Solar storms spell trouble for GPS

Jim Macklin wrote:
BFD, All those radios are called Aids to navigation for a
reason, they are conveniences. CAL found Paris with just a
compass and a chart.

Well, he did have to ask directions.

But the fishermen didn't answer.



"cjcampbell" wrote in
message
ps.com...
|
| Jim Macklin wrote:
| BFD, All those radios are called Aids to navigation for
a
| reason, they are conveniences. CAL found Paris with
just a
| compass and a chart.
|
| Well, he did have to ask directions.
|

Larry Dighera wrote:

How was such a clash missed? Because GPS receivers only became common
during a period of low solar activity. By 2011 solar flares will reach
the peak of their cycle and receivers will likely fail. Or so
Alessandro Cerruti of Cornell University, New York, told a meeting of
the Institute of Navigation in Fort Worth, Texas, last week. The only
solution would be to redesign GPS receivers or satellites, which may
not be practical, says Cerruti.

GPS's Y2K, perhaps?

--
Peter

"Peter R." wrote in message
...
Larry Dighera wrote:

How was such a clash missed? Because GPS receivers only became common
during a period of low solar activity. By 2011 solar flares will reach
the peak of their cycle and receivers will likely fail. Or so
Alessandro Cerruti of Cornell University, New York, told a meeting of
the Institute of Navigation in Fort Worth, Texas, last week. The only
solution would be to redesign GPS receivers or satellites, which may
not be practical, says Cerruti.

GPS's Y2K, perhaps?


Digging through old files on the hard drive reveals this:

Y2K Sale
FOR SALE - Cheap!
One 55-gallon drum of heating oil
Ten 55-gallon drums of water
10 cases of Poptarts
50 cases of canned fruits and vegetables
40 boxes of tampons
10 cases AAA batteries
One cow
One shotgun (with shells)
One pair night-vision goggles
One seven ton portable concrete bunker (lead-lined)
Will consider trade.

On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 07:53:16 -0400, "Peter R."
wrote in :

Larry Dighera wrote:

How was such a clash missed? Because GPS receivers only became common
during a period of low solar activity. By 2011 solar flares will reach
the peak of their cycle and receivers will likely fail. Or so
Alessandro Cerruti of Cornell University, New York, told a meeting of
the Institute of Navigation in Fort Worth, Texas, last week. The only
solution would be to redesign GPS receivers or satellites, which may
not be practical, says Cerruti.

GPS's Y2K, perhaps?

Perhaps the European or Russian GPS systems operate in a frequency
band that won't be affected by solar flares. But, they may have other
issues:


http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/12_2...ml?CMP=OTC-RSS

July 20, 2006

European GPS System Hacked Email this article |Print this article
By Mary Grady, Newswriter, Editor

When the Europeans who are working to develop their own GPS
system stalled on a promise to release the signal code to U.S.
researchers, a team at Cornell University decided to figure it out
for themselves. "Even Europeans were being frustrated," said Mark
Psiaki, leader of the Cornell engineering team. "Then it dawned on
me: Maybe we can pull these things off the air, just with an
antenna and lots of signal processing." He did just that, and
published his results in the June issue of GPS World. But while
the U.S. system is taxpayer-funded and its signal is free, the
Europeans intend to sell the signals from their Galileo satellites
to recoup some of the $4 billion cost. Psiaki says it won't work
to try to copyright the data. "Imagine someone builds a
lighthouse," he said. "And I've gone by and see how often the
light flashes and measured where the coordinates are. Can the
owner charge me a licensing fee for looking at the light? ... No.
How is looking at the Galileo satellite any different?" The
Galileo system is scheduled to enter service by 2010.


Hopefully, the new US GPS will address the solar flare issue:


http://www.informationweek.com/news/...leID=177103423
U.S.-European GPS Rivalry Heats Up

A U.S. official on Wednesday will unveil a next-generation GPS
system that the government promises will provide more commercial
features. The current GPS network has focused on military
requirements, but now the Europeans are readying Galileo.

By George Leopold Anne-Francoise Pele
EE Times

Jan 24, 2006 11:19 AM

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is raising the bar in its growing rivalry
with Europe over global positioning technology.

A U.S. official on Wednesday (Jan. 25) will unveil a
next-generation GPS system that the government is billing as
providing more commercial capabilities. The current GPS network is
controlled by the U.S. military, and civilian capabilities are
deliberately degraded out of security concerns.

The Commerce Department said Deputy Secretary David Sampson will
unveil the new system at a next-generation GPS forum hosted by the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The upgraded system will include a
second civilian GPS channel "enabling significant improvements in
accuracy and reliability," the department said in a statement.

Executives from General Motors, IBM, Lucent Technologies and
Trimble Navigation are also scheduled to appear at the GPS forum.
Also attending will be members of the U.S. GPS Industry Council
along with state officials and university researchers.

The U.S. move follows recent milestones in Europe, where the
European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) are
readying its GPS entry, Galileo. On Jan. 12, ESA's Giove-A test
satellite broadcast its first signals from Earth orbit. The
navigation satellite was launched on Dec. 28 from Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazahstan.

Giove-A, which stands for Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element,
will test frequencies allocated for the Galileo constellation by
the International Telecommunications Union.

ESA and the European consortium building Galileo signed a 950
million euro ($1.167 billion) contract on Jan. 19 to complete the
second phase of the European GPS project. The partners have agreed
to develop and construct the first four satellites in the planned
26-satellite Galileo constellation. Construction is scheduled to
be completed by 2010.

The third phase will include launch of the entire Galileo network.
Total cost is estimated at 3.6 billion euros ($4.42 billion).


But there is always this issue: http://gbppr.dyndns.org/PROJ/mil/gps/

Larry Dighera writes:

The current GPS network is controlled by the U.S. military, and
civilian capabilities are deliberately degraded out of security concerns.

This deliberate degradation (Selective Availability, or SA) was
eliminated years ago.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

So much for the rampant decomissioning of VORs NDBs
and LORAN, not to mention the NDB approaches that were
trashed because they are "useless" now that we have GPS.

"ktbr" wrote in message
...
So much for the rampant decomissioning of VORs NDBs
and LORAN, not to mention the NDB approaches that were
trashed because they are "useless" now that we have GPS.

Interference that would cause a deterioration in the GPS system would
do...what?, to the LORAN and NDB's?

Matt Barrow writes:

Interference that would cause a deterioration in the GPS system would
do...what?, to the LORAN and NDB's?

Much less than it does to satellites, although nothing using RF energy
is immune.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 12:36:06 GMT, ktbr wrote in
:

So much for the rampant decomissioning of VORs NDBs
and LORAN, not to mention the NDB approaches that were
trashed because they are "useless" now that we have GPS.

Good point(s). It really renews one's faith in our government. :-(