I was noticing that an older form of radio navigation - LORAN - was being shut down over the last five years. LORAN is not as precise as GPS or any other nation's equivalent (specifically the Russian GLOSNAS) but it is downright difficult to jam and you are not beholden to one nation or one administration for navigation. This is an important thing given that WW-III is raging around us without the USA seeming to be aware of it.
LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) was developed in the 1930's and 1940's by several groups of people and was able to provide accuracy within a couple miles over the surface of the globe.
Here is the lights-out notice from Scotland's Northern Lighthouse Board:
NOTICE TO MARINERS
DISCONTINUATION OF GLA ENHANCED LORAN (ELORAN) INITIAL OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY (IOC) PROTOTYPE/TRIAL SERVICE
Mariners are advised, with effect from 1100 UTC on 31 DECEMBER 2015, the General Lighthouse Authorities (GLA) will discontinue the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) prototype/trials of Enhanced LORAN (eLORAN) in the UK and Ireland.
One of the primary developers was Dr. Jack Pierce who led a very interesting life and while looking through several websites for LORAN, I stumbled across his biography.
It is a text website and poorly formatted (ie: not at all) but the writing is excellent and the story is rollicking. His time growing up provides a portrait of life in America in the early 1900's and his adventures in Russia in the 1930's and through World War Two make for compelling reading.
Jack also did a lot of work with acoustics and audio recording technology and development of the stereophonic disk.
A long read but a fun one - this is where I have been for the last couple hours...
Check out Memoirs of J. A. Pierce
