Acknowledgement
Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez
Institute of Science and Technology
Nagtahan, Sampaloc, Manila
College of Engineering
Electronics and Communications Engineering Department
ECE 414 Elective 1 (Navigation)
Omega
Chapter 14
Omega was the first truly global radio navigation system for aircraft, operated by the United States in cooperation with six partner nations. It enabled ships and aircraft to determine their position by receiving very low frequency (VLF) radio signals transmitted by a network of fixed terrestrial radio beacons, using a receiver unit. It became operational around 1971 and was shut down in 1997.
INTRODUCTION
The OMEGA radio navigation system, developed by the United States Navy for military aviation users, was approved for full implementation in 1968 and promised a true worldwide oceanic coverage capability and the ability to achieve four-mile accuracy when fixing a position. Initially, the system was to be used for navigating nuclear bombers across the North Pole to Russia. Later, it was found useful for submarines.
When the eight station chain became operational, day to day operations were managed by the United States Coast Guard in partnership with Argentina, Norway, Liberia, France, Japan and Australia. Coast Guard personnel operated two U.S. stations – one in La Moure, North Dakota and the other in Haiku, Hawaii. OMEGA employed hyperbolic radio navigation techniques and the chain operated in the VLF portion of the spectrum between 10 to 14 kHz. Near its end, it evolved into a system used primarily by the civil community. By receiving signals from three stations, am Omega receiver could locate a position to within 4 nm using the principle of phase comparison of signals. In the Royal Canadian Navy, the OMEGA system was used in the AOR, 280 and Halifax class ships.
History
John Alvin Pierce, the “Father of Omega,” first proposed the use of continuous wave modulation of VLF signals for navigation purposes in the
Institute of Science and Technology
Nagtahan, Sampaloc, Manila
College of Engineering
Electronics and Communications Engineering Department
ECE 414 Elective 1 (Navigation)
Omega
Chapter 14
Omega was the first truly global radio navigation system for aircraft, operated by the United States in cooperation with six partner nations. It enabled ships and aircraft to determine their position by receiving very low frequency (VLF) radio signals transmitted by a network of fixed terrestrial radio beacons, using a receiver unit. It became operational around 1971 and was shut down in 1997.
INTRODUCTION
The OMEGA radio navigation system, developed by the United States Navy for military aviation users, was approved for full implementation in 1968 and promised a true worldwide oceanic coverage capability and the ability to achieve four-mile accuracy when fixing a position. Initially, the system was to be used for navigating nuclear bombers across the North Pole to Russia. Later, it was found useful for submarines.
When the eight station chain became operational, day to day operations were managed by the United States Coast Guard in partnership with Argentina, Norway, Liberia, France, Japan and Australia. Coast Guard personnel operated two U.S. stations – one in La Moure, North Dakota and the other in Haiku, Hawaii. OMEGA employed hyperbolic radio navigation techniques and the chain operated in the VLF portion of the spectrum between 10 to 14 kHz. Near its end, it evolved into a system used primarily by the civil community. By receiving signals from three stations, am Omega receiver could locate a position to within 4 nm using the principle of phase comparison of signals. In the Royal Canadian Navy, the OMEGA system was used in the AOR, 280 and Halifax class ships.
History
John Alvin Pierce, the “Father of Omega,” first proposed the use of continuous wave modulation of VLF signals for navigation purposes in the