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I WILD GOOSE ASSOCiA TlON

NEWS LETTER

I'lY24. 'I'he eixth annual Wild Goose Assocj.ation cowention i s eoheduled for - 12-14 October 1977 a t the Edgewater Inn, Seat t le , Washington. The theme of the convention i a nLoran-C Comes t o the blest Cdaat. The session on 13 October

1 be a t e u p r o , while the morning of 14 ~ c t o b e r w i U . be a specfal ' session oriented t o users as part; of Fish IExpo. Papers a r e so l ic i ted from both WGA membrs and non-~ambera that expand on the follotring theses:

1. West coast Loran-C service, chart,s and user requirements.

2. Uest coast t rans i t ion from Loran-A t o Loran-C. 3. Current Loran-C user experiences - marine, land

or a i r c ra f t . 4. Current Loran-C user equipxuent. 5. Conversion of Loran-A coordinste~, t o Loran-C.

I lease aend three copies of one-page abstracts of proposed papers t o the follcwing nddress by 1 June 1977:

M r . Daniel. A. Panshin Extension Oceanographer School of Oceanography Oregon Ste te University c o r k l l i s , OR 97331 -

Notification of acceptance may be exg,ectsd by 15 July 1977 and three copies of papers in final form w i l l be due by 1 October 1977. Papers w i l l be published by the Wild Gooae Association.

NOTE: ' Bev Hilbun is in the process of making t r ave l arrangements which will save as much n s $100 on the t r i p , providing you are able t o W e plans 30 days ahead of the convention. If you choose t o take advantage, a i r and hote l reservations w i l l have t o be made through her. Detailed inf onaation on thie item w i l l be i n the next Newsletter.

I=. K3ST COAST IDRAN-C UPDATE. - After many delays occasioned by such diverse factors aa weather, contmcting

problems, and s t r ikes , the U.S. West Coaat Loran-C chain (Fallon, Nevada; Searchlight, Nevada; Middletown, California; George, Washington) i s scheduled t o be declared operational i n April. 1977, The dats collection phase of an extensive cal ibrat ion effort has bsen cmpletcd and data reduction i a in its final stage. Calibration data was gathered from a coanbinatim of fixed monitor sites, mobile land measurements, el upboard data, and baseline extension f l ights . CameLat:ion between a l l sources wa: very high,

On March 1, 19'77, the North Pacif ic chain w i l l be reconfigured t o i t s new r a t e (GRI 9990), Narrow Cape, Alaska w i l l be added a s an operational s t a t ion and Sitkanak Island, Alaska w i l l be moved t o a new in terva l f o r use i n converting previouer Si tkamk - St. Paul time differences t o the Narrow Cape - St. Paul baseline before Sitkanak i s shut down an July 1 , 1977.

Calibration i s due t o begin fo r the Canadian West Coast chain (Williams M e , Bri t i sh Columbia, Canada; George, Washington; and Shml Cove, Alaska) and the Gulf of Alaska c h i n (Tok, Alaska; Shoal Cove, Alatska; and Harrow Cape, ~ l a s k a ) on March 15, 1977. These chains are now scheduled t o be opera- t i o n a l i n May an3 June respectively, although every e f f o r t i s being expended t o achieve an e a r l i e r date f o r f u l l service.

ITPEI. NEY SOUTlEAST U.S. AND NORTHUST U.S. CHAINS. - Work has begun on the second phare of the National Implementation Plan

t o expand Loran-C coverage t o the Gulf of Mexico (U.S. Southeast Coast a k i n ) and improve coverage on the U.S. East Coast (U.S. Northeast Coast Chain).

I n t h i s phase, the Southeast U.S. chain w i l l be formed by constmating new transmitting s ta t ions a t Malone, Florida ( the master and chain control s i t e ) , Grangeville, Louisiana v e Texas (the secondaries), and by d a b - ~ u 3 3 % ~ T 8 i d a (presently a secondary f o r the U.S, East Coast chain). U m e d monitor s i t e s w i l l be established a t Savannah Beaoh, Georgia; Eglin, Florida; and Sabine Pass, Texas.

