Micrologic ML8000 LORAN

[BarryL]

Hello,My new-to-me 1986 O'day 35 came with a Micrologic ML8000 Loranunit. The unit appears to work - it powers up, displays some stuff,responds to button presses, etc. The only problem is that thereis no antenna. There is an antenna wire connected to the rearof the unit and a broken wire on the stern pulpit that shouldbe connected to the antenna.I will be buying a modern chartplotter in the spring (probablya Lowrance globalmap 3500C or so) so I don't need the Loranunit to function. However, the GPS will be mounted at the helmand the Loran is inside, so it would be nice to have working.Is it work it to try and find an antenna? Any ideas where tolook? I have tried ebay, but no luck.Thanks!BarryBarry LenobleCurragh, 1986 O'day 35Mt. Sinai, NYlenoble@optonline.net

 

[Stu Jackson]

ML 8000

BarryDon't bother. I have one, and it's just about as non-intuitive to operate as the "governement programmed logic" could be. It's slow.While Loran is still useful, I would suggest that any $$ put into trying to get it to work, or even the $$ spent in the effort of trying to find the instructions would be better spent on an inexpensive backup handheld GPS.Mine is also down below, and while I have a few WPTs in it, I just don't use it.We have two GPSs on board.Stu

 

[Bill Roosa]

Go th ARRL

Association for Amateur Radios - Click around, they have lots of manufacturs and do it yourself antennas. All you need is the frequency that loran operates on and that should be a simple google search. They can also tell you how to splice a broken wire.

 

[Rick I]

Loran making comeback

Don't believe what sailors say about Loran being phased out. There's been talk of this and the lack of funding for the past 15 years. The current government thinking is that Loran C will be improved with the latest eLoran (enhanced Loran) to be a backup if all the sattelites are downed. As for the antenna there must be tons of them around, I doubt if you can make one yourself as they have notch filters in them (whatever they are). Sorry, I gave my Micrologic 5000 away to be cannibalized after I got hit by lightning.

 

[Alex]

Good as morse code

BarryL,I have the exact same Micrologic ML8000 on my CS30. I took the unit off as it took up space on the nav station. It's as useful as good old Morse code. The handbook is 1/2 inch thick. I rather learn Celestral nav which is more interesting than reading the handbook.Given that GPS is getting very affordable these day, just get two. Make sure one of them is a handheld with a rechargable battery just in case your main battery quit.The government won't dare to switch to selective mode because that will certainly cause plane crash and trucks coming to a stop. Never mind those guys drive by the on-dash GPS.Don't waste your time on those old technology.Alex

 

[Malcolm Young]

It provides redundancy that a second GPS can't

It is safer to have a GPS and a LORAN. Why is it safer? I have seen GPS read well off the mark (rarely but often enough to concern me). Why I don't know but I have seen this about 5 times over the last 6 years (including charters) - this error has been anywhere from 150 feet to once at 50 miles. GPS is reliant on unaltered satellite signals and on a processing unit that does not fail. LORAN as well must have unaltered signals, however the likelyhood of LORAN being off at the same time would have been virtually nil as LORAN uses land based radio signals which are absolutely independent of the GPS system. There is no common mode failute likely apart from your boat's battery. Note that having charts which mark LORAN Time Delays is better than using internal LAT/LONG conversion due to distortion of LORAN radio waves by the earths crust,. I agree that a second GPS is a good addition - I have two GPSs - one is a chart plotter and one my old handheld as a back-up. I think it is useful from a safety point of view to have two GPSs, however it is more useful to have a GPS and Loran (I don't have Loran but have used it).I do think that the back-up GPS should be powered by dry cell batteries,My insurance company recognizes the GPS and LORAN as independent safety systems and together with other factors will provide a discount rate if you have both. They don't count 2 GPSs as seperate safety devices. (not sure this is currently the case, however this was the case in 2004). All that said - I haven't gone out to buy a LORAN (if I could find one), however if I had one I would try to make it work.

 

[Pete]

Twice as nice

Barry,My 322 came with a Loran C unit that was installed by a previous owner. It's mounted at the nav desk, and when I got a new GPS chartplotter, I was tempted to pull out the Loran but decided against it because a) it still works, b) the Coast Guard has decided to maintain the Loran system for several more years and c) the appeal of a backup nav system was hard to dispute. The Loran in your new O-35 is worth keeping if it still works. The learning curve for a Loran unit is pretty easy to master, so why not keep it around as a backup.If the unit doesn't work, that would be a different story. The cost of repair would probably exceed the cost of a backup chartplotter. But since you may only need an antenna, I'd say keep the Loran. Between GPS, Loran and paper charts (you do have them, don't you?), you should be set.Petes/v EmmieLou (O-322)Little Silver, NJ

 

[Pete]

A couple leads to check out

Barry,Both West Marine and Defender show Loran antennas in their online catalogs. Check these out:http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/categoryg/10001/-1/10001/676/29/3/man/asc/0/gridhttp://www.defender.com/category.jsp?path=-1|344|295760&id=320778They don't seem too outrageously priced.Petes/v EmmieLou (O-322)Little Silver, NJ

 

[BarryL]

Thanks for the info and the link

Hi Guys,Thanks for the comments.Since I can get an antenna for 11 bucks (Defender) I will buy one and put it on.What's funny is that I looked at some of the pictures in the ad for my boat,and I can see the antenna mounted in the stern.When I turn the unit on and press a few buttons it displays the current speed, heading and lat/long. The display flashes becausethe data is not valid. So if an antenna will get me that info, Ican at least make log entries from inside the boat instead ofin the cockpit.Thanks again,Barry