direction finder

American  

noun

Radio.

1. a receiver with a loop antenna rotating on a vertical axis, used to ascertain the direction of incoming radio waves.

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direction finder British  

noun

1. Abbreviation: D/F.   DF.  a highly directional aerial system that can be used to determine the direction of incoming radio signals, used esp as a navigation aid

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Other Word Forms

• direction finding
  noun

Etymology

Origin of direction finder

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

direction finder

One involved Noonan doing celestial navigation; the other, her use of a radio “bearing” direction finder.

From Forbes ● Nov. 10, 2014

Why would Earhart start out on such a hazardous journey without knowing how to operate her aircraft’s radio direction finder to the nth degree?

From Forbes ● Nov. 10, 2014

With a 20-m.p.h. tail wind and guided by a direction finder at Bermuda, it hit its tiny target on the nose 4 hr.

From Time Magazine Archive

In testing, the loud horn and red LED on the direction finder pointed us directly back within feet of the victim.

From Time Magazine Archive

Baron adjusted the direction finder and made scribbled calculations.

From The End of Time by West, Wallace