Navigation in the 1940s: The Four Course Radio Range
Recently, the staff of Radio Station WWRB and its parent company, Airline Transport Communications Inc. put together a model four course radio range, operated by control operators WA4SZE and KF4MVG. The original four course ranges were very large because they operated in the very low frequency range, requiring 200 foot high towers with wide spacing. This model system operates in the high frequency 28 MHz band, so it is much smaller. Despite the size difference, it is functionally identical to its 1930s-1970s forebears. We’ll be setting up a web page on the four course range soon with construction plans, photographs, history, and schematics for amateur radio operators to build their own ranges. More information on four course ranges can be found at en.wikipedia.org The staff of Airline Transport Communications, Inc and Radio Station WWRB have been experimenting with various aircraft navigation systems for several years. If you would like to see pictures of our nondirectional beacon LYQ or our VOR, please see our web site photo gallery at www.wwrb.org .
Navigation in the 1940s: The Four Course Radio Range
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@copernicus633 I know, which is what I was explaining to kc0rey, who did suggest it was a commercial venture.
@kaguyabutterfly1 Nobody is suggesting that. This is purely a historical presentation.
Dave Dude:Good Luck with the new Audio processing unit for WWRB!Blessings,Brainy at BMSS
Part two…
So, and in conclusion, I’d like to stress that commercial aviation ‘Walked the Walk’ by using L/MF ADF navigation long before the A&N ranges became popular. Hope I helped clear up this little bit of aviation history. Best to you all.
Good video, but fails to stress that ’30’s and ’40’s (and later) long-range pilots, especially to S. America, Asia, etc used the ADF. The L/MF radio ranges were used extensively, and could be picked up at a grateer distance (much greater) than the VHF A&N ranges, and the latter-day Omni-VOR’s.
I’ve navigated across the Caribbean, with good ADF tracking (not homing) skills, staying ‘on course’ long before the VOR’s in Trinidad, or Venezuela were sensed by my instruments. Please see part two….
Good video, but fails to stress that ’30’s and ’40’s (and later) long-range pilots, especially to S. America, Asia, etc used the ADF. The L/MF radio ranges were used extensively, and could be picked up at a grateer distance (much greater) than the VHF A&N ranges, and the latter-day Omni-VOR’s.
I’ve navigated across the Caribbean, with good ADF tracking (not homing) skills, staying ‘on course’ long before the VOR’s in Trinidad, or Venezuela were sensed by my instruments. Please see part two..
@kc0rey With GPS and other more recent instrumentation, there is no need to use four course radio anymore. The video even states that this was a early, obsolete technology. This is obviously a hobby of the staff of WWRB, who being part of a radio station, want to help preserve the history of this technology. But the idea of commercializing it and being taken seriously is pretty laughable.
@kc0rey This is not a commercial venture and there are no plans to commercialize four course radio ranges. Four course radio range systems have been completely obsolete since 1949. Just as companies like Yaesu and ICOM often sponsor DX-peditions and contests, Airline Transport Communications Incorporated and Shortwave Radio Station WWRB have sponsored this not-for-profit non-commercial historical replica.
This looks like a Commercial Venture. What is it doing on the Amateur Radio Band?
Hey Dave We Enjoyed your video. Very informative. We pray all is well with you.
God Bless
John and Sheren
No Turning Back!
Excellent explanation of the four course radio range.
David Frantz is the licensed radio amateur in TN who built this. There’s a very nice article about this in “AOPA Pilot” June 2010 p. 30 by Barry Schiff. 73
Could we get another video of the transmitter itself and how this navigation beacon is put together? Amateurs radio operators would like to see ‘whats inside the box”.
I got my license in 1958 and flew many Low Freq approaches. This video was good at explaining the concept of the Low Freq system, but they should do another to explain how we did a a Low Freq IFR approach. It will blow your mind.
Thanks for demonstrating this. It was always easy enough to understand how it worked, but I never thought I’d ever actually get to see it work.
I’ve still got the chart for the last A/N range approach in Chihuahua.
But 10 hours in a 150, please just shoot me.
Awesome! I always read about these and it was fantastic to be able to see one in action in this video.
Good video! 160hp Cessna 150? Interesting mod. Since the radio rande operates in the 28mhz ham band, who’s the licensee? Very nice demonstration of vintage air navigation!
Very Good Vid! The Skys the limit, fly safe!
For a while, no one knew what the beacons were, and now we know. Ive heard the “A” and “N” in Massachusetts, FN32QC