LORAN; the passing of an era

S

Sea Angel

New member
LORAN is shut off and another era passes.

If anyone would want a Micrologic, SUPERSPORT LORAN, portable receiver, with extra battery pack and adaptor, etc. ; please let me know. It was fully functional when the transmitters were shut down.

Could there still be a need in Canada or Alaska?

I just don't want to set it out in the trash. There is something so wrong about throwing away "good" equipment. I guess it is like owning an old
rotary telephone from 1950 without a plug-in to the central station.

Art
 
Don't throw that Loran away yet.

U.S. To Shut Down Loran-C; eLoran Plans Uncertain
By: Andrew Wood

January 19, 2010
Government, Avionics


The U.S. Coast Guard and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, announced earlier this month that loran-C stations in the U.S. will be progressively shut down between next month and October. The U.S. considers maintaining its loran station network, costing $36 million per year, unaffordable.

But UK and European authorities are retaining their loran stations as the foundation for the future eLoran, now under development, which automatically tracks every loran transmitter within 2,000 miles and, like GPS, selects the best signals for navigation. Unjammable eLoran is seen as an essential GPS backup should anyone use powerful handheld jammers to overcome GPS signals.

Specialists suggest that computer chip-size eLoran units inside GPS receivers would instantly feed the FMS should GPS be lost, and switch out when the signal returns. While loran transmissions will cease in the U.S., industry observers urge against loran station removal–a costly task involving demanding EPA site restoration standards–so that eLoran eventually could be introduced in the U.S. as a protective anti-jamming shield against GPS signal attacks as aviation moves into a totally satnav environment.
 
My understanding is that Loran c recievers are not compatable with the Loran e. The US technology is very old, as is the equiptment. You would need new recievers. I don't see that happening here at any time soon. Too bad, even though I have not used Loran C for about 25 years. I occasionally used it when we had Sat Nav, but the necessity for specific charts when cruising was a problem, and Europe was mostly on DECA.
 
It's my understanding is that the transmitters will transmit the same signal as those Loran's receiving Latitude & Longitude numbers. They are working on a chip for GPS units that will take over if the GPS is knocked out.

Some of those new loran transmitters have already been installed. The new transmitters are much more sophisticated don't require the maintenance of the old units.

Bill
 
Bob;
This old SUPERSPORT LORAN would give the either the TDs or the Lat./Long. data to nav by. I bought it in 1994.

I always found it interesting when I ran a track with the LORAN between 2 WPTs that the track was not a straight line, but had a curve to it even for a short 3 mile leg. It seemed that they had a slight hyperbolic chacteristic. I must say though that the "returnability" to a WP seemed more accurate than the GPS at that time.

A guess I won't have to be concerned abt that any more.

Time to start to look for that brass sextant I've always wanted. It will be more accurate than my present LORAN. :roll:

Art
 
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