In the past when no gps,you detect an ELT at 180 degrees,How do you find out exactly where the ELT originates.

March 4, 2009 by admin · 1 Comment
Filed under: Other - Science 
gps
spooky asked:


In the era,before GPS was used,describe in detail what you have to do.

Tags: , ,

Comments

One Response to “In the past when no gps,you detect an ELT at 180 degrees,How do you find out exactly where the ELT originates.”
  1. Don E says:
    March 5, 2009 at 3:24 pm

    If the transmission was exactly 180 degrees from you, you would begin triangulation. A number of ways existed to do this. First, one would use an ELT locator with a signal strength indicator. As you flew toward the signal, if you were in a straight line, you would determine the point where the signal gain was strongest. Eventually, you would pass it and the indicator would be 180 degrees off again.

    Once you obtained this approximation, you would attempt to locate it from two other points, approximately 90 degrees from where you think it was. By plotting the three readings (the original 180 degree and the two new readings) on a grid map, the point the plots crossed would be the triangulation and the location of the ELT signal. This could be repeated as necessary as you made closer determinations of the transmission’s location.

    This was done for a lot of search and rescue missions in the 70s and 80s by the Civil Air Patrol and FAA/NTSB, as well as civilian agencies.

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking...