RDF Anyone still using one.

need to add RDF to the "words we no longer use" post in the Lounge.

I have fond memories of using them, but am glad I no longer have to.

I'm embarrassed to say I don't even know if the signals are still transmitted to receive.
Are they?
 
No signals now.

I binned my perfectly good hand held one last year when I finally gave up occasionaly trying to use it. Years ago, it was much better than the dreaded Decca near the Isle of Man which could give positions 15 miles wrong! The RDF had become no more than an historical relic. So had the Decca, but that corroded and died of its own accord long before.
 
I gave up my RDF unit some years ago, but I rescued the compass and mounted it in a wood block. It makes a great hand bearing compass. Well damped and very usable.
 
Still have my trusty Seafix! (not on boat though!)

The Aero becons still transmit i believe and could be used to give a single position line. Not very accurately because the signal will be crossing the coast and subject to refraction.

Were useful in their day if you weren't sure which hemisphere you were in.

Used to use a Lokata on friends boat until he bought Decca.
 
I have one in a locker somewhere. It cost me a fiver in the Ladyline (remember them) slummy bin. I suspect the battery will have corroded it to death long ago. It would receive LW radio4 for forecasts which was quite useful at the time.

AFAIK, the aero beacons still exist (not quite sure why), but the maritime ones were switched off years ago.

I must chuck in the Marinaskip one day.:rolleyes:
 
The aeronautical beacons still exist and are still used by light aircraft folks (my dad is one). They're a lot more distrustful of GPS than we sailing types, and where we pay lip service to "it's just an aid to traditional navigation" they often really mean it.

As for RDF vs sextants, I'd say sextants are far more "current" than RDF. Really must get mine (inherited from my grandad) in working order and learn to use it :-)

Pete
 
As I am fossicking around in the Caribbean I guess the little airfields here might have their beacons still up and running then.

I will have a look for a list of beacons still active and if there are a few then I guess it might be worth finding a RDF and stashing it away in case the GPS goes out.
 
TQA said:
As I am fossicking around in the Caribbean I guess the little airfields here might have their beacons still up and running then.

I will have a look for a list of beacons still active and if there are a few then I guess it might be worth finding a RDF and stashing it away in case the GPS goes out.
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Dont they have LORAN in the caribbean?
 
After days without sun or star sights, approaching the Scillies from the south in the early 70's I still remember the RDF giving us a rough fix which was later improved on by the Consul counts. Not long after we saw the loom of the light in the right quadrant.

The feeling of relief has never quite left me.
 
Still got my old Crowhurst RDF with its Sestrel compass mounted on top that can be removed and put on a separate handle. Interesting piece of old technology.
 
Mariner69 said:
After days without sun or star sights, approaching the Scillies from the south in the early 70's I still remember the RDF giving us a rough fix which was later improved on by the Consul counts. Not long after we saw the loom of the light in the right quadrant.

The feeling of relief has never quite left me.
Click to expand...

Still have a digital one with a trigger to stop the compass kept because it acts as a hand bearing compass there are still aero beacon last used it on an aero beacon 8/9 years ago in fog used it for a running fix although was a bit dubious because of cross coast error ... Consul there s a memory, there was always a distraction that made me lose count even tho only even for last 5 or 6 !!
 
ospreyk30 said:
Still got my old Crowhurst RDF with its Sestrel compass mounted on top that can be removed and put on a separate handle. Interesting piece of old technology.
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I always remembered that when at sea we would always listen to the local radio stations using the DF set on the bridge. Who needs df stations for back up when sailing the coast when we are now surrounded by small and large radio transmitters. The only thing required is a very basic tranny with ferrite rod antenna. I have an old one that completely nulls out . Just need to find out where the transmitters are and in many cases their positions are in nautical publications.

The River Forth and East coast of Scotland is well populated with transmitters and for brave souls crossing the north sea there are MW stations all around. Maybe not as accurate as the old DF but perfectly usable when all else fails. On occasions these signals can be detected up to 2000 miles from port and many years ago I kept an eye on THEM upstairs using my trusted tranny as we completed a 30 North winter pacific crossing and headed north east for Esquimalt Pilots and a date in VAncouver.

PS A good quality tranny isn t as good as it has auto level controls which fight the nulling effect.
 
TQA said:
I had one on my last boat. It came with the boat and was a handheld unit. I liked it as a back up to other systems.

Is it something that people still use? Can you still find them in working order? Or are they like sextants, just objects of curiosity gathering dust in drawers.
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Just dug my Seabeam II out of the loft, put batteries in, and picked up Plymouth loud and clear.
Lots of beacons still around, details of UK here:
http://www.beaconworld.org.uk/uklist.htm
 
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