Date 2nd January 2003

Technical Guidance
Ref: TG/2003/007
To : All Masters and Chief Engineers
Re : Machinery : T.V. Active Antenna
General Guidance on Interference with GPS Signals from Television Active Antenna
The following is an extract from a Safety Alert prepared by the Office of Investigations and
Analysis, USCG Headquarters. Please go through this bulletin carefully and carry out the
following . Please advice the result by 6th Jan 2003.
1) Make and Model of existing T.V. Antenna System, Year of Built, Type of Antenna - Omni
Directional Antenna or Directional Antena. FYG Omni Directional antenna look like a small
Dome and Directional Antennas are normaly shore base Dipole Long antenna.
2) Is there any module comprises with the Make/Model of the Anetnna of given below.
Please check carefully, If yes, pls raise the reqisition for complete T.V. Antenna system.
3) To confirm whether the exisiting T.V. Antenna system interferes the GPS,pls switch off
the T.V. Antenna Amplifier Power Supply, monitor the GPS Position Error if improves.
Switch on again and check if there is any error on Position. FYG when the DOP or
receiving condition is unfavourable (due to one of the above reasons), the GPS fix may
change greatly, even the vessel is dead in water. When PDOP values exceeds 6 in the 3D
mode, or HDOP values exceeds 4 in the 2 D mode, " DOP" appears to indicate the
abnormal fixing. Hence monitor the following changes in the GPS a) When T.V. Amplifier switched ON from OFF 1) does status of the GPS receiver changes
from 3D to 2D or 2D to No Fix ? 2) Does above mentioned values reduces ?
b) When T.V. Amplifier switched OFF from ON - does above condition in the item a)
improves ?
4) If any abnormality noticed while checking item 3, then pls adv the location of the T.V.
Antenna, is it very near to the GPS antenna ? What is the distance from GPS Antenna ? If
better location available to re install the antenna ?
Quote
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Marine Television May Interfere with Navigation Systems Posted 12/31/02 at 10:27:AM
The U.S. Coast Guard warns all mariners that certain marine television antennas may
interfere with the performance of Global Positioning System receivers. The interference
can result in inaccurate position information or a complete loss of GPS signals.
This is a potential hazard to navigation, for both the operator of the vessel with the
television antenna and for nearby boaters as the interference is not limited to the GPS

equipment onboard the vessel with the antenna. In some cases, vessels up to 2000 feet
away from an active antenna have reported interference.
The Federal Communications Commission identified the following models of antennas as
having potential problems during investigations of GPS interference:
* DP (Tandy Distribution Products) Electronics - MINI STATE Electronic Amplified
UHF/VHF TV Antenna - Models 5MS740, 5MS750, 5MS921
* adio Shack Corporation - Long Range Amplified Omni Directional TV Antenna - Model
15-1624
* hakespeare Corporation - SeaWatch - Models 2040 (Code date 02A00), 2050 (Code
date 03A00)
If mariners experience outages or degradation of their GPS receiver operation, they
should perform an on-off test of their marine TV antenna.
If turning off the power to the antenna results in improvement in the GPS receiver
performance, the antenna may be the source of interference.
In that case, the mariner should contact the manufacturer of the antenna and
identify the symptoms.
It is stressed that the GPS interference problem may not be limited to the models listed
above. If mariners identify another model with a GPS interference problem, or if turning off
the antenna does not improve the GPS receiver performance, the Coast Guard requests
they contact the 24-hour Navigation Information Service at nisws@navcen.uscg.mil
<mailto:nisws@navcen.uscg.mil> or (703) 313-5900. GPS is a satellite-based
radionavigation system that permits land, sea and airborne users to
determine their three-dimensional position, velocity and time, 24 hours a
day in all weather, anywhere in the world.
unquote
Please acknowledge receipt.
Best Regards
Tadic Tonci
GM Technical
Note : This broadcast should be made available to all Deck Officers and Electrical
Engineer. Senior Officers should discuss and highlight the contents to the Juniors. A copy

should be filed in the appropriate file for record and future reference. One copy should be
kept on the bridge near GPS for easy reference.