Error Reduction in HF Loop DF Systems

Techniques for reducing bearing errors in vertical loop HF direction finders for ionospherically propagated signals were evaluated in a dual-channel system. A main channel provides a bearing display from the output of a rotating loop; an auxiliary channel unblanks the bearing ng display when propagation conditions are favorable for minimum bearing error. Circuitry to provide optimum unblanking for a wide variety of signal and fade conditions is described. The results of an operational evaluation are presented and show that a large majority of the unblanked bearings can be restricted to ±15° of the great-circle bearing with average bearing errors of 10° or less. Operational comparison with a contemporary system shows that the dual-channel system performance is superior with a 2 to 1 reduction ion in bearing spreads, standard deviations, and RMS error.