cruise missiles that rely on the satellite signals.
USCG Local Notices to Mariners have
warned that stray signals from amplified TV
antennas were radiating enough energy to
screw up some GPS reception.
In San Diego, an unintentional military
radio transmission knocked out GPS navigation service over a wide area and shut down
most of the cellular phone system, except for
Sprint whose system included a secondary
timing link to the Loran-C system.
An intentional “spoofing” test report presented to the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee’s September 2008 meeting indicated
that a 1.5 watt jamming transmitter on shore
resulted in GPS position reports inland and up
to 22 km from true (eLoran) positions, which
were verified as accurate to within less than 10
meters. The report also noted that AIS information was degraded since the AIS relied on
GPS timing and that the positions of AIS-defined ATONS would be in error, as would
the timing of navigation lights synchronized
using GPS derived timing signals.
The skipper of a merchant ship com-
mented that the Electronic Chart Display Sys-
tem (ECDIS) required aboard his vessel would
be useless when deprived of the satellite navi-
gation information.
About the author
Chuck Husick’s current business activities include
technical journalism, consulting in marine and aviation projects and participation in organizations
such as the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services on behalf of recreational boating. Following his service as an officer in the Corps of Engineers, his work as an electronics engineer included
designing analog computers, program management
for the Gemini Space Program telemetry system and
senior management positions in marine and aircraft
electronics and two major aircraft companies. His
marine experience includes serving as chairman
and president of the Chris Craft Boat Co.
Industry News
SI-TEX Marine Electronics has announced agreements with five top sales organizations to represent its full line of chartplotters, sounders, autopilots, AIS, VHF radios,
radar and other popular systems across the Americas.
The appointment of these sales organizations—each
selected for its experience, market knowledge and track
record of success—is an important milestone in the company’s growth plan. “We are fortunate to be associated with
each one of these firms,” said Ted Bodtmann, president of
SI-TEX Marine Electronics. Bodtmann, together with industry
veteran Allen Schneider, recently acquired SI-TEX from
Koden Electronics and established new headquarters in Long
Island, NY.
“We have a strong, well-established product line and
exciting plans to launch new products down the road,” said
Bodtmann. The company’s new product rollout has already
begun, with the February launch of its new-for-2010 EC
Series of chartplotters/echosounders featuring 5, 7 and 11
SI-TEX names sales reps
inch models. These systems are now available. “With a new
‘all-star’ sales team in place to complement our products,
we’re confident that SI-TEX is well positioned for future
growth,” Bodtmann added.
The company made these appointments:
• The Bruce Hackett Company of Easton, MD, to
handle sales for New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware,
Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
• Richards Marine Marketing of Heisson, WA, for the
West Coast, including Alaska, Washington, Oregon,
California, Hawaii and western Canada.
• KNJ Marketing of Stoughton, MA, for eastern
Canada, as well as Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Vermont.
• Pilot Marine of Jacksonville, FL, for South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and
Texas
• The Roburn Agency will handle sales for the Latin
American and Caribbean markets, two important
growth sectors for SI-TEX.
To learn more about the full line of SI-TEX marine electronics for recreational boaters, contact these regional sales
organizations or call SI-TEX headquarters at 631.996.2690.
Information is also available online at www.si-tex.com.
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
Active Research Ltd.
Airmar Technology Corp.
AIS-JV
Alphatron Marine
CWR Electronics
Electronic Devices
FLIR Systems
Garmin International
Gemeco
GMPCS Personal Communications
Hatteland Display
ICOM America
Intellian Technologies
KVH Industries
Mercury Marine
Nauticomp
Navionics
Raymarine
Richardson Electronics
Sea Wide Distribution
Shakespeare
Standard Horizon
Wx Worx
27
3
24
40
9
14
17
11
38
31
28
52
10
2
15
21
33
7
19
51
5
13
