Clarification about the term "GPS Shutdown"

[Juergen Nieveler]

I can't find the picture on the web at the moment, but one company has
a nice Orbcomm tracking unit that fits into the ribs on top of each
container. Nice unit - onboard batteries last 6 months or a year.

Sounds interesting. Also would help with those containers that go
overboard and drift along - they sometimes are a navigation hazard
all by themself

Juergen Nieveler

 

[Juergen Nieveler]

Might I suggest you don't spend much time around real working ships?
Crews only paint what they have to, and don't paint anything that
isn't metal - standard practice. Out of hundreds of vessels I haven't
seen any of them with painted antennas on our regular inspections.

Sepnt too much time over in SMN, it seems - merchant crews probably
do a lot less painting than their military cousins, who paint
everything that doesn't run away and isn't clearly marked

True, but we are only one link in the chain.

Indeed, and I don't blame anybody - I just wanted to point out that
tracking is useless unless you can use the tracking information to
actually send somebody out there

Really, only India & Indonesia are the problem areas around here, with
Nigeria over the other side of the world. Indonesia is a poor country
with a damn lot of islands, and not much of a Navy. Maybe the USA
could donate a few hundred patrol boats instead of wanting to stomp
around where they aren't welcome?

ISTR that there at least WERE problems around the Philipines as well
- was that troublespot solved? Of course, the Philipines are more US-
friendly, a couple of US frigates around there wouldn't be much of a
problem - but any pirate there would have lots of islands to hide in
as well...

Juergen Nieveler

 

[Dave Baker]

Sepnt too much time over in SMN, it seems - merchant crews probably
do a lot less painting than their military cousins, who paint
everything that doesn't run away and isn't clearly marked

I know of some clients who do NO painting or chipping at sea - it's just done
when they come into port, and done by contractors. Probably this is the way
it is heading overall.

Indeed, and I don't blame anybody - I just wanted to point out that
tracking is useless unless you can use the tracking information to
actually send somebody out there

Oh, for sure, and that is the most difficult part of the equation, especially
around here with multiple countries & jurisdictions. In fact a lot of our
tracking is more for logistics purposes than anti-terrorism, but the 2
requirements overlap, so even our logistics units which have high update
rates (15 minutes) have panic buttons installed.

ISTR that there at least WERE problems around the Philipines as well
- was that troublespot solved?

There were problems, but not really to do with boats (apart from 1 tug boat
hijacked with 3 crew members still not recovered, presumably dead). Most of
the activity there is kidnapping from resorts, etc.

Dave

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[Dave Baker]

Sounds interesting. Also would help with those containers that go
overboard and drift along - they sometimes are a navigation hazard
all by themself

The latest GPSWorld has a picture of one on page 53, though this is a
cellular data link rather than Orbcomm. Same idea though.

Dave

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[Juergen Nieveler]

I know of some clients who do NO painting or chipping at sea - it's
just done when they come into port, and done by contractors. Probably
this is the way it is heading overall.

I've even seen civilian painters on a military ship docked in Malta.
OTOH, a busy crew is a happy crew


Juergen Nieveler

 

[Mxsmanic]

You're the one insisting GPS units which require power are
superior to map and compass which require no fuel of any kind.

Everything requires something. GPS is no more dependent on other
factors than anything else.

 

[Dave Baker]

I've even seen civilian painters on a military ship docked in Malta.
OTOH, a busy crew is a happy crew

These days the crew spend all their time doing paperwork!

Dave

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[Juergen Nieveler]

Everything requires something. GPS is no more dependent on other
factors than anything else.

GPS requires: Clear view of the sky, working satelites, working
batteries in your receiver

Maps require: A map

Juergen Nieveler

 

[jon]

For arbitrarily useless values of 'operating'

 

[jon]

Then there's the so-called 'online' units don't have to take over
because they're always supplying the power to the device(s) and the
'street AC' is used just to keep the batteries charged with the two
sides isolated. The advantage being 0 switching time, so spikes can't
sneak through. I would that with this type of unit, that any transition
to a backup generator source is transparent to the device(s) being
power.

Remember all the scrambling preparing for the Y2K doom? Work had
18-wheeler size backup power units trucked in for that one. Then again,
we're 24/7mision-critical, so it didn't matter what level of hype was
being put out there...

Regards,
Jon

 

[MacArthur]

Accronyms abound in this thread: )

Mac

 

[JJ]

We had a Orbcomm system we designed on a container for test... tracked it
from Australia to Long Beach, CA and could see where it was every day on a
map. Nice. The container was not in the hold and did get a good sky view.

Joe