Understanding Direction Finding on the KiwiSDR

Earlier this month we posted about the KiwiSDR direction finding update, which now allows anyone with internet access to utilize public KiwiSDR's for the purpose of pinpointing the physical location of a transmitter that transmits at a frequency below 30 MHz.

A few people have had trouble understanding how to use the direction finding feature, so KiwiSDR fan Nils Schiffhauer (DK8OK) has written up a KiwiSDR direction finding usage guide. Nils' guide explains the basic technical ideas behind the TDoA (Time Difference of Arrival) direction finding technique used, and highlights some important considerations to take into account in order to get the best results. For example he discusses best practices on how to choose receiver locations, how many receivers to choose, and how to properly take into account the time delaying effects of ionospheric propagation with HF signals.

Finally at the end of the document he shows multiple case studies on HF signals that he's managed to locate using the discussed best practices. Looking through these examples should help make it clear on how receiver locations should be chosen.