Indian River Captains Association

[wissahickon]

The U.S. Coast Guard has announced the planned termination of LORAN-C (Long
Range Aid to Navigation) and will be shutting down the 24 LORAN-C stations
operated under the auspices of the USCG. LORAN stations provide navigation,
location and timing services for both civil and military air, land and
marine users. The Commandant has formally certified that termination of the
LORAN-C signal will not adversely impact maritime navigation.

LORAN-A stations were developed beginning in World War II, and signals were
transmitted on frequencies in and around our present-day 160 meter band.
LORAN-A was responsible for reduced amateur radio operations, including
frequency and power limitations, on 160 meters in the United States. In
1979, the Coast Guard phased out the LORAN-A stations; they were replaced by
LORAN-C stations. The newer stations operated on 100 kHz, enabling the
restrictions on 160 meters due to LORAN functions, to be dropped.

According to the Coast Guard, the nation's oldest continuous seagoing
service will continue to operate the current LORAN-C system through the end
of fiscal year 2009. In the President's FY 2010 Budget, under Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), the budget "supports the termination of outdated
systems such as the terrestrial-based, long-range radionavigation (LORAN-C)
operated by the US Coast Guard, resulting in an offset of $36 million in
2010 and $190 million over five years."

Actual termination depends upon a final determination by DHS Secretary
Napolitano that the LORAN-C infrastructure is not required as a backup to
GPS. Until then, the Coast Guard will continue moving towards termination
while operating the system. If/when that determination is made, actual
termination will take place.
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Koos Brandt: "My biggest worry is that my wife (when I'm dead) will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it."