I just bought a boat that is equipped with (Eagle) LoranCE w/ built in
fishfinder. I'm not sure of the age of these electronics, but they
are already installed and functional. I have a modern fishfinder and
a handheld GPS (RAM mount) which I prefer to use in this boat.
I just wanted to get some opinions and hear some pluses and minuses...
Do you think I should keep the existing gear in the boat and use it in
conjunction with the new gear? (Could mount the 2nd sonar at the rear
of the boat.) Or would I be better off reducing clutter and get rid
of this equipment, and just use the modern electronics?

(Is Loran being phased out? I heard the towers are not being
maintained.)

-Mark

It will end up being a personal choice .... As long as the older gear is
functional, the "clutter" isn't too serious, and your system can handle
the power needs, MORE, can be better.
As for LORAN, I keep hearing varying reports, from phase out to
modernization. I think the military is inclined towards modernization.

otn

mark s wrote:
I just bought a boat that is equipped with (Eagle) LoranCE w/ built in
fishfinder. I'm not sure of the age of these electronics, but they
are already installed and functional. I have a modern fishfinder and
a handheld GPS (RAM mount) which I prefer to use in this boat.
I just wanted to get some opinions and hear some pluses and minuses...
Do you think I should keep the existing gear in the boat and use it in
conjunction with the new gear? (Could mount the 2nd sonar at the rear
of the boat.) Or would I be better off reducing clutter and get rid
of this equipment, and just use the modern electronics?

(Is Loran being phased out? I heard the towers are not being
maintained.)

-Mark

hello
personally i`d get rid of the loran, its not as accurate as the gps and
they can be a sod to get working on the stations sometimes and with desk
mounted gps starting at around £200, much easier to work.
i know the navy still buy loran on the off chance that all the gps
satelites fall from the sky, aint that likely though.

regards

mark s wrote:
I just bought a boat that is equipped with (Eagle) LoranCE w/ built in
fishfinder. I'm not sure of the age of these electronics, but they
are already installed and functional. I have a modern fishfinder and
a handheld GPS (RAM mount) which I prefer to use in this boat.
I just wanted to get some opinions and hear some pluses and minuses...
Do you think I should keep the existing gear in the boat and use it in
conjunction with the new gear? (Could mount the 2nd sonar at the rear
of the boat.) Or would I be better off reducing clutter and get rid
of this equipment, and just use the modern electronics?

(Is Loran being phased out? I heard the towers are not being
maintained.)

-Mark

Agree--and I just went through an identical process of choosing whether or not to keep
a preexisting LORAN unit on my boat, as I installed a chartplotter. My decision was
easy--the new GPS tracks 12 satellites and produces a "satellite differential fix" with 1
meter precision as often as not, easily as precise as as the aging LORAN set, AND
without the equally aging LORAN antenna, shedding slivers of fiberglas to irritate all... I
now have a simpler control panel in my pilothouse and one less antenna to foul my
sheets....

Now, I appreciate that your process is complicated by the sonar component of the
formula. Can't comment on that....


Cheers-

Boyd
Liveaboard 32 ft Motorsailor-Baltimore

It will end up being a personal choice .... As long as the older gear is
functional, the "clutter" isn't too serious, and your system can handle
the power needs, MORE, can be better.
As for LORAN, I keep hearing varying reports, from phase out to
modernization. I think the military is inclined towards modernization.

otn

mark s wrote:
I just bought a boat that is equipped with (Eagle) LoranCE w/ built in
fishfinder. I'm not sure of the age of these electronics, but they
are already installed and functional. I have a modern fishfinder and
a handheld GPS (RAM mount) which I prefer to use in this boat.
I just wanted to get some opinions and hear some pluses and minuses...
Do you think I should keep the existing gear in the boat and use it in
conjunction with the new gear? (Could mount the 2nd sonar at the rear
of the boat.) Or would I be better off reducing clutter and get rid
of this equipment, and just use the modern electronics?

(Is Loran being phased out? I heard the towers are not being
maintained.)

-Mark

On 20 Oct 2003 09:17:25 -0700, (mark s) wrote:

I just bought a boat that is equipped with (Eagle) LoranCE w/ built in
fishfinder. I'm not sure of the age of these electronics, but they
are already installed and functional. I have a modern fishfinder and
a handheld GPS (RAM mount) which I prefer to use in this boat.
I just wanted to get some opinions and hear some pluses and minuses...
Do you think I should keep the existing gear in the boat and use it in
conjunction with the new gear? (Could mount the 2nd sonar at the rear
of the boat.) Or would I be better off reducing clutter and get rid
of this equipment, and just use the modern electronics?

(Is Loran being phased out? I heard the towers are not being
maintained.)

I intend to keep my Loran as long as it keeps working, but it only
gets secondary use these days.



Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

"Religious wisdom is to wisdom as military music is to music."

