Loran-C Decommissioning Begins Feb. 8

By Doug Lung
published

A Notice of Availability from the U.S. Coast Guard in the Jan. 7 Federal Register states "The USCG intends to begin termination of the broadcast of the North American Loran-C Radionavigation Signal beginning on or about Feb. 8, 2010. Loran stations are expected to cease transmitting the Loran-C radionavigation signal by Oct. 1, 2010."

Loran-C transmits in spectrum between 90 kHz and 110 kHz. Precisely timed transmissions from multiple stations have been used for navigation, location and timing services for civilian and military air, land and marine users in the continental United States and Alaska. The transmitters operate at powers of up to 4,000 kW (peak). Loran-C was once envisioned as a backup to the GPS system, but the U.S. Coast Guard, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, has decided it was no longer needed.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.