Distributed radio signal targeting device

A method of directing finding, comprising:

• surveying an area of interest to identify rescue beacons in the area using a portable direction finder, wherein the rescue beacons include emitters of a signal, and the portable direction finder includes:
• a housing;
• an antenna and boom assembly attached to the housing, the antenna and boom assembly and comprising a phased-array antenna including two dipole elements, wherein the phased-array antenna receives 121.5 MHz signals;
• a receiver assembly within the housing, the receiver assembly including a radio frequency module and a digital signal processing module processing (DSP) module, wherein the signal from the antenna and boom assembly is received by an RF module;
• an electronic compass within the housing, the electronic compass in communication with the digital signal processing module processing module and providing a direction in which the portable direction finder is pointed;
• a display on the housing to indicate the direction from the electronic compass;
• and
• a handle on the housing;
• selecting a target emitter for the direction determination;
• identifying a target azimuth of the target emitter based on peak signal strength of the signal, wherein a DSP module provides the signal strengths allowing a user to determine the peak signal strength;
• determining a first line of bearing to the target emitter, from a first location, based on the target azimuth;
• displaying the first line of bearing to the user;
• determining a second line of bearing after moving left or right of the first location;
• displaying the second line of bearing to the user;
• and
• determining an intersection between the first line of bearing and the second line of bearing, wherein the intersection is a latitude and longitude with high probability of detection.