HYPERBOLIC NAVIGATION

SYSTEM
• Gee System
• LORAN
• Decca Navigator
• Omega
• Chayka
• Alpha
HYPERBOLIC NAVIGATION
▪ a class of navigation systems based on
the difference in timing between the
reception of two signals, without
reference to a common clock
▪ are created by establishing a specific
hyperbolic radio pattern over a
geographical area
▪ a navigation system that produces
hyperbolic lines or surfaces of position by
measuring the difference in times of
reception (or phase difference) between
radio signals from two or more
synchronized transmitters
 Hyperbolic System Principle
If two transmitters radiating a radio
wave in the same phase are located at the
ends of a baseline, then a receiver in the
center of the baseline will receive the wave in
the same phase since the time-of-flight of the
wave to the receiver from both transmitters is
the same. Applying this principle in reverse, if
the receiver is receiving the two waves in
phase, then it must be located either at the
center of the baseline or somewhere along the
perpendicular line l - l'
 Gee System
▪ first used experimentally by RAF Bomber
Command in 1941
▪ its operating principle was the transmission
of short (6 microsecond) pulses at
frequencies around 30 MHz (later extended
up to 80 MHz)
▪ Signals sent from a master station were
received at up to three slave stations and
was used to synchronize their own
transmissions.
▪ The slaves operated on the same
frequency as the master.
▪ The maximum range was about 450 miles.
A sample of the Gee lattice.
Gee Equipment
 LORAN
▪ short for "LOng RAnge Navigation", was a hyperbolic radio
navigation system developed in the United States during
World War II
▪ LORAN-A LORAN-B LORAN-C (1957)
▪ 1.950 MHz as its primary operating frequency, 7.5 MHz for
daytime use as an additional channel (never used
operationally)
▪ range of about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) over water, and 600
miles (970 km) over land
▪ All LORAN systems provide navigational-fix data in the form of
hyperbolic lines-of-position determined by the time-
differences between the reception of pulse signals from
widely-separated shore transmitting stations.
 LORAN-A LORAN-B (US NAVY) LORAN-C *

expensive Automated receivers Longer range

More accurate compared to
requires CRT Accuracy of hundreds of feet
LORAN-A

Commonly used by the military Combined with LORAN-A and

With technical problems
and large commercial users LORAN-B with improvements

Uses same frequency as the With accuracy of over tens of

Better than past predecessors
amateur radio 160m band feet
*LORAN-B was first developed by the U.S. AirForce but later on took over by the U.S. Navy for the development of LORAN-C
 The basic hyperbolic principles of GEE and LORAN are the same
and can be seen in the figure below.
 LORAN-C System

It consists of transmitting stations,

which are placed several
hundred miles apart and
organized into chains. Within a
chain, one station is designated
"Master" (M) while the other
"Secondary" stations identified by
the letters W, X, Y and Z.
 Different secondary designations are used depending on the number of
station in a chain. This is summarized in the table below.

CONFIGURATION DESIGNATORS EXAMPLE

Master with 5 secondaries M V,W,X,Y,Z South Central U.S. 9610
Master with 4 secondaries M W,X,Y,Z Southeast U.S. 7980
Master with 3 secondaries M X, Y, Z Canadian West Coast 5990
Master with 2 secondaries M W,X Calcutta 5943
Master with 2 secondaries M X,Y East China 8390

▪ By 1989, there were 16 Loran-C chains comprising 67 stations and transmitting on

100 kHz. In the year 2000, this had grown to 28 chains
▪ The Loran-C navigation signal is a
carefully structured sequence of brief
radio frequency pulses on a carrier
wave centered at 100 kHz (Fig. 1a).
▪ All secondary stations radiate pulses in
bursts of eight, whereas the Master
signal has an additional ninth pulse
burst (Fig. 1b).
▪ The sequence of signal transmissions
consists of a pulse group from the
Master (M) station followed at precise
time intervals by pulse groups from the
secondary stations.
▪ The time interval between the
reoccurrence of the Master pulse is
called the Group Repetition Interval
(GRI) (Fig. 1c).
▪ Each Loran-C chain has a unique GRI.
 Group Repetition Interval (GRI) is the key
by which a receiver can identify and isolate
signal groups from a specific chain.
Example:
The Great Lakes chain has a GRI of 8970.
▪ It means the time interval is 89700
microseconds.
▪ The rightmost zero is always implied and the
GRI is always in multiples of 10 microseconds.

