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Space Debris – A Threat to GNSS?

Space Debris – A Threat to GNSS?

Blog Editor's Note: NASA is rightly concerned about the future of space and keeping it usable. The immediate problem and the focus of much recent attention has been Low Earth Orbit (LEO). GNSS fly about ten thousand miles above LEO in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), so it...

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“Protecting GNSS and Users – The Ideal APNT” Inside GNSS

“Protecting GNSS and Users – The Ideal APNT” Inside GNSS

Blog Editor's Note: There seems to be a lot of talk these days about systems to complement and backup GNSS. We think that establishing a good set of criteria that focus on protecting a nation and its citizens by helping establish a rock-solid PNT architecture is a...

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GPS Tracker Shows Child 90 Miles From School

GPS Tracker Shows Child 90 Miles From School

We depend upon GPS signals for so many important things, it's often difficult to think of them all.  We were reminded of just how important some of these uses are when we read this problem report on the US Coast Guard's website: "My son wears a GPS watch due to the...

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eLoran Standards Published – SAE

eLoran Standards Published – SAE

Blog Editor's Note: Standards for Loran-C were effectively set by the US Coast Guard. This enabled receivers world-wide to use signals whether they came from Russia, China, Europe or the USA. SAE has assumed this role for eLoran. With South Korea implementing its...

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GPS Problem Reports Now Available to Public – US Coast Guard

GPS Problem Reports Now Available to Public – US Coast Guard

Blog Editor's Note: BZ (Well Done!) to the US Coast Guard for posting GPS problem reports on the internet for all to see and learn from. Reports from 2018 are available now (we counted 43), new ones will be added, as will reports from previous years. Members of the...

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“The Kremlin Eats GPS for Breakfast” – Moscow Times

“The Kremlin Eats GPS for Breakfast” – Moscow Times

Blog Editor's Note: We just ran across this article from 2016. While it is a couple years old, it has some tidbits we had not seen before. For example that the Russian government is spoofing both GPS and GLONASS in Moscow. Also confirmation that this is related to...

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“Protect GPS” High on Space Force To-Do List? – C4ISRNET

“Protect GPS” High on Space Force To-Do List? – C4ISRNET

Blog Editor's Note: Protection of GPS satellites must be a national priority. Probably even more important is protection of GPS signals. The nation has had policy for 14 years to do just that, but very little has been done. We are glad that Space Force, according to...

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National PNT Leadership Needed – ION Newsletter

National PNT Leadership Needed – ION Newsletter

Blog Editor's Note: This article from the most recent Institute of Navigation Newsletter reflects the widely held belief that the current governance system for GPS/PNT in the US, which was established in 2004, has not been able to protect, toughen and augment GPS as...

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Research on Alternative PNT in Europe – DME, LDACS, eLoran

Research on Alternative PNT in Europe – DME, LDACS, eLoran

Blog Editor's Note: We came across this paper at the IEEE website. It discusses DME/DME, Multi-DME, the L-band Digital Aeronautical Communication System (LDACS) and eLoran as alternatives. The abstract for the paper is below and a full copy is available for a modest...

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EMI from LED? Yes for DSC, AIS.  GPS too.

EMI from LED? Yes for DSC, AIS. GPS too.

Blog Editor's Note: The US Coast Guard issued the below warning last week. Seems the power conversion circuitry on LED lights, especially inexpensive ones, can generate a broad spectrum of electromagnetic interference.  As one of the experts we contacted said "It's...

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Time Services Cut in NIST 2019 Budget Proposal

Time Services Cut in NIST 2019 Budget Proposal

Blog Editor's Note: I have an analog clock in my office that I never have to adjust because it is synced with WWV. While neither WWV nor WWVH are sufficiently precise for most commercial applications, it would be interesting to know which users will be impacted if...