The Northeast U.S. chain w i l l be formed by constructing a new transmitting s t a t ion a t Seneca, New Pork ( the master and chain control s i t e ) , by converting the Loran Test Fac i l i ty , Caribou, Maine in to an operational secondary, and by double-rating Nantucket, Massachusetts and Carolina Beach, North Carolina (presently a secondary and the master, respectively, f o r the U.S. E ~ a t Coast chain) . Unmanned nonit or s i t e s w i l l be located a t Southwest Harbor, k i n e ; Barnegat In l e t , Mew Jersey; Marblehead, Massachusett~s; and Savannah Beach, Georgia.

q u i p s e n t a t the new s ta t ions will consist of Megapulse so l id s h t e transmitters, Coast Guard timing and control equipment, and Aurrtran monitor receivers. Antennas w i l l be 700-foot top-loaded monopoles. Clearing and other s i t e work has begun a t most stations. The new chains a r e scheduled t o beome operatio& i n the of 197R, ~ft& a periijd of overlapping operation, ' t h e present U.S. East Coast chain w i l l be dieestabliahed, Dana, Indiana w i l l be added 'as a Hortheast U.S. secondary and Carolina Beach, North Carolim w i l l be added a s A Southeast U.S. secondary.

The l a s t phase of the National Implementation Plan w i l l es tabl iah a U.S. Great Lakes chain with Dana, Indiana as the master (double-rated) and control s ta t ion , Malone, Floridla and Seneca, New York a s double-rated secondaries, and a new secondary i n the v ic in i ty of Internat ional Fa l l s , Minnesota, Umaanned monitor s i t e s w i l l be located a t Muskegon, Michigan; Marblehead, Massachusetts; Eglin, Florida; and Savannah Beach, Georgia. This f i n a l phase is scheduled for completion i n 1988.

t .

The initial phage of the evaluation of the f eas ib i l i ty of using Loran* for all-weather precision navigation i n restr ic ted waters vas completed on Outober 8, 1976. The operation of the St , &rys River experimental chain (faar m m e d 100-watt peak-power transmitting s h t i o n e and one monitor s ta t ion) has improved steadi ly since its ins ta l la t ion i n January 1976. Two sets of user equipment, deraignated User I (Applied Physics Laboratory) and User I1 (Teledpe Systems Caupany) were tasted along selected portions of the river and vere demonstrated on board the Coast Guard Cutter NAUGAT[fCK, t o several prospective commercial users.

Significant t e s t resul t s include demonstration of the f e a a i u i t y of controlling the Lor& signala within a tolerance of 15 mnoseconds. D p a ~ i c tmts of the user equipment indicated position accuracies (2d RHS, 95%) whiah ranged frum within 30 t o 45 f ee t f c r User I and from 30 t o 75 f e e t f o r U m r 11. Chain avai labi l i ty , even i n the face of data link problemlr was 94$.

The evaluation i s being conducted by several Coast Guard f a c i l i t i e s . Theae include the Ninth Coast Guard Dist r ic t , Cleveland, Ohio; t h h and Development Center. Groton,Connecticut* the Electronics Engineering Center, Jilduood, New Jersey, and the Offices of dsea rch and Development, ard Zngineering a t Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C..

Future a c t i v i t i e s include the continued improvement of chain perforapaxee by the ins ta l la t ion of be t te r data l inks between otations, by the addition of hardware and software control and monitor equipment, and by developing more efflcient operating and maintenance procedures. The user equipent performance w i l l be Caproved and several independent effort8 are underway t o develop be t te r Lorsn-C receivers a s input sensors t o the guidance and positioning syatem. Operator interface impraverents are, a lso scheduled. Data oolleertion will

11 c a ~ ~ t i q e with special emplumis f i 5 g i i d t i o n Finally, a. user equipment performance improves, snccessively larger vesa s will be wed as t e a t beds f o r the demonstrations. The final goal of a l l aativit iets is t o prove the u t i l i t y of th i s oompact rmvigation syatem f o r precision guidance and navigation.

IlS4. The WGA presented its views on the USCG mileraking requiring Loran4 - rmeivers on all vessel8 1600 gross tons and over using U.S. porta a t the publia heering i n Yaehington on 4 Mar& 1977. 9116 WGA strongly conoarred w i t h tho IkXKi porrition and urged that the d u n g proceed expeditiously baered on a pnl in inary receiver description suumarin;ed as "an autoanatic acquisition, cycle aslection and tracking unit." $d XcGann presented the WGA position.

ct for a total of four solid-etate Mexico coverage

w h i c h w i l l allow the h a t Coast r ea l ignpn t GZ&-l9'?8.

ITEM. The USAF ~ o r a n - C / ~ mini-chain a t H i l l AFB is now equipped w i t h Pull w n k n capability following a r e t m f i t program by Megapulee. Captain Bodges

reports excellent operation of the a p t e n and reminds the Loran e o d t y of the ava i l ab i l i t y of t h i s capabili ty f o r qualified users.

I'RW. The USCG eolid-state t r a n d t t e r bu i l t by Megapulse and ins ta l led a t - the Uildwood Engineering Center oontinues t o perform very well, An open- howe i s being planned f o r WGA mesibere a t t h a t f a e i l i t y i n the near h t u r e . Captain Jim Culberteon and Captain B i l l Roland will coordinate t h i e aetirity and a p p l y fur ther information.

I'PBld. KlW PRODUCTS. - Rro new Loran4 receivers have recently appeared on the market. Vexilars ,

sodel 310 Loran4 i s a newly developed manual receiver. Employing a l l % o l i d s t a t e components, it ha8 a low power drew and u t i l i z e s cycle matching with a r e p a t a b i l f t y of 50 fee t . A chain plug assures of fool-proof seleotion stat ions, Two b u i l t i n notch f i l t e r s increases its r e l i a b i l i t y , Modular c i r d t board construction i s u t i l i m d f o r ease of maintenance and operational efmpliaitg.. Vexilar IHC, 9345 Penn Ave South, Minneapolis, MH 55431.

"Model U L o w - 0 fr ML Rav Jeffemon boasts f u l l y autonratic s ignal aczqui'ib?tion, and cycle and phase matching: Accuracy of be t t e r than 500 yds can be expected,md the &!J+ can acquire, track, and display as many a s f a r Loran lines of position, according t o *e manufacturer, The LOP a a r e dieplayed sequentially, following each other w i t h i n a few minutes on an LED six digit dieplay. An audible alarm a l e r t s t he navigator t o new readings, Featuring plug- i n o i r cu i t boards and c d a l antenna ca t~ le , the Model &!& Loran C operates on 10 t o 4017 DC and i s available with remote readout f o r bridge operation, List price f o r the 4.44 Loran i s $1995. Ray Jeffereon, k i n and Cotton Sts,, Philadelphia, PA 19127. "

ITW. Excerpts from the Federal Register, Vol 42, lo . 20, dated 31 Jan 77 - announced tha t DOT w a s conaidering an amendment t o the navigation safety reqtlfre~aent by adding IX)RgFJ-C t o the list of required equipment f o r veessla of 1600 gross tons o r more. It suggested 120 dap a f t e r publication of the rule f o r igplementatioln on tankers with other categories of vessels being staggered mt w e r a m e - p a r period. I n Vol 42, Ho. 33, dated 17 Feb 77 it was neted tha t the 31 Jan a r t i c l e inadvertemtly omitted dieuussion of the economic b p a c t and no mention wua made of minimum spscifioations for receivers.

The Coast Guard estimates tha t there would be no more than 800 U.S, and 5000 foreign flag vessels which might be affected by t h i s rule, Of those, it is e s t h t e d that 50 percent of U.S. and 20 percent of foreign f lag veasele already have LORAN4 receivers instal led. Therefore, approximately 400 U.5. and 4000 foreign f l ag vessels would have t o w e and i n s t a l l the eauimeent. Purchase costs range from $2000 t o $5995,. Ins ta l la t ion coets vary from about

- '$2000 t o $5000. For purposes of t h i s anulysie, it is asatamed tha t purrrlnase cost i s $3500 and ins ta l la t ion $3500, tha t the amortization period would be seven years, and t ha t the ins ta l led cost would be paseed t o U.S. consumers i n seven equal increments. The economic impact on the 1J.S. economy f o r the first year would be the cost of the ins ta l led equipllent fo r 1J.S. vessels, plus 1/7 of the intatalled cost t o a l l v e s a e l s . One seventh of the cost t o al lveslaela would be pasrsed t o U.S. conamers i n each of the mcceeding six yeare. The i n i t i a l cost to foreign vessels i s not considered a cost 4 0 the 7.25. econosy."

