[RVRC] Loran is making a comeback......

[Marvin Bronstein]

LORAN.....LOng RAnge Navigation is making a comeback.....

(There are movements in the U.S. for eLoran.......http://www.insidegnss.com/node/3853)


  The UK General Lighthouse Authorities (GLA) have announced that they have installed a system called eLoran in seven ports across Britain.
  The GLA say many critical instruments on ships use Global Navigation Satellite Systems, and if they fail the consequences could be disastrous.
  The new system, which is ground rather than satellite-based, is designed to be used in the event of a GPS failure.Until now, there has been no "Plan B" if GPS goes wrong, but the GLA says eLoran will be an important tool.The technology was developed during World War Two.
  The Long Range Navigation system (Loran) was the brainchild of US scientists and was used to guide US Navy warships as battles raged in the Pacific.After the war ended, it was updated and renamed Loran-C, and adopted by mariners around the world - until GPS took over.
  Now though, rebranded as eLoran, its infrastructure has been upgraded to make it more accurate and it is making a comeback.
  While GPS transmitters are based in space, eLoran's are based on the ground.

  The General Lighthouse Authorities have finished installing eLoran in seven ports along the east coast of Britain, completing the first phase of their roll out. It is now in place in Dover, Sheerness, Harwich and Felixstowe, Middleborough, Leith, Humber and Aberdeen.

  For now, eLoran is being tested for shipping, but it could also play a role on land for the vast array of systems that use GPS. 
  The US Coast Guard is busy decommissioning the existing eLoran infrastructure. And in Europe, the governments of Norway and France have said they will cease operations next year.


  GPS jammers are available online from as little as 30 Pound sterling, and resilience to such attacks is essential for the safety and security of shipping and trade. Ships that are fitted with eLoran receivers will automatically switch to the system when GPS signals are lost, receiving position, navigation and timing (PNT) information which will allow them to proceed safely.
  The UK is the first in the world to deploy this technology for shipping companies operating both passenger and cargo services, with rollout initially approved by the UK Department of Transport in 2013. Full operational capability covering all major UK ports is expected by 2019.