On the effect of tuner phase noise on TDOA measurements

Radio geolocation of unknown signals using time difference of arrival techniques is dependent on signal measurements that are recorded using a time and frequency coherent measurement system. This paper investigates what effect the phase noise in the reference oscillator inside the tuner has on the geolocation accuracy, and proposes a model for the phase noise in addition to a method for counteracting its effect. The results include both real world measurements and computer simulations. Results from a field experiment indicate that the proposed method outperforms traditional time difference of arrival techniques by a factor between 3 and 5.8 depending on SNR.