Automatic Direction

Finder (ADF)
Non-Directional Beacon
(NDB)
GUIDANCE NAVIGATION AND CONTROL
Introduction
ADF is a short to medium range (200 nm) navigation system providing directional information,
it operates within the frequency range 1901750 kHz
Instrumentation errors inevitably lead to deviations between the aircrafts actual and
calculated positions, these deviations accumulate over time
to confirm and update their position by means of a fixed ground-based reference
ground-based navigation aids consisted of a fixed-loop antenna in the aircraft tuned to an
amplitude modulated (AM) commercial radio broadcast station
The fixed loop antenna was aligned with the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, with the pilot
turning the aircraft until he received the minimum signal strength (null reading)
This constant turning was inefficient in terms of fuel consumption and caused inherent
navigation problems in keeping note of the aircrafts position during these maneuvers! The
effects of crosswind complicated this process since the aircrafts heading is not aligned with its
track
ADF Principles
A loop antenna that the pilot could rotate by hand solves some of these
problems; however, this still requires close attention from the crew
Later developments of the equipment used an electrical motor to rotate the
loop antenna
If a plot is made of loop angle and signal strength, the result is a sine wave
The null point is easier to determine than the maximum signal strength since
the rate of change is highest
Rotating the antenna to determine the null reading from the radio station was
a major advantage of the system
The pilot read the angular difference between the aircrafts heading and the
direction of the radio station
NDB and ADF
INTERACTION
Non-Directional Beacon
NDBs broadcast in the low-frequency (LF) range 190415 kHz and medium-
frequency (MF) range 510535 kHz
NDBs were identified by a two or three letter alpha code linked to the
location and frequency.
NDB located at Mackel in Belgium transmits on 360.5 kHz and is identified
as MAK
Beacons are deployed with varying power outputs classified as high (2 kW),
medium (5OW to 2 kW) and low (less than 50 W)
NDBs associated with airports and cities in a typical European country
NDBs are part of the final approach procedures for an airfield
ADF Antenna
The rotating loop antenna was eventually replaced with a fixed antenna consisting of
two loops combined into a single item; one aligned with the center line of the fuselage,
the other at right angles
Measuring the signal strength from each of the loops, and deriving an angular position
in a dedicated ADF receiver
Can have two possible solutions 180 degrees apart (if only loop antenna is used)
The loop antenna resolves the directional signal
A second sense antenna is therefore required to detect non directional radio waves
from the beacon; this signal is combined with the directional signals from the loop
antenna to produce a single directional solution
Most commercial transport aircraft are fitted with two independent ADF systems
typically identified as left and right systems
Receiver
The signal received at the antenna is coupled to the receiver in three ways:
The sense signal
A loop signal proportional in amplitude to the cosine of the relative angle of
the aircraft centerline and received signal
A loop signal proportional in amplitude to the sine of the relative angle of
the aircraft centerline and received signal
Receiver
The sense antenna signal is processed in the receiver: weak signals to be identified,
together with discrimination of adjacent frequencies
The output is then integrated into the aircrafts audio system
Loop antenna signals are summed with the sense antenna signal
forms a phase-modulated (PM) carrier signal
intermediate frequency (IF) is coupled with the PM signal
The PM component of the signal is recovered from the voltage controlled oscillator
(VCO)
recovered signal contains the bearing information received by the antenna
The ADF receiver is often incorporated into a multi-mode receiver along with other
radio navigation systems
Control Panel
Aircraft with analogue avionics have a dedicated ADF control panel
An alternative panel enables the crew to select a range of functions including: frequency
selectors; displays and the beat frequency oscillator (BFO)
BFO to create an audio frequency for carrier wave transmissions through their audio panel
NDB carrier waves that are not modulated with an audio component use the beat frequency
oscillator (BFO) To produce an audio output
Some ADF panels have an ADF/ANT switch
ADF selects normal operation, i.e. combined sense and loop antennas
ANT selects the sense antenna by itself so that the crew can confirm that a station is
broadcasting
A changeover switch is used to select the active and standby frequencies
ADF Bearing Display
The output from the ADF receiver is transmitted to a display that provides the
pilot with both magnetic heading and direction to the tuned NDB, this can either
be a dedicated ADF instrument or a radio magnetic indicator (RMI),
In the RMI, two bearing pointers (colored red and green) are associated with the
two ADF systems and allow the crew to tune into two different NDBs at the same
time.
RMIs can have a dual purpose
pilots use a switch on the RMI to select either ADF or VOR bearings
some aircraft have a bearing source indicator that confirms ADF or VOR selection
Aircraft fitted with electronic flight instrument systems (EFIS) have green NDB
icons displayed on the electronic horizontal situation indicator (EHSI)
Operational aspects of ADF
ADF radio waves are propagated as ground waves and/or sky waves
The sky waves will be affected as skip distances will vary due to refraction in the
ionosphere (noticeable at sunrise and sunset)
mountains and valleys will reflect the radio waves causing multipath reception
low-frequency waves: attenuation of the ground wave being different over land and water
The direction of a radio wave across land will change when it reaches the coast and then
travels over water
This effect depends on the angle between the radio wave and the coast
Radiated energy is absorbed in the airframe and re-radiated causing interference; this
depends on the relative angle between the direction of travel, the physical aspects of the
aircraft and location of the ADF transmitter
Interference can arise from electrical storms, other radio transmissions, static build
up/discharges and other electrical equipment on the aircraft
Errors and Accuracy
The accuracy of an ADF navigation system is in the order of 5 degrees for
locator beacons and 10 degrees for en route beacons
Any of the above conditions will lead to errors in the bearing information
displayed on the RMI
If these conditions occur in combination then the navigation errors will be
significant
Pilots cannot use ADF for precision navigation due to these limitations