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 March
2009
The end of the line for Loran? European inland radio rules pose problems for UK boaters Perham dumps NKE pilot 31
March:The
end of the line for LORAN? A single,
strongly-worded sentence in President Obama’s first budget proposal
seems to
spell the end of Loran C. Describing it as an “outdated
system”, the budget points out that shutting it down this
year could save $36million in 2010, and $190 million over the next five
years. Loran
enthusiasts are surprised and disappointed by this development. Loran’s
future had
seemed secure after last year’s budget transferred responsibility for
the
system from the Coast Guard to the National Protection and Programs
Directorate
(NPPD) – along with an annual operating budget of $35million and nearly
300
staff. At the time, the move was said to be “in
preparation for conversion of LORAN-C operations to Enhanced LORAN
(eLORAN).” And the
2008 Federal Radionavigation Plan, which was published only a couple of
months
ago, also referred to Loran C stations being converted to eLORAN. The
conversion, it said, would provide “an
independent, dissimilar complement to the GPS that will allow properly
equipped
users to retain PNT (positioning, navigation, and timing) service in the event of GPS disruption.” But the
simple facts of the matter are that in the past ten years, Congress has
allocated just $160 million to begin the conversion to eLORAN, and that
it
might well take another $400 million to finish the job.
Without an up to date and operational Loran system in the USA, no-manufacturer in their right mind is likely to produce Loran receivers – which means that there will be no users able to benefit from recently-completed European Loran system that is due to be declared fully operational next year! photo copyright CambridgeBayWeather
copyright terms 12 March: European inland radio rules pose problems for UK boaters  Discrepancies between UK and
European rules about the
use of VHF radio threaten to make life a little more difficult and
expensive for any UK boat-owners who intends to venture into the
European inland waterways.At the heart of the problem is a document known as the Regional Arrangement concerning the Radiotelephone Service on Inland Waterways – bizarrely abbreviated to RAINWAT – which was agreed by an international Quango almost ten years ago. The RAINWAT rules aren’t terribly onerous if you look at them in isolation. The trouble is that they directly contradict a number of other rules. In particular: • DSC is virtually compulsory under EU type-approval rules but is illegal under RAINWAT • ATIS (Automatic Transmitter Identification System) is compulsory under RAINWAT but is illegal under the terms of a UK Ship Radio Licence. In the past, European authorities haven't seemed particularly concerned by UK recreational craft that didn't conform to the letter of the RAINWAT rules. Over the past couple of years, though, a few unlucky boaters have fallen foul of overzealous officials. This year, the problem seems set to get a lot worse, with the announcement that the UK is to sign up to the RAINWAT agreement, without having done anything to smooth out the wrinkles where its rules conflict with RAINWAT. For a longer version of this article, including more detail on the discrepancies between RAINWAT and the UK, IMO, and ITU Radio Regulations, and Ofcom's stop-gap solution, go to the "Briefing" page or click here. photo copyright www.freephoto.com: click on photo for link  02 March: Perham dumps NKE pilot After repeated problems with his NKE autopilot that have scuppered Mike Perham's chances of completing his Round the World attempt before his seventeenth birthday, he has now set off from Cape Town with a Brookes and Gatehouse pilot in place of the temperamental NKE unit. |
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