peilstations

Peilstationen, often translated as bearing stations or direction-finding stations, are facilities designed to determine the direction to a radio signal or beacon. They are used in navigation, surveillance, and signal monitoring to locate transmitters or track moving objects.

A typical peilstation employs directional antennas and radio receivers to measure the bearing of a signal. The measurement can rely on signal strength, phase differences, or other radiometric methods. In networks, multiple stations share bearing data and use triangulation, multilateration, or time-difference measurements to pinpoint the source more accurately than a single station could achieve.

Historically, peilstationen played a significant role in military air defense, maritime navigation, and reconnaissance, especially before the widespread availability of satellite navigation. They were also used for locating radio beacons and for general radio monitoring. In the modern era, the role of fixed bearing stations has diminished in civilian contexts due to GNSS and advanced digital systems, but direction finding remains relevant for training, legacy systems, electronic warfare, and emergency response scenarios.

The term is primarily used in German-language sources, with English equivalents such as direction-finding station or bearing station. Peilstationen can be fixed installations or mobile units and may operate as components of larger surveillance, meteorological, or search-and-rescue infrastructures.