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How GPS Is Killing Lighthouses
sakshale writes "Spiegel Online has an article about the impact of GPS systems on Lighthouses.
They claim that the popularity of the satellite-based global positioning system has led to the closure of lighthouses along the German coast." As the article says, "critics question whether the new system is reliable and safe enough to warrant the closure of these historical beacons of safety."
As such, the U.S. military can turn off the satelites or scramble their signal whenever it deems appropriate. So, before our friends the Germans decide to become overly dependant on U.S. technology, they ought to ensure that the world is a stable place otherwise they may find themselves hung out to dry on the reef.
Lighthouses are like the RIAA. The conditions that allowed them to flourish have changed, leaving them superfluous. At least in one way, lighthouses have an advantage over the RIAA; they are charming and endearing to many people, and they provide nostaligic pleasure. No one will miss the RIAA.
I think most people prefer to have an analog backup of some sort, especially when safety is concerned. We still don't trust our digital resources, so why should we rely on them wholly in navigation?
I wonder if we can combine the old and new worlds... e.g., turn all the obsolete lighthouses into cell towers...
I'm a bloodsucking fiend! Look at my outfit!
Maybe they'll get less opposition to closing light houses if they forced german ships to use the new EU galileo system instead of GPS.
On the other hand, if this happens, perhaps the lighthouse preservation lobby will force the EU government to cancel Galileo to save historic lighthouses. Stranger things have happened in Europe...
And just how well does that shoal show up on radar anyway?
KFG
Ocean Navigator carried an article a few years ago about how the number of people "lost at sea" reported by the US Coast Guard had *increased* since GPS was invented!
The typical response to was "the batteries went flat...". Hmmmm. Point taken re postage stamps and email but this is a lives-at-stake situation.
BTW, this is also why the US Navy still teaches celestial navigation and morse code.
Stevo
Forget the truth. Science is fact.
3 meters? Are you kidding me? I did survey last summer and we used GPS. With a triangulated system we could be accurate to withen 1/100 of a 10th. That's apx. 1 mm! And trust me, we had to be sometimes. GPS is great stuff. Finally math books can spew out real world examples of geometry (mainly trig, subset of geometry anyways) that the students might use one day.
"If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer
Lighthouses have been obsolete since radar came to be. GPS is hardly the starting point for this.
As a boater I can tell you that neither radar nor GPS makes lighthouses obsolete. Nor did LORAN before them.
Sure, if you've got it and its working you can tell where you are. Within a football field if selective-availability is on, much better if it's off.
And the big commercial ships have them and they're usually working.
And the small commercial ships in well-to-do countries (like fishing boats for instance) may have them and they may be working.
And the more well-to-do pleasure-boaters may have them and they may be working.
But there are a LOT of boats out there that DON'T have them. The BULK of them, if you're talking numbers.
Fishermen may not have them - and may have other things to deal with than watching a screen. Most pleasure boats are small fry, not millionaires' giant toys. (A small ocean-capable cruising sailboat, for instance, may be considerably less expensive than an RV of a similar size.)
Even if they have them, any bets whether they're working when you're coming in after a month at sea, two years after they were purchased? Salt spray is HELL on electronics, and gets into everything.
And even when they do have them, and they are operating, a boater may think he's far out to sea when he's actually almost onto a hidden hazard, and not be looking. (A lighted nav marker, among other things, is the idiot-light of boating.)
Saying GPS obsoletes lighthouses is like saying GPS-based navigation systems for cars obsolete stop signs, curve signs, and the blinking lights associated with them.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
In fact the only lighthouse in the United States that is still manned and maintained by the government (the United States Coast Guard) is Boston Harbor Light. It was the first lighthouse in the nation, which is why the government has agreed to keep it manned while all the others maintained by the USCG are automated.
... or more relevant... pseudolites. These are pseudo GPS satellites that can be used to add more "satellites" to the GPS solution.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Somehow, I doubt you were filled with brains to preserve your intelligence.
I find two (out of two) things wrong with your statement. One: Egyptian pyramids were pathways to the heavens for, and monuments to, the pharoahs who were buried in them. They were not in any way related to lighthouses. Two: Last I checked, the Egyptian pyramids date back, oh, several thousand years or so. The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978.
Some form of light is still an advantage in storms where GPS is either un available or too hard to compare to a chart of the area. Lighthoses and buoies are still the best way to go for the smaller boats.
You're assuming anyone cares about small sailboats crashing on the shore, or running aground. By your logic, we should cover national parks with floodlights so the random hiker has a safer journey. If a tanker crashes into the coast or runs aground, that's a big deal. If a small sailboat is lost, that's a personal tragedy. At some point people have to take personal responsibility for their actions and the situations they place themselves in. Am I an insensitive clod? Yes. Yes I am.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
I once worked with a bunch of pilots when GPS was still in its infancy. I never heard any of them, nor have I heard of any to this day, ever say they were interested in, say, getting rid of their VOR receiver once they ever put a GPS receiver in their plane. Why make mariners navigate without a backup system? I can't imagine that they're in favor of this. Can't imagine the companies that offer insurance are crazy about eliminating the lighthouse system either.
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
I gave a lot of thought to this while I was in Cape Cod last Fall...
:)
They paid a few million dollars to relocate highland lighthouse hundreds of feet because of beach erosion in 1997. Admittedly anyone who sails around highland (Cape Cod) lighthouse is well aware of that spot and GPS does a far better job than that lighthouse... But the historical significance outweighed the price.
GPS is more accurate and any vessel that uses it for navigation darn well better have a fail-safe. I don't think reliability is going to be too big a concern...
Light houses will likely stay in operation purely for the atmosphere in the future. The new bulbs are extremely high efficiency and cost of operation is minimal, it's relocating the darn things because of beach erosion that might do them in... At that point it probably becomes a publicly funded situation, with local residents pitching to save their historic landmarks rather than tax dollars.
I for one would pay to keep them in operation, you really have to experience a night in Cape Cod to understand
I go through the commotion of getting my envelopes, figuring out postage, signing all the cards, and I make my own cards (you can print on Bristol board, heavy drawing paper or cardstock using a conventional inkjet) which can take a while. This occupies a significant portion of my Christmas vacation but I figure it's worth it. Printing an email and hanging it on the fridge just isn't the same.
I find it intertesting how these people that go on suicide missions are generally considered crazy. To me, they seem more passionate about a belief. Lots of people say they would do anything for something they believe it. The difference is the people blowing themselves up mean it. While I do not agree with their tactics, or even their believes in most cases, its hard not to admire their conviction -- as long as its from a safe distance.