The Marine Electronics course consists of three modules: ME 101, Boat Electrical Systems, ME 102, Marine Radio Communications, and ME 103, Marine Electronics for Navigation. There are no prerequisites for any of these modules; however, it is suggested that a member take ME 101 before taking ME 102. All three modules must be successfully completed to receive credit for Marine Electronics.
ME 101, Boat Electrical Systems, provides information about properties of electricity, electrical power requirements and wiring practices, direct current power, alternating current power, galvanic and stray-current corrosion, lightning protection, and electrical interference. ME 102, Marine Radio Communications, delves into radio waves and transmitters, receivers and transceivers, antennas and transmission lines, FCC Rules and Regulations, FCC Frequency Plan, marine radiotelephone operating procedures, and other communication services (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), Digital Selective Calling (DSC), Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), satellite communications, amateur radio, and more).
ME 103, Marine Electronics for Navigation, presents information on depth sounders, RADAR, LORAN-C, GPS Navigation, and two new chapters: Electronic Charting, and Computer-Assisted Navigation (CAN). Members may take this module independent of any other ME module. This module qualifies for the DEP's Boaters Coastal Endorsement Program.
This course is not currently scheduled. If you are interested please contact us.
New Junior Navigation 2007 Course
The new USPS Junior Navigation 07 course is now being offered by the New London Power Squadron! This is the first of a two-course program of Offshore Navigation for the recreational boater in which students learn about current offshore navigation electronic tools and software as well as conventional route planning techniques. Students also learn traditional celestial navigational skills to determine position, using these techniques to check their electronics and as the backup navigation technique in the event electronics fail.
Today's recreational boater uses electronics as the primary means of positioning, and employs celestial positioning techniques as a check that the GPS is working correctly, and as backup in the event that electronics fail. In Junior Navigation, the student will continue to use GPS as the primary position sensor, as they learned to do in Piloting and Advanced Piloting. However, the offshore environment impacts how one uses the GPS and other electronic tools; the student will learn about some of these considerations in the course. In the offshore environment, accurate determination of position is just as important as when one is navigating in coastal waters. While offshore, visible terrestrial landmarks are no longer available to the navigator as reference points. In the Junior Navigation course, the student will learn to substitute celestial objects such as the sun as reference points. The course begins with the study of celestial navigation, teaching the student to take sights on the sun with a marine sextant and derive a line of position from that observation. The sun represents but a single reference point, so the student will apply the principles of the running fix learned in Advanced Piloting, and be able to plot a running fix of one's position from the sun sights. Once the student has learned the basics of celestial sight reduction, the course continues with planning, positioning, and checking one's position in the offshore environment, using both electronic and celestial tools.
This course is not currently scheduled. If you are interested please contact us.
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Seamanship Description
Building on the basics of recreational boating presented in the public boating courses, Seamanship adds foundational information for continuing boater education. The course contents should facilitate knowledge development for increased safe operation of recreational boats and provide the basis for completion of USCG licensing examination. Emphasis within the course has been placed on higher level boating skills, rules of the road, and marlinspike.
This course is not currently scheduled. If you are interested please contact us.
The Piloting course is the first in the sequence of USPS courses on navigation, covering the basics of coastal and inland navigation. This all-new course focuses on navigation as it is done on recreational boats today and embraces GPS as a primary navigation tool while covering enough of traditional techniques so the student will be able to find his/her way even if their GPS fails. The course includes many in-class exercises, developing the student?s skills through hands-on practice and learning. Topics covered include: Charts and their interpretation; Navigation aids and how they point to safe water; Plotting courses and determining direction and distance; The mariner's compass and converting between True and Magnetic; Use of GPS & typical GPS displays and information they provide, setting up waypoints and routes, staying on a GPS route; Pre-planning safe courses and entering them into the GPS; Monitoring progress and determining position by both GPS and traditional techniques such as bearings and dead reckoning; The "Seaman's Eye" - simple skills for checking that one is on course.
This course is not currently scheduled. If you are interested please contact us.
Navigation 2009 Course Description
After Junior Navigation, this course is the second part of the study of offshore navigation, further developing the student's understanding of celestial navigation theory. This Navigation 2009 course deals with learning celestial positioning using other bodies, in addition to positioning using the sun (covered in the Junior Navigation course). This course also deals with electronic software tools that can be used to plan and execute an offshore voyage. You will first learn to reduce these sights by the Law of Cosines method. Later in the course, you will learn an additional method of sight reduction, the Nautical Almanac Sight Reduction (NASR) method. You will also learn about sight planning techniques. With that knowledge, you will have the tools to take sights and complete your Navigation Sight Folder. The course includes a chapter on using a software-basedvoyage planning tool and a navigation program. The final chapter of the course contains a Practice Cruise that ties the separate elements of the course together.
Chapter 1. A View of our Solar System. A simple overview of how the celestial bodies in the sky appear to us on earth.
Chapter 2. Sunrise?Sunset. Finding local mean time of solar and lunar phenomena and converting the time of these events to zone time. Chapter 3. Taking Sights and Finding Ho, LHA, and Dec. Taking sights on the moon,navigational planets and stars; applying properaltitude corrections to these sights to obtain Ho;applying corrections for low altitude sights;and computing the LHA and declination ofthese bodies. Chapter 4. Sight Reduction and Plotting by the Law of Cosines. Reducing sights ofthe moon, stars, and planets by the Law of Cosinesmethod; and plotting lines of position (LOPs)for these sights to obtain an estimated position, arunning fix, and a true fix. Chapter 5. Sight Reduction and Plotting by the NASR method. Reducing sights onthe sun, moon, stars, and planets by the NauticalAlmanac Sight Reduction (NASR) method; and plotting the lines of position (LOPs) for these sightsto obtain an estimated position, a running fix, and atrue fix. Chapter 6. Sight Planning. Planning your sights to achieve good 2- and 3-body fixes, using both traditional and electronic tools. Chapter 7. Emergency Navigation. Provisioning an emergency navigation kit and constructing emergency plotting sheets; and determining destination coordinates mathematically from course and distance traveled. Chapter 8. Electronics and Software for Offshore Navigation. Using a software-basedvoyage planning tool to plan an offshore voyage (Visual Passage Planner 2); and using a navigation program in executing the voyage (Capn). Chapter 9. Underway. A review of the Navigator?s duties and USPS Plotting and Labeling Standards; and setting up and using a 900 series plotting sheet. The student will execute a leg of an offshore voyage using both electronic and traditional tools, including celestial positioning. This Practice Cruise is an excellent preparation for the open book exam.
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You may also contact
H. Lea Jewett Squadron Education Officer 227 Vauxhall St
