Radio beacon

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The term radio beacon refers to a fixed navigation radio station of the international navigation radio service or a mobile radio station of a mobile radio service ,

  • that supports a search and rescue,
  • which is used for navigation or
  • with the help of which measurements of the propagation of radio waves can be made.

In seafaring and aviation, the radio beacon is referred to with the English expression Radio Beacon (RBN). In rail traffic, radio beacons are called balises .

There are also radio beacons as part of industrial or private facilities outdoors and in buildings.

Areas of application

navigation

The radio beacons were introduced as a supplement to optical navigation signs. Today they are common for navigation in all modes of transport. Radio beacons are located at known locations that are marked on maps as fixed points.

In order to be able to determine one's own location with a vehicle or the location of an external moving object, radio beacons are used. The transmitter of the radio beacon is then on or on this object. Its position is determined by cross bearing or, if the position of the beacon (s) is known, your own location is determined.

Localization

Radio beacons are mounted on moving objects or on known fixed reference points. With the help of several radio receivers at a known location, the position of the moving object or the moving radio transmitter between the known locations can be determined. The measurement reveals the location of the moving object. Corresponding triangulation or multilateration processes are supported with mobile radio systems such as RTLS technology, Bluetooth , active RFID technology, cellular communications and cell phones .

Signal control

If buses and trains are given preference at traffic lights ( signal priority ), beacon / radio systems are used in which an infrared transmitter beacon informs a special control unit in the vehicle that an opposite station is approaching sufficiently far before the traffic light and the control unit in the vehicle then sends a radio signal Requests the green phase for the own direction of travel and lane at the traffic light control or this green phase is triggered directly by the opposite station.

ID

A beacon transmitter can send out a specific code sequence which identifies this transmitter . In the open air, the range can be limited to the close range or designed for long distances. The direction to this transmitter can be determined by cross-bearing with a directional antenna . For simple solutions in buildings, only the radial distance in known rooms is estimated.

Emergency search

As a locator beacon small radio transmitter for moving objects and vehicles are called, whose releases the work of the emergency search and rescue services to facilitate. These emergency beacons send a signal as soon as the operating or rest position is left or as soon as the transmitter drifts in the water. The object can be found by cross-bearing at least two reference points.

Radio beacons use special radio frequencies that can be used, for example, to search for people buried under avalanches .

Underwater direction finding with radio is not possible, so an ultrasonic beacon is used there to search for a black box .

Tracking

In the satellite radio technology is the radio beacon (beacon) a signal from the satellite broadcast on the so-called beacon frequency and to identify the satellites and for tracking ( English tracking ) of the receiving antennas is utilized.

Determination of the radio propagation conditions

Propagation beacons enable commercial and non-commercial radio services to assess the propagation of radio waves .

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