The a r t i c l e goes on t o point out lha t cost of compliance t o U.S. econasag! over the seven year period would be $33.3 million. It compares th i e t o the annual

s p i l l clean up costs of $30 t o $35 million dollars. It a lso points out that:

"The Coast Guard is developing minimum specifications f o r L1)RAH-C receivers which could use the fill capabili ty of the IORAN transmitting system and w i l l publish them i n a supplemental notice i n the near future. Interested parties may submit comments concerning minimum standards t o the docket a t t h i s time or at the echeduled public hearingset'

ITEM. Director Change. Ed Durbin of Kaiser Electronics has resigned h i s post - on the Board of Directors of the WGA beceucle of business commitments. M r . P a t J. Reynolds of Pan America-1 has heen mmed t o replace Ed whose term runs through 1978,

ITEM. Honker Dave Haislip will be preserting a paper a t the OffShore - Technology symposium t o be held i n Mexiccf City on 9-10-11 March 77.

I'lB4. Bumper s t icker received f ron D. JchnrtDn i n Germany "LORAN D Folks - Show Fighter P i lo t s Where t o Put I%."

ITEM. T'here i s a c a l l f o r papers for the "International Conference an Elec- - t r o d c S,ystms and Navigation Aids," t o ts held i n Par i s i n October of 1977. For fur ther infomation, pleaae contact:

JOHN 14 .r. BBUKERS Beukers Ls bs , Inc . 30 Orville Drive Bohemia, W.Y. 11716

ITW. Lzpel Pins. - "liepeat ITEM. WGA T ie ~ack,/LEtpel Pins, Leo Fehlnar and his awards

c o d t t e t s have h.td subject p ins designed and manufactured, They are the o f f i c i a l emblem with blue e w e 1 background and t h e etching i s i n e i ther gold or s i lver . They u i l l be available a t the Convention f o r $3.00 each (cmr cost). If you w a u l d l i k e t o order one by mail, please send $3.35 t o cover mailing costs t o Mr. Keith Bruhl, 31 10 Saber Drive, Fa l l s Church, VA 22044."

I The 9th Coast Guard District i s preparing a d ra f t environaental statement - f o r the proposed Northern Minnesota MIRAN-C transmitting station. Three s i t e s have been evalusted. Tentative s i t e s a re located i n Koochiching County and Labe of the Woods County, Mim. Construction and completion is anticipated before the end of 1978 and f u l l y operational by Feb 1980. Based on a ser ies of public moetinge, the dAmft environmental would be dis t r ibuted i n l a t e 1976 and t h a t f i n a l statement would be f i l e d with the Council on Environmental QueLity i n March or Ap7-il 1977. Source: Federal Register, 11 Wov 76, FR M) Z 7 L :+404O.

ITEX. "Oregon Sta te Universits has received a $91,800 Sea Grant_ award from - the Caast, Guard f o r a study aimed ht mininizini problems f o r mariners convertinrr .- t o the new, national loran-C navigation system, -The year-long study w i l l be conducted by Associate Professors D ~ n i e l A. Panshin and R. Charles Vars. One of the purposes of the study i s t o determine the benefits and the problems t o

mariners of ewitching from the present loran A navigation system t o the laore accurate, longer-range loran C system. Costs t o the mriner, a s well ae, the ava i l ab i l i t y of shipboard equipment and navigation charts w i l l a l so br, e d n e d . Mariners from Alaska t o southern California on the West C o a s t , along the G u l f of Mexico, and on the East Coast f r o m Maine to Florida w i l l be contacted i n this nationwide survey. Loran A service i s scheduled t o be phaaed out i n 1979 and 1980 as loran C coverage becomes available. A two-year overlap of t he two systems w i l l enable mariners t o s h i f t over t o loran C,"

ITQI. Get Well Notices. Early February, fellow honker Connie Pannell (Sparr~r) -I accidentally walked through a p la te glass a t t he Colonial Hilton Motel on Route 128 i n Boston, He suffered a severe cut i n the upper l eg and vas hospitalised f o r weeks i n Boston. bJe understand he will be off work f o r 6 weeks, bat also mnderstand t h a t he i s progressing very well.

In early February another honker, Norm Dickerson (WOM) , while pulling one of h i s children on a abed i n his back yard, slipped and f e l l on the ice, He suffered a break of the l a a h leg bone close to the hip. We hear he has had several complications which kept him hospitalized f o r 4 weeks. I talked t o Norm last week and he expected t o get out of i so la t ion t h a t day and allwed t o go home soon.

A speedy recovery i a wished f o r both of you.

