The latter term was technically incomplete, as some operated above 300 kHz, and thus were technically "Medium Frequency" (MF) ranges (though at the "low end" of the 300–3,000 kHz, MF spectrum). This gave the system the name "LF/MF radio range" or simply "Low Frequency Range" (LFR). The system used LF/MF (Low-Frequency / Medium-Frequency) radio frequencies - between 200 and 410 kHz, with some military radio ranges operating at as high as 536 kHz just below the commercial AM broadcast band. In addition to the beams, these early air-navigation radio stations also broadcast a wider set of signals that ensured reception and guidance from any location around the radio station - not just "on the beam." Because the entire range around the station was affected, these stations became known as "radio ranges." Routes - "airways." (Map below shows extent of system by the 1950s click to enlarge.) A clever system was devised that allowed a pilot to navigate fairly precisely along a narrow "beam," using only a basic radio receiver to listen to simple sounds - through a speaker or headphones - for location and guidance clues. Of aerial navigation radio towers across the nation, along well-traveled air A simpler, clearer system was desired to ensure easy guidance for all aircraft - commercial, military and general aviation - using only a basic radio receiver.īy the mid-1930s, the U.S.
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But these were of limited usefulness, and required pilots to have DF equipment, and know how to use it correctly.
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Initial efforts focused on simple radio beacons, broadcasting a simple Morse Code signal that could be "homed in on" using direction-finding ("DF") antennas. Radio navigation technology emerged by the late 1920s, allowing fairly precise navigation without reference to the ground, nor the optimistic and daring trust in dead reckoning. Throughout the 1920s, commercial aviation was hampered by the need to fly only in fair weather, when aircraft could navigate by visual references on the ground (a technique called "pilotage"), or by risky assumptions based upon compass, airspeed and clock indications, and reported winds - combined, calculated and plotted on a map (a technique called "dead reckoning"). LF/MF Four-Course Radio Range - Avionics History by Richard Harris