Distance
Measuring
Equipment (DME)
Introduction
Home • Distance measuring equipment (DME) is a transponder-
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based radio navigation technology that measures
slant range distance by timing the propagation delay of
Next VHF or UHF radio signals.
• Developed in Australia, it was invented by
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James Gerry Gerrand [1] under the supervision
of Edward George "Taffy" Bowen while employed as
Chief of the Division of Radiophysics of the
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organ
isation
(CSIRO).
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• DME is similar to secondary radar, except in
Previous reverse. The system was a post-war
development of the IFF (identification friend or
foe) systems of World War II. To maintain
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Help compatibility, DME is functionally identical to
the distance measuring component of TACAN.
Introduction
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• DME is stand for Distance Measuring
Previous Equipment.
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• DME is a type of en-route navigation system for
aircraft.
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• DME often installed near VOR stations so as to
provide combined bearing and distance.
• When DME is installed with the VOR, it is
referred to as a VOR/DME.
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The uses of DME
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• DME provides the physical distance from the
Previous aircraft to the ground DME transponder
expressed in Nautical Miles (NM).
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• DME also calculates ground speed and the time
needed to reach the station if the aircraft is
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fitted with appropriate computer.
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DME System Components:
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The DME system consists of three basic
Previous components which are:
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• DME antenna on the aircraft body
• DME navigation display unit in aircraft cockpit
• DME transmitter/receiver in the ground
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Next DME INDICATOR IN
Help THE
COCKPIT
DME Indicator
• DME enables aircraft to establish its range to the ground
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station: Distance in nautical miles, Ground speed in
Previous knots, Flying time to the station in minutes
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DME
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PRINCIPLE
How DME works?
Home • DME provides distance (slant range) from the aircraft to the
ground DME.
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• DME operates on Ultra High Frequency (UHF) which is
Next between 962 to 1213 MHz.
• DME works based on pulse techniques, where pulse means a
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single vibration of electric current.
• The aircraft’s antenna sends out paired pulses at specific
spacing.
• The ground DME station receives the pulses and then
responds with paired pulses at the same spacing but a
different frequency.
How DME works?
Home • The aircraft receiver measures the time taken to
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transmit and receive the signal which is transmitted into
distance.
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• Beside that, the distance formula is also used by the
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DME receiver to calculate the distance from DME
station in Nautical Miles.
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Home
• A radio signal takes approximately 12.36
Previous microseconds to travel 1 nautical mile (1,852 m)
to the target and back—also referred to as a
radar-mile. The time difference between
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Help interrogation and reply, minus the 50
microsecond ground transponder delay, is
measured by the interrogator's timing circuitry
and converted to a distance measurement
(slant range), in nautical miles, then displayed
on the cockpit DME display.
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• The distance formula, distance = rate * time, is
Previous used by the DME receiver to calculate its
distance from the DME ground station. The rate
in the calculation is the velocity of the radio
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Help pulse, which is the speed of light (roughly
300,000,000 m/s or 186,000 mi/s). The time in
the calculation is (total time – 50µs)/2.
DME IDENTITY
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• DME facilities identify themselves with a
Previous 1350 Hz morse code three letter identity. If
collocated with a VOR or ILS, it will have the
same identity code as the parent facility.
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Help Additionally, the DME will identify itself
between those of the parent facility. The DME
identity is 1350 Hz to differentiate itself from
the 1020 Hz tone of the VOR or the ILS localizer.
Advantages of DME
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• DME is extremely accurate
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• Aircraft Handling Capability
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• Large coverage
Disadvantages of DME
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• As VOR the DME is also restricted to line-of-
Previous sight transmission. For example, the aircraft at
altitude below 10’000 ft is unable to detect the
DME signal.
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Disadvantages of DME
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• Errors and abnormal indications:
Previous – Slant range
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– Speed and time calculation
– Ground system saturation – 100 aircraft
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– System error
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THANKYOU FOR
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