re can radio freq be used to measure distance robert g carpenter rgc bcstec ca boeing com wrote i m wondering if it s possible to use radio waves to measure the distance between a transmitter s and receiver seems to me that you should be able to measure the signal strength and determine distance this would be for short distances ft and i would need to have accuracy of inches or so you might try looking at whats available in laser locating systems they work best for close work mile and under rf is used for much longer distances in two major modes transponder and phase measurment transponder requires you send a pulse to another station and it returns it to you and you measure the round trip time minus the receiver time phase measurements require two or more transmitting stations sending the same frequency signal multiplexed in time a receiver can pick them up and measure the phase shift between signals maps can be drawn that plot the lines of position that correspond to a certain phase shift between two stations john eaton hp vcd johne
