing schedule has become significantly denser since the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA) has completed the switch to Mark5A recording. This increases the fraction of pure observing time, but is also more demanding for the observing crews who have less time for instrumental calibration between VLBI scans. At both IRAM observatories, computer-based methods are being developed which assist the observers. The goal is to reduce the repetitive tasks while keeping a high level of interactive quality control.