It all depends what you do with your boat. If all you want to do is
travel from port to port, by all means use the GPS (and please..., get
a chartplotter.... a handheld? What are you in..., a canoe?).
You'd be hard pressed to find a chart or boating guide that posted
TD's anymore.
However, if you use your boat to fish or dive - like I do - there are
thousands of great numbers out there that are still in TD's, and only
the Loran owner can find them. And please don't tell me your GPS will
accept TD's .... the conversions are notoriously innacurate..., I
wouldn't trust them to put me within a quarter mile of the spot.
I've got a SeaRanger Loran and a Garman 320 chartplotter/sounder.
I also have a loran book from my dive club that contains nearly a
thousand TD's in the Gulf of Mexico, and am slowly converting them to
lat/lons, I love that old machine!.

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:47:27 -0300, Marahute
wrote:

It all depends what you do with your boat. If all you want to do is
travel from port to port, by all means use the GPS (and please..., get
a chartplotter.... a handheld? What are you in..., a canoe?).
You'd be hard pressed to find a chart or boating guide that posted
TD's anymore.
However, if you use your boat to fish or dive - like I do - there are
thousands of great numbers out there that are still in TD's, and only
the Loran owner can find them. And please don't tell me your GPS will
accept TD's .... the conversions are notoriously innacurate..., I
wouldn't trust them to put me within a quarter mile of the spot.
I've got a SeaRanger Loran and a Garman 320 chartplotter/sounder.
I also have a loran book from my dive club that contains nearly a
thousand TD's in the Gulf of Mexico, and am slowly converting them to
lat/lons, I love that old machine!.

Can you convert them to Lat Lons better than the GPS will? Maybe
others could use your algorithm if you post it.



Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

"Religious wisdom is to wisdom as military music is to music."

(mark s) wrote in message om...
I just bought a boat that is equipped with (Eagle) LoranCE w/ built in
fishfinder. I'm not sure of the age of these electronics, but they
are already installed and functional. I have a modern fishfinder and
a handheld GPS (RAM mount) which I prefer to use in this boat.
I just wanted to get some opinions and hear some pluses and minuses...
Do you think I should keep the existing gear in the boat and use it in
conjunction with the new gear? (Could mount the 2nd sonar at the rear
of the boat.) Or would I be better off reducing clutter and get rid
of this equipment, and just use the modern electronics?

(Is Loran being phased out? I heard the towers are not being
maintained.)

-Mark

I bought a boat with the same set-up last year and was unhappy with
both parts of the system. Replaced it w/ two seperate Garmins, the 162
Chart Plotter and the 162 FishFinder and I'm very happy with them
both.

I think Loran phases out starting in 08, although there has been talk
of accelerating it to 05.

FishFan

I think he's saying he's converting them by going there with the
LORAN, and seeing what the GPS says THERE, not an algorithmic
conversion.

HOWEVER: I've seen ZERO TDs posted for Northern California
dive sites. Lots of Lat/Long, some eyeball descriptions, but ZERO
TDs.

--
Chuck Tribolet

http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet

Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.


"Rodney Myrvaagnes" wrote in message ...
On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:47:27 -0300, Marahute
wrote:

It all depends what you do with your boat. If all you want to do is
travel from port to port, by all means use the GPS (and please..., get
a chartplotter.... a handheld? What are you in..., a canoe?).
You'd be hard pressed to find a chart or boating guide that posted
TD's anymore.
However, if you use your boat to fish or dive - like I do - there are
thousands of great numbers out there that are still in TD's, and only
the Loran owner can find them. And please don't tell me your GPS will
accept TD's .... the conversions are notoriously innacurate..., I
wouldn't trust them to put me within a quarter mile of the spot.
I've got a SeaRanger Loran and a Garman 320 chartplotter/sounder.
I also have a loran book from my dive club that contains nearly a
thousand TD's in the Gulf of Mexico, and am slowly converting them to
lat/lons, I love that old machine!.

Can you convert them to Lat Lons better than the GPS will? Maybe
others could use your algorithm if you post it.



Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

"Religious wisdom is to wisdom as military music is to music."

My friend has a Loran unit installed but uses GPS. It's interesting to
cruise and compare the two units. The Loran is "not bad" for accuracy but I
wouldn't want to rely on it to navigate a channel in the fog.

I think he is wise to keep the unit. It's already installed and if for
whatever reason he has a failure of his GPS he can still direct assistance
to his location.

wrote in message
...
On 20 Oct 2003 09:17:25 -0700, (mark s) wrote:

I just bought a boat that is equipped with (Eagle) LoranCE w/ built in
fishfinder. I'm not sure of the age of these electronics, but they
are already installed and functional. I have a modern fishfinder and
a handheld GPS (RAM mount) which I prefer to use in this boat.
I just wanted to get some opinions and hear some pluses and minuses...
Do you think I should keep the existing gear in the boat and use it in
conjunction with the new gear? (Could mount the 2nd sonar at the rear
of the boat.) Or would I be better off reducing clutter and get rid
of this equipment, and just use the modern electronics?

(Is Loran being phased out? I heard the towers are not being
maintained.)

loran will be around for a few years yet. it was supposed to be phased
out shortly, but has been given an extended lease on life.


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