ITEM. Coast Guard Ad Hoc Working Group -- Loran-C System Specifications.

Held f irst meeting a t 1330 on 3 F e b m r y 1977. In attendance were:

CAPT J .F. CULBERTSON G-EEE, Chairman MR. D.T. HAISLIP G-WAN CDR W . G . WALKER G-WAN, Vice Chairman MR. E. BREGSTONE G-EEE LCDR W.E. JONES G-EEE

MI. %REGSTONE suggsated developing a "tree" covering a l l the various aspects of the Loran4 System Specifications for review before trying t o prepare a specif icat iap format -- he w i l l have his suggestions f o r t h i s on paper by Monday, 7 February.

., The Ad Hoc Group understands t ha t its work is concerned with the Loran4 System Specifications and not with the developnient of Loran-C receiver specif icntions,

HR. BREOSTUNE suggested t h a t one of the - f i r s t items t h a t should be devel- oped f o r possible use/publication before the specifications are ready i s that concerned with the description of charting t o be available t o usem. F'urther- more, he recommended that the specifications be prepared f o r two levels -- one the user/laylsan and the other the technician/engineer (ntaking fuU. use of appendicee f o r technical de ta i l ) , He pointed out t h a t the speeificatiemcs have t o be viewed RB being useful t o many d i f fe rent people a l l looking a t Loran4 from a d i f fe rent angle. Receiver designers, monitor technicians, users, system engineers, etc., - a l l have t o make use of the nspecifications.n

(Ed. ~ o t e ) Schedule aspirations a re working d ra f t by 10 April, second d ra f t 1 June and f i n a l by 1 August. This e f fo r t w i l l be coordinated with the IJOB specifica.tion c d t t e e a s w e l l as other interested parties.

ITEM. W.E. Chapter. On 8 March 1977, the N.E. Chapter luncheon meeting was - attended by 23 area Honkers. The meeting was hosted J i m Hendersm and Hsnk Hilbun of ASEC who reviewed the ASEX ac t iv i ty on the USCG, St. )iaryte, River program. Again on 8 h&, a meeting was held a t the A i r Poz=ue8e LORAN Program Office (Hosts Cnpt Ban* Gresaang) with an attendance of 28. Both meetings were met with friendliness and enthusiasm. It appears that the 11.8. Chapter b e struck the r ight cord on loca l meetings. Congratulationarl

ITS!. Excerpts from Congressional & Intni-Dept. Liaison Committee, Ij_

E. HcGann, K. Bruhl.

"C'ong. John Murphy has been named Chairman of the f u l l Meruhanat Marine C d t t e e of the House of Rep. and w i l l pirobably take chairmanship of the Merchant Marine S l l b o d t t e e , Cong. Biaggi w i l l most probably retain CG a rd lb iga t ion Submmittee. (AS of report date, subconunittee assignments were not finalined). V i s i t s wen, made i n January t o both 0fficc3s.~

"The flavg i s conducting t e s t s i n the Gulf of Mexico i n February on d i f f e r e n t i d Omega. A s long as this i s f o r t a c t i c a l purposes, w e can have no objection, but if there i s any inference t o use as a Nooastal confluencen system, the WGA m a t take a fonnal position w i t h t he Secretary's of DOT and the Ravy (or DOD) and object t o ac t iv i t i ee not i n compliance d t h national p o l i d e s already i n existence."

nFinally - a review of the implementation plans f o r the CCZ @how very def in i te holes such as Fuerto Rico, Hawaii, Gurun and the Alaska North-Slope, I n aaple areas Loran-A might be out off without having Wn available. The UOB should i n s t i t u t e a program t o see that; no US coastal area is excluded from the implementation plan i f necessary by b ~ i n g i n g the f a c t tha t they could be t o the proper leg is la t ive r e p r e s e n t a t i ~ e . ~

I m . Pour Nl!MSmER EDITOR, a f t e r 30 p a r s with the U.S. - ha8 decid.ed t o ahange the scenery. LLOYD plans t o r e t i r e fr on 8 April 1977 and plans t o continue worlcing as a private c

NOTE FROM I'RE W94BERSHl.P COMMITTEE:: If you have not paid your 1 977 dueo , - please send $7.50 t o the Chairman, L.D. Higginbotham, 4 Townsend Road, ~ o t o n , MA 01720. An individual b i l l ing wi l l be forthcoming soon.