Loran Information?

[slipknot]

I am looking at a used Raytheon Ray Nav 580 loran.The guy at the electronics shop said he would tweak it out,put on new couplers,and throw in an antenna for $400.If anyone has any info on the quality of this machine,I would appreciate the input.

[Steel Shootin']

I'm getting ready to replace my loran with a Raynav 580. I bought the instructional tape that you can get off the web because I wanted to see all of its features. I have to say it's more intuitive than other lorans, and I have friends that swear by the 580. I'm looking forward to using mine. Spear One is getting my old unit, and we're going to swap it with the new 580.

[slipknot]

Yeah , I saw that tape on their site.The dealer said he has the books for it. Does that price sound fair? I looked at the machine and it looked like new,but he said it was used.

[Spearchucker]

Thats alot of money. I used to have a Raynav 580, and I hooked Scott up with his for $75. It is a great Loran. I just bought a late model Apelco (also Raytheon) from Tamrad in Tampa for $175. It is a combination Loran and GPS. Not a phantom Loran, but a real Loran, with a GPS also. In fact with differential, it will have three antennas.

[100days-a-year]

Slipknot,EBAY......I bought 2 for christmas ,a micrologic and a 2morrow for under $75 each with coupler and factory books.Boatus had the vids for a $1 bill.Micrologic is very nice ,2morrow sux but will get you there .I gave them as Christmas gifts.RayJeff makes a nice unit as well.Apelco is nice also .

[Steel Shootin']

$400 definitely seems high. I'd be willing to part with $200 if it was something in great shape with coupler and power.

[slipknot]

Thanks for the info, I think I'll keep looking.
A guy told me today about a GPS that converts loran numbers,he was in a hurry, so I did'nt get to grill him further. Anyone ever heard of this technology? I havent.

[Spearchucker]

The conversions never work. You will have to get there with a Loran, then save the number on the GPS.

[mhuskey]

slipknot - Furuno makes a GPS unit that allows you to adjust the Lat/Lon to reflect a given set of TD's. What you do is turn on your Loran and let it settle out and get a fix and then adjust you GPS unit so that in the TD mode it reflects the same TD's as the loran. I fish with a local guy that has this set up and it works everytime. Couple of draw backs are that the machine is adjusted and therefore you need two units if you want to go to a spot based on a GPS number. Second you need both units or you need a dead on number in TD's and then adjust the unit. Just a little trick that has worked for us.

Matt

[100days-a-year]

Matt,all Furunos have that capability and they can be switched back and forth between GPS and LORAN mode at any time,no need for 2 units.The offsets vary quite a bit from area to area.Here in Jax the offset for one area say HH will give you an error of hundreds of yds 15 miles away at PG.A second hand loran is much cheaper than the cheapest good GPS and more accurate.#s stored in a Furuno as LORAN will be changed to GPS format when you change the unit back without any actual change in the # .The machine ALWAYS is in GPS mode but the display is selectable"so-called phantom Loran"the machine is approximating what the position would be in TDs it never does recieve a loran signal.

[Capt.Gene]

I sure wish I still had my furuno loran. It was nice to enter any two waypoints from stored memory and be told how far apart they were.
Anyone want to purchase an easy to use Ross loran with coupler, powercord and manual? I think I'll shop ebay for a replacement Furuno.