LORAN-C GRI rate table (1997)

Groundwave and Skywave Range
▪ A portion of the LORAN-C radio energy
travels out from each transmitting
station parallel to the surface of the
earth known as the groundwave.
▪ Another portion of the radio energy
travels upward and outward,
encounters an electrified layer of the
atmosphere known as the ionosphere
and is reflected back to earth.
Reflections from the ionosphere are
known as skywaves.
▪ Signal offers a daytime ground wave
range of 2,250 miles, nighttime ground
wave of 1,650 miles and skywaves out
to 3,000 miles.
 Accuracy of LORAN-C is affected by

• the accuracy of the transmitters

• variability in the speeds of propagation of the
transmitted signals
• geometry of the transmitting stations
• use of long conversions versus Loran-C LOPs
• receiver quality and sensivity
• accuracy of Loran-C charts
 Decca Navigator

▪ first used on 5 June 1944 to guide minesweepers in

preparation for the D-Day invasions
▪ a hyperbolic radio navigation system which allowed
ships and aircraft to determine their position by
receiving radio signals from fixed navigational beacons
▪ based on comparing the phases of continuous signals
instead of the timing of their pulses
▪ uses low frequencies from 70 to 129 kHz
 Decca Chain
▪ normally consisted of a master station controlling the phase of three
slaves, which were situated about 120 degrees apart, at a radius of 60
to 100 miles from the master
▪ Each Station in the chain would normally transmit a particular
unmodulated phase stable carrier wave. These carriers were all
harmonically related to an internal station reference which was about
14.2kHz, referred to as “f”.
STATION HARMONIC FREQUENCY (kHz)

Master 6f 85.000

Purple Slave 5f 70.833

Red Slave 8f 113.333

Green Slave 9f 127.500

 Hence Decca receivers multiplied the signals received from the Master and
each Slave by different values to arrive at a common frequency (least common
multiple, LCM) for each Master/Slave pair, as follows:

SLAVE SLAVE MASTER MASTER COMMON

PATTERN
HARMONIC MULTIPLIER HARMONIC MULTIPLIER FREQUENCY

Purple 5f X6 6f X5 30f

Red 8f X3 6f X4 24f

Green 9f X2 6f X3 18f

• It was phase comparison at this common frequency that resulted in the

hyperbolic lines of position.
 Range and Accuracy
Daylight:
ranges of around 400 nautical miles (740 km)
Night:
200 to 250 nautical miles (460 km), depending on propagation
conditions

The accuracy depends on:

• Width of the lanes

• Angle of cut of the hyperbolic lines of position

• Instrumental errors

• Propagation errors (for example, Skywave)

 Principle of Operation
1. Each station transmitted a continuous
wave signal that, by comparing the
phase difference of the signals from the
master and one of the secondaries,
resulted in a set of hyperbolic lines of
position called a pattern.
2. As there were three secondaries there
were three patterns, termed Red, Green
and Purple. The patterns were drawn on
nautical charts as a set of hyperbolic
lines in the appropriate colour.
3. Receivers identified which hyperbola
they were on and a position could be
plotted at the intersection of the
hyperbola from different patterns,
usually by using the pair with the angle
of cut closest to orthogonal as possible.
 Applications
DELRAC
• short for "Decca Long Range Area Cover“
• Decca began studying a long-range system -DELRAC by- using much lower frequencies.
• The system was predicted to offer 10 miles (16,000 m) accuracy at 2,000 miles (3,200 km) range
95% of the time.
DECTRA
• stands for “DECCA TRAck”
• Dectra was essentially the normal Decca Navigator system with -the modification of several
existing transmitter sites.
• used for both medium-range navigations over land, as well as long-range navigation over the
Altlantic
Hi-Fix
• developed using signalling in the 1.6 MHz range
• used for precision measurements
• involved with oil-drilling and by the Royal Navy for detailed mapping and surveying of coasts
and harbours
• An experimental chain was - installed with coverage of central London and receivers placed in
London buses and other vehicles to demonstrate an early vehicle location and tracking system
Decometers
 OMEGA
▪ worldwide, internationally operated,
ground-based radio navigation system,
operating in the very low frequency (VLF)
band between 10 and 14 kHz
▪ used to provide a continuous, medium
accuracy aid to navigation intended
primarily for air and marine en route
oceanic navigation and domestic en
route air navigation
▪ The Omega system consists of eight
widely separated transmitting stations
that emit continuous wave VLF signals.
▪ Omega's charts quote accuracies of 2 to
4 nautical miles
Three Major Elements

