Destroyer 89 in Solent

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SailingDog

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Here's a curious thing, does any-one have any ideas ? Out and about in the Eastern Solent on Sunday, large grey gunship cruising up and down, quite a sight ! Add a couple of blasts of lightening over Ryde and Portsmouth, my hair isn't curly so no direct hits................ so why was my GPS frozen....no amount of button pushing would get her attention, finally disconnected the power source. Is my GPS fried c/o HMS ? <span style="color:black"> </span>
 
Possibly, but GPS signals are extremely weak and easily disrupted. I have lost GPS signals when in or even near electrical storms. The software appears not to be able to cope with the erratic nature of of interference - understandably. Last time I sailed passed the radio masts on what was the old Cobra Mist Radio Array (not sure what it is now?) on Orford Ness my plotter show my position jump instantly from the River Alde to Stockholm!! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
In short it dosen't take much to interfere with an already weak GPS signal and TV,radio,lightning can all bugger your electronic position plotting ability, so all the transmitty stuff on a naval vessel will probably stand a good chance too.

Did your plotter/GPS eventually reboot ok? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Incidently a good site for tracking lightning that gives triangulated data rather than from a single source antenna is lightning data There's a good one over Holland at the moment. You might have to hit the lightning data link if you get the nowcast page.
 
Unless there was more than one destroyer running up and down the Solent on Sunday - she said "Exeter" on the side as she passed very close to our race fleet.

No noticeable adverse effect on my handheld GPS.
 
Beg to differ. She was Exeter and she wasn't keeping a very good listening watch on Ch11 as she went back in to Portsmouth!
She seemed to be doing high speed circuits of the Ryde Middle bank. I wonder what was so urgent that she had to do it on a July Sunday amongst hundreds of yachts.
 
Sounds like a familly's day trip to me....I wonder where she's been. If so she'll not have had any jammers working, so no reason for the gps to act up.
 
This was her out and about on Wednesday, doing much the same thing - pootling about for a bit, then having a sprint up and down the Solent, then another dawdle. Looked like fun.



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I very much doubt your GPS was fried by Pussers Grey Messenger of Death. lol

I served on a few of her sister ships during my time in the MOB.

As for what she may have been doing? Quite possible Family days/ Sea trials of some sort/ Exercises.

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I wonder what was so urgent that she had to do it on a July Sunday amongst hundreds of yachts.

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I think it's called work it's doesn't stop just cos it's sunday! Pmsl
 
Far more likely to be the lightning. GPS receivers are quite sensitive, and in theory at least a hefty nearby lightning bolt could fry something in the detector stages. A near miss can easily generate enough charge to give a nasty shock off metal fittings. I had a car radio fried once when a roadside tree was hit as I passed it.

The only time I experienced GPS blackout was when a US warship was in the Solent. About a mile distant from it the GPS stopped picking up satellite signals, until i had passed it. It then resumed operation and worked fine. Either something to do with the USN on board comms, or some sort of jamming to stop GPS guided terrorists.
 
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