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Definition

Definition
A radio navigation system which enables the position of an aircraft equipped with a suitable receiver to be fixed by two or more intersecting hyperbolic position lines. The system employs either a time difference measurement of pulse transmissions or a phase difference measurement of phase-locked continuous wave transmissions.

HYPERBOLIC NAVIGATION SYSTEM

A navigation system that produces hyperbolic lines of position (LOPs) through the measurement of the difference in times of reception of radio signals from two or more synchronized transmitters at fixed points. Such systems require the use of a receiver which measures the time or phase difference between arriving radio signals.

Introduction
Hyperbolic navigation systems work by measuring the time differences in receiving radio signals from two or more synchronized transmitters on land. On board ship, a receiver measures this time or phase difference, allowing a position to be calculated.

Hyperbolic Position Lines

Hyperbolic Position Lines

Two radio transmitting points are designated M and S, with concentric circles around each to indicate distances traveled by the radiating signals. The various points at which the circles intersect create a family of hyperbolas, with the straight line through AB representing all points that are equidistant between M and S. Based on the time delay in receiving the simultaneous signals from M and S, the position of the craft can be determined.

Introduction
A number of these systems were developed from the 1930s, including Gee, Omega, Decca and Loran.

The OMEGA system

OMEGA Radionavigation System

Developed by the United States Navy for military aviation users, was approved for full implementation in 1968 and promised a true worldwide oceanic coverage capability and the ability to achieve a four mile accuracy when fixing a position. Initially, the system was to be used for navigating nuclear bombers across the North Pole to Russia. Later, it was found useful for submarines.

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The OMEGA system

When the eight station chain became operational, day to day operations were managed by the United States Coast Guard in partnership with Argentina, Norway, Liberia, France, Japan and Australia. Coast Guard personnel operated two U.S. stations - one in LaMoure, North Dakota and the other in Haiku, Hawaii. OMEGA employed hyperbolic radio navigation techniques and the chain operated in the VLF portion of the spectrum between 10 to 14 kHz.

The OMEGA system

Near its end, it evolved into a system used primarily by the civil community. By receiving signals from three stations, an Omega receiver could locate a position to within 4 nm using the principle of phase comparison of signals.

History
John Alvin Pierce, the "Father of Omega," first proposed the use of continuous wave modulation of VLF signals for navigation purposes in the 1940's. Working at the Radiation Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he proved the viability of measuring the phase difference of radio signals to compute a location solution. Pierce originally called this system RADUX.

History
Thinking this frequency was the far end of the radio spectrum Pierce dubbed the transmission "Omega," for the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Radux-Omega showed the possibilities of very-lowfrequency propagation, but there were fears about ambiguity errors if a single low frequency were used on its own. In the 1950's two new factors appeared - the inertial navigation system (INS) and the great increase in electronic system reliability following the introduction of the transistor.

Location
The Bratland, Norway station (near the Arctic Circle) and the Haiku Valley station on Oahu, Hawaii, originally experimental stations, were among the first in the system. In 1968, the U.S. Navy authorized full scale implementation of the Omega System based on the OIC report. Responsibility for the operation was transferred from the U.S.Navy to the U.S. Coast Guard in 1971, under the terms of title 14, USC 82. The Coast Guard created a new command, the Omega Navigation System Operations Detail (ONSOD) to operate the system. ONSOD control of the synchronization of the system was perfected while the Navy Project Office finished the task of constructing the stations.

