The cause and elimination of night errors in radio direction-finding

The paper describes experiments which have been carried out with a view to obtaining more conclusive evidence as to the causes of the apparent variations in bearings observed under certain conditions on wireless direction-finders. In the course of the experiments the Adcock ¿four-aerial¿ direction-finder has been developed, and with its aid it has been shown that the actual deviation in azimuth of wireless waves is practically negligible. These experiments thus constitute a proof that the variable errors observed on closed-coil direction-finders at night are caused by downcoming waves arriving from the upper atmosphere and polarized with the electric force in a horizontal plane. The investigation also indicates the possibility of the Adcock system being developed into a practical direction-finder which is free from night errors, and those errors associated with observations on aircraft transmissions made at a, ground direction-finding station.