DISTANCE MEASURING

EQUIPMENT
A. Concept

Distance Measuring
Equipment (DME) means a
measurement system that
provides the flight crew with
information about the
distance from the aircraft’s
position to a ground station.
 Tx
Aircraft
Rx
Computer

Decoder
Indicator Rx Computer
Tx Encoder

Ground Station
The airborne DME (interrogator)
includes:
• Transmitter
• Receiver
• Timing circuits
• Distance indicator

The ground-based DME (transponder)

consists of:
• Transmitter
• Decoder/encoder computer-time delay
• Receiver
The time of travel of the RF
wave is measured from aircraft
to ground, and back to the
aircraft. The airborne unit
subtracts the ground delay time
of 50 µs, divides by 2, then
displays the distance in NM.
The DME operates in the ultra-high
frequency (UHF) band and therefore is
restricted to line-of-sight transmission.
However its frequency can be "paired"
with VOR or ILS or localizer (LOC)
frequencies. The receiving equipment in
most aircraft provide for automatic
DME selection through a coupled
VOR/lLS receiver. Selection of the
appropriate VOR or ILS frequency
automatically tunes the DME.
WORKING OF DME Transceiver transmits
a pair of spaced pulses to the ground
station Ground station responds with a
pulse transmission on a separate frequency
to send a reply to the aircraft Time
elapsed is time between the challenges and
are measured; Time travel is the distance
separating plane and station. Distance is
indicated in ‘nautical miles’ by a cockpit
instrument
Transmitting frequencies are in 2 groups
962 MHz to 1024 MHz 1151 MHz to 1212
MHz Receiving frequency is between 1025
to 1149 MHz Aircraft’s DME transceiver is
tuned to the selected DME ground station
WORKING OF DME Transceiver transmits a
pair of spaced pulses to the ground station
Ground station responds with a pulse
transmission on a separate frequency to send
a reply to the aircraft
Time elapsed is time between the challenges and are
measured; Time travel is the distance separating plane and
station. Distance is indicated in ‘nautical miles’ by a cockpit
instrument Transmitting frequencies are in 2 groups 962
MHz to 1024 MHz 1151 MHz to 1212 MHz Receiving
frequency is between 1025 to 1149 MHz Aircraft’s DME
transceiver is tuned to the selected DME ground station
 B. DME Components & Operations
The transceiver that sends out the
interrogating signal to the ground station
contains an internal computer to measure
the time interval that elapses until the
response. The antenna, used for both
transmission and reception, is a very
small "sharks fin" normally mounted on
the underside of the aircraft. Modern
DME controls incorporate digital
readouts of frequency, DME and
groundspeed information.
The DME displays
information in the form of
distance to the station and
the aircraft's groundspeed.
The distance to the station
is a slant range, expressed
in nautical miles.
The DME receiver can
express groundspeed in
knots. the groundspeed
information allows the pilot
to make accurate estimates
of time of arrival and
accurate checks of aircraft
progress.
A pilot with DME may pinpoint
aircraft position using the
radial of a VORTAC and the
distance information from the
same VORTAC; whereas a
pilot without DME must use
radials from two stations to
get a position fix.
The pilot also can use DME to
establish intersections and
holding patterns. When so
equipped and cleared by ATC,
pilots can establish holding
patterns by reference to
radials and DME.