why not all gps?

how long till the vor/ndb system is decomissioned and everything goes
to gps?

dan

("houstondan" wrote)
how long till the vor/ndb system is decomissioned and everything goes to
gps?


Right about the same time our sun decides it wants to throw an
all-decade-long solar flare party.

Yes, with flair. After all, it's a party!


Mont-blackhole-theory ...#84
It was them there sun spot flares what killed off Dino.

Don't hold your breath, Dan... The FAA is still installing new ILS
systems... Ours at HYX is now a month old.. (oops, it's now HQW but
old habits, and old charts, die hard) It has occurred even to the
bureaucratic closed mind, that a single terrorist with a GPS jammer
could wreak havoc on a stormy night, a solar storm could wipe out GPS,
etc... Loran will be around for a long time also, same reasons (just
to head off that discussion) One basket for all your eggs is always a
risk...

denny

K
Montblack wrote:
("houstondan" wrote)
how long till the vor/ndb system is decomissioned and everything goes to
gps?


Right about the same time our sun decides it wants to throw an
all-decade-long solar flare party.

Yes, with flair. After all, it's a party!


Mont-blackhole-theory ...#84
It was them there sun spot flares what killed off Dino.

"Denny" wrote:
Loran will be around for a long time also, same reasons (just
to head off that discussion)

You must be joking. In the marine world, Loran is long dead. I don't
think I've seen a loran receiver on a boat in 5 years.

In aviation, there are still a few sets around, but only because the cost
of upgrading to GPS is so absurdly high. Gradually, however, those are
getting replaced too. Eventually, all avionics fail, and few people would
invest real money in fixing a Loran receiver these days. Even assuming you
can still get them serviced.

There certainly are people (http://www.loran.org/) who are pushing to keep
the technology alive, and they do make some valid points about system
redundancy. The reality, however, is that there is little or no market for
it anymore. What good does it do to maintain a backup system if nobody has
the equipment to receive the signal any more? I'm sure Loran will manage
to find funding for another few years. Maybe even 10. But it's clear that
its going the way of Omega, the four-course range, and the dodo bird.

I think I saw a Northstar M1 Loran listed on Ebay for $1. Apparently the
open market doesn't value LORAN so much either. Of course, I have one in
my plane. But I never use it.

KC

yup, here it is...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/M1-NO...spagenameZWDVW

Roy Smith wrote:
"Denny" wrote:
Loran will be around for a long time also, same reasons (just
to head off that discussion)

You must be joking. In the marine world, Loran is long dead. I don't
think I've seen a loran receiver on a boat in 5 years.

what got me wondering is that i'm reading taylor's INSTRUMENT FLYING
(4th ed.) and he states a couple of times that the maintenance for
these sites is not being budgeted beyond 08 or 10 or some such. that
book is now several years old tho. i do like the idea of redundant
systems of course (heck, i fly with 4 gps units and an outside antenna
equipped handheld radio).


dan



Kevin Clarke wrote:
I think I saw a Northstar M1 Loran listed on Ebay for $1. Apparently the
open market doesn't value LORAN so much either. Of course, I have one in
my plane. But I never use it.

KC

yup, here it is...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/M1-NO...spagenameZWDVW

Roy Smith wrote:
"Denny" wrote:
Loran will be around for a long time also, same reasons (just
to head off that discussion)

You must be joking. In the marine world, Loran is long dead. I don't
think I've seen a loran receiver on a boat in 5 years.

On 2006-10-04, Kevin Clarke wrote:
I think I saw a Northstar M1 Loran listed on Ebay for $1. Apparently the
open market doesn't value LORAN so much either. Of course, I have one in
my plane. But I never use it.

On a long quiet XC segment I asked ZSE if they knew the LORAN GRI for
my area, because I had powered up my old LORAN and was not getting a
lock where I thought I should. At first he didn't know what I was talking
about, then he just didn't know the answer, and neither did anyone around
him.

I should look into getting a used GX55 to slide in place of it.

--
Ben Jackson AD7GD

http://www.ben.com/

I don't understand why GPS navigators (esp. panel mounts) only use GPS
data for navigation. The question is esp. strong in the case of units,
like the Garmin 430/530, which also include a VOR receiver.

Why not have a navigator use multiple sensors? The unit could report on
RNP available, which would be higher given WAAS and lower if only VOR (or
LORAN) signals were available.

- Andrew

I have an II Morrow and use it all the time. On cross countries I use the
"nearest" function to give me a display of where I am to report to ATC.
Yeah, I could press the "nearest" button on the GPS, but I like having the
redundancy. I am amazed at how close loran agrees with the GPS. Usually
within a fraction of a knot and less than .1 nm. But the loran's coolest
feature is the way it flashes all the display segments when you turn it on.
Plus, it scrolls through the all functions and looks great.

I have never lost lock with the GPS, even with the little antenna attached
to the unit. But it's nice to know there's something else there besides the
radios and a chart.

"Kevin Clarke" wrote in message
ink.net...
I think I saw a Northstar M1 Loran listed on Ebay for $1. Apparently the
open market doesn't value LORAN so much either. Of course, I have one in my
plane. But I never use it.

"Denny" wrote in message
ups.com...

Loran will be around for a long time also, same reasons (just
to head off that discussion) One basket for all your eggs is always a
risk...


I'm surprised LORAN is still around at all given the lack of interest in it.