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Gary
 
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Default What is the ultimate navigation tool? Was - RDF (radio directionfinding) ... do you ?

Larry wrote:
Maynard G. Krebbs wrote in
:


RDF might be fun to play around with out in the deep blue.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't radio waves travel in great
circles? If so it might be fun working the great circles out in
conjunction with your RDF fixes.
Just a thought.
Mark E. Williams




RDF is great as long as there is NO DRIFT, water current or wind drift.

If you don't learn to take that into account and just follow the RDF to the
station, you end up in this big spiral to the target, the long way around!

GPS, of course, doesn't suffer these 1930's problems.

I understand one of the problems with RDF in the English Channel was
collisions with the beacon ships. Apparently, because RDF doesn't give
ranges, it is always critical to keep the radio beacon of the light ship
on one bow or the other when in fog!