Association Forum

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Loran-C

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

knightwind
Navigator

Member Avatar

Canada
114 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/19/2008 : 21:07:51

Hey Sailors. The PO kept going on about this Loran thing we were getting. I hooked it up and it seems to be some kind of vhf navigator. Is it worth anything? Useful?

Here's another picture I like.

Peter Keddie
Turkey Point, ON
79 Catalina 25 Fixed Keel #1050

Edited by - on

Merrick
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
192 Posts

Response Posted - 05/19/2008 : 21:32:04

Loran has been mostly replaced by GPS, but it can still be used to pinpoint your position on a chart. Since it came with the boat, I'd try to find a manual and figure out how to work it. To my knowledge he Loran system is still maintained for navigational use.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/19/2008 : 21:58:44

It was decided recently that LORAN would be supported for the indefinite future--it had not been certain before that. GPS is its replacement, is more accurate, and is what all of the manufacturers are making equipment for. Small GPS devices can show you where you are on a color chart that looks like your paper chart. (You do have a chart, right?) It also tells you where you're headed, how fast you're going, and optionally what course to steer to go somewhere and how long it will take to get there. (It doesn't know about wind directions.) Mine looks about like this:

The little black arrowhead in the center of the graphic is the boat. The "Location" toward the middle of the numbers on the right is what your LORAN is telling you. You can pick the data you want to see on the screen. (In the car, it does street-level mapping, voice directions, etc.)

The LORAN will help you if you know (or learn) how to locate yourself on a chart--you should know how to do that if you're venturing very far out of your harbor--the shore quickly becomes hard to differentiate by eye, and weather or darkness can make it much harder. A basic boater safety course will teach you about charts and navigation as well as the "rules of the road" and other fundamentals you should know about. Then, you might want to start thinking about a GPS for Christmas...

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 05/19/2008 22:46:50

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

Members Avatar

USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/19/2008 : 23:17:47

Loran is not just being maintained, but enhanced. It can be a valuable navigation tool if you learn to use it. GPS is not always more accurate. As we enter another solar maximum for sunspot activity, you might find yourself with no satellites at an inconvenient time. Loran is typically more precise in returning to a previous waypoint (very important to fishermen). Yours is included in the price. You'll be so cool and mysterious when you drop a couple TD's on some self important skipper(Lorans can also display lat/long and courses). Seven good reasons to learn to use your LORAN.

Edited by - on

andy
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
228 Posts

Response Posted - 05/20/2008 : 19:17:27

Loran is neat, just not as user friendly. You'll need a Loran chart. I'm sure there's still instructional info available. If you don't have the manual for your RANAV, you might be able to get one from the company. I had one on my ocean boat (pre gps) and have one on my C25 but don't use it on our small mountain lake.

Looks like you've got a great boat there.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/20/2008 : 21:04:01

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Dave5041
 GPS is not always more accurate.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Really? My recollection is it's presumed to be about three meters versus a quarter mile. (You wouldn't want to use LORAN in your car to find your way around NYC.) My little GPS with its built-in antenna, based on my own convergence tests, is accurate to well under three meters. But I'll agree one should keep their LORAN in case the US military scrambles GPS in time of war, which they're prepared to do.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4312 Posts

Response Posted - 05/20/2008 : 21:27:45

Dave,

Is yours a GPSMAP478?

I have a GPSMAP 378 which is the fresh water version and I purchased the Saltwater Charts for my area. I've also got the XM Satellite Antenna and a subscription to XM Satellite Weather is which is awesome. I get all of the weather warnings and color weather radar overlaid on the navigation display.

Edited by - on

andy
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
228 Posts

Response Posted - 05/20/2008 : 22:29:42

Loran isn't as accurate as GPS...but it'll take you to fishing grounds,harbor entrances,marinas, etc. (close enough). In Vietnam, B52's dropped bombs on Loran fixes, so it was close enough for government work (sic.).

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/20/2008 : 23:08:54

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by andy
 close enough for government work (sic.).

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">...you mean "oxymoron"?

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

Members Avatar

USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2008 : 00:07:34

Don't get me wrong, I love gps, but loran will return you to a waypoint more accurately than commercially available gps units. One meter is what we expect from gps, but I have had 15 and even 20 meter circles on occasion. Loran's initial accuracy was much better than 1/4 mile even in the sixties when I was a navigation electronics technician, and it is much better now. Any remotely modern Loran receiver will display lat/long, so you don't really need loran charts. In some specialized applications it is better than gps, which is why there was such an outcry from professional mariners when it was going to be discontinued. Gps is the easy and feature rich replacement for most of us, but you would do well to learn and use you loran as a backup. It forces you to learn to use paper charts and it won't disappear in a solar flare (they will be more frequent as we enter the solar maxima). So use your gps every time you go out, but fire up the loran once a week and you'll be a better sailor.

PS On my Lake Erie fishing friend's boat, we still fire up the loran next to the Garmin 760.

Edited by - Dave5041 on 05/21/2008 00:13:51

quilombo
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
301 Posts

Response Posted - 05/24/2008 : 05:32:59

sorry GPS is the way to go,
for me there is no other option, unless of course you dont have a gps, then I suppose you would have to use a Loran
you can get a gps unit for as little as 89 bucks on ebay, and it will fit in the palm of your hand, user friendly and plain visuals
why fiddle with a Loran
and if the government scrambles the gps signal in time of war, as someone mentioned here in this thread, I think we all have more important things to worry about at that point
dont you think??

Edited by - quilombo on 05/24/2008 05:35:58

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

3072 Posts

Response Posted - 05/24/2008 : 09:11:57

>"and it won't disappear in a solar flare "

I used LORAN in the bad old days and thought it was pretty succeptible to atmospheric disturbances.
It wasn't very reassuring to be out in a fog bank at night and have the LORAN go into 'blink mode'. (not working)

Navigating back to our strings (crab pots) with LORAN meant when you reached your waypoint you were out on deck looking for the buoys... and hopefully they would be somewhere within your horizon. With GPS when the arrival alarm goes off they will be right under your bow. Huge difference.

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

Members Avatar

USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/26/2008 : 22:14:33

Loran is more reliable now due more to receiver sensitivity and selectivity than changes to the basic system. I wouldn't go buy a loran, but if you already have it, use it. My personal experience supports others' claims that if you mark you location today, loran will get you back there more accurately tomorrow. I have found it reliable in a variety of conditions, but I don't live with it daily. Pro fisherman and charter captains led the outcry against discontinuing the ground based service and use both for their individual strengths. I love gps, but if you have a free loran, then use it often enough for it to be a backup. Including basic piloting skills, that gives you three completely individual levels of redundancy - it doesn't matter how many backup gps units you have when satellites go into safe mode.

While navigating the roads, try turning off the "Align With Roads" preference if it lets you - software is like packaging, it can make really good stuff look spectacular.

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.