1. Transmitting System

2. Signals in the Earth-Ionosphere Medium

3. Receivers and Navigation Computers

Transmitting System
▪ consists of the eight transmitting stations and the procedures
required to maintain and synchronize these stations
▪ The Japanese Maritime Safety Agency is responsible for
synchronization of the transmitted signals of all stations.
▪ The U.S. Coast Guard Omega Navigation System Center
(ONSCEN) has operational control of the system and is
responsible for engineering and logistics support of the station
equipment.
▪ The International Omega Technical Commission, which is
composed of one member from each of the partner nations
operates the Omega Stations.
 Omega Stations
The eight Omega stations are identified
by a letter from A through H.
1. Bratland Omega Transmitter (station A – 66.420833°N 13.150555°E)

2. Trinidad Omega Transmitter (station B until 1976, replaced by station in Paynesville, Liberia at 10.69938°N 61.638708°W)

Paynesville Omega Transmitter (station B – 06°18′20″N 010°39′44″W)

3. Kaneohe Omega Transmitter (station C – 21.404700°N 157.830822°W)

4. La Moure Omega Transmitter (station D situated near La Moure, North Dakota, USA at 46.365944°N 98.335617°W)

5. Chabrier Omega Transmitter (station E near Chabrier on Réunion island in the Indian Ocean at 20°58′27″S 55°17′24″E )

6. Trelew Omega Transmitter (station F)

7. Woodside Omega Transmitter (station G)

8. Omega Tower, Tsushima (station H situated near Shushi-Wan on Tsushima Island at 34°36′53″N 129°27′13″E)
Signals in the Earth-Ionosphere Medium
• The signal is "launched" by the antenna system into the atmosphere between
the earth and the lower ionosphere, where it propagates in all directions for
several thousand miles or, under some conditions, completely around the
world.

Ionosphere
- a spherical layer of electrically charged particles (concentric with the
earth), which bend and reflect the signals thus confining the signals to
propagate below the ionosphere, rather than traveling straight out into
space
Receivers and Navigation Equipment

▪ The receiver processing detects and tracks the received signals

from each station and measures the phase of the signals relative
to a local reference or oscillator.

▪ As part of the processing, the receiver must identify the station

that transmitted each of the frequencies in each transmission
segment.
A detailed presentation of navigation and position fixing with Omega.
 Chayka
Chayka Chains
▪ Soviet Union's counterpart to
• GRI 8000 — Western (European) Russia
LORAN-C and operates on Chayka Chain (1969, RSDN-3/10)
similar principles • GRI 7950 — Eastern Russia Chayka Chain
(1986, RSDN-4)
▪ operates on similar frequencies
• GRI 5980 — Russian-American Chayka
around 100 kHz Chain (1995)
▪ uses different pulse repetition • GRI 5960 — Northern Chayka Chain (1996,
RSDN-5)
frequencies (Group Repetition
Intervals, or GRIs) to allow the • GRI 4970 — North-Western Chayka Chain

identification of different stations • And also North-Caucasian, South-Ural (GRI

5970), Siberian, Angarsk, Sayansk,
operating on the same Transbaikalian, Far East chains deployed on
frequencies the basis of low-power mobile stations
RSDN-10.
 Alpha
• also called RSDN-20 is a Russian system
for long range radio navigation
• used to determine positions of aircraft, These transmitters radiate signals of
ships, and submarines (in underwater 0.4 second duration, in a 3.6
positions) second cycle, on the frequencies
• Alpha coverage is up to 10,000 km from F1: 11.904761 kHz
the master station, with a position error of
2.5…7 km.
F2: 12.648809 kHz
• Alpha system consists of three
transmitters, placed in the proximity of F3: 14.880952 kHz
Novosibirsk, Krasnodar and Khabarovsk.
Two other transmitters at Revda and
Seyda are not currently operational as of
2010.
System Coverage Band Frequency Measurement Method

Loran C coastal LF 100 kHz time delays/phase comparison

Decca coastal LF 70-130 kHz phase comparison

Omega global VLF 10-14 kHz phase comparison

The End.
Thank you for
listening…