"North Star" wrote in message
...
On Dec 16, 1:12 pm, iBoaterer wrote:
In article 3354b9e1-e0d9-4342-85a6-
,
says...







On Dec 16, 12:21 pm, "Wilbur Hubbard"

wrote:
"Wayne.B" wrote in message

.. .

BusinessWeek is carrying an article today that says that
government
tests showed that the proposed LightSquared mobile service
caused
interference to 75% of all GPS receivers tested.

The report can be found at:http://preview.tinyurl.com/7jyaazf

There is big money behind this. I'd recommend writing your
elected
representatives and voicing your concerns.

It seems to me real sailors needn't be concerned about this at
all. Who
needs GPS inland or very near coastal anyway where landmarks and
navigation marks are eyeball visible? Those who proceed down the
Intracoastal Waterway with eyes glued to their GPS readout are
putzes to
be sure.

It also seems to me that where a clean GPS signal is most needed,
the
commercial broadcast will not have the range to reach out that
far.
These signals are very weak and short-range. Lucky if they have a
workable range of a mile.

"The laboratory testing was performed for the National Space-Based
Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Systems Engineering
Forum, an
executive branch body that helps advise policy makers on issues
around
GPS. It found that 69 of 92, or 75 percent, of receivers tested
"experienced harmful interference" at the equivalent of 100 meters
(109
yards) from a LightSquared base station." - from link above.

If you regularly sail within a 100 meters of a transceiver station
(they
won't be on the water, folks" then be worried - be very worried,
but
those instances will be few and far between to non-existent.

Thank you and Merry Christmas.

Wilbur Hubbard

Celebrating Christmas again on that mustard yellow/mauve Coronado
27?

That's our Suckling Don, always quick to say crappy things about what
other's have, but doesn't like it when someone points out his paint
blistered house with garbage in the yard.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
//
// Ah.. Kevin!
// Are you saying that the mustard yellow/mauve paint scheme is
// "crappy"? I said no such thing.
// As a matter of fact, Capt Neil seems very proud of his Coronado 27
and
// it's colours. He just might consider the acknowledgement of it as a
// compliment.



Right you are! It's easy to see jealousy showing . . . Wilbur has one
fine-looking and capable, blue water sailing yacht, if he must say so
himself. And, Cut the Mustard keeps getting better via upgrades. For
example, just installed in time for the Christmas holidays (and the many
babes who visit) is a brand spanking new Raritan brand, Electro/Scan
type I MSD from Defender. It's the one with the electronic readouts and
monitoring of the treatment process. A very nice system and it damned
well better be for the best part of a grand.

Now that I've kicked the collective asses of the Florida FWC to the
curb, it wouldn't surprise me if they tried to get even by contracting a
federal MSD effluent inspector to check to make sure my Type I system is
up to the required treatment standards (yes, federal law says they can
do this but qualified inspectors are few and far between and mostly
check larger vessel, over 65 feet, Type II MSDs). The old Lectra/San was
twenty some odd years old and probably was not doing the best of jobs
even though it whirred and drew current. I'm sure the internal
electrodes that produce the acid from the sea water to kill the bacteria
where shot or close to shot. And probably one of the macerator or mixer
blades had broke off as it made clunking noises from time to time as it
something hard was getting hit inside.

Also, I have a new ten-gallon holding tank which I have connected with a
tee and ball valve to the output side of the MSC so I can direct treated
sewage into the holding tank for use in no-discharge zones. I did not
have to do all this as I won my trial against the bogus FWC charge that
my vessel is a houseboat an can only meet requirements by having a
holding tank installed. I'm did this in order to be a responsible
sailor. (Besides, there are some close-quarters situations when anchored
in close proximity to other vessels and where people are swimming where
the old cedar bucket is a social affront.)


Wilbur Hubbard