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Old 23rd Feb 2014, 01:35
  #19 (permalink)  
Dan Winterland
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Fragrant Harbour
Posts: 4,787
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Yes it was. Transmitting on MF, it followed ground waves so was very useful at sea level. The Stavanger Consol station was the last and it was still transmitting in 1990.

Aural Range went out in the 70s I gather. (Too young to have used it!)

DECCA died in about 2000 as it was considered that GPS had effectively replaced it. I actually bought one of those digital DECCA receivers. In the late 80s, the price had come down to a few hundred pounds and it was good for the time, but a bit clumsy to use. DECCA was first used operationally in the D Day landings where the boats used it to accurately plot a course along the channels cleared in minefields.

LORAN still exists. It was going to be killed off, but it has been enhanced and the new standard is E-LORAN. The signals are stronger than GPS and less prone to jamming and interference. Combined LORAN/GPS sets are now available.
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