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Radio Direction Finding
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- RDF
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Above: experimenting with the possible location of a Radio Direction Finding antenna on an early InView.
A Radio Direction Finding (RDF) system, consists of several antennae connected
to a signal processing unit and is used to find the bearing (angle) to a radio
transmitter.
Radio Direction Finding is used:
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to locate a radio transmitter, using “triangulation”: see
www.rdfproducts.com;
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to locate the source of interference signals, for example, from the ignition
system of a petrol (gasoline) engine, or from the brushes in an electric motor;
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as a navigation aid, using the known location of radio and/or cell phone
antennas.
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Example of a Radio Direction Finding unit.
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Example of a Radio Direction Finding device with multiple antennas.
From
dma1418b1_pds_01a.jpg
www.rdfproducts.com
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Bearing Errors – Standard Reflection Field
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Antenna type
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Operation details
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Peak error
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RMS error
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Two-spaced
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Adcock
Time Of Arrival
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11.4°
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8.0°
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One-quarter size Doppler
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4 arms
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8.0°
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5.4°
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One-half size Doppler
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8 arms
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5.2°
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2.8°
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Full size Doppler
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16 arms
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3.4°
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1.5°
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Example of an RDF antenna at the Thales outdoor stand at the Dubai Air Show 2007 |
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