Loran rises from the dead!

L

Larry H

New member
Brats,

It appears that the Loran Nav system is not going to die!!

Here is a link to the info.

http://tinyurl.com/3ckzv7

Anybody still have a working Loran receiver? Loran is a pre-GPS land based radio system for Loran receivers to find Lat-Lon positions.
 
Yep, I still have a redundant Loran C system along with my GPS.

Don't need either here on an inland lake I've been on for 55 of my 65 years!

I asked and was told almost 10 years ago that they wouldn't turn off the Loran system because so many commercial mariners already had the system and were using them as a redundant reference aboard ship.

Looks like we've come full circle!

Joe. :thup :teeth
 
dogon dory":2j724nal said:
Sounds like they've recognized how dependent all forms of navigation have become on GPS and what a civil calamity it will cause if/when they turn GPS off for national security purposes (which means we're afraid someone is launching missiles at us).

Prediction: next step will be a requirement for all commercial vessels to have redundant GPS/Loran systems.
Click to expand...

And one more reason for good paper chart backups on board!! :thup

Charlie
 
I think the NDB (aircraft) system was suppose to retire some 20 years ago and its still here. Almost, No government program ever dies no mater if its good, bad or indifferent.

Roger

Larry H":79a5d2hf said:
Brats,

It appears that the Loran Nav system is not going to die!!

Here is a link to the info.

http://tinyurl.com/3ckzv7

Anybody still have a working Loran receiver? Loran is a pre-GPS land based radio system for Loran receivers to find Lat-Lon positions.
Click to expand...
 
Too too funny! Is this real or fake? What's next?

"As an additional national security measure, DHS will next be issuing sextants. The enhanced sextant program, or eSextant, will assure the nation's security in the event of a failure of BOTH GPS satellites AND eLoran radio transmitters, at least on clear nights... "
 
flrockytop":37ox8v43 said:
I think the NDB (aircraft) system was suppose to retire some 20 years ago and its still here. Almost, No government program ever dies no mater if its good, bad or indifferent.
Click to expand...

Non-current commercial/multi/instrument pilot with 4,000+ hours in the cockpit... from the days of NDB approaches. I always thought the ADF receiver in a plane was for listening to AM radio, and considered an NDB approach to minimums as a near "emergency procedure". :wink:

We had an IFR certified loran (pre-GPS) that had a button for the 10 nearest airports and one of those fancy "moving map" displays.

Whippersnappers these days have it so easy... why, back in my day... :mrgreen:
 
I actually had and ADF on one of my first boats. Pre-loran C. or at least affordable loran-C I had a loran A receiver but didn't have a boat big enough for it to fit on. We would find a hot fishing spot an get three or four lop's to mark it. It worked pretty well. Especially when you were the only guy out there with something like that. All these modern electronics has made it too easy.

Roger

JamesTXSD":3ek0ptaq said:
flrockytop":3ek0ptaq said:
I think the NDB (aircraft) system was suppose to retire some 20 years ago and its still here. Almost, No government program ever dies no mater if its good, bad or indifferent.
Click to expand...

Non-current commercial/multi/instrument pilot with 4,000+ hours in the cockpit... from the days of NDB approaches. I always thought the ADF receiver in a plane was for listening to AM radio, and considered an NDB approach to minimums as a near "emergency procedure". :wink:

We had an IFR certified loran (pre-GPS) that had a button for the 10 nearest airports and one of those fancy "moving map" displays.

Whippersnappers these days have it so easy... why, back in my day... :mrgreen:
Click to expand...
 
I noticed that the Sitex Color Max series of Chart plotters all have an eLoran option complete with the antenna and coupler for an extra $350 to $435 per chart plotter. (sizes of the screen from 5" to 15").

The agreement to further develope enhanced Loran (e Loran) was formulated about 5 years ago. $120 million was appropiated in 2004 for the beginnings of this update.

Loran C was very good for repeatablity--and this repeatability is why many fishermen still rely on Loran C. However because of differential transmission characteristics between land and sea areas, it was not as good with over all accuracy. The eLoran is susposed to be accurate from 8 to 20 meters--still not as good as WAAS, GPS.

I am not sure that the traditional Time Delay, Lines of position will be necessary on the paper chart:-That adds another layer of difficulty for the person who is learning navigation by traditional methods, because the Lat Long will be displayed on traditinal chart plotters.
 
I had and used a Loran C receiver from about 1988 til I upgraded to GPS in about 1995. They work unless you are too close to a transmitter. Since there is a transmitter at Alert Bay in BC, when close to that area, the position put you about 1 mile northeast of your actual position.

Canada determined corrections for their narrow channels and those corrections were automatically applied in my Interphase Loran.

Since China has now developed the ability to shoot down satellites, I think a land based navigation system is a good idea.
Canada did not want to close down their system and be dependant on the whims of the US military.
 
I was with the Seabees in the 50's when MCB-7 built Coast Guard Loran Stations on San Salvador, Caicos, and Grand Turk. The Coast Guard supported us with a little LCVP and a small two engine amphibious plane. Are those bases still manned?
 
As someone who never has, and probably never will, have anything to do with Loran, here's a suggestion: if you order any "print on demand" charts, request that the Loran lines be suppressed. You won't believe how this cleans up the chart, and removes what is nothing more than a distraction to most mariners.
 
I, too, never bought a Loran unit and ran for two years (Lake Erie to Keys and Bahamas and back) on something called DR! Sure hope they don't outlaw that for national security reasons!

Back then the early GPS units had just come out, cost thousands of dollars and were about the size of a large console TV.

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
Valkyrie":2ovi35i5 said:
I, too, never bought a Loran unit and ran for two years (Lake Erie to Keys and Bahamas and back) on something called DR! Sure hope they don't outlaw that for national security reasons!

Back then the early GPS units had just come out, cost thousands of dollars and were about the size of a large console TV.

Nick
"Valkyrie"
Click to expand...

DR??? You mean you would trust something with the term DEAD in it to get you where you're going??? :shock: Oh, wait a minute... maybe you meant Doctor? Yeah, that's it - we can all follow Dr. Bob to the Bahamas! :mrgreen:
 
My dad used to have a loran receiver in his Cessna 182 some 25 or 30 years ago. It saved my bacon once or twice when I got caught VFR on top flying around Northwest Alaska. I guess It makes sense to keep the redundancy of both land and satellite based systems. In 1992 I was living in Monrovia, Liberia during the early years of their civil war. I remember one night when the Loran station there, which was located on the outskirts of Monrovia was overrun by rebels (Charles Taylors forces). The Intercon security guard at the Loran station was describing the rebels attack, and asking for assistance (which wasn't coming). The guard companies chief, a retired U.S. Marine kept telling him to destroy his radio and hide until the rebels left the area. I guess he hid all right, but he never did destroy the radio. We sat up on the embassies roof watching the loran station burn, and listened to him calling for help all night. I guess they had some big fuel tanks out there, 'cause it lit up the horizon pretty good.
 
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