VADM Crea has announced that President Obama plans to discontinue the LORAN C network to save money, and it has been part of the USCG for many years with lots of folks, so...How will this affect you? Useres and workers will be affected. I perssonaly enjoyed my year working the 9990 chain as a Seaman on Attu.

Soooo, does this mean "No more isolated Loran Sta instead of...actually going to sea to earn sea time?!" Doesn't matter to me, I have my 11 years sea time, at sea...

Are you saying that you can earn sea time from an isolated duty tour?

To be honest, I thought LORAN C was gone long ago with all the GPS systems out there.

I remember the transition from LORAN C units to the GPS. It was like night and day for accuracy.

Don

quote:

Originally posted by EMC_:
Are you saying that you can earn sea time from an isolated duty tour?

No, you do not get sea time. You could have potentially ask for a waiver of sea time to compete in a SWE. Although this was used but not for quite some time it was never a gimme and was turned down as often as it was approved.

Lots of fun times at Port Clarence Loran. Maybe the eskimoes will turn it into a new fish camp.

quote:

Originally posted by gsandman:

quote:

Originally posted by EMC_:
Are you saying that you can earn sea time from an isolated duty tour?

No, you do not get sea time. You could have potentially ask for a waiver of sea time to compete in a SWE. Although this was used but not for quite some time it was never a gimme and was turned down as often as it was approved.

Thanks,

I can see why in most cases it should be turned down. Isolated duty is a one year tour, unless you a glutton for punishment and do a double like I did. If you had a really good arguement and in addition to an isolated tour, maybe. I was sent overseas isolated with less than a months notice, and not requested. If I missed some sea time do to the needs of the Coast Guard, causing me to not advance, I could see it in that type of case. It is sad to hear the end of isolated duty tours is near. As tough as they were, they also had many interesting and fun times!

Who was the military strategist that bombed the LORAN site near Italy?

Was that Saddam or Khadafi? Maybe someone else.

Don

It was Libya that fired two Scud missiles at Lampedusa on April 15, 1986 in retaliation for the bombings of Tripoli and Benghazi. Both missed.

Don:

It was Khadafi as "retribution" for the air strikes we'd done on him earlier.

Ironically the CG at one time had a LORSTA in Libya itself (pre-Khadafi days of course).

Respectfully,
Surface Force

I guess that means no more OINC or XPO billets for ETs.

quote:

I guess that means no more OINC or XPO billets for ETs.

I think there are still some at COMMSTAs, but I could be wrong.

Sadly, I remember when the newer 82's got Loran C vs Loran A that the older 82's had. This was a serious improvement over what the 82's that had been sent to Vietnam had.

Now I have a $150 item that can tell me where I am on the planet within about 6 inches. There were times when I was on a 40' UT that I would have settled for being assured I was in the Western Hemisphere.

Ain't that the truth. We used LORAN A from Nova Scotia to New Jersey on the Snohomish, and the Point Hannon between Jonesport and Portsmouth Harbor. The weather ships used Loran A.

I grew up without electronics on 30s, 36s, 40s, 44s and the Swivel. I'm very happy to have the electronics of today.

Hmmmm, Station Attu, Station Port Clarence, Station St. Paul...

quote:

Originally posted by rbrayman:
Hmmmm, Station Attu, Station Port Clarence, Station St. Paul...

Station Sitkinak...

You use to get sea time for back to back tours.

Does anyone really believe they are getting rid of it though? They have been trying for decades. All the civilian, FAA and government agencies will have to find a new back up to GPS. What can they use?

Also it will take years to close these stations (if they do), and clean up the areas they inhabit. I don't think they will just shut it off all of a sudden.

The US still has a need of a backup system for the possibility of space based interuption by our enemies of our GPS network. Apparently eLORAN offers that redundancy. I recently read a Popular Mechanics article dated 2/27/09
"Inside the Government's Backup Plan for GPS Failure" that gives a general overview
I am sure that an ET could elaborate further.

I have three years of Loran A duty (probably the only guy alive that saw TWO operate rubidium oscillator failures ... Joe, have you seen that? ) and six years Loran C duty including one year as CO. Face it, it’s time to go!

And let’s hope no one messes with our satellites.

TJ,

I never had rubidiums on operational units. My only Loran-A station was Loran A/C Attu Island. Being A/C, the Cesiums set the frequency standard for that part of the world.

Right now, in Europe, the union doesn't want to rely on GLONASS nor GPS as their sole source navigation system.

Loran-C has been on the chopping block for the last 30 years. Even the person who sits atop the pyramid was told by an ETN2 when the CDR was coming out of ET "A" school that Loran was going bye-bye.

The sole source arguements will rise up. The ease of local jamming of GPS will resurface. Cooler heads will prevail. No one wants GPS, or satellite navigation, as the sole source. I've yet to see any electronic system that was perfect with zero defects. By the way, jamming GPS was discussed in 1991, so it's old news.

I have used Rubidium oscillators at when my shop picked up the contract to complete the LARE timer construction and deployment.

Loran-C is the best terrestrial based system we have. In a few years it will be completely unmanned and running just fine. You can increase the MTBF by executing some careful adjustments on the system, and like the lighthouses of yesteryear, there will be a caretaker only.