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New DHS Risk Center to Deal with GPS, PNT Issues

New DHS Risk Center to Deal with GPS, PNT Issues

Blog Editor's Note: This new risk center was mentioned at the recent DHS Cyber Security Summit. Mr. Bob Kolasky, it's new leader, has told us that GPS and PNT issues will be one of the center's focus areas. "It is very much top-of-mind" Kolasky told us before the...

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PNT Board Letter On Ligado Published

PNT Board Letter On Ligado Published

Blog Editor's Note: The National Space-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board is a Federal Advisory Committee Act body established by Presidential directive and administered by NASA. It reports to the US government's PNT Executive Committee...

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New, More Convenient GPS Jammer Available

New, More Convenient GPS Jammer Available

Blog Editor's Note; If you don't want to give up your car's electrical outlet to power your GPS jammer, this new device uses the On Board Diagnostic (OBD) port. We like that the vendor is very careful to explain the limitations of the equipment. It only impacts L1,and...

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Can’t/Won’t Fly Without GPS

Can’t/Won’t Fly Without GPS

Blog Editor's Note: There are those in the FAA and the aviation industry who, when asked about the importance of GPS to aviation claim that they have backups and can do without.* Never mind that the entire system would slow down, become less efficient and more...

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“Replacing GPS” – Lots of Hype, Lots of Shortfalls

“Replacing GPS” – Lots of Hype, Lots of Shortfalls

Blog Editor's Note: We love interesting articles that talk about new PNT technologies.  But when they talk about "replacing GPS," well, that's a bit of hype too far, in our opinion. Especially since, while all the systems described seem interesting, all fall short...

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SCREWED IN A MILLISECOND – Bloomberg Business Week

SCREWED IN A MILLISECOND – Bloomberg Business Week

Blog Editor's Note: More recent incidents and concerns tend to make many of us forget about the lessons of the January 2016 GPS timing glitch. I wonder how much we learned and how much different things would be today if it happened again. This article first...

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DHS Taking a Risk-Based Look at PNT Resilience – Will It Matter?

DHS Cyber Summit to Address GPS/PNT Vulnerabilities

“PNT vulnerability very much top of mind” says Assistant Secretary We were misinformed that the DHS Cyber Summit was not going to include discussion of PNT issues. DHS’ Acting Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, Bob Kolasky told us that PNT issues will...

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US National PNT Advisory Board Meeting 6 August

US National PNT Advisory Board Meeting 6 August

The National PNT Advisory Board will meet by teleconference/WebEx at noon EST on the 6th of August. Agenda items are: Finalize and Approve the National Space-Based PNT Advisory Board Topics Paper Finalize and Approve the National Space-Based PNT Advisory Board...

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Resilient GPS for Small UAS – DHS Request for Info

Resilient GPS for Small UAS – DHS Request for Info

Blog Editor's Note; It is good to see DHS concerned about this issue. We wonder why, though, they are focusing only on GPS sensors as GPS/GNSS signals are inherently NOT resilient ...     2018 Resilient GPS Equipment Demonstration for sUAS  ...

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27 Organizations’ Concerns about Ligado – FCC Filing

27 Organizations’ Concerns about Ligado – FCC Filing

Blog Editor's Note: The RNT Foundation has filed several items with the FCC concerning adjacent band interference with GPS/GNSS. Subsequent to Ligado's most recent modification to their application, we joined a number of other organizations expressing continuing...

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NASA Chief – “Space Force to Guard GPS” – Bloomberg

NASA Chief – “Space Force to Guard GPS” – Bloomberg

Blog Editor's Note - We  are really, really good with guarding GPS.  But the real threats to are to the signals, not the satellites, and come from the ground not space. Perhaps we should worry about that first...   Bloomberg Politics Trump’s Space Force Will...

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“Jamming is Big Business” – Market Report

“Jamming is Big Business” – Market Report

Blog Editor's Note: We aren't suggesting you pay $5795.00 for this market analysis report. But it is interesting to see that the jammer market is big enough to warrant such an effort. Also that all the companies cited as feeding the market are major players,...

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