# GPS vs LORAN



## Vinny (Aug 25, 2004)

I am relatively new to navigation, and I kind of know what GPS is.. I know that I can punch in lat & lon coordinates and get to where I want to go an back home. But I wish that I knew more about navigation - I see a lot of stuff about LORAN.. I know basically that it is an acronym for Long Range Navigation or something to that effect. But can someone please explain to me exactly what is 'Loran,' how does it work, and what is the difference between it and GPS, and how do you use it, etc.. I am totally lost with Loran - can someone shed some light on this for me?

Tu Primo


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## puretexn (Oct 28, 2004)

*gps vs. loran*

I found this...
http://www.ac11.org/gpsvs.htm


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## Vinny (Aug 25, 2004)

Puretexn, I don't know where you found that, but that is one very informative page you found!! Thank you very much, and I think that a whole lot of people should read that!

Tu Primo


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## Vinny (Aug 25, 2004)

I know that GPS is all the rage these days, but the more I learn about this, the more I believe that there is a place in this world for both. I am interested now in getting a LORAN receiver and learning even more about it, and using it in conjunction with the GPS..

I am thinking something else.. I am beginning to think that maybe the next time I go elk hunting in the Black Range Mts in NM, that maybe I should be thinking in terms of LORAN instead of GPS. The LORAN seems to have an advantage in urban, mountain, and forest areas over the GPS. Hmmm..


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## Vinny (Aug 25, 2004)

OK, if I hit the 'go to' button on the GPS, it shows the little arrow on the display that is pointing me which direction to go in, and I follow the area. How do you use the LORAN? I mean, if I get a receiver and turn it on, what shows up on the screen and how do you use that to get where you want to go? 

Tu Primo


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## gundoctor (May 20, 2004)

Vinny, I think you need to go lay eyeball on a LORAN. All of them I ever saw, were designed to be installed in some kind of vehicle(5# probably closer to 10#) and needed a pretty substantial power source.
Another thing about LORAN displays, all of them I ever saw were just two series of numbers that told you where you were on a grid, then you had to have a map with the grid on it to tell where you are.
LORAN is a good old system if you are set up and know how to use it(not near as simple as GPS). IMO, GPS is a better system and much easier to navigate with. 
GPS gives you Lat & Lon, which should correspond to any good map.
BTW: Clinton ordered the Pentagon to make the civilian channel just as accurate as the military channel. So there is no more degraded error in civilian GPS.


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## gundoctor (May 20, 2004)

Vinny said:


> OK, if I hit the 'go to' button on the GPS, it shows the little arrow on the display that is pointing me which direction to go in, and I follow the area. How do you use the LORAN? I mean, if I get a receiver and turn it on, what shows up on the screen and how do you use that to get where you want to go?
> 
> Tu Primo


LORAN displays gave you two sets of numbers that you matched to the numbers for the place you wanted to go. 
Some of the last ones may have gave you a compass heading to the point you wanted to find. 
Trust me, you'll be better off learning how to better use GPS and spend any extra money upgrading your GPS to a better receiver and antenna.


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## Captain Spike (May 31, 2004)

Vinny

Please don't take this the wrong way. It's not a good idea to be reliant on any electronic form of navigation. If you're going to be out on the water you should learn some basic old fashioned navigation so that you at least know if your electronics are screwing up. Maybe the US Coastguard offer some courses, they're actually pretty interesting.

Spike


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## Vinny (Aug 25, 2004)

I agree with you guys 100% about not relying solely on electronics. I like maps and compasses and always have more than one of each on board. I have always loved maps and compasses, and in fact, many years ago I dabbled a little in the sport of orienteering. It was a lot of fun. I just never had any exposure to LORAN and I was just trying to learn more about what it is and how to use it. I already knew that it was not as easy or accurate as GPS, but it is looking like getting set up for it is a little tougher than I had thought. I was thinking that it might be neat to have GPS and LORAN on the boat, so that if you lose one, you still have the other, then if you lose both I still have maps and compasses, and I always make sure that wherever I go, it is not someplace that I cannot find my way home with the map and compass, be it in the Gulf or the mts in NM. Having both systems on the boat is looking like it may be too impractical for me, though. I still think, though, that even as great as GPS is, there is still a place in this world for LORAN, and I would be sorry to see it die altogether. But then again, I am also the kind of person who still sees a usefulness for learning Morse Code and slide rules, and yes, even sextants, too.. Maybe at heart I am just a champion of lost causes..

Tu Primo


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## Vinny (Aug 25, 2004)

OK, I am seeing something about Garmin has added LORAN-TD to a lot of their newer GPS units, and I am also seeing a lot about LORAN-C. What does it mean that Garmin has added this TD to their GPS units, and what is the difference between LORAN TD, LORAN-C, and "regular LORAN?"


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

Loran A was discontinued in 1980 and Loran C became the standard. It is a series of tower transmitters or chains if you will. They triangulated off the towers and gave you a TD or Tme Difference between the master signal and secondary signals.

Heres the kicker. Loran units where not calibrated from the factory. Which meant that TD,s aquired off of one unit could be a mile or more off when plugged into another. You had to calibrate them for the area you where in. 

Bottom line TD's aren't very transportable like Lat/Lon numbers are.


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## Steelersfan (May 21, 2004)

Vinny,
Back in the day (1990 or so) you could purchase small Loran-C units. We still have one our boat we used on Lake Erie. It was a Lowrance unit and weighed maybe 2#'s and was 6"x6"x2" deep. It also converted to Lat/Long from the TD displays. You could buy maps that had TD's that were oriented in different directions. We would use the ones that were set-up in a grid and ran more or less East-West and North-South. You could switch back and forth b/w them. One thing with our unit, it had a slow refresh rate but was fairly accurate. We would always get to within 100' or so of our waypoints when we returned to the dock. If I ever get my boat up and running again on Lake Erie, I will leave the unit on there and also have my GPS.


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