DME

AST 241
 DME Theory
• Most VOR’s in the US have DME-
distance measuring equipment or are co-
located with a military TACAN facility
which provides the same information.
• VOR navigation is much improved with
DME as it only provides:
• Azimuth information
 DME Theory
• DME is required for aerial navigation
above?
• FL 240 or 24,000 ft.
• Especially useful in IFR operations
• VOR and DME are essentially unified
systems which are seamless to the pilot
when co-located
 DME theory
• Each VOR frequency from 108.00 to
117.95 MHz (VHF) has a corresponding
UHF freq. Ranging from 962 – 1213 MHz
• Pilots usually have to tune only one freq.
With newer receivers
• DME’s can be received independent of the
VOR if the tuner is separate but the
information is of little use for most pilots
 DME Theory
• For civilian users VOR/DME and VOR’s
co-located with TACAN (VORTAC’s) are
essentially the same thing providing pilots
with the same information.
• TACAN was developed by the military to:
– Rectify terrain interference problems
– Rectify portability problems
– Rectify the need for a level platform- (carriers)
 DME Theory
• Civilian users can’t take advantage of
TACAN’s azimuth information and
military pilots can’t use DME information
 DME Operation
• Similar to the ATC Radio beacon system or
Transponder system
• VOR’s are a Passive System giving
continuous information
• DME’s respond only when interrogated
making them an Active System
 DME Operation
• Each DME receiver emits two distinctly (to
that receiver) spaced pulses which are
replied to in identical fashion by the
ground based unit.
• The DME receiver ignores all other replies.
• This is why the DME can take up to 10
seconds to “lock on” to its unique reply
• Once locked it updates every 1/10th mile
 DME Operation
• The time difference between interrogation
and reply corresponds to the aircraft’s
straight line distance from the station.
• 12/1,000,000 of a second in time
corresponds to 1 NM in distance
 DME Operation
• DME accuracy varies from 3 % of total distance
(6 NM at 200 miles out) up to being within .1
NM at all distances for the higher end receivers-
as good as GPS
• The most common operational mistake is to
forget to select the correct VOR if the aircraft is
equipped with 2 VOR’s or leaving it in the “hold”
mode which holds the last frequency tuned rather
than the current one.
 DME operation
• The most common units today are
selectable between the dual VOR
receivers- if not then the DME signal is
usually taken from the #1 VOR but BE
SURE!-

• ALWAYS VERIFY!!
 DME Operation
• Groundspeed and time to Station- Since
DME uses rate of response information to
get distance it is a small step for the
receiver to calculate groundspeed and time
to the station.
• This information is usually displayed in a
separate window labeled- KTS. MIN. OFF
 DME Operation
• It is important to remember that this only
works if heading directly to or from the
station- angular motion w.r.t. the station
makes all DME information USELESS!
 DME identification
• DME stations are identified in the same
coded manner using the same identification
as the corresponding VOR station.
• The DME portion is broadcast at a higher
pitch and is less frequent than the VOR
identification- every 30 seconds.
 DME overload
• DME transmitters can become overloaded
during heavy usage causing the “late
comers” not to lock on the the freq.
• It is courteous to always turn off the DME
receiver when not in use such as when on
the ground or when DME info. Is not
needed.
 DME error
• Slant range error occurs because the DME
calculates its straight line or “slant range”
distance from the station which is not as
useful to pilots as ground distance.
• This causes all DME indications to be
inaccurate when greater than 1,000 ft. AGL
for each NM from the station- otherwise it
can be ignored.
 DME Error
• For example if a pilot is at 3,000 ft AGL at
2 miles from the station the error is out of
tolerance.
• Remember for accuracy be at least 1NM
from the station for each 1,000 ft AGL
 DME Arc
• Older instrument approach procedure
where the DME information is used to fly a
constant radius around the transmitter
• This becomes easier when VOR “lead
radials” are used to prompt the turn
 DME Operation
• DME is Rho-Rho navigation
• Rho = distance
• Theta = azimuth
• VOR/DME together is theta – rho nav.
• 2 VOR’s are theta - theta nav.
• Rho – rho nav. Requires 3 DME readings
to determine position
Questions?

The End