Location
As construction of the final six stations proceeded through the 1970's, ONSOD assumed the duties of engineering maintenance for those stations as they were declared operational. Eventually, eight permanent stations located in Bratland, Norway; Paynesville, Liberia; Kaneohe, Hawaii, US; La Moure, North Dakota, US; Plaine Chabrier, La Reunion, France (Indian Ocean); Golfo Nuevo, Chubut, Argentina; Woodside, Victoria, Australia; and ShushiWan, Tsushima Island, Japan were completed

Operation
Universal time is corrected for changes in the earth's rate of rotation; these conditions, called leap seconds, are made periodically. Corrections to OMEGA Time to account for leap seconds are difficult because of complex interrelationships between stations. Additionally, signals used during the time change present a synchronization problem. Consequently, OMEGA Time is maintained at a steady rate and is not updated. All OMEGA stations are timed and controlled by a cesium beam atomic clock which is accurate to 1 second in 3000 years. The overall accuracy is on the order of a few parts in 10^12

All OMEGA signal patterns are transmitted starting at zero time (OMEGA Time) and are maintained at the exact starting time through atomic clocks at each transmitting site. All frequencies are phase locked to zero time. All frequencies cross zero phase with a positive slope at exactly 0000 OMEGA Time.

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Why VLF?
The VLF range of 10 -14 KHz was selected as the best range for OMEGA primarily because of: 1. Presence of a wave guided mode to VLF signals which follows the earth's curvature and provides signal detection over great distances with a relatively low (10KW) power output. 2. Excellent stability of VLF signals. 3. Relatively wide distances between points where phase measurements would be the same (distances between points of equal phase measurements).

VLF WAVE GUIDED MODE

VLF propagation contains several different transmission modes: ground wave. sky waves and wave guided wave. The wave guide effect occurs when a wave passes through a cavity which reflects the wave and confines it to the enclosed space within the cavity. An effect similar to the wave guide effect occurs when very low frequency transmissions travel over the earth's surface. Signals in the 10-14 KHz range behave as though propagated through a waveguide of concentric spheres. In this case, the spheres are the earth and the ionosphere.

Why VLF?
The stability of an OMEGA signal is the primary reason these waves are desirable for navigation. Stability of a VLF OMEGA signal indicates the wave propagates with similar characteristics, without distortion. at almost any distance from the transmitting station as long as it is receivable. This stability is confirmed through monitoring of OMEGA VLF signals at various earth locations. Monitoring has also shown changes in exact phase measurement of VLF signals. Actual measurement at a given time can be predicted with great accuracy even though exact phase measurements differ greatly day to night. season to season.

SYSTEM ERRORS
The earth is not a perfect waveguide. The imperfect walls of the earth ionosphere waveguide affect signals in many ways. Phase velocities in the VLF range are primarily dependent upon the condition of this waveguide through which they are propagated. The earth's waveguide condition is a function of the shape and height of the ionosphere which is in turn a function of the position of the sun and the season of the year.

DIURNAL EFFECT
The first error source of concern is called the diurnal effect. It is principally associated with the sun's position since its radiation adjusts the height and shape of the ionosphere. During daylight hours, the ionization layer will lower to about 70 KM, thereby increasing the phase velocity. At night, the layer moves up to about 90 KM, thus decreasing the phase velocity. This effect will also be seasonal and, of course, nonlinear during transition.

GROUND CONDUCTIVITY
The second source of error is ground conductivity. Extreme variations in phase velocities are detectable between sea water, representing low attenuation, and ice which is high in attenuation and hence slows the phase velocities. Water is a near perfect conductor in the VLF spectrum and does not greatly affect the signal.

CLOSURE
With the GPS being declared fully operational, the use of OMEGA had dwindled to a point where continued operation was not economically justified. The 1994 edition of the United States Federal Radio navigation Plan (FRP), which delineates policies and plans for federally provided radio navigation services, stated "the U.S. expects to continue OMEGA operations until September 30, 1997, to accommodate the transition of civil aviation users to GPS.

CLOSURE
OMEGA was shut down precisely at 0300Z on September 30, 1997 - the end of another era. To VLF experimenters, the very high power OMEGA signals were both a blessing and a curse; a blessing in that they provided convenient test signals in the 9.5 to 14 kHz range, and a curse in that they tended to interfere with the reception of natural radio phenomena such as "whistlers" and "dawn chorus".