LORAN-C shut down

On February 8 the U.S Coast Guard shut down the Loran-C a navigation system that has been in use since World War II.

LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) made use of a network of Low Frequency (LF) radio transmitters and the receivers used these multiple signals to determine the location and speed of the vessel. It has served mariners and aviators well for over 60 years.

President Obama has called the system obsolete, saying it is no longer needed in an age in which Global Positioning System devices are nearly ubiquitous in cars, planes and boats.

Running Loran-C is claimed to cost the Federal Government about $38 million a year but shutting it down means there is no longer a back-up system for GPS.

Read the CNN report - Good night, Loran at
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/02/08/
loran.navigation.shutdown/index.html

Wiki - Loran
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LORAN