Switching off GPS

[jeanette]

It might be a little alarmist, but if the USA if goes to war (with the as yet undefined enemy) what are the chances of them switching off the GPS satellites that many people now rely on.

Is it true that the availability of GPS lies wholly in the hands of the US Government?

 

[Guest]

The US certainly controls Selective Availability, the recently switched-off system that blurs the accuracy of GPS, and they might flip that back on but to close GPS down would create huge problems for shipping and aircraft.

If this does become a war, I think it's going to be a slow burner, isolated strikes and so on, so I doubt they'd inconvenience themselves to that degree. That said, we're in uncharted waters now...

 

[Guest]

It is more likely to be maintained at a high degree of efficiency. In the Gulf War ordinary commercial sets were bought up to supply the increased demand by allied forces.
An old saying was 'The most dangerous sight on the battlefield is an officer with a map'. Now it runs 'the most dangerous sight in the command post is an officer with a handheld GPS'.

 

[Mirelle]

I was told, at a British Intelligence briefing for merchant shipping during the invasion of Kuwait, that Russia had switched off GLONASS and that was the reason for the inaccuracy of the Scud missiles launched by Iraq. The same source told us, at an earlier briefing during the Iran/Iraq conflict, when both sides were targetting merchant shipping, that we need not worry about the Chinese "Silkworm" missiles supplied to supplied to Iran because they are liquid fuelled and need 12 hours on the pad to fuel up, during which time a satellite could spot them. That advice proved to be accurate so maybe the GLONASS advice was as well.

Presumably the Russian merchant anmd naval fleets reverted to sextant?

 

[gunnarsilins]

I think...

...the obvoius would be to switch the selected availability in again. I find it hard to belive they would switch the whole system off. In such case, what would the armed forces use for finding themselves on the map?
It would also be a tough political fight to judge such a decision when all global commercial aircraft and merchant shipping is dependent on GPS.
But this issue leaves us with the annoying question; how can a whole world allow themselves to be so dependent on a system of such importance which is entirely in the hands of one state, or even worse, in the hands of a few persons?
A global positioning system should be run by a international organization, should´t it?

 

[BarryD]

Re: I think...

As I understood it the US economy paid for the sattelite system, therefore it is theirs to do with as they want. The fact that its signals are freely available is fortunate.

However it is not accepted as a primary navigation tool for flying - because it can be turned off. Time to sharpen your pencils and purchase a chart, I use a Garmin 12 map handheld / waterproof thingy with altitude settings (not a lot of good on a boat unless they go -ve of course). GPS should only be used to verify your location and not as the primary tool. BUT that thread has been hashed before.

Barry D.

 

[pugwash]

No way

The entire US aviation industry including all passenger aircraft and their ground-avoidance systems etc now depends entirely on GPS. No way can they switch it off.

 

[andrewhopkins]

Noone will \"switch it off\"

But ithey do have the ability to scramble the signal so only armed services can use it.

However, the "enemy", if it is Bin Laden, wouldnt have much use for GPS so I doubt they would.

If I was out sailing out of sight of land and war broke out. I would make GPS my secondary source of fixing in case it is being scrambled, etc.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Who needs GPS or a sextant

The Polynesians were able to travel all over the Pacific, no compass, sextant, chronometer and some still can. Local knowledge and careful observation, astronomy and superb sea skills was all they had. Even today in the Coral Sea and around PNG and other outlying islands, the locals can journey rapidly over thousands of miles in much the same manner and even though governments do not sanction this and international borders are crossed with impunity it is done regularly and relatively safely, sans all those modern gadgets.

Mind you, it takes a reasonable amount of time to learn how and to practise the skills and there are not too many second chances. Use a GPS and a chart and you are up to speed in about 30 minutes and with the aid of an EPIRB a few satelites and the RLS or some such you can be rescued from the Southern Ocean even if you are not aware of the colour of the ocean or what way the wind blows.

 

[chrisc]

Re: Who needs GPS or a sextant

AH.. but how many polonesians are still roaming about out there ,totaly lost?

 

[longjohnsilver]

Partial switch off

When SA was taken away in May last year one of the reasons given for this unexpected bonus was that it is now possible to regionalise GPS coverage and turn the system off for any particular area they chose. Therefore it would seem unlikely that here in europe we will be affected by this unless things turn really nasty hereabouts!

 

[jollyjacktar]

No PWC\'s

None survive matey. You either do it right and get there or else you die. You make sure that you know what you are doing before you put to sea. Sorts out the week, the feeble and the dreamers and I can guarantee there are no PWC buzzy things dashing about either.

 

[billmacfarlane]

Re: Partial switch off

And if things turn that nasty the last thing on our minds will be sailing.

 

[duncan]

Re: No way

I do not think this is entirely true -

I believe that a very large number of comercial airliners do not use GPS at all for navigation.

The new ones comming into service do but they are in the minority up there in the sky.

No doubt a comercial pilot can confirm (or correct!)

 

[Guest]

Turn it off then.

I don't mind they can turn the whole thing off. I always know where I am, its just that I have a problem knowing where everything else is.

 

[Guest]

Re: Turn it off then.

I can well believe that Olaff if you never move out of that marina!!!

 

[Guest]

Marina?

I have to find my way back to land first.

 

[LadyInBed]

Cant even do SA now . . .

The Armed Forces used to have specially chipped 'Mil Spec' GPS sets. I have been reliably informed that when SA was switched off, HMG started buying 'ordinary' hand helds for 'the lads', and the firms that produced the Mil Spec sets went out of business. If SA goes on again there will be a lot of egg on many faces.