Consol (radio navigation method)
Consol was a radio navigation procedure for the sea and aviation.
history
Consol was developed in 1939 on behalf of the German Aviation Research Institute (DVL) at the C. Lorenz company under the direction of Ernst Ludwig Kramar and introduced in 1940 under the name "Sonne". In the long-wave range (300 kHz and 480 kHz), the console radio beacons alternately transmitted their Morse code and special console symbols, which consisted of a series of dots and lines. The range was about 1500 km over land and 3000 km over sea. During the Second World War, the "Sun" stations were never attacked by the Allies because they were also used for navigation. There are even reports that mention that spare parts were supplied to Spain from Great Britain for the German station there in order to ensure continued operation (F. W. Blanchard). After the war, a few more stations were built, e.g. B. Bushmills (Ireland). The Consol radio beacons were gradually switched off until February 1991 or continued to operate as a non-directional beacon .
Transmitter
A sun transmitter (FuSAn 700/701) had an output of 1500 watts. Its three antennas are set up in a line and are three wavelengths apart. Total station size so six wavelengths. Depending on the operating frequency of the station, the distance between the antenna masts changed. At 300 kHz there is 3000 m mast spacing, at 480 kHz it is 1875 m. The circulating signal was created through phase - shifted feeding of the transmission signal into the antenna elements and keying from dot to line sequences.
The use of this system only required a special Consol nautical chart - there were alternatively tables with which one could read a bearing from the number of lines heard - and a simple long-wave receiver . On the map, 12 A and 12 B sectors were drawn in alternating rays around the Consol radio beacons. The navigator only had to determine the 10 to 15 degree wide sector on the map and then set the frequency of the radio beacon in the receiver. After Morse code (e.g. "LEC" for Stavanger on 319 kHz) he could hear dots or lines that slowly weakened and then merged into a continuous tone lasting a few seconds, which then became stronger and stronger with the other signal (dots or Dashes). A transmission cycle lasted between 40 and 240 seconds, depending on the radio beacon. In the A sectors, dots were heard after Morse code, and dashes in the B sectors. The transition between points and lines was used to determine the position: The number of audible points gave the exact true bearing within a circle sector and could be read on the Consol map. By receiving a plurality of beacon one could cross bearing be performed. The accuracy of the determined position was, depending on the position to the radio beacons, about 3 nautical miles.
List of sun radio beacons (FuSAn 700/701) of the German Air Force
Identifier | frequency | place | Location | Transmission power |
---|---|---|---|---|
FRQ | 257.0 kHz | Ploneis- Quimper France | 48 ° 01 '06 "N 004 ° 12' 55" W. | 2000 W |
LEC | 319.0 kHz | Stavanger -Varhaug | 58 ° 37 '32 "N 007 ° 37' 49" E | 1500 W |
? | 307.0 kHz | Beauvais France | 43 ° 40 '56 "N 004 ° 44' 44" W. | 1500 W |
LG | 285.0 kHz | Lugo Spain | 43 ° 14 '53 "N 007 ° 28' 56" W. | 1500 W |
SL | 315.0 kHz | Seville Spain | 37 ° 31 '17 "N 006 ° 01' 18" W. | 1500 W |
? | 316.0 kHz | Brieg Poland | 50 ° 51'00 "N 017 ° 29'00" E | ? |
? | 481.0 kHz | Petten Netherlands | 52 ° 46 '00 "N 004 ° 40' 00" E | ? |
LEX | 332.5 kHz | Andoya Norway | 69 ° 08 '53 "N 015 ° 53' 00" E | 3000 W |
LMC | 332.5 kHz | Jan Mayen Norway | 71 ° 03 '00 "N 008 ° 14' 00" W. | 1500 W |
LJS | 332.5 kHz | Bear Island Norway | 74 ° 29 '34 "N 019 ° 03' 35" E | 3000 W |
? | ? | Plougourvest France | 49 ° 33 '00 "N 004 ° 05' 00" W. | ? |
? | 306.0 kHz | Bayeux France | 49 ° 17 '00 "N 000 ° 42' 00" E. | ? |
? | 481.0 kHz | Husum | 54 ° 29'00 "N 009 ° 03'00" E | ? |
The British "Bushmills" radio beacon from 1945
Identifier | frequency | place | Location | Transmission power |
---|---|---|---|---|
MWN | 266.0 kHz | Bushmills | 55 ° 12 '20 "N 006 ° 28' 02" W. | 2000 W |
List of Soviet WRM-5 radio beacons after 1945
Identifier | frequency | place | Location | Transmission power |
---|---|---|---|---|
N / A | 340.0 kHz | Shumshu | 50 ° 44 '00 "N 156 ° 19' 00" E. | 1000 W |
KS | 372.0 kHz | Tierpjenija Sakhalin | 49 ° 41'08 "N 144 ° 21'01" E | 1000 W |
RB | 363.0 kHz | Rybacky Murmansk | 69 ° 45 '12 "N 032 ° 55' 00" E | 1000 W |
PA | 280.0 kHz | Pankratjewa Novaya Zemlya | 76 ° 07 '05 "N 060 ° 10' 05" E | 1000 W |
PZ | 263.0 kHz | Posjeto | ? | 1000 W |
KN | 269.0 kHz | Cape Kanin | 68 ° 38 '18 "N 043 ° 17' 30" E | 1000 W |
List of US Consolan Stations (AN / FRN-5) after 1945
Identifier | frequency | place | Location | Transmission power |
---|---|---|---|---|
SFI | 192.0 kHz | San Francisco | 38 ° 12 '13 "N 122 ° 34' 08" W. | 2000 W |
TUK | 194.0 kHz | Nantucket | 41 ° 15 '35 "N 070 ° 09' 15" W. | 2000 W |
literature
- Fritz Trenkle : The German radio control procedures until 1945 . 1st edition. Dr. Alfred Hüthig Verlag, Heidelberg 1987, ISBN 3-7785-1647-7 .
- Fritz Trenkle : The German radio navigation and radio control procedures until 1945 . 1st edition. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 3-87943-615-0 .
Web links
- Page about the Lugo station ( memento of April 29, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
- Excellent description of the system
- Another good description of the function (PDF file; 1.03 MB)
- Historical dates
- Lugo's Sonne / Consol Station on asociacionbuxa.com (span.)