OMEGA HYPERBOLIC

NAVIGATION
OMEGA was the first truly global
radio navigation system for aircraft,
operated by the United States in
cooperation with six partner nations.
Argentina
Norway
Liberia
France
Japan
Australia
 HISTORY
Developed by the United States Navy
for military aviation users

Was approved for full implementation

in 1968
Initially, the system was to be used for
navigating nuclear bombers across the
North Pole to Russia

Later it was found useful for

submarines
 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.
RADUX

- measuring the phase difference of

radio signals to compute a location
solution
 After experimenting with various frequencies, he settled on a
phase stable, 10 kHz transmission in the 1950's.

"OMEGA"

- last letter of the Greek alphabet

 1950s Ambiguity errors

Inertial Navigation System (INS)

Transistor

1963
Omega Implementation Committee (OIC)
charged with designing the new
navaid and, on the basis of their
experiments, took the decisions
about how Omega would work - the
choice of frequencies, location of
transmitters, power levels, etc.
Due to the high cost of constructing VLF
antennas (Omega antenna towers were
more than 1,200 feet in height), the first
experimental transmissions were actually
existing VLF communications stations that
were modified for Omega transmissions
 Omega stations used very
extensive antennas in order to
transmit their extremely low
frequencies. Specifically, they
used grounded or insulated
guyed masts with umbrella
antennas, or wire-spans across
fjords. Some Omega antennas
were the tallest constructions
on the continent where they
stood or still stand.
 1968

the U.S. Navy authorized full scale

implementation of the Omega System

1971
transferred from the U.S.Navy to the
U.S. Coast Guard
Omega Navigation System Operations
Detail (ONSOD)
1983
Omega achieved full eight station
implementation in 1983 and was used
by several airlines flying long range
routes over water as well as by military
forces
 OPERATION
Each Omega station transmitted a very low frequency signal
which consisted of a pattern of four tones unique to the
station that was repeated every ten seconds. Because of this
and radio navigation principles, an accurate fix of the
receiver's position could be calculated. OMEGA employed
hyperbolic radio navigation techniques and the chain
operated in the VLF portion of the spectrum between 10 to
14 kHz.
 By receiving signals from three stations, an Omega receiver
could locate a position to within 4 nautical miles using the
principle of phase comparison of signals.
OMEGA STATIONS
 Trelew, Argentina - tallest construction in South America. On June 23, 1998 it was demolished after
the OMEGA service was shut down.

Woodside, Victoria, Australia This mast is the highest construction in the

southern hemisphere. Since the shutdown of OMEGA it is used as a transmitter
for orders to submarines at 13 kHz
 Due to the success of the Global Positioning System the use
of Omega declined during the 1990s, to a point where the
cost of operating Omega could no longer be justified.
Omega was permanently terminated on September 30,
1997 and all stations ceased operation.

Some of the stations, such as the LaMoure station, are now

used